Potato soup

This couldn't be easier! Takes about ten minutes to put together, 20 minutes to cook while you do whatever else, needs no tending. Potatoes, cut into large pieces, skin on. Onion, chopped garlic, chopped 1/3 tsp cardamom 1/3 tsp coriander 1/2 tsp sage 1/4 tsp white pepper water 1 bay leaf sprig worth of rosemary, or 1 tsp dried/fresh 1/4 cup butter or olive oil, whichever you prefer Wash and cut up in large pieces some potatoes, however many you like, one, two, or six, whatever. As long as they fit in your pan, eh? Add water to cover them and bring to boil. Meanwhile, chop up an onion, or some leeks and add those, too, and turn down the heat if it boils too hard, a good simmer is fine, medium heat usually works fine. Put in a bay leaf, and a chopped clove or three of garlic, depending on how much garlic you like. Add white pepper, cardamom, coriander and sage. Add butter, or, if you're using olive oil, put it in right before you serve it to preserve the delicate taste. Mash up the potatoes and remove any skins you see and/or don't want to eat.

Pork Chop rice skillet

I got this recipe from a Southern Cooking cookbook. It takes about ten minutes or less to put together, and another 30 minutes to let cook. It's one of my favorites. Pork chops, any kind, one or two per person. (About four fit in an average fry pan for this recipe and serve two or three people, depending on their appetites) tomatoes, 16 oz can, whole or diced, or three fresh ones chopped green pepper, chopped clove garlic, diced tablespoon basil 1/4 tsp black pepper 1 cup uncooked rice water Heat a large fry pan, then rub the edge of a pork chop in it to get it greased so the pork chops don't stick. Put the chops in the hot greased pan. Fry them a minute or so until they're not pink on the outside, flip and do the same to the second side. Remove them to a plate. Add the rice to the pan, the green peppers, and onion. Add tomatoes and about a half can (cup and a half) of water, basil, garlic and pepper. Stir to mix up, put pork chops back in the pan on top of the rice mixture, turn heat to very low, almost off, cover, let it cook a half hour, then serve. You can watch tv, or surf the web, or do laundry, all sorts of things while it cooks. There's no flipping or stirring, just let it do it's thing. I like to pour a good soy sauce like Yahama over the rice and pork chop when I eat this. It's delicious and all three of my kids love it, too. *Don't use tinfoil with tomato dishes to store the leftovers, the tomato's acid eats through the aluminum. I use a plate over a bowl if I don't have a storage container available. It works fabulously. Enjoy!