Pineapple Sweet 'n Sour Chicken

We got this recipe out of the coupon section of the Sunday paper. It's a Dole recipe, and it was quick and easy to make.

Ingredients:
1 can (20 oz) pineapple chunks
1 medium green or red bell pepper, cut into chunks
1 medium onion, cut into chunks
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
2 TBS vegetable oil
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup prepared sweet and sour sauce
2 TBS soy sauce
Hot cooked rice


Directions:

Drain pineapple, reserve 2 TBS juice. Cook pepper, onion and mushrooms in hot oil, over medium heat, until tender-crisp. Remove and set aside.
Cook chicken until browned. Add vegetables and combine with sauces, pineapple, and reserved juice. Heat through.
Serve over rice.

The Verdict:

We like this dish, but it wasn't terribly original. And the pineapple was WAY too much! Half a can is plenty. But it had good flavor, and we'll probably prepare it again.

Citrus-Glazed Pork

Pork Chops. The very word strikes fear in the hearts of children (and me too). My mother used to prepare pork chops by throwing them in a pan (unseasoned) for an hour and then serving them. They were always bone-dry and tasteless.

Needless to say, I've been leary of them ever since. But I did promise I'd try some new recipes this year, so I tried this flavorful recipe:

Ingredients:
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon water
1/4 cup orange marmalade
1 tablespoon lime juice
1-1/2 teaspoons olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
2 bone-in pork loin chop (3/4 inch thick)
1 small lime, thinly sliced

Directions:
In a small saucepan, combine the cornstarch, ginger, soy sauce and water until smooth. Stir in the marmalade, lime juice, oil and garlic until blended. Bring to a boil; cook and stir mixture for 1-2 minutes or until thickened. Place the pork chops in a greased 8-in. baking dish. Spoon glaze over pork, turn to coat. Top with the lime slices. Bake, uncovered, at 400° for 30-40 minutes or until pork juices run clear.

The Verdict:

These weren't too bad. With all due respect to my mother, I think it is pretty hard not to dry these chops out. The glaze with this recipe did help though.

One quick note- the pork took longer than 30-40 minutes to cook for us. Usually our oven cooks too-fast, but this was the exception. Other than that, we enjoyed this!