I like to cook but I don't like to spend a boatload of time in the kitchen chopping stuff and stressing over some complicated recipe with 500 ingredients. I like fast and easy BUT tasty food. So I have decided to post the occasional blog giving instructions as to how to cook fast and easy dinners.
When it comes to meat, I always have to make sure my mom can chew whatever meat I fix. That can be a challenge. She has lost a number of teeth and refuses to get dentures (I don't blame her) and so I just have to adjust what I cook to a softness level that works for her. When cooking almost any kind of meat (except fish) low and slow is the best thing to do. Crockpots are great but not actually necessary. The key is to set the oven on a low setting -- never more than 300. I like 250 or 275. Prepare your meat, put it in a covered dish, and bake it for 4-6 hours. If you don't have a casserole dish with a lid, just put tinfoil across the top.
TIP: If you work a regular job and you're gone all day, no problem. Prepare your meat and slide it into the oven at bedtime. Take it out the next morning before work and put it in the fridge. Re-heat it when you get home.
The photo at right shows my marinade ingredients for baked pork chops.
I like to buy meaty boneless chops. This recipe also works just fine for a small pork tenderloin.
Take the chops out of the package about an hour before you plan on popping them in the oven. I did that before I ate lunch. Cover both sides of each chop with salt, pepper, and Lawry's seasoning salt. Let the chops sit for at least 30 minutes.
I like to use the little square Pyrex dish that has been in use in my kitchen for decades. Pyrex is great stuff. It lasts forever.
TIP: before you put Pyrex (or any glass dish) in the oven, wipe off the bottom. If there is any moisture on the bottom of the dish it may cause the dish to crack and break apart, resulting in a huge mess in your oven. My mom learned this lesson the hard way, many years ago. (Instead of a lovely casserole, I think we had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches that night..)
After your meat has sat out on the counter at least an hour covered in salt, etc., put it in the baking dish. Pour orange juice in the dish ( see photo). Take your soy sauce and liberally shake it over your chops. Finally, put a generous drizzle of honey over each chop.
TIP: if you are the kind of person who freaks out about not getting precise measurements of ingredients, don't fret. When the meat has been in the oven a couple of hours pull it out and taste a spoonful of the broth. Adjust the seasonings accordingly. With pork, you want a balance between the sweet and savory elements. Honey or jam are good sweet elements -- apricot jelly or jam is particularly good with pork or chicken.
Salt, onion powder, garlic powder or salt, thyme, rosemary -- experiment with the herbs and flavors you like and figure out what satisfies your taste buds. Taste while you cook, and adjust seasonings. So important.
I used to be afraid of cooking rice and it never came out right, for me. I finally stumbled upon the trick to cooking rice -- well, Mom told me, to be honest. I hate "al dente" rice. There is a Panda restaurant near here that serves godawful rice that is super chewy. UGH.
Rice should be SOFT.
I like to fix rice the way my memaw fixed it. Soft. I never cook rice except in the Club aluminum pot that has been in my family since the early 1970's. I think we bought all our Club aluminum with green stamps! It's terrific cookware. It will last FOREVER. You can find it on ebay for very reasonable prices.
Years ago, someone gave my brother and his wife a set of Club aluminum cookware. My sister in law decided she didn't like it and it was given away. Mom and I were astonished by that insanity.
Anyway, back to how to cook rice.
The secret to great rice is pretty simple: more water. Buy real rice, not the "quick cooking" kind. Real rice. [see photo]
Put 1 cup of rice into the pan. Add 3 cups of liquid. You can use all water, all broth, or a mixture of both. I like to use broth or stock, for a richer flavor.
Add 1-2 tablespoons of real butter. Don't use the fake kind. Also use about 1-2 teaspoons of salt -- don't use fake salt. Use Morton's regular or Sea Salt.
If you use fake salt and/or fake butter guess what? It won't be as yummy.
Turn the burner on high. Watch it. When it starts to boil, give it a quick stir and slap the lid on it and pull it off the burner. Have another burner ready to go, that's on low. Put the pot on the burner, with the lid on, and let it cook on low for 20 minutes.
Now, I often add pepper, onion powder, or other herbs or seasonings to the rice pot, either before it comes to a boil, or after it has finished cooking. Rice is pretty bland stuff and herbs and seasonings are really necessary.
VEGGIES: I didn't include a veggie recipe here but with this meal I will likely just prep some avocado slices with lime juice and sea salt. Asparagus would be great, too.
If you have time and want to serve a dessert, lemon or key lime pie are good choices here.
Bon Appetit!