Parmesan Crusted Pork Chops

Remember Shake & Bake?  Not the catch phrase from that movie, but the actual cooking stuff?  I'll admit it - I've shake & baked before.  I was in college, ok.  And quite broke for a while after college.  Now I realize that making your own stuff (like shake & bake) is so much better for you and can cost less in the long run.

Even though this didn't call for a box of breadcrumbs & herbs, and a plastic bag, this was very easy to throw together.  I knew that it would taste great - fresh herbs with just a touch of Parmesan cheese.  What I didn't count on was the pork staying so moist.  I'm certain the mustard coating helped with that and I'm itching to try it out on baked chicken as well.  I typically cook a package of chicken tenders on the grill each week for lunch, but I think this will be a fun variation and will still taste great on a bed of spinach.

I did change this up a bit to use what I had in the house.  I only had about a cup of fresh breadcrumbs left, that I'd mixed with Italian herbs.  To make up the rest of the breading, I added Panko breadcrumbs.  I really think the Panko gave it an extra crunch.

Parmesan & Herb Crusted Pork Chops adapted from Rachel Ray

• 1 cup fresh Italian style breadcrumbs
• 1/2 cup Panko breadcrumbs
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
• salt & pepper
• 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 4 1" thick boneless pork chops

Preheat the oven to 425.  Place a greased rack on a baking sheet.  In a shallow dish, mix the breadcrumbs, cheese, parsley and salt & pepper.  Brush the pork with the mustard and coat in the breadcrumbs.  Bake on the greased rack for 20-25 minutes.

Italian Sausage Ravioli

Ever since my first attempt at making pasta I knew I wanted to get my hands on a pasta roller.  Rolling it by hand is hard work!  And it never really got thin enough.  Fortunately, my mom gave me a pasta roller for my birthday and I knew ravioli was on the menu.  Jason requested ravioli with meat in the filling.  I couldn't really find a recipe I loved, but I knew starting with one from Annie's Eats would be the way to go.

I made this recipe a few months ago, minus the mushrooms.  I took a gamble and swapped out the mushrooms for some sweet Italian sausage.  We were really happy with the end result and even more thrilled that we put half in the freezer!  My only issue at this point is trying to figure out a perfect pasta to filling ratio.  I had a little bit of filling left, but solved the problem by mixing it with some penne and baking it for Cooper's dinner.

Italian Sausage Ravioli in a Spinach Cream Sauce adapted from Annie's Eats


Pasta:

• 4 eggs
• 2 cups flour

Filling:

• 1/2 pound Sweet Italian Sausage, removed from casings
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 1/3 cup shredded Asiago cheese
• 1/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 3/4 cup part skim ricotta
• 1 large egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/4 t dried basil
• 1/4 t dried oregano
• 5oz chopped frozen spinach, thawed & drained

Sauce:

• 1 T unsalted butter
• 1 T flour
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed
• 1 cup half & half
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 5oz chopped frozen spinach, thawed & drained
• salt & pepper

Pour the flour into the bowl of a stand mixer and make a well in the center.  Add the eggs, and mix using the dough hook.  Begin mixing on low, increasing speed until the dough is well blended.  On a floured surface, continue kneading the dough until it is no longer tacky.  Divide the dough into smaller pieces, keeping it covered with a damp cloth.  Roll out the dough with a rolling pin, then run the pieces through the pasta roller until it is barely translucent.  Keep under a damp towel until used.

Cook the Italian sausage over medium high heat, until browned.  Add the garlic and saute until fragrant.  In a large bowl, combine the cheeses & eggs stirring well.  Add in the spices, spinach & sausage, mixing well.

On a floured surface, lay out the pasta one sheet at a time.  Use a pasta stamp or cookie cutter to create indentations to use as a guide.  Spoon a few teaspoons into each space, and place another sheet of pasta on the top.  Stretch the top sheet to completely cover the filling, pressing out the air before sealing.  Cut the ravioli & place on a floured cookie sheet to dry for about 30-60 minutes.

Cook the pasta in boiling salted water for about 3 to 5 minutes, drain well.

In a medium size sauce pan, melt the butter over medium-high heat.  Whisk in the flour until incorporated.  Add the garlic and continue whisking until the mixture reaches a golden-brown color.  Whisk in the cream & milk, reduce heat to medium and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until it begins to bubble.  Remove from the heat and stir in the cheese & spinach.  Gently toss the pasta with the sauce before serving.

Chili Rubbed Pork

We've been trying to get creative on not eating so much red meat since the freezer is stuffed full of it.  For some reason I've been leaning toward pork recently over chicken.  I consulted my favorite recipe site and came across a good pork kebab recipe that paired with a pineapple salsa - ideal since pineapples have been on sale quite often.  Plus, it gave me a chance to try out my new fire wire.  These things are awesome - they hold a ton of food and are very easy to use.

This recipe is quite simple, but still had a lot of flavor.  We chopped the pork the second night and had tacos for something different.  I'm still running through bags of rice pilaf left from my sisters wedding, so it ended up being an easy meal

Chili Rubbed Pork Kebabs from Real Simple

• 2-3 lbs of pork - I used a pork tenderloin roast, cubed
• 3 T chili powder
• 1 T olive oil
• onion, bell pepper & pineapple

Heat a grill to medium-high heat.  Cut onions, bell pepper & pineapple into pieces about the size of the pork.  Toss the pork in with the olive oil & chili powder, coating completely.  Thread the pork & vegetables onto skewers and grill for about 15 minutes, turning the skewers a few times during the cooking.

Serve with a pineapple salsa (or any salsa).

Pork Chops with a Dijon Mustard Sauce

I feel like I fall into a rut when it comes to cooking.  Most of the things we cook on a regular basis are pretty good, but even then I like a little variety.  However, I need it to be easy.  I need most of my food to fall into that week-night quick meal category.  And sometimes that translates to "it's pretty good, but not fantastic."   

But every once in a while I come across something that makes me think about how lady-like it would be to actually lick the plate.  This was one of those recipes...and I didn't even have all of the right ingredients.  Kroger was out of fresh tarragon so I decided to just wing it with dried herbs instead.  I also only had bone-in pork chops that night.  I actually like those because I can be just as un-lady-like while eating them, however they are usually a little thinner than the boneless ones.  I also used this as a good excuse to buy white wine.  We rarely drink white wine around the house.  Jason is just so-so with it and I gravitate toward a good red.  For this I grabbed a bottle of Toad Hollow Chardonnay.  We found their tasting room on our last trip to Sonoma and came home with a few bottles.  They are very reasonably priced ($10-25) and we both enjoyed the Chardonnay.  Although Jason was slightly disappointed to see me pour a serving into the pan for the sauce...



Dijon Mustard Pork Chops adapted from So Tasty, So Yummy

• 4 pork chops, boneless or bone-in
• 1 T olive oil
• 1/3-1/2 cup white wine
• 1/2 cup light cream
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1 1/2 t dried tarragon
• 1/2 t dried basil
• 2 T Dijon mustard

Preheat the oven to 425.  Heat the olive oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat.  Season the pork chops with salt & pepper before searing them in the pan.  Cook for about 3 minutes on each side, move to the oven to finish cooking.  Remove the pan from the heat and let it rest for about 5 minutes.

Return the pan to the stove and deglaze it with the wine, simmer for about 2-3 minutes, stirring.  Add the cream, broth, spices & mustard and cook until the sauce is reduced, stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes.  Season with salt & pepper if desired and serve over the pork chops.

I promise not to judge if you cannot control yourself and decide to lick the plate.  This sauce even held up well for leftovers the following night.