On-the-fly Pork Chops

In my last post, I talked about always keeping a few basic items on hand to make last minute meal preparation easy.  Well, just so you don’t think I’m all talk and no action, let me tell you about my dinner last night.

I had planned to stop off at the grocery store on my way home from work, but after a very trying day at the office, I decided to just head home and rely on whatever I had in the house for dinner.  My pantry was (and still is) pretty bare, but with the staples I had on hand, I was able to throw together my first original quick dinner recipe!  I’m calling it On-the-fly Pork Chops (for obvious reasons) and here’s what you need to make them:

• 4 thinly-sliced pork chops
• 1 can Campbell’s French Onion soup
• 1 7-oz. can of mushroom stems and pieces (I buy the store brand)
• 1 bag of boil-in-bag rice

Why did I choose this assortment of ingredients, you ask?  Well:

1. As I already mentioned, I didn’t have much to choose from.
2. I like each of these things individually, so why not try them together?

Anyhow, on with the recipe!  First, I unwrapped the pork chops and thawed them in my microwave, just like I mentioned in the last post.  Once thawed, I placed them in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat.  Next I added the soup and the mushrooms to the skillet.  I covered the skillet and let it all simmer.

While things were simmering, I started a pot of water boiling.  Once it reached a boil, I added in the bag of rice and let it cook.

After about 7-10 minutes, I flipped the pork chops over, stirring the soup and mushrooms a bit before recovering the skillet and letting them simmer for another 5-7 minutes until the pork chops were cooked and the soup thickened up.

By now the rice and the pork chops were ready.  I spooned about half of the soup and mushrooms over the rice and served two pork chops on the side (I saved the other two pork chops for another meal). I finished it off with a side of canned green beans that I warmed up in the microwave while the rice and pork chops were cooking.

I know, it’s nothing fancy for sure, but it really was a delicious meal!  And the best part was that I was able to prepare it in less than 30 minutes with what I had on hand in the kitchen.  Give it a try.  If I can do it, you can too.  It’s got to be better than another burger from the drive-through, right?

Now, I still need to head to the store and replensh my pantry so that the next time I return home after a long day, I can still be sure that even if I haven’t planned for dinner, I’ll still be prepared for dinner.

Tagged as: French Onion soup, mushrooms, pork chops, rice