Pinapple Grilled Pork Chops

I'm tiring of making the same meals, so I picked something new to make this week.  We tend to revolve around the same type flavors, so I thought I would pick something a little outside the box.  It went well and suprisingly all but one person ate the pineapple!  My hubby and I agree we'd lower the amount of soy sauce (a little too salty for us).

Pineapple Grilled Pork Chops

1 (8 ounce) can pineapple rings, juice drained and reserved

1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
4 pork chops
1 pinch ground black pepper

1. Mix together the drained pineapple juice, brown sugar, soy sauce, and garlic powder together in a large plastic zipper bag, and smush the bag a few times with your hands to mix the marinade and dissolve the sugar. Place the pork chops into the marinade, squeeze out any air in the bag, seal it, and refrigerate overnight. Reserve the pineapple rings.


2. Preheat an outdoor grill for medium heat, and lightly oil the grate.

3. Remove the chops from the marinade, shaking off excess, and grill until browned, the meat is no longer pink inside, and the meat shows good grill marks, 5 to 8 minutes per side. Brush several times with marinade and let the marinade cook onto the surface of the meat. Discard excess marinade. While the meat is grilling, place 4 pineapple rings onto the grill, and allow to cook until hot and the slices show grill marks; serve the chops topped with the grilled pineapple rings.
 
Photo found online.  Recipe found at Allrecipes.com.

Joy

Guess this is one of those "from the heart" posts.  Just sharing what's been going through my mind as this new year has begun.

Last year, the Lord impressed Isaiah 26:3 (Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee) on my heart.  I had a feeling deep inside that it wasn't going to be an easy year and that the Lord was going to show me a lot of things.  I've mentioned this on Facebook already, but those closest to me can attest to the fact that amidst difficult times this year (death of a childhood friend and housing issues to name a few) I possesed peace that was none of my own doing.  Looking back on 2011, I can see many times the Lord gave me peace, where my faith was stregthened and I learned to trust Him more.

This year, the Lord has impressed "Joy" on my heart.  Haven't quite found a theme verse yet.  Guess I'm making my way through the Fruit of the Spirit or so it would seem.  Recently, I've heard of Ann Voskamp and her book, One Thousand Gifts.  I've only vaguely looked into it and am currently trying to get a copy of her book, but this is the jist of it.  She wrote a book out of a tramadic situation in her childhood.  She gives you "a dare to live fully right where you are" and count the blessings/gifts every day in your life. 

‎This is a quote from a post she wrote for (in)courage.  (I would encourage you, especially busy moms, to read this whole post.)  "Wherever you are, count your blessings, collect gifts, count it all joy. Because there’s no way to enter into His courts but through the gates of Thanksgiving — and it’s only in His presence is fullness of Joy!"  She offers "A Year of Graces" free printable on her website where you can write down (or download a free app) to keep track of your blessings.  There is even a child's version to encourage your children to be grateful. 

I'm excited about studying Joy and making it part of my every day life.  Hope you'll join me or pray about what the Lord would have for you in 2012!

Janelle

Side note: This is not endorsed by SRBC.  I have not read her book.  I do know it references non-KJV Scripture -- I always keep my Bible along side a book like that so I can look up the references in the KJV.

Easy Platz (Coffee Cake)

Every week we bring in a breakfast food for my husband's College and Career Sunday School Class.  Most of the time we bring in something homemade, so I am constantly looking for new recipes.  This is a recipe I found (on my trusty site, Allrecipes.com) a couple years ago -- it's simple, light and smells wonderful coming out of the oven!  I was recently asked for the recipe, and thought I'd share it on the blog too.

Platz is apparently coffee cake with fruit and crumbs (per my search online).  One of my definition options lead me to this blog, Mennonite Girls Can Cook.  I really enjoyed looking through their blog.  I will definitely be trying some new recipes!  For their version of Platz, click here.  Their crumb topping is slightly different than this recipe.

Easy Platz

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups white sugar*
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup margarine (I like using butter)
2 eggs, beaten
2/3 cup milk
1 cup blackberries, raspberry or blueberries

*can be decreased by 1/4 to 1/2 cup

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9 inch square pan.  (I use a 9x13 jelly roll pan.  The key is to keep the dough about 1/2" thick.  From the reviews, it looks like the original recipe is incorrect.)


2. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in margarine until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside 3/4 cup of crumb mixture, to be used as a topping for the cake. Mix eggs and milk together and then blend into remaining mixture in bowl.

3. Spread batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle blackberries evenly over the top. Sprinkle reserved crumb mixture over fruit.

4. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.