Sage and Butter Pork Chops with Mushroom Rice

 When this quarantine started, I stocked my freezers full of meat.  Things were very uncertain back then before the stores adjusted to the pandemic and developed curbside pickup and delivery.  Some things are still hard to get but in general, most things are available.  I'm not as desperate anymore. So, I have started using up things in my freezers.  I made these pork chops the other day.

 And I served them with a side of rice and orzo cooked with mushrooms and sage.

 Here is the recipe:

ingredients

• 2 12-oz pork chops , about 1 inch thick
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Salt and pepper , to taste
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 small handful of fresh sage leaves
• 1 small shallot, sliced

Instructions

• Rub olive oil all over pork chops and season both sides generously with salt and pepper.
• Warm a cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Add pork chops and sear until golden brown, about 7 minutes.
• Flip pork chops and add 1 tablespoon of butter, sage and shallot. Cook until a meat thermometer inserted into the chops registers 135°F, about 7 minutes more.
• Transfer pork chops to a plate to rest. Add the remaining tablespoon of butter and more sage. Taste and add more salt and pepper as needed. Serve butter sauce over pork chops.

 We rarely eat pork chops but when we do, we wonder why we don't have them more often.

 I highly recommend using a cast-iron skillet to make these.  If you don't have one, use some sort of heavy pan.

If you don't like rice, (and who doesn't like rice?), you could serve them over polenta or mashed potatoes.