Poverty smothered pork chops w/rice and green beans.

[evernoob]

This is a trad dish nothing special, but it gets a lot of mileage from me because it's not chicken and it's super-cheap.

2 pork chops, bone in or out (pic is bone out)
Half a medium onion (pic is scraps from a couple of onions) sliced or chopped coarse.
2 tbsp bacon grease
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
water
salt pepper & garlic powder
Rice of your choice and recipe
Green beans of your choice (I used frozen and cooked them till soft)

• Add 1/3 of bacon grease into a pot with your green beans and a bit of water so they don't burn. Cover that and let it run at med-low. I like my beans mushy so I start this first.
• Med-high hot skillet, add 2/3 of the bacon grease.
• Put 2 chops in the skillet, leave and turn until they are nicely browned.
• When you have at least one side of the chops well-browned, add the onions.
• Keep browning the chops until the onions are soft and a bit caramelized.
• Remove the chops and onions to a plate or pan (I used a nearby seasoned pan that I only rinse off).
• Put the skillet back on the heat and turn down to medium or so.
• Add the 2 tbsp butter.
• Add 2 tbsp flour and mix it around for a roux. I like my roux toasty for this one (brown gravy).
• Don't worry about sticking on the bottom of the pan, you want that. The roux won't stick, but the pork fat and onions will a bit. Good.
• Once your roux is to your liking, at least 5 minutes to cook the flour, turn up the heat to med-high
• Take a flat spatula in one hand, and add the water with the other, deglazing and scraping up the burnt stuff off the bottom
• Mix it all around until it forms a gravy, whisk if necessary (never is)
• Cook it down until it's as thick as you like. You can bubble it good once you de-glaze
• Add the chops and onions into the gravy, add salt, pepper, and garlic powder, cover and turn to low.
• Cook your rice according to directions. I used 15/5 rice.

I like to have my chops stew for a good 20 minutes at least, the longer you keep them braising in there, the softer they'll be.

Options:

• Add some Wooster sauce to the gravy
• Add some tomato paste to the gravy
• Add some vinegar to the green beans
• Add mushrooms to the onion sautee

At $1.79/lb, a two-chop cookup will make two meals for about $1.25 each meal, filling and nutritious.

Stay tuned for homemade stock made from bones and scraps

 

[Pony_Driver]

Looks good. Not quite poverty level, but I ran across this recipe for garlic mushroom sauce.
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/269592/pork-chops-in-garlic-mushroom-sauce/

I started by pan searing the pork chops and setting them aside, then deglaze the pan and make the sauce.

I substituted some French's yellow mustard and a spoon of "hot" mustard.

Put the pork chops back in the pan and let them sit for a while.

Serve with rice or potatoes.

 

[evernoob]

Looks good. Not quite poverty level, but I ran across this recipe for garlic mushroom sauce.
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/26...ushroom-sauce/

I started by pan searing the pork chops and setting them aside, then deglaze the pan and make the sauce.

I substituted some French's yellow mustard and a spoon of "hot" mustard.

Put the pork chops back in the pan and let them sit for a while.

Serve with rice or potatoes.

I will make this. I got a bunch of 10oz Grey Poupon for $.99 ea, they run $3.49 at Meijer. I bought 7 of them

You have to watch discount store condiments. They can ruin anything.

Come to find out, smothered pork chops and rice with green beans is 'soul food' and if you're white, 'Southern Cooking'.

 

[Pony_Driver]

"soul food" is a label people put on traditionally "black" food. "Southern" is what everyone else calls it. growing up it was the same damn thing and it was actually "poor people food".

Collards, Turnip greens, watercress, Kale, pigs feet, corn bread, fried chicken, ham hock and beans were staples and DELICIOUS.