A Simple Dinner with Pork

After an entire week of eating bean and vegetable soup (not complaining!), I went for a change and grabbed a couple pork center loin chops.  I've been happy eating less meat, and I made sure to buy the smallest package of two, which cost $2.09.  They were about a half inch thick and a third of a pound each.  Instead of making my awesome pineapple pork stir-fry, I went an easier and less labor-intensive route.

I put a cup of brown rice and a crushed dried chili pepper into two cups of boiling water in a 1 qt pot, then set to simmer for 45 minutes.  This is generally about six modest portions of rice.

Then, I heavily sauted a sliced medium onion in my steel frying pan.  I didn't fully caramelize it, but it was more brown than yellow.  When it was done, I put the onion on a plate and set it aside.

I patted the pork chops dry with a paper towel, then put them in the hot pan for a few minutes to brown.  I sprinkled rosemary on the tops, then flipped them over, sprinkled with pepper, put a cover on and turned the heat down to low.

Then I made salads from bagged mix, baby spinach, walnuts, habanero cheddar cheese, button mushrooms, and dried cranberries, topped with a little light ranch.  All together the salads cost a little less than $1 each, and we'll eat them daily while we have the components.  The greens and mushrooms were on sale this week, and I've always got walnuts and cheese.

When the chops were done cooking, I plated them, then poured a half cup of Chardonnay (about 1/40 of a $15 box of Almaden) into the skillet to deglaze it.  I turned the heat back up a bit and reduced the sauce down to about two tablespoons, then poured it over the pork chops.

The chops were juicy and delicious!  The rice and onions were a good accompaniment for the pork, and the salads rounded out the meal.  This was a great dinner for two for $5.  Each person's meal cost $2.50 and had about 600 calories.  If the rice is made earlier, this meal takes a half hour to make.

Pineapple Pork Stir Fry

Ingredients:
4 Pork chops, center cut, boneless, thick; about 6oz each @ $3/lb = $4.50
1 can of pineapple chunks (Dole is best); 20oz @ $1
1 cup of rice, brown, dry; 1/5 of a 2lb bag @ $2.20/bag = $0.44
2 tbsp vegetable oil; should be @ <$0.05/tbsp = $0.10
1 lb bell peppers, sliced, frozen @ $1.69/lb
1/2 tsp thyme (avoid McCormick); should be @ <$0.10/tsp = $0.05
1/2 tsp ginger, fresh, shaved (store root in freezer); should be ~$0.05
1 tsp soy sauce; $?, I'm guessing ~$0.05
1 tbsp garlic, minced; 1/42 of a jar @ $3/jar = $0.07
2 paper towels @ ~$1.00/roll = ~$0.03

This recipe serves four at about $2 and 600 calories per person. Cooking time is about an hour.  The spice amounts are estimated, and salt and pepper can be added to the thyme at a negligible cost.

Prep: In the morning, sprinkle the thyme on the pork chops, and marinate them in a sealed nonreactive dish or plastic bag with the juice from the canned pineapple.  Let marinate in a refrigerator throughout the day.  Store the pineapple chunks in a nonreactive container in the fridge, also.

Cooking: Boil 2 cups of water in a small pot, add the rice, and reduce heat to a simmer.  The rice will take 45 minutes to cook.  Put the oil in a skillet or large pot that has a cover.  Put that pot on the stove top at a little less than medium heat.  Remove the pork from the marinade, and pat them dry with paper towels.  Discard the marinade.  Set your oven to preheat to 325.  When the oil in the skillet starts to smoke a little, put the pork in to brown 2-3 minutes on each side (may have to do two at a time), and be careful of oil splatter (use the cover).  Put the browned pork in a covered cassarole (or keep in the pot, if you used a pot), and put in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes (advised internal temperature is 160 F).  While the pork is baking, put the peppers, pineapple, soy sauce, ginger, and garlic in a skillet (the original skillet if you used one) at low heat (one quarter turn of the knob).  The peppers and pineapple can be set to simmer when they're hot, since they will probably get hot before the pork is done.  When the pork is done, there will be juices in the bottom of the pot.  Put the pork aside, then skim the fat off the top of the juices (or soak it off with a paper towel).

Serving: Each plate will have a pork chop, and some peppers and pineapple on a bed of rice.  Drizzle the degreased pork juice over the chop and rice for moisture and flavor.  I made this last night, and it was delicious.  I am looking forward to the leftovers tonight.