Keeping It Easy

Maybe it's all the rain. Days of rain. Weeks of rain. But I've been hit with a big case of inertia. Dreary days. Gloomy skies. It's been hard to get myself in gear.

The river is out of its banks. The pastures are soggy. The big heavy tractor just mires down when Daddy-O goes out every day to feed the cows. But the cows have to eat. And so do we. Even if I'm not in a mood to cook. We could go out for dinner, but that would mean getting out in the cold rain. Cooking at home seemed to be the better option.

So tonight's dinner, which is in the oven now, is one of the very easiest I know. We've been making pork chops and brown rice for years. It's delicious and the aroma from the kitchen is making me hungry. But the very best thing about this recipe is that you can have it oven ready in about 10 minutes...about the time it takes to preheat the oven. Then you can go sit down again.

First, turn the oven to 350 and start preheating it.
Then brown 4 boneless pork chops quickly in a hot skillet. Turn them over and brown the other side.

While the pork chops are browning and the oven is heating, slice an onion and cut a green pepper into strips.

Lightly spray a baking dish with PAM (or lightly oil the dish.) Pour in 1/2 cup of regular white rice.
Pour about half a can of beef consommé over the rice and mix it a little.

Add the browned chops on top of the rice. Top each chop with an onion slice and a couple of pepper trips. Pour the remaining consommé over all. 

Cover the dish and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. That's it!

This recipe has never failed to give me tender, moist pork chops. And since it only uses a half cup of rice, it's not a ridiculous amount for our small household.

Ten minutes of kitchen time and I could go back and sit down and pick up my knitting again. Hard to believe but this inertia has hit my knitting, too. I'd rather set this aside. But this piece has a deadline, so I'll keep at it.

PORK CHOPS & BROWN RICE

1/2 cup regular rice
1 can beef consomme
3 or 4 boneless pork chops
slices of onion and green pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Put rice in a 1-1/2 quart baking dish. Pour most of the consomme over the rice. Brown the pork chops quickly in a hot skillet. Put the chops on the rice, top each with a slice of onion and a couple of pepper strips. Pour the remaining consomme over the chops. Cover and bake at 350 for 1 hour.

I like to let the dish sit, covered, about 10 minutes before serving. 

So let it rain on tonight. Let the river rise. Other parts of the country are having serious and even destructive weather. Ours is just miserable.

We are inside and dry and well fed. And we are thankful.