Slap Yo Mama Pork Chops

Ok folks.  This recipe comes with a little story.  Have you ever heard of the "Yips"?  If you're a sports fan, then you probably have.  Basically, its an athlete that experiences the unexplainable loss of fine motor skills - like a short stop that who all of a sudden keeps overthrowing first base, or a pro golfer who can't make a 6 inch putt.  Its basically a run of bad luck.  Well, every once in a while, I get what I call the "cooking yips."  Every so often I have a few days where I can't seem to cook anything right - even recipes I've made forever.  I drop things, burn things, forget basic ingredients...  Its utterly frustrating.

This past weekend I had a killer case of the cooking yips! I couldn't do anything right!  I even managed to pull the wrong food out of the freezer to thaw.  I meant to pull out 2 bags of chicken legs, but instead I pulled out one bag of legs and one bag of thin pork chops.  The yips.  I'm tellin' ya, its a thing!  Just ask an athlete!

Anyway, it was off to Pinterest I went, searching for a good recipe for those blasted pork chops.  Thankfully, I'd recently pinned a recipe called Salt and Pepper Pork Chops from One Perfect Bite.  It sounded yummy and involved marinating the pork chops - which was perfect, since I wasn't going to make them for a day or so.  So I threw together the marinade Saturday night and let them marinate all day Sunday.  Tonight (Monday) I made them, and let me tell you, they were "slap yo mama" good!  I'm serious!  I loved them, my hubby loved them, even the little ones loved them.  (How often does that happen!?!)

So here's how you make these babies.  Mix together 6 tablespoons of soy sauce, 4 tablespoons of cornstarch, 1 and 1/2 to 2 teaspoons of cracked black pepper, and 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar in a medium bowl.  (The original recipe also called for salt, but we found that the chops were too salty for us.  The soy sauce added enough salt.  You could also switch out the regular soy sauce for low sodium soy sauce.)

Place 8 thin pork chops in a glass dish, pour the marinade over the top.  Cover, refrigerate and marinate several hours or overnight.   (I'd really recommend marinating 24 hours if you can.  These chops were so flavorful and tender and I think that has a lot to do with marinating them for an extended period.)

When you're ready to cook these babies, heat 2-3 tablespoons in a frying pan over medium-high heat.  (You know the oil is not when you place the end a wood spoon in the oil and little bubble form around it.) Cook the chops for 1-2 minutes per side, until they are a lovely golden brown and cooked through.  (I cooked mine for 2 minutes per side (4 minutes total) and they turned out perfectly!  Delicious and tender!  YUM!!!!

Dinner is served!  And its delicious!!!!!  (And thankfully, even though I'm the mama, nobody slapped me.)

Slap Yo Mama Pork Chops

Ingredients:
8 thin, boneless pork chops
6 tablespoons of soy sauce
4 tablespoons of cornstarch
1 and 1/2 to 2 teaspoons of cracked black pepper
2 tablespoons of granulated sugar
2-3 tablespoons of canola or vegetable oil

Directions:
1.) Mix soy sauce, cornstarch, black pepper and granulated sugar in a medium bowl until well blended.  Place pork chops in a glass dish and cover in marinade.  (Make sure you get both sides covered in marinade.) Cover and refrigerate up to 24 hours.
2.) When you're ready to cook the chops, heat canola oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat.  Fry chops for 1-2 minutes per side, until golden brown and cooked through.

Serving Suggestions:
I served this with succotash (lima beans and corn) over rice.  These would also be great with sliced tomatoes and cucumbers, grilled asparagus, or a nice strawberry and walnut salad with raspberry vinaigrette!