Foodie Friday-Pork Chops with Jalapeño & Cilantro Quinoa

I love searching Pinterest for new recipes, and when I have time I love trying those recipes out.  However, there are some that I've tried & we have ended up throwing them in the trash & heading out to our local Mexican restaurant for some chips & salsa instead.  Not this week.  This week's meal was a hit!

The original recipe comes from Canadian Family, but I took the recipe & changed it up a little.

Pork Chops with Jalapeño & Cilantro Quinoa

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil


• 2 teaspoons chili powder


• 3/4 teaspoons garlic powder


• 1/8 teaspoons ground cinnamon


• 1/2 teaspoons salt


• 4 pork loin chops, each about 1-inch thick

Quinoa & Lime Dressing Ingredients

• 1 Cup quinoa


• 1 Cup fresh or frozen corn kernels


• 3 tablespoons olive oil


• Juice of one lime


• 3/4 teaspoons salt, plus more for the tomatoes


• 1/2 Cups (OR MORE) chopped cilantro


• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced


• 1 Cup generous cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered

Directions

1. 
   
   Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add quinoa and cook for 10 minutes. Add corn and continue cooking until quinoa is translucent and there is no tiny dot of uncooked starch in the centre, 1 to 3 more minutes. Pour quinoa and corn through a fine-meshed strainer. Run cold water over mixture to stop cooking process. Drain well and transfer mixture to a large bowl.


2. 
   
   In a small boil, mix 2 tablespoons of olive oil, lime juice, and salt. Toss dressing, cilantro, and jalapeño into quinoa. Add more lime juice and salt to taste.


3. 
   
   In a small bowl, toss cherry tomatoes with remaining tablespoon of olive oil and sprinkle lightly with salt. Set aside.


4. 
   
   In a small bowl, make a paste by stirring together olive oil, chili powder, garlic powder, cinnamon, and salt. Spread a thin layer of the paste on both sides of chops.


5. 
   
   Brush a large skillet or grill pan lightly with oil and heat until sizzling hot. Cook chops over high heat until browned on bottom, about 1-1/2 minutes. Turn them over and brown second side. Reduce heat to low, cover pan, and cook chops for 4 minutes (if boneless) or 5 minutes (if bone-in). Turn chops over. Cover pan and cook until chops are cooked to taste, usually 4 to 5 additional minutes. Test for doneness by slicing into thickest part of chop.


6. Add cherry tomatoes in with the pork chops the last 3 minutes to warm.


7. 
   
   Add more lime juice to quinoa salad, if needed. Make a bed of quinoa salad on each plate. Set a chop on top. Spoon cherry tomatoes on the side.

Seriously y'all--try it!  It's fabulous! I'm wasn't a huge quinoa fan until I made this & now I'm hooked!

Have a great weekend, y'all!