Chili Pork Chops with Corn Salad

I'm having food adventures of multiple kinds. I received a fun new, simple, no-frills kind of cookbook from family, and I'm trying to clean out the freezer and pantry in preparation for our upcoming relocation. These two situations are not necessarily compatible, but I'm doing the best with what I've got, and tonight the stars aligned in just such a way as to yield a great, fresh summer victory.

One of the things I liked best about this was the unashamed, but still only slight sweetness of the corn salad. It was an excellent foil to the chili of the chops, although I don't think I used quite enough chili powder (next time I'll measure instead of eye-balling it!)

Chili Pork Chops with Corn Salad

Good Housekeeping Step-by-Step Cookbook

• 1 medium tomato, seeded and cut into 1-inch chunks
• 1 can (15-16 oz.) whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 can (15-16 oz.) black beans, drained
• 1 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro or parsley
• 1 Tbsp fresh lime juice [I used the juice of 1 lime]
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp chili powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 4 small pork loin chops, each about 1/2" thick (about 5 oz each)
• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil

Prepare corn salad: combine tomato, corn, beans, cilantro or parsley, lime juice, and sugar. Mix well and set aside.

On waxed paper, mix flour, chili powder, and salt. Pat pork chops dry with paper towels. Coat chops on both sides with flour mixture. In nonstick 12-inch skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat; add pork chops and cook about 8 minutes, until golden brown on both sides and pork just loses its pinkness throughout. Serve pork with corn salad.

NOTES:

• After watching a food show a few months back, I discovered I could created my own chops for cheaper than the butcher by buying a good pork loin from my warehouse store (like Sam's or Costco) and slicing it myself. By doing this I not only get large, boneless chops, but I also get to choose the thickness that suits my recipe best. Of course this particular batch was left from a bulk batch I carefully froze a couple months ago, so the 3/8" or so thick chops were great, but 1/2" would probably have been a little nicer. You may need to adjust the weight of the meat you're using, as the recipe's measurement includes bone weight. I did about a pound, and it was perfect.
• You just might want to double that corn salad recipe—it was that good. I was tempted to add garlic and scallion, but held off, allowing myself to make the recipe as written the first time around. I don't regret it, but I bet I wouldn't have regretted it the other way, either.
• I didn't want to spring for a huge bundle of cilantro, so I used a nifty little thing Justin and Jodi gave me last week—cilantro cubes. They are the funniest little things, but are in essence, cilantro bullion cubes. They lacked the fresh greenness of cilantro, but imparted all the flavor. They were a great substitute.