Savory Seasons: Dinner on the Table in Twenty Minutes!

It's good to have a flavorful, simple recipe that can be pulled together in a matter of minutes.

I wish that I could remember where I found this recipe, but it was so simple that I just jotted the ingredients on a card. Might have been from a Cooking Light magazine. I've always made it with pork tenderloin, but my guess is that boneless chicken thighs would work just as well.

Ingredients:

1 pound pork tenderloin (or boneless chicken thighs) cut into 3/4" cubes

1 cup salsa (I use Tostitos medium chunky salsa)

1/4 cup water

salt/pepper

sour cream

cubed avocado (or chopped red onion)

hot cooked rice

Directions:

1. Film a frying pan with oil. Add the pork (or chicken) to the heated pan.

2. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and saute until lightly browned.

3. Add salsa and 1/4 cup water to the pan; bring to a boil.

4. Reduce heat and simmer five minutes or until slightly thickened.

5. Serve over rice. Top with sour cream and chopped avocado. I used red onion once when I didn't have an avocado and it was equally good.

Let's talk about rice for a minute. In my opinion, Trader Joe's carries the best basmati rice, but whatever rice you choose, here's a tip for making good rice. Put the dry measured rice in a mesh strainer and rinse it under running water until the water runs clear. This removes the excess starch. Then follow the directions for cooking the rice. I've found that this simple step makes a big difference. 

If you get the rice started and saute the meat while the rice is cooking, you can have this meal ready in twenty minutes. Lots of flavor for very little time and effort!