Can you believe it’s February already?  How is this happening, you guys?  It seems like just yesterday we were in the midst of Thanksgiving preparation, and now, we are full blown into winter and darn near our decent into Spring.  Spring!  I mean I know I’m jumping the gun a bit here…but it will be here before we know it, no?

And that pretty much makes me feel all sorts of crazy emotions.  Because spring equals baby’s arrival…eek!  I can’t even begin to tell you how insanely fast this pregnancy has gone..wow.  I mean we have two trimesters under our belt and one to go; I swear I blinked and here we are.   And while I have seen so incredibly many changes in myself/my body during these last several months, there is positively one thing that has remained constant throughout this entire journey….CITRUS FRUIT.    

Of course with pregnancy you’ve got the exhaustion, the occasional nausea, the aches and pains, the sleepless nights, the list could go on..it all comes and goes, it’s just part of the deal.  But citrus fruit obsession…I’m declaring you a pregnancy symptom, you have stayed with me day in and day out.  For better or worse.

I am a huge fan of citrus fruit in general…lemons, oranges, grapefruit, the whole deal.  But tack pregnancy on me and it’s taken to an entirely new level.  It was this way with Georgia and Jude too…so bizarre…but I just can’t get enough!

So this salad?  True Love.  The textures, the flavors.  Everything about this salad is blissful. And it’s such a lovely dish to switch things up during this heavy, comfort-fooding time of year.

The smokey, savory pork is the perfect compliment to the sweet, tart fruit.  The avocado provides such a nice, cool creaminess and the feta gives it that amazing hint of salt.  Add in your crunchy kale and the most bright, fresh vinaigrette and it’s such a sure thing, you guys. I think I’ll just go ahead and make this one weekly from here on out…it’s craveable at it’s very best!

Smokey Pork and Citrus Kale Salad

Ingredients

Approximately 1 1/2 Pounds Bone-In Pork Chops

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil, divided

1 Teaspoon Kosher Salt

1 Teaspoon Chili Powder

1 Large Grapefruit

2 Cara Cara or Navel Oranges

3 Tablespoons Plain Greek Yogurt

1/4 Cup Cilantro Leaves

2 Bunches Kale Leaves, stems removed, chopped

1 Avocado, sliced

Feta Cheese, crumbled

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425.  Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large, oven safe skillet over medium high heat.  Rub both sides of the pork chops with salt and chili powder.  Place pork in the skillet and cook until a nice brown crust forms, about 4 minutes.  Flip over and transfer to the preheated oven for approximately 8 minutes, or until desired doneness depending on the thickness of your chops.  Remove from oven and set aside to rest for at least 10 minutes and then slice.

Slice the grapefruit in half and squeeze one of the halves juice into a small bowl for the vinagrette  and then discard the flesh; peel and slice the other half to be added to the salad.  Add the juice from one orange to the bowl for the vinaigrette; peel and slice the other orange for the salad.  Add the yogurt, cilantro and remaining 1 tablespoon of oil to the vinaigrette and whisk well to combine; alternately add all the ingredients to a mason jar and shake well until combined.  Season, to taste, with salt and black pepper.

Place kale leaves in a bowl and drizzle on half of the vinaigrette; massage the vinaigrette into the leaves with your fingers until well-incorporated.  Divide kaleamong serving dish(es).  Top with sliced grapefruit, oranges, avocado and pork and sprinkle with feta.  Drizzle on remaining vinaigrette as desired.  Serves 2 as a main.