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Prep the pork - Combine the cumin, red chile powder, oregano, salt, and garlic powder in bowl. Whisk to mix the spices together. Add the pork and coat all of the pieces with the spice mix. Set aside or in the refrigerator until ready to cook. (This step could also be done the night before or in the morning before you leave for work.)
Turn the heat to medium high. Add the pork and spread it out across the pan. Cook for 3 minutes, flip the pieces over and cook for 2 more minutes or until pork is just undercooked*.
Pork – I would highly recommended pork loin or tenderloin. The cooking time for the pork is quite short so you want a very lean and tender cut.
Cooking Time for the Pork – Cook the pork for as short a period of time as possible, so it will be tender and juicy, not dry and tough. Therefore, have the cooking heat medium high, you should only need to cook it for only 5 minutes (turning once) before adding the remaining ingredients. If you want to check it, then after 5 minutes, pick out the thickest piece of pork in the skillet and test it. It should be a little undercooked in the middle. If so, then add the rest of the ingredients, cook for 1 more minute and remove from the heat. The pork will continue to cook as long as it’s in the hot skillet. If the meat is already cooked through, remove from the heat, add the remaining ingredients and toss for 1 minute to extract some of the liquid from the tomatoes.
Vegetables – This dish can be made with a variety of vegetables. I usually use corn or yellow squash, mainly for the color. However, broccoli, zucchini, sweet potato, butternut or other vegetables can be used. Just adjust the initial cook time (the time before you add the pork) accordingly for the vegetables you are using. Some vegetables will take longer to cook than others.
Green Chile – Any roasted pepper can be used – New Mexico green or red, poblano, or even a roasted sweet red pepper. The addition of the roasted pepper is more for the “roasted” flavor than the “heat” from the chile; however, a little heat is going to hurt you.
Corn - If using canned corn, add at the end, after the pork
Doubling the Recipe – Just double each of the ingredients. The only ingredients you might need to adjust to taste are the chiles (chile powder and green chile). Test the heat factors before increasing. You’ll also need to use a bigger skillet, one in which you can spread the ingredients out in 1 to 2 layers at the most. If you have a big enough skillet, you should be able to leave the cook times the same. You if don’t have a big enough skillet to spread all of the ingredients out, then you should increase the cook times by a bit and stir more often to ensure everything gets cooked evenly.
Suggested sides: Creamy Polenta, rice, cornbread, or flour tortilla
Recipe author: MJ of MJ's Kitchen