Pork and Rice

I was trying to come up with a catchy name for this dish but it's early and my creativity is apparently on summer vacation so Pork and Rice it is.  But it's not just any rice, sing it with me, "it's Riccccccccce-a-Roniiiiiiiiii, a San Francisco treat!!"  Did I just totally date myself?!?  I remember that commercial vividly but haven't had actual Rice-a-Roni since I was a kid.  We had it often enough as a side dish and I liked it but it never made it into my home until last week.

Alanna and I were talking about when we were kids and different things we liked.  She told me her favorite meal that her Grandma made was Rice-a-Roni with a can of stewed tomatoes that had pork chops on top.  Flash forward a couple of months and I was standing in Aldi and there was the generic version of Rice-a-Roni.  I had thin cut pork chops defrosting in the fridge.  Hmmmmm, would my kids eat it??  Was it actually good or was Alanna's memory skewed?  The rice was .89 cents, I figured I could give it a try.  Worse case scenario, I could scrape the rice from the chops and they'd eat that.  So, I threw caution to the wind and grabbed the rice.

What you'll need:
1 Box Rice-a-Roni
Package of thin cut, boneless pork chops
Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder
Water

How's that for a nice small list?? 

You're going to brown the chops.  Pan fry the pork chops that you've seasoned with salt, pepper and garlic powder.  What that means is, put them in the pan with the heat at about a 6, cook on each side about 3-4 minutes until they are browned.  Pour about 1/4 cup of water in the pan to get all the yummy on the bottom.  Turn off the heat.

In another pan, prepare rice according to box.  When it's time to add the water minus 1/4 C of water because you used that with the pork chops AND you are pouring the pork chops and water into the pan with the rice at the same time. 

Alanna's Grandma apparently threw in a can of stewed tomatoes at this time too but I wasn't feeling sassy so I skipped it. 

Cover, turn heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes.  Make your favorite vegetable for the side while cooking.  Dinner is served!!  Quick, easy and yummy.

You're pan frying these without any butter or olive oil.  Simply use a non stick pan and save yourself the calories.

 When the pork chops are browned on both sides, pour 1/4 C of water in pan to get all the yummy from the bottom of the pan.

 Pour the pork chops into the rice with water.  Cover and this is what you'll find in 15 minutes.  Super moist pork chops on flavorful rice that took you less than 30 minutes!!