Sugar ‘n’ spice and all things nice. That’s what little girls are made of! 
It’s also what my dinner was made of. (And yes, that’s Baby Julie.)
I couldn’t wait to make these smoky pan-grilled pork chops (with brown sugar!) ever since I saw the recipe in the latest issue of Cooking Light.
I’m not sure if it was a conscious effort on behalf of the Cooking Light team, but I loved how the first issue of 2011 seemed to have simpler recipes that call for more common ingredients and spices. Way to go!
For the most part I followed this recipe and it was so, so easy. We had dinner on the table in no time flat. 
I made the pork on the stove top with brown sugar and spices and couldn’t wait to dig in.
We enjoyed our pork with roasted green beans and an apple on the side for a punch of fruity sweetness. It was a dinner winner!
Smoky Pan-Grilled Pork (Adapted from Cooking Light)
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 4 (4-ounce) boneless center-cut pork chops
- Cooking spray
Directions:
1. Combine ground cumin, sugar, paprika, salt, and pepper. Rub evenly over pork.
2. Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add pork to pan; cook 5 minutes on each side or until done.
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Dinner looks good! I’ve been snowed in for 2 days! My dinner tonight consists of a bottle of wine and brownies! You know, the essentials! haha
your dinner sounds perfect!
Thanks for sharing this! I let my Cooking Light subscription lapse. After seeing this, I’ll so have to renew! 🙂
Yum! the apple looks so crisp and delicious!
That looks so good and perfect dinner!
That pork looks awesome!
Dinner looks GREAT! 😀
I love baby Julie!!!! Thanks for posting that recipe. My husband and I recently got into pork (we’re chickened out), and I’ve been looking for new recipes.
Love baby JULIE! You were so cute!
I haven’t had pork chops in forever! Those look too good–and really simple too!
What a cutie! Simple recipes are my fave!
Aww, baby Julie is so cute! 🙂
I thought this recipe looked good when I saw it in Cooking Light. It looks even better now! Things like this make me slightly regret being a vegetarian. 😉
I tagged you with an award!
http://pretendcook.wordpress.com/2011/01/11/im-it/
Baby Julie is adorable!!
Mmm this looks SO simple and delish! 😀 Success! Tomorrow…pizza?! Haha
Awesome! Thats generally why I dont like cooking mags because they always have something that I dont have around and it is a pain. So I love it when it is stuff I already have 🙂
this does look like a winner! gotta bookmark this 🙂
two step recipes are grand. just the amount of attention span I have 🙂
Those pork chops look great! I’m always looking for something to do with pork and that looks really easy. Thanks!
I love Cooking Light! I have the Cooking Light Simple Suppers, and it’s amazing!
Just wanted to say thanks for the plyometric workout this morning! I wasn’t able to get to the gym the past 2 days and I’m really unmotivated to workout at home in general, but that was a good way to get in something. I would love any additional workouts like that, or at home weights workouts.
i actually cannot think of anything more delicious right now.. i dont eat pork, but this would do wonders with chicken!
That looks delicious, but do you get hungry if you don’t have a starch as part of your meal? If I don’t have some carbohydrate my stomach is growling in an hour!
Have you tried the mini cheesey meatloaf from that issue yet? Pretty basic, but SO good! I made it with some rutabaga fries 🙂
Wow! I am going to have to try this and post it on MY blog! It sounds so easy. I like the idea of using sugar but it’s not such a large amount that it changes the dish to being unhealthy. Thank you for posting this!
I never make pork because I don’t know any good recipes! I can’t wait to try this one, my husband will be thrilled! lol
DROOL! i love pork, and the combo of sweet and spicy is making my mouth water as i type 🙂
that is such a cute baby picture!!! The only way it could possibly be even cuter would be with a puppy sadie as a playmate 😉
awww I miss the power puff girls 🙁 I don’t even think cartoon network shows it anymore. MOJOJOJO!!
That looks so good! I’ve never had pork before. I wonder if you could use this spice combo on chicken? I’d be curious to see what it tastes like 🙂
That looks so good! When I have a kitchen of my own, I’ll have to try those!!
Oh yum, I need to try those. And baby Julie is adorable.
Yum! Este es perfecto! 😉 Baby Julie is SO cute! 🙂
I made these chops and green beans tonight for the family…they were gobbled up! Even my picky eatin’ kiddos enjoyed them!! There’s six of us, so we a little more than doubled the recipe. Such a yummy meal! Thanks!