Pork Chops and Rice

Pork Chops and Rice

Sickness has invaded our house.  It came in with a slight wheeze that turned into a cough.  A slight sniffle, a small sneeze.  The weather is going to turn again, maybe for real this time?  We want to be outside absorbing the last little bits of vitamin D, finishing up the yard work that we wanted to get done before it got too cold.  Instead we are just doing small bits of things in between dealing with assorted viruses.  We could all use some comfort food.  DSCN2402

I pulled this recipe out from the archives.  I originally made it in the summer when my tomatoes and peppers were fresh from the garden.  There is nothing quite like summer tomatoes.  The woodchuck that lives under our garage agrees.  Tiko has an entrance to his den in the garden.  We put a fence around the garden hoping to keep rabbits and assorted other animals out, but there is no stopping a woodchuck.  The garden had been a dog kennel.  Apparently even though I can still smell dog in the area, it doesn’t bother Tiko.

 

Tiko also likes apples and will sit up and eat an apple just like a human.

At some point this summer, we realized that Tiko also has a girlfriend.  We named her Tika.  I have these images of Tiko and Tika hanging out and Tika saying things like “I don’t like that wall there.  I want more of an open concept.” and Tiko obligingly digs another hole.  “You know, our living space is just not big enough, we need a bonus room.”  Tiko sighs and gets back to work.  DSCN2600We need to relocate Tiko and Tika before we have a bunch of little Tikis running around our yard digging up holes that I will probably break my ankle in.

 

When you make these pork chops, make sure the pan is covered tightly when you put it in the oven.  The steam from all the juice and liquid will cook the rice.  If for some reason, you are nervous about the rice not cooking all the way, just put it on the bottom of the pan to absorb all the yumminess from the pork and veggies.

 

 

This dish is so basic and easy that you’ll be able to think of a thousand ways to change it up to fit whatever you are craving.  If summer veggies are no longer available, think about using fall fruits with the onion.  In the dead of winter, you can use some mushrooms and greens.  Hate pork?  Use chicken breast.  Have 6 people coming for dinner?  Slice another onion and another tomato.  Serving just you?  You can still make this.  It beats anything from the cookbook “Microwave Cooking For One”.

 

DSCN2409Share this recipe with your kids.  Have them make it.  This is the sort of food that you want them to be able to cook so that you don’t have to worry when they are on their own.

 

Pork Chops and Rice

Deviled Hot Dogs

Deviled Hot Dogs

I just saw a chart the other day for how hot dogs are eaten in other places.  Probably unsurprisingly to you, this recipe didn’t appear on the list.

This recipe also sparked a lot of discussion about what makes something “Deviled”.  Is it the addition of mustard?  I mean, deviled eggs and deviled hot dogs have that in common.  But then I ponder about things like any “Diablo” recipe and those tend to include chilis.  Is there actual criteria when naming something “deviled” or is it just an adjective that people assign willy-nilly?DSCN2650First of all, you should know that this recipe scared us.  I suggested to my brother that we make this recipe for his kids when they came to visit, he declined.  He’s such a chicken.

Since the recipe was in my head, I made it.

What is it?  Deviled hot dogs are hot dogs braised in a cream sauce seasoned by pickle relish and onions and green pepper.

Well, we think it’s green pepper.

Technically the recipe says “gr. pepper”.  After adding the 3 TB of green pepper, I realized that “gr pepper” is also “ground pepper”. It’s weird to measure green pepper in tablespoons. However, in Iowa, where my mom grew up, ketchup/catsup was considered spicy.  3 TB of ground pepper is a lot of black pepper for any recipe (with the exceptions being something HUGE or something like pastrami) and most of the other recipes that have “gr. pepper” make it obvious that the reference is to green pepper. DSCN2651Surprisingly, this recipe was better than expected.  It was actually kind of good. I think it depends on the quality of the hot dogs, but use what you like.

In hindsight, butter toasted the buns would improve the meal. Toasting prevents the sauce from soaking deeply into the buns. It adds a little crispy element.  Untoasted buns are sort of white and squashy and like the comfort food you never knew you needed.  Because we didn’t know the correct way of proceeding, we served these with our normal ketchup and mustard on the table, but this is an up to your taste sort of thing.DSCN2653

For a fun variation, add cheese to the cream sauce.  It’s like a cheddarwurst.  Add beer to the cheese sauce and you really have something special.

We had a lot of sauce left over.  I secretly used it in a creamy pasta dish later in the week.

Don’t tell the kids.

The Recipe:

Deviled Hot Dogs

If you like this recipe, check out Devilish Behavior and Deviled Green BeansDevils Food Cake with Marshmallow Frosting, and Buried Treasure Delicious Hot Dish.

Pinnable Image Deviled Hot Dogs