Pork Tacos with Slaw and Spicy Pepitas

Wow. I just don't have the energy to type a whole lot about this recipe. But I do love it. It was published in Cooking Light in October 2008.

First, the recipe for the pepitas (toasted pumpkin seeds):

Ingredients
1 cup unsalted pumpkinseed kernels
1 tablespoon canola oil
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ground ancho or chipotle chile pepper
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Preparation
1. Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add kernels to pan; cook 10 minutes [Carrina's note: 10 minutes was waaaaay too long - more like 4] or until browned, stirring frequently [rule of thumb for how long to toast (while stirring constantly): once 4 or 5 seeds have popped - you'll hear it and they'll look flat and burned - the rest will be nicely puffed]. Remove from pan; cool completely. Makes 1 cup.
So here's a picture of the pumpkin seeds before they've puffed up:

And here they are after they've been puffed! They crunch really nicely. It's a really quick process, and just requires being vigilant for about 4 minutes (especially since the spice coating makes it hard to see if they're burning - you just have go by how puffed they are).

Now, the recipe for the tacos:

Ingredients
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ground ancho or chipotle chile pepper
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 pound boneless center-cut loin pork chops (about 1/2 inch thick)
Cooking spray
1/4 cup fresh lime juice, divided
1/2 cup sliced red bell pepper
2 tablespoons thinly sliced green onions
1 tablespoon minced jalapeño pepper
1/2 (16-ounce) package coleslaw (about 3 cups)
12 (6-inch) white or yellow corn tortillas
6 tablespoons light sour cream
6 tablespoons Spicy Pepitas

Preparation
1. Combine first 6 ingredients in a small bowl. Lightly coat pork with cooking spray; rub spice mixture over both sides of pork. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour.
2. Preheat grill [Carrina's note: or broiler. If broiler, move the rack up close, but not so close that it almost touches. For my oven, this means the second notch from the top].
3. Place pork on a grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 1 minute on each side or until done. Cut pork into 1/4-inch slices. Combine pork and 2 tablespoons juice in a medium bowl, tossing to coat.
4. Combine the remaining 2 tablespoons juice, bell pepper, onions, jalapeño, and coleslaw in a large bowl, tossing well.

5. Heat a nonstick griddle over medium heat. Coat griddle with cooking spray. Arrange 6 tortillas in a single layer; cook 1 minute on each side or until lightly browned. Repeat procedure with cooking spray and remaining 6 tortillas. Divide pork mixture evenly among tortillas; top each tortilla with 2 tablespoons coleslaw mixture, 1 1/2 teaspoons sour cream, and 1 1/2 teaspoons Spicy Pepitas.

The picture below is from when we used up the leftover coleslaw mixture for lunch the next day. We added some avocado (in retrospect, really not necessary since the coleslaw and sour cream provide more than enough creamy texture), and I added spicy peanut sauce from Fire on the Mountain (left) to my taco.