Pork with Pomegranate Pan Sauce

Made this one for New Years Day Dinner and the whole family enjoyed it, even Mikey (Cedric).  It is from Cooking Light’s December Issue so it is not only tasty and calorie conscience, but you can get the whole meal on the table in just about 30 minutes.

Pork with Pomegranate Pan Sauce

 with Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes & Garlic Green Beans

½ teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground cumin

¼ teaspoon black pepper

4  (4-ounce) boneless center-cut pork loin chops

2  teaspoons olive oil

1/3 cup chopped shallots

3/4 cup pomegranate juice

1   tablespoon sugar

1   tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1. Combine first 4 ingredients in a small bowl; sprinkle over pork chops.

2. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork chops; cook 3 minutes on each side.  Remove and keep warm. Add shallots to pan; cook 45 seconds, stirring constantly. Add juice, 1 tablespoon sugar, and vinegar; bring to a boil. Cook 5 minutes or until slightly thick. Serve pork with sauce. 

Yeild: 4 servings (serving size; 1 pork chop and about 2 tablespoons sauce).

CAL 232; FAT 8.8g; PROTIEN 24g; CARB 13.1g; FIBER 0.3g; CHOL 67mg; IRON 1.3mg; SODIUM 352mg; CALC 34mg

For the Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes:

Prepare 1 (20-ounce) package refrigerated mashed potatoes according to package directions. Stir in 2 tablespoons reuced-fat sour cream. Top each serving with 1 teaspoon butter and ½ teaspoon minced fresh chives. *Please note I made my own mashed potatoes from scratch (yes my family is spoiled).

For the Garlic Green Beans:

Cook ¾ pound trimmed green beans in boiling water 5 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain and plunge into ice water; drain. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a pan. Add 3 thinly sliced garlic cloves; sauté 2 minutes or until golden brown. Add beans, ¼ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper; cook 2 minutes or until heated.

30 Minute Game Plan

While water for green beans comes to a boil:

·         Trim green beans.

·         Season pork.

·         Chop shallots.

·         Slice garlic.

While pork cooks:

·         Warm potatoes.

·         Blanch green beans.

While sauce cooks:

·         Finish green beans.

HINTS: 

·         Make sure you have all your ingredients, utensils and pans ready before you start.

·         To skip the boiling and ice bath for the green beans buy microwave ready fresh green beans.