Throwback Thursday...Inspired by Lise Howe

Throwback Thursday...Inspired by Lise Howe

With Mother’s Day approaching, Lise Howe wrote a very sweet post about her mother and in particular her mother’s cooking. 

My mother was known more for her baking than her cooking. She worked in our store and it was my grandmother who prepared all of the meals. And what a cook she was!  

Lest you think that we had wonderfully prepared Chinese dishes...we didn’t. She came over to the United States when she was just a child. Her neighbors were Italian and it was from that she learned to cook.

Her lasagna, spaghetti and meatballs and stuffed manicotti were my favorites. Sunday dinners were often Southern Fried chicken, homemade potato salad, and at least 3 pies.  I would sit in the kitchen for hours and watch her cook. 

You’d think that I would have learned her recipes but the thing is, like most of our mothers and grandmothers and the world’s best cooks, they didn’t need a recipe. 

My cousin, Elaine, has mastered her potato salad and I can make her sauce but I wish had all of her recipes. 

My mother, by the way, made the best birthday cake...one that I attempt to make each year for my birthday. It was a 3 layer yellow cake with the best chocolate frosting in the world. It was not like buttercream or one of those frostings that tastes like it was made with Crisco, but just perfect.  

I was lucky to grow up in a time when meals were prepared at home...no preservatives or additives. And as I write this, I am so craving a good old home-cooked meal. 

Lise has asked us to share a favorite recipe of our mother’s but instead, I’d like to include my grandmother’s Spanish Rice with pork chops. You could always substitute chicken or shrimp if you like. 

Spanish Rice with pork chops

4 pork chops (not too thin but not too thick either, bone-in)

White rice (cooked) You can probably make 1 ½ - 2 cups 

Green pepper- chopped

Small onion-chopped

Celery chopped (optional)

 1-2 sm. can tomato sauce

Can whole tomatoes

 S&P

Brown the pork chops on both sides in a skillet.  S&P  Set aside.

In the same skillet, brown the onion, celery, and green pepper.  (You can also add chopped garlic).  Add the cooked rice.  Keep the heat on low.  Stir in the can of whole tomatoes with liquids and the tomato sauce.  

Place the pork chops on the bottom of a casserole dish.  Cover with the rice mixture.  You can pour more tomato sauce on the rice mixture if you want. 

Bake uncovered 30-40 minutes at 350.  

If you have a recipe you’d like to share please head to Lise’s post. She has offered to compile them and send them to us! 

*I had planned on preparing the dish above but didn't have a chance, so the above photo is not my dish. I wish it looked that artistic!