12.26.2008

Southwest Pork in Black Bean Sauce + 14 Tubes of Chapstick = Amazing Christmas

Makes 6 servings 
Prep: 15 minutes, 
Cook: 15 minutes, 
Stand: 5 minutes 
For a less spicier dish, substitute a can of regular diced tomatoes for the mild diced tomatoes with green chilies. 


1 to 1 1/2 lbs. boneless pork loin chops 
1 Tbsp. ground cumin 
1 tsp. ground chili pepper 
1 tsp. garlic salt 
1 tsp. paprika 
1 (10-oz) cans mild diced tomatoes with green chilies 
1 (15-oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained 
1 (8-oz) can whole kernel corn, drained 
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil 
1 small red onion, chopped 
1 c. uncooked instant rice (or 1 c. leftover cooked rice) 
 Garnish: 1 c. grated cheddar cheese 
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro 
Flour tortillas 
lime wedges 


 Cut pork into 1/2 inch cubes. Combine cumin, chili pepper, garlic salt, and paprika in large zip-top plastic bag. Remove 2 tsp. cumin mixture and reserve. Add pork to bag, seal, and shake to coat. Set aside. 
Stir together reserved cumin mixture, diced tomatoes, black beans, and corn in a large bowl. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork and red onion, and saute 6-8 minutes or until pork is browned. Stir in tomato mixture, bring to a boil, and stir in rice. 
Cover and remove from heat. Let stand 5 minutes. Sprinkle with grated cheese and cilantro; serve in flour tortillas or over corn tortilla chips. 


 My sister-in-law Ashley made this recipe for our family get-together over Christmas. She and my brother hosted the whole family in their new house, and served up some amazing food too. She had made this a couple of days before we arrived, and we finished it up ... it has a subtle spice that just builds on itself as you continue eating. I cooled it down by topping it with plain yogurt, but sour cream or guacamole would do the same thing. I think it would be interesting to try this with chicken, too. This was an interesting Christmas on both sides of the family. With my side of the family, we picked names and exchanged gifts based on the theme "Books and Music." My younger brother and I unknowingly picked each other, and being the geniuses that we are, we both bought the same book for the other. I was glad we have the same tastes, because I secretly wanted to keep the book I had bought for him. What is this book, you ask? Well, at the risk of scaring you away from my blog forever, the title of the book is What's Your Poo Telling You? by Josh Richman and Anish Sheth, M.D. I'll go ahead and tell you that you need to read it. After we exchanged all our books and music, we sat around, silently reading, and totally not interacting with each other at all. Who says you can't have fun and be reclusive at the same time? On Christmas Eve we traveled to North Carolina to spend a few days with my husband's family. The theme for this side of the family was "homemade" - and it turned out to be the best Christmas we've ever shared, in my opinion. The gift-opening lasted TWO HOURS because we spent so much time explaining the gifts and where the ideas had come from. My husband and I ended up with homemade cheese, ciabatta bread, lavender bath salts, a Swedish game called Kubb (rhymes with "tube"), an amazing scrapbook of a trip we took with our sister-in-law to Costa Rica, engraved walking sticks, and homemade shaving cream. On a final note: Santa was very thoughtful this Christmas - he put 14 tubes of chapstick in my stocking. Here's to hoping they last until Christmas 2009 ...

1 comment: