Food Flashback!

Crock pots? Campbell canned soup? That is so 40 years ago!

Yeah. But always in style for busy working people. Crock pots (more correctly called "slow cookers") and the new generation of less-salty canned soups can be the family cook's best friend, if the family cook also works an outside job, or is otherwise busy, busy, busy.

Back in the '70s when crock pots were all the rage, my sister Bonnie gave me this recipe. It's always easy, it's always good and it's what's for dinner at our house tonight.

Crock pot porkchops (You'll notice I did not use pork chops; I used pork cutlets, what I had in the freezer. The bone marrow in pork chops give it even more flavor and goodness, but we're still in a recession here, people, so use what you have. "Waste not, want not" is an oft-heard term around my house, eh Bob?

Here's what you need:

pork chops or cutlets, any amount
1-2 cans of chicken with rice soup
salt & pepper to your liking
optional but good: diced shallot or green onion and minced garlic (from a jar, makes it easier, if you're trying to get out the door in the morning and don't want your fingers to remind you of the mess you left in the kitchen...)

I like to brown the chops or cutlets before I put them in the pan, but this is a fussy indulgence for people who work at home or don't work at all. If you have to be at the office in forty minutes, you can skip this step (and no one will know.)

Add all the ingredients to the crock pot and let it cook all day on low. Serve with a salad and a nice pinot noir, or chardonnay, whatever you have on hand.

If you have kids, or if a neighbor is hanging around hoping to partake of your dinner and you need to stretch it a bit, make a pot of rice to stretch it. The gravy in the pot is yummy over rice.

If you have kids who don't like salad, you can sneak in some vegetables by adding a can of drained, diced carrots a few minutes before serving. Canned food has been much maligned by elite foodies, but if you don't have time to shop, wash, peel, chop, and simmer, you can open a can and drain it in less than 30 seconds.

Bon appetit!