More Cookin’ with The Kid

Necessity is the mother of invention, and The Lovely Wife is, apparently, the mother of necessity. On the walk home from Natural Bridge State Park, and faced with the dreary and mundane prospect of a dinner of baked pork chops, brown rice, and steamed broccoli, she challenged us to come up with a more interesting, but still palatable, meal. No shrinking violets we, The Kid and I rose to the occasion. We scoured the fridge and the pantry, and came up with the following tastiness:

Pantry Pork Soup
(As developed by Bart Modern and The Kid, August 5, 2007)
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1T sun dried tomato oil
1T olive oil
1/2 t chili powder
1 medium onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, chopped, diced, pressed, or sliced, as you see fit
2-3 T oil packed sun dried tomatoes, chopped
2 medium carrots, sliced lengthwise and chopped into 2-quarter thick half moons
2 center cut pork loin chops, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
(Note: chicken would work just as well, I suspect, although it would require changing the name of the dish)
1 can black beans, drained
1 quart chicken stock (I like the stuff from Pacific) [One quart makes a fairly thick, stew-like soup, as the noodles absorb a fair amount of the liquid. For something brothier, add 1/2 quarts, or pre-cook the noodles.]
5 oz (1/2 package small egg noodles)

Bonus level: ***Secret Ingredient*** — if you should happen to have the remains, say 1/3 to 1/3 cup of a truly excellent homemade ragu bolognese kicking around the fridge, why not add that to the recipe? It certainly didn’t hurt in our case. Got a can of white beans in the pantry instead of black beans? Shine on you crazy dinner makin’ diamond! Want to make it truly vegetarian by using tofu instead of pork? Go for it! Improvise! Innovate!

Heat the oils in a medium-sized stockpot set on medium high heat. Add the chili powder, stir for a few seconds. Saute the onions for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they just start to take on some color.

Add the garlic and the sun dried tomatoes, and saute 1 minute. Add carrots and saute 1-2 minutes.

Add the pork cubes, and season with salt and pepper. Cook about 3-5 minutes, or until the pork is no longer pink on the outside. Add your ***Secret Ingredient*** at this point. When the pork is ready, add the drained black beans, and stir to combine.

Pour in the chicken stock, reduce heat to medium, and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the noodles, and simmer an additional 10 minutes. Season to taste and serve.

The Kid was integral to both the creation and the preparation of this dish. As long as she’s interested in learning her way around the kitchen, I’m thrilled to act as her guide. Except in the area of baking. That’s her mother’s area of expertise.