Seared Pork Chops in Jalapeno Cheddar Grits in Marinara Sauce

Oh so you think I'm fancy, huh?

Nope, I am broke just like most of you.  I'm a Brooklyn girl on a budget and I wanted something else for breakfast.  On this day, I think I was closer to brunch when I came up with this recipe.  

I love to cook on the fly and I am a person who gets bored fairly easily.  Sometimes, it is a good thing.  This is one recipe that I am not bored by.  It has a Sunday brunch feel with your girlfriends and can easily be a good, hearty sit down meal with the family when you're trying to wow them.  If they don't like grits then maybe you should aim for something else.  If anything, just take the damn pork chop recipe and make them some spinach and eggs.  
Pork Chop Ingredients:

Pork Chop cut of your choice
1 teaspoon seasoning salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper (coarse or cracked pepper is great)
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 - 2 teaspoons whole grain or Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon paprika (smoked paprika is great if you can find it)
Oil for sauteeing (vegetable, canola, coconut, olive oil -please not extra virgin olive oil)

Jalapeno Cheddar Grits

1/4 cup chopped jalapeno (if fresh, aim for two and deseeded)
1 cup cheddar cheese 
1 thinly sliced green onions (scallions)
1 1/2 cup uncooked old fashioned or quick grits
1 1/2 cups water
1/3 teaspoon black pepper (coarse or cracked is great)
1/4 teaspoon red pepper
1/2 cup milk (evaporated, whole, skim, half and half, heavy cream if you want it exceptionally rich in flavor or even coconut milk.  Avoid condensed milk, as it will severely change the taste and not the consistency sought out for this recipe)
1 teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt (regular salt is fine but add according to preference)
2 - 3 tablespoons butter (if salted, you may want to pull back on the additional salt in this recipe)
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock/broth

Marinara Sauce

Either purchase basic marinara sauce or you can use my recipe as follows:

1 28 oz can whole tomatoes
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
1/2 teaspoon white or black pepper
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 sprigs of basil or 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 chopped onion, small diced or minced
Olive oil

For Pork Chops:

Mix all ingredients except frying oil together in a bowl, covering evenly and generously.  Set aside and allow to marinate for 20 minutes but wouldn't push past a day, as lime juice has acidity.  
  
Heat a frying pan on medium flame and add frying oil to pan to cover bottom enough to saute.  Depending on the cut, saute first side for 3 - 4 minutes and flip onto other side for 2 - 3.  If your pork chops are very thin, shave off a minute on each side.  Pork chops should be golden brown.  

For Jalapeno Grits:

Boil water and broth/stock in a medium pot until bubbling.  Turn down flame to low/medium fire and add in grits, stirring constantly.  As it thickens, fold in cheese, seasonings and chopped jalapeno.  Pour in milk gradually.  Fold in green onions, constantly stirring.  Fold in butter.  Garnish with shaved cheddar and top with extra green onions.

For Marinara Sauce:

If you opted to purchase marinara, heat up on low flame until warm and ladle over grits when done.  If you are creating your own marinara sauce, heat up a sauce pot and add in a teaspoon of olive oil.  Saute onions and garlic until fragrant and translucent, not so much for browning color.  Add in whole tomatoes at medium fire, crushing with your hands to preserve thick texture.  You can add in a cup of water to prevent burning.  Add in seasonings and if using fresh basil, let it simmer until it's done, then remove.  For a quick sauce, simmer for 20 minutes.  To really pull in flavors, aim for 30 - 40 minutes on very low flame.