It's Not Chicken, Beef, or Pasta

No, this is still my blog, but I have branched out to the "other white meat". There were some boneless pork chops on sale last week at the grocery store, so I decided it was time to try a new meat. I got the idea to stuff them with cheese and apples from Joelen (who I get to meet at the end of the month!), but I changed a few of the seasonings and the type of cheese. The rest of the meal is my own, but were created by pulling from ideas I've seen all over the place. The mac and cheese is essentially made the way my mother makes it, with a few minor changes.








Apple Stuffed Pork Chops
from Joelen, modified by me





4 center cut boneless pork chops
1 apple (I used yellow delicious)
2 oz Gruyere cheese
thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper to taste



Finely chop apple and cheese and mix with seasonings. Cut a slit in center of each pork chop and stuff with filling. Place on baking sheet and seasoning top of pork with the same seasonings. Sprinkle each chop with a little olive oil and bake in 350 degree F oven for 25 minutes.





Macaroni and Cheese
from me

8 oz short pasta (elbows or shells work best)

5 T butter

4-5 T flour (I eyeball it, so this is just a guess)

1 1/2 c milk (I use skim, but you can use any kind)

pepper

salt

nutmeg

2 1/2 c shredded cheese, divided (tonight I used sharp cheddar and leftover Gruyere)

1/4 c plain breadcrumbs

Cook pasta according to package directions; drain. While pasta is cooking, melt butter in small saucepan. Add flour to make a roux. Cook about 1 minute, whisking constantly. Add milk, continuing to whisk until mixture is thick. Turn off heat and add salt, pepper and nutmeg. (You are essentially making a basic bechamel sauce) Stir in 2 c cheese, whisking until cheese is melted. Add cooked pasta and combine. Pour into baking dish. Toss remaining cheese with breadcrumbs and sprinkle over the top. Bake at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes, or until bubbly and the top is browned. Let cool slightly before serving.

Sauteed Spinach

from Linda

4 c fresh spinach

1 garlic clove, sliced

1/2 T olive oil

1 T white wine vinegar

Saute garlic in olive oil until lightly brown. Add spinach 2 cups at a time, wilting the spinach. When spinach has wilted, add vinegar and saute for 1 minute. Transfer to serving dish and serve immediately.

No pasta tonight.

My mother-in-law sent us home with a few green peppers and I decided to try my hand at stuffed peppers. I got a great recipe for stuffed peppers from Elly (who's blog is fabulous!) and worked from there. I made a few changes to work with what I had, but the recipe is pretty much hers.

I would definitely make this again. I had quite a bit of filling left over since my peppers were pretty small (they were out of mother-in-law's garden), but it turned out ok. I ended up eating it while the peppers baked. All of it. With a spoon. Out of the pan. It was really good.

Baking them was a little bit of a challenge since I didn't have peppers that could stand on their own. I had the ingenious idea to pop the stems out of the lid and use them as a sort of stand by putting the peppers into the hole and having them stand up. Good idea in theory, but I failed to take into account the fact the peppers soften as they bake, so all of them fell. No worries. I just scooped any spilled filling back in after backing and ate a little more off the pan (don't judge- the filling was great!).

I tried to take a few pictures but my camera had other ideas, so there is only one that isn't all black with purple lines running horizontally across. It will have to be good enough.





Stuffed Peppers

4-6 bell peppers
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 lb ground beef
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 c cooked rice
1/2 c chicken broth
1/2 c to 3/4 c chunky salsa
2-3 t cumin
2-3 t chili powder
salt and pepper to taste
3/4 c shredded Mexican cheese

Cut the tops of the peppers and remove the core and seeds. Spray the peppers and a jelly-roll pan with cooking spray. In a large skillet, brown the beef, onions and garlic until the beef is no longer pink and the onions are translucent. Stir in rice, chicken broth, salsa and seasonings. Cook until warmed through and most of the liquid absorbed. Remove from heat and stir in cheese. Spoon into peppers and bake in a 375 degree oven for 30 minutes. While waiting for peppers to cook, eat any remaining filling with a spoon. Out of the pan. It tastes better that way.

For a side, I steamed some broccoli and added some goat cheese, pine nuts and balsamic vinegar.