Cumin Spiced Pork Chop w/ Fried Potatoes and Purple Asparagus

June 20, 2017 at 4:56 PM | Posted in Pork, potatoes | 2 Comments
Tags: Baking, Cast Iron Skillet, Cooking, Cumin, Dinner, Food, Gourmet Red Potatoes, Pork, Pork Chops, Purple Passion Asparagus, recipes, Spices

Today’s Menu: Cumin Spiced Pork Chop w/ Fried Red Potatoes and Purple Asparagus

 

 

It’s Bacon and eggs this morning for Breakfast! I fried up some of the Jennie – O Turkey Bacon, 1 Egg Sunnyside Up, toasted 2 slices of Healthy Life Whole Grain Bread, and a cup of Bigelow Decaf Green Tea. Love a good Breakfast! Mostly sunny and 82 degrees out today! Did some light cleaning of the house and then cleaned up a bit outside. After Lunch I got the cart out to enjoy this beautiful day! Went around the neighborhood and then down by the lake for a while. For Dinner tonight I prepared a Cumin Spiced Pork Chop w/ Fried Red Potatoes and Purple Asparagus.

 

 

I picked up a large Center Cut Pork Chop from the Meijer Meat Department Counter. I really love the Meijer selection and quality of all their meats, and all their products and produce.

 

 

 

 

 

To prepare my Chop I’ll need; The Cumin Spiced Rub which consists of; 1 tbsp Roasted Cumin, 1 tsp Garlic Powder, 1 tsp Chili Powder, 1 teaspoon Sea Salt, 1/2 teaspoon Hungarian Paprika, 2 teaspoons Dried Oregano, and 1/4 teaspoon Black Pepper. To prepare it preheat oven to 400°. Combine all the ingredients; rub it all over the pork chop. Let stand 20 minutes. I’ll be using a Cast Iron Skillet for the Chop. I love using Cast Iron Skillets, not only do the heat up evenly and retain that heat but you can also go from using it on the stove and right into the oven. So I start by heating the Extra Virgin Olive oil in the Cast Iron Skillet over medium-high heat. Add the Chop to pan; cook 3 minutes, browning both sides. From the stove to the oven and bake at 400° for 15 minutes until the thermometer registered 145° (slightly pink), turning after 5 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before slicing. Fantastic combo of Spices, which gives a fantastic flavor and perfect browning to the Chop. The inside being so tender and moist! Love this seasoning on Pork. The Chop was huge, plenty leftovers for Breakfast and Lunch!

 

Also while at Meijer I picked a bag of Gourmet Red Potatoes. I can’t remember the last time I prepared Fried Potatoes but Mom made some the other night and they looked so good I had to have some. To prepare them I’ll need; the Red Potatoes, McCormick Grinder Sea Salt and Peppercorn Medley, Dried Parsley, and Extra Light Olive Oil.

 

 

 

 

I started by washing the Potatoes off in cold water and drying them with a paper towels. Next I got a Cast Iron Skillet and sprayed with a light coat of Pam Cooking Spray. I then added a 2 tablespoons of the Olive Oil and heated the skillet on medium heat. As the skillet was heating I sliced the Potatoes up and putting the slices in a large bowl. I then seasoned them with Grinder Sea Salt and Peppercorn Medley and Parsley. With skillet heated I added the Potatoes. I then covered the skillet with a lid and let them fry. After about 5 minutes I took a spatula and flipped them over. After about 4 minutes I flipped them over again and let them finish cooking. I’m a Potato Freak anyway and these came out delicious! I love Potatoes anyway you can prepare them.

 

For another side I picked up more of the Purple Asparagus at Mejier. It tastes like Green Asparagus but it’s less fibrous and sweeter due to a higher sugar content. I prepared it the same way as the Roasted Asparagus I’ve made before. I’ll need; 1 bunch of Purple Asparagus (fibrous bases removed), 1 Tablespoon of Crumbled Bacon or Bacon Bits, Ground Garlic Salt, Sea Salt, Freshly Ground Black Pepper, and 1 tbsp Extra Light Olive Oil.

 

 

 

To prepare it is easy; Preheat the oven to 400F. Place asparagus in a baking tray sheet. Add the bacon, garlic salt, salt, pepper, and olive oil and toss to coat. Bake for 12 minutes. Remove from oven. Cool a couple of minutes and serve! Comes out tender and that slight sweet taste to it. Really like the Purple Asparagus over the Green Asparagus!

 

 

 

 

 

Pork Facts….

One serving of pork is 3 ounces, or about the size of a deck of cards, according to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. An image of the portion size is important because a thick pork chop can be twice that size and without realizing it you can eat double the calories. You’ll get 137 calories and 4 grams of fat from a 3-ounce pork chop. Pork is similar to chicken, with 3 ounces of chicken breast containing 140 calories and 3 grams of fat. A pork chop has 65 milligrams of cholesterol, compared to 72 grams in chicken breast, but they both have just 1 gram of saturated fat.

 

 

 

Purple Asparagus

Purple asparagus is a similar in appearance and flavor to both white and green varieties as its original cultivar came from green asparagus. Its differentiated by its violet hued stems and conical crowned tips, however its feathery foliage is still green. Its attractive violet coloring is only skin deep as its flesh is pale green to creamy white. It is inherently less fibrous thus more tender than other asparagus types. Also, its preferred sweetness is due to its twenty percent higher sugar content than other asparagus varieties. Cooked purple asparagus develops flavoral notes of artichoke, barley and almonds. Purple asparagus has the highest levels of anti-oxidants among the asparagus varieties.