Retro Pork Chops, Spanish Rice with Peas and Potatoes
My niece was married recently, and with her marriage came one of my favorite people, my sister! Carol & I are seven years apart, (I won’t tell you who is older) and we’ve been very close since our childhood. Boy, I was glad to see her. So, when she asked me to make one of our mother’s favorite go-to dinners, I was happy to accommodate her.
First I have to tell you about my new friend, my Cuisinart 12″ enameled cast iron braiser. Browsing through Home Goods one afternoon, I fell in love. Isn’t it the prettiest yellow? I’ve wanted a Le Creuset braiser for some time now, but, oh my, the price! For my needs, my new found bargain will serve me well. It’s such a versatile piece, and cooks just as well as the other Le Creuset pieces I have, which aren’t many. Mom used her well-loved 12″ club aluminum chicken fryer.
Anyway . . .
I call this dish “Retro” because my mom made this throughout my childhood, which stretches back to the 50′s, . This pork chop and rice recipe survived tomato aspic gelatin salad, and was a regular on my dinner table when my children were growing up. I don’t know what appealed to us: the juicy pork chops, the consistency of the flavorful rice, the sweet peas, or the firm and mushy potatoes, there were rarely leftovers.
And this dish is inexpensive to prepare. If you wish, you might make the rice by itself as a side dish for another entree. You can also substitute chicken, if that’s what you have on hand.
In only 30-40 minutes, look what is waiting for us under that lovely yellow lidded vessel! Umm, yummy succulent pork chops, and the side dish they cook along with. Seriously, the smell in my kitchen brought back many fond memories for me and my sis.
Why don’t you fire up that trusty ol’ black-and-white, and stroll back in time with me! Let’s get started, shall we?
Mimi
“Farming is a profession of hope” ? Brian Brett
- 3 Tablespoons vegetable or olive oil
- 4 - one inch thick pork loin chops, bone in or boneless
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1½ cups white rice, plain, Jasmine or Basamati, uncooked
- 3 cups chicken stock or water
- ½ 8 oz can tomato sauce
- 3 medium sized potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- Salt & Pepper
- Heat 1½ Tablespoon oil in a 12" skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle pork chops with salt & pepper. Sear the chops on both sides, until the meat is golden brown & delicious on the outside, but not quite done on the inside. Put the chops aside, and prepare the rice.
- Turn down the heat to medium. Add the remaining 1½ Tablespoon oil. Add the chopped onion. Stir the onion around the pan while scrapping up the brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Just a minute or two.
- Add the rice. Stir until the grains are evenly coated with oil, Another minute or two.
- Add the chicken stock or water to the pan. It may steam up, so be careful.
- Add the tomato sauce.
- Again stir and scrap the bottom of the pan to bring up the golden brown flavorful bits from browning the pork chops.
- Add the oregano, salt & pepper.
- Add the potatoes and frozen peas. Swirl around until the ingredients are evenly distributed. Bring to a gentle simmer.
- Return the pork chops to the pan. Reduce heat, so the mixture can gently simmer rather than boil.
- Cover the pan. Cook for another 15-20 minutes, until the pork is done, and the rice has absorbed all the liquid.
You can substitute chicken for pork chops. Or you can make the rice recipe on it's own and serve with another entree.
A quick totally fabulous dinner, this baked chicken and orzo salad is a great weekday meal that can be put together in 30 minutes. Do yourself a favor, and get a rotisserie chicken from your favorite outlet. In Billings, I personally like the chickens from Costco. They’re perfectly seasoned, plump and juicy, and can serve a family of four for five bucks.
This is the thing I really love about the Internet. As I sit through reading about more of the same, every once in a while a recipe makes my eyes go wide, my jaw drop, and I have to make it – RIGHT NOW! 
I was searching for inspiration and there it was staring me in the face. Tomato Cobbler with Biscuits looked too good to be true. Why had I never thought of doing something like this before? And, it just so happened that I collected a very large bowl filled with tomatoes from our garden that morning. Tomatoes are a fruit, right? They’re juicy and slightly sweet, and with a savory, crunchy topping? Oh my – sheer genius. It must have been fate. The other reason this is a perfect recipe is that you don’t have to use your prettiest tomatoes for the cobbler. A few blemishes here and there – just cut them out. 
Many of the recipes I found for this dish called for cherry tomatoes. Those looked pretty. Others had a variety of different colored cherry tomatoes, yellow, red, purple – very pretty. And if you don’t have a bounty of fresh tomatoes, you can make the casserole using canned tomatoes. How versatile is that? While this scrumptious cobbler takes an hour to bake, putting all the ingredients together is a cinch. I started at 4:30 and we were ready to eat by 6:30 – the cobbler needs to rest for 20 minutes before serving. The majority of prep time is baking and resting. Many of the recipes I found online called for thyme. I’m not a huge thyme fan, so I added basil and a little pinch of thyme. And the biscuits called for grated Gruyere cheese – I substituted sharp cheddar, because that’s what I had. Another interesting cheese substitution is blue cheese or gouda. I bet that would be delicious, too. Are you ready?
