Pork Chop and Cheat Mushroom Gravy

When I was a kid, I HATED this dish. HATED it. My kids actually like it. This is a pretty simple recipe to make on a weeknight when you're trying to juggle kids, etc. Not, it's not high culture. It's just good hearty fare; especially with mashed potatoes.

1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup*
1 can of water (you can also mix half water, half milk if you like it creamier)
4-6 Pork Chops (1-2 lbs)

Take a large non-stick pan (large enough to hold all of the chop in a single layer) and set it on a burner on high heat for 3-5 minutes. Add your chops. Step back. Yep. Step back. Wait a minute or three until the chops have seared. You'll know because you can easily lift them out of the pan. If you attempt to lift them straight up, and you feel the chop sticking, wait some more.
Then, do the same thing on the other side.
Meantime, mix the soup and water.
Once both sides are seared. Add the soup/water and put a lid on the pan. Turn the heat down a bit to medium. Then, let it simmer until the chops are done.For thin chops, that could be 10 minutes. For thicker ones, up to a half hour.

Really, serve with mashed potatoes. The gravy is good that way.

* Feel free to sub any reduced fat or reduced salt version of Cream of Mushroom. Any of the specialty versions are good too. Cream of Onion is excellent as well.

Russian Tea

When I was a kid, we drank gallons of hot chocolate. As I moved into my teen years, I learned to drink this stuff. It's a much more grown-up comfort drink, with an citrusy bite and the type of comforting spices normally reserved for apple crisp. Add Vodka if you need to sleep.

3/4 cup instant tea
1 cup sugar (or Splenda)
2 cups Tang
3 oz (enough to make 1 quart) pre-sweetened lemonade mix
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 ginger

Mix all of the above. Store it in an air-tight container. Add 2 tablespoons to hot water and mix.