Skip to main content

Mom's Pork Chops with Bell Peppers & Rice + The Smoky Mountains!

 

Last week, we had a marvelous visit to the Smoky Mountains in TN...one of my favorite places in the whole world...with some of my favorite people in the whole world!  There's something about those beautiful mountains that calms my spirit.  My parents were able to join us, which was such a big treat.  Caroline loved spoiling them with lots of snuggles and it was so nice to relax and breathe in that fresh mountain air together.
 
My family got a great big laugh at the fact that I lugged our espresso machine all the way from Alabama to Tennessee.  But you know what?  They ALL enjoyed sipping their homemade lattes and hot chocolates while taking in that grand mountain view from the porch, and I will most certainly take it with us again next time we go...hah!
 
My husband and I were able to get in a hike to the top of Mt. Leconte, which has been at the top of my hiking bucket list for a VERY long time.  It was an 11+ mile hike with an elevation gain of over 2,700 ft and 27,000+ steps.  The views along the way were absolutely breath-taking.  It was a TOUGH hike, but so worth it.  There were icicles and icy ledges near the top which made it all the more adventurous.  But the best part - Way up on top of that mountain, covid and politics didn't consume my thoughts, or really ANY of them.  It was just beautiful silence and nature all around us....pure perfection.
 
One evening in the cabin, we whipped up my mom's recipe for Pork Chops & Rice for dinner.  This recipe is one of her and my dad's old favorites, but it was missing for years until we found a copy recently.
 
This dish is a welcome treat and is beautiful to look at, especially if you can find thick-cut bone-in pork chops.  I've made it multiple times since finding it, and it just gets better and better.  It started as a one-pot dish, but we made some adjustments to the recipe.  Whenever I tried to cook the rice in the same pan as the chops, I always ended up burning the rice.  The method posted here resulted in success!
 
Enjoy!
 








 
Mom's Pork Chops with Bell Peppers & Rice
 
Ingredients:
4 thick-cut bone-in pork chops
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, diced
2 bell peppers, assorted colors, sliced into strips
2 cups white rice
4 cups water
1 can stewed tomatoes
1/2 cup BBQ sauce
Salt & Pepper, to taste
 
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
 
Season pork chops with salt and pepper.  
 
Add olive oil to a large skillet and heat over medium high heat.  Once the pan is good and hot, add the pork chops and sear on both sides, 4-5 minutes per side, or until you have a pretty, golden brown crust on both sides.

Remove pork chops from skillet and place them into an oven proof dish (don't clean the skillet yet).  Drizzle the pork chops with the BBQ sauce.  Bake in preheated oven for an additional 20-25 minutes, or until cooked through (time will vary depending on the thickness/size). 

While the pork chops cook, bring 4 cups of water to a boil.  Add the rice and give it a good stir.  Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes.  Pour in the stewed tomatoes, stir, and continue to simmer just until rice is cooked through.  Set to the side, keeping it warm until ready to serve.
 
Meanwhile, return the skillet that you used to sear the pork chops to the stove and heat over medium heat.  Add the onions and bell peppers and saute until soft.  The pan drippings from the pork chops will add extra flavor to the veggies.
 
Once your pork chops are done, remove them from the oven and serve them on a bed of the rice.  Top each plate off with the sauteed bell peppers and onions.
 
Enjoy! 






 
 
 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Absolutely Sinful Cinnamon Rolls

***Alrighty, here are the cinnamon rolls that I mentioned in my previous post. I put these together on Christmas Eve, and then baked them on Christmas morning. Let me just tell you...there's nothing quite like the smell of yummy cinnamon rolls wafting through the house on Christmas morning...ahhhhh...so wonderful! This is going to be a new tradition for us...fresh, homemade rolls on Christmas. I thought that I might try this recipe, and then maybe try a new one next year...until I found one that I really loved. However, I hit the jackpot on the first try! This is THE recipe that I'll always use. UPDATE:   Since originally writing this post in 2008, I've  made these cinnamon rolls every year for Christmas!  They are a holiday tradition that my family looks forward to all year!  You can see my other posts here, with lots more photos of these sinful cinnamon rolls: CHRISTMAS 2009 CHIRSTMAS 2010 CHRISTMAS 2011 The great thing was that I could prepare them on Christmas

My Favorite Quiche!

***It's not often that a recipe is worthy of re-posting.  I think I've only done that once or twice in the entire time I've written this blog.  However, this is one of those rare occasions.  Back in 2009 when Brad and I went to Europe, we had the most amazing Quiche Lorraine at the incredible Les Deux Magots cafe in Paris.  It was delicious and was served alongside a yummy salad of fresh greens (Quiche Lorraine sur Salade Verte).  Oh, it was heaven on a plate!  It also didn't hurt that we were sitting on the patio of one of the most famous cafes in Paris, after all...haha.  The atmosphere and people-watching in that particular area are hard to beat. I'll never forget the elderly lady that was sitting at the table right next to us (the tables were situated pretty close together).  She was dressed to-the-nines, was all by herself, and was just the quintessential, classy Parisian lady.  I wish more than anything that I had tried to strike up a conversation with her

Cream Cheese Banana Nut Bread - Southern Living

***There seriously aren't very many things that smell better than Banana Nut Bread baking in the oven.   Don't you agree?  This recipe for Cream Cheese Banana Nut Bread from Southern Living magazine was one of the very first recipes that I added to this blog...back in November 2007!  In fact, I came across it when I worked for the magazine as a Marketing Intern.  Back then, I didn't have a photo for every recipe, and the blog post was simply the recipe and nothing else.  Because this is my go-to recipe for Banana Nut Bread (and because it is so amazing!), I thought that it deserved a little more attention.  This is quite honestly some of the best Banana Nut Bread that I've ever had.  An entire 8oz. package of cream cheese is added right to the batter, along with 4 mashed bananas.  The cream cheese adds so much to this recipe, with an incredibly moist texture being the main component.  Plus, the roasted pecans are the perfect addition.  Roasting the nuts brings out