Pork chops and rice. . .what to do?

Thursday night I only knew we were having porkchops and brown rice.  The porkchops because that is what I had gotten at the grocer on Tuesday, and I had brined them Thursday morning with a tablespoon of salt, a tsp of sugar, and filled the container with water. Brining helps keep the pork tender. We learned of this from Alton Brown on his turkey brine recipe, but also on America's Test Kitchen.   The rice, because I was cleaning out the pantry and had a cup and a half of brown rice left, for over a year or so.  I always pass it up to cook because it takes 45 minutes to cook. YIKES. No way to do quick meals with that time restriction! 

Thanks to Pinterest, I found this recipe by Southern Krazed. It looked fabulous and just what I was looking for since it contained 1. porkchops and 2. rice. 

Her ingredient list: 

• 4 Small Boneless Pork Chops (approximately 1 lbs.)

• 1 Can Chicken Broth (15 oz.)

• 1 Cup White Rice (not instant)

• 2 Cups Chunky Salsa (your favorite brand and heat level)

• 1 Can Black Beans, drained and rinsed

• 1 Can or 2 Cups Frozen Corn

• 1 Cup Shredded Cheddar Jack Cheese

• 1 Tbsp. Oil

• Salt and Pepper

Well, I already had cooked the rice, plus I didn't have all the ingredients. Now, some might freak out at that and I said, "well, I'm making my own thing here with hers as an inspiration!".  

My supplies:

*two cups of red salsa (Mad Butcher if you're around Iowa, or you can order on line). 

*one can of refried black beans 

*3/4 cup of frozen corn

*no cheese since we're eliminating it from the house

*two butterfly pork chops ---which really means four small porkchops. 

*already cooked rice

I also had: 

*half a can of diced jalapenos

*Trader Joe taco seasoning

*Avocados

*Green salsa

I also had a couple containers of Newman's Pineapple salsa, but somehow I didn't think I'd actually like that in the meal tonight.  

I ended up cooking the pork chops by heating a Tablespoon of olive oil in the pan, and tossing the drained and dried pork chops in the pan to sear on both sides.  Then I added about a half tablespoon of taco seasoning to the pan with some water, covered and let simmer/cook.

In a skillet I added the frozen corn, the rice, the half can of jalapenos, and a cup of red salsa which I then stirred and heated through. I didn't want to use all the red salsa in case The Mike wanted more on his plate--'cause I'm caring that way. 

The black beans I heated up in the microwave. 

For plating, I completely forgot about the avocados, even though there are five in the fruit basket right on the counter where I plate the meals!  

Spanish rice flare with seasoned porkchops, side of black beans and green salsa.  

No cheese and it was fabulous.  Hubby gets this for leftovers today while I'll have the tuna noodle from Wednesday or sardines.  

I ended up mixing my beans and rice together, but, of course, that doesn't make a pretty photo.  

I never use to be one for salsa, and have come to realize I don't really care for red "normal" salsa, but love the different ones like the green salsa and the Pineapple salsa--which is great with tortilla chips and (gulp) sometimes on an omelet.  (There was a time, pre-The Mike, where I'd never have put salsa on my eggs.