Roasted Mango Chipotle Pork with Black Bean and Quinoa Salad

I hope you all are enjoying the updated layout of the blog! I think it will make it easier to navigate and find recipes, as well as looking sleeker overall. Between managing my two blogs, making a website for my music "company" (aka just me teaching and playing), and being on the advisory committee for our wedding website, I'm all up on my online design skills at the moment. Or something like that.

Anyways, besides updating the blog, I also have put out a request for some guest posters in the upcoming weeks! I would LOVE to hear from you with recipes and pictures, since we'll be on the road with our move. Just shoot me a message over on the Facebook page with a brief description, recipe, and photo and I would love to post it!

Now, onto this dish! Will had made the black bean and quinoa salad earlier in the week, based on a black bean salad we have made before, in several variations. He simplified it, to continue our recent trend of just using stuff on hand, and we have been enjoying it cold with tortilla chips for lunch. When dinnertime rolled around Saturday night, we knew we wanted to have the pork, but we weren't sure how to cook it. We had initially wanted to grill it, but were a little tuckered out after our 32 mile bike ride that day and didn't feel like cleaning the pollen off the grill. So instead, we decided to cook it on the stovetop with a roasted mango chipotle sauce that Will's mom had gotten us as a stocking stuffer. Realizing we didn't have a side, Will decided to use some of the black bean and quinoa salad and warm it with green beans-good plan!

Roasted Mango Chipotle Pork
1 2.5-oz. Roasted Mango Chipotle Sauce
2 boneless thick cut pork chops
2 tbsp sunflower oil

Marinate the pork in the roasted mango chipotle sauce. Then begin to preheat the oven on 350 degrees. Heat 2 tbsp of sunflower oil in a skillet over medium/hight heat (using an oven-safe pan). When oil is hot and wavy, add the pork chops. Cook the chops for about 5 minutes on each side or until they are nicely browned. Next, place the skillet in the oven for an addition 5-7 minutes, to ensure they are cooked through. When done cooking, remove from the oven and drag each side around in the glaze that remains in the pan, prior to serving.

Cooking Instructions for Pork: Budget Bytes: Glazed Pork

Black Bean and Quinoa Salad
2 15-oz. can black beans
1 cup quinoa
2 cups chicken broth
1 clove minced garlic
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp sugar
4 tbsp olive oil
4 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp dried cilantro (or 1/2 cup fresh chopped)


Rinse the quinoa in a fine-mesh strainer with cool water. Swish around with your hand for at least 2 minutes under the running water, then drain. Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat and add the quinoa. Cook, stirring for about 1 minute, letting water evaporate. Add the chicken broth and bring to a rolling boil. Lower heat and cook covered for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, turn off heat and remove pot from burner. Let stand for 5 minutes, covered. Once the 5 minutes are up, remove the lid and fluff the quinoa gently with a fork! Set aside to cool.

Drain the black beans, then mix with the quinoa. Add the rest of ingredients (lime juice, olive oil, garlic, salt, cayenne, sugar, and cilantro), stirring well to combine. Serve cold for lunch or see the variation below to have it as a side.

Black Bean and Quinoa Salad Variation with Green Beans
2 cups black bean and quinoa salad
1 cup frozen green beans

Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a pan. Toss in salad mixture and green beans, cooking until warmed. Serve as a side with dinner!