Cumin Spiced Pork Chop w/ Mashed Potatoes and Sliced Carrots

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Cumin Spiced Pork Chop w/ Mashed Potatoes and Sliced Carrots

Today’s Menu: Cumin Spiced Pork Chop w/ Mashed Potatoes and Sliced Carrots

It’s Bacon and Eggs to start off this hot and very humid morning! I fried up a couple of slices of Jennie – O Turkey Bacon, 2 Eggs Scrambled, toasted 1 slice of Aunt Millie’s Light Whole Grain Bread, and a cup of Bigelow Decaf Green Tea. Love a good Breakfast! Dad is back in the hospital, he has pneumonia in his right lung, here we go again! Well we are in for a stretch of hot and humid days here. High in the 90’s with a very high humidity. They say the heat index for the next 5 days will be over 100 degrees. I don’t mind the heat but can’t stand that high humidity. So anything that needs to be done outside will get done early! So this morning after Breakfast I got leaf blower out and cleaned up on the deck and driveway areas. After Lunch I took Mom’s car over to the car Shop and the oil changed and then stopped and washed and the inside cleaned. The time I got back home it was 92 degrees already. I had everything done so I caught up on some shows I had recorded. For Dinner tonight I prepared a Cumin Spiced Pork Chop w/ Mashed Potatoes and Sliced Carrots.

I had picked up a large Center Cut Pork Chop from the Meijer Meat Department Counter and had it in the freezer. Sat it in the fridge and let it thaw overnight. 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!

I prepared some Bob Evan’s Mashed Potatoes. Just microwave for 6 minutes and serve, just as good as homemade, if not better.

Then I also heated up a can of Del Monte Sliced carrots. These are so much easier to prepare than boiling fresh Carrots, and they taste just as fresh and good. I also baked a slice of the New York Bakery Light Texas Toast Bread. For Dessert later a Weight Watcher’s Divine Triple Chocolate Ice Cream Bar.

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.