Crispy Stuffed Pork Chops with Spinach and Sun-dried Tomatoes

When I first started cooking I struggled with new ideas for pork recipes. That doesn't seem to be the case anymore.

I made this a few weeks back when it was still cold-ish (for Florida) and I wanted something warm and cozy for dinner. Now that Spring is officially here, I probably won’t be making it for a few months. Especially since I just spent the last two days hemming and hawing over several new bikinis online…

Is it overkill to buy 4 new ones every year? In my defense I tossed about 5 of my old ones a few months ago. I’d really just be replacing those.

So this recipe is delicious and I suggest you make it now before it REALLY is bikini time and you won’t want something that is fried a little and filled with a tasty cheesy center.

Spinach and Sun-dried Tomato Stuffed Pork Chops

*Makes 4

(printable recipe)

Ingredients:

-          4 6oz boneless pork chops

-          2 cups frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed (about 1 cup)

-          ½ cup ricotta cheese

-          3 tablespoons boursin herb and garlic cheese

-          ¼ cup shredded mozzarella cheese

-          2 tablespoons parmesan cheese

-          3 -4 tablespoons minced sun-dried tomatoes

-          1 egg

-          ¼ cup flour

-          1 ¼ cup bread crumbs

-          3 tablespoons canola oil

-          Salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a small bowl combine spinach, ricotta, boursin, mozzarella, parmesan and sun-dried tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Take each pork chop and pound out to ¼ inch thickness. Spread an equal amount of mixture all over chops leaving a small border around the edges. Roll each chop up and secure with toothpicks at the bottom.

4. Prepare the coating by beating the egg in a shallow dish. Using a separate plate for both the flour and bread crumbs season each with salt and pepper. Dredge each pork chop on all sides through each. Start with the flour, then egg and finally the bread crumbs.

5. Use a large sauté pan and heat oil over medium high heat. Sear all sides of each pork chop until golden brown. Start with the bottom first and brown the sides as well. About 1-2 minutes per side. Transfer to a sheet pan and bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes. Once pork is cooked through, remove from oven and let sit for a few minutes before removing toothpicks and serving.

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Restaurant Recreation: Applebee’s Veggie Patch Pizza

Did you know that Applebee’s took the veggie patch pizza off their menu?

I was pretty shocked when I found this out a little while back. I don’t eat at Applebee’s all that often but whenever I do find myself there, I almost always to order it. This is probably why I thought it was a favorite for their customers. Apparently, it wasn't.

Since I love the challenge of recreating my restaurant favorites, it has occurred to me several times over the years that I could create the veggie patch pizza (VPP) at home. (I've posted a couple of them here and here and here, and I do have another one that I’ll post eventually.) So once I knew it was off the menu, I decided it was time to finally give it a shot.

I think I knocked it out of the park on the 2^nd attempt. My first attempt was to use pizza dough and make it more pizza-like. Big mistake – don’t do it. You need to use a tortilla because it brings it all together.

We shamelessly ate these for dinner with nothing else. If that is the route you want to go, then the recipe below will serve two. But as an appetizer, or paired with some soup or salad, I think you’ll serve four with no problem. And of course, you can always double the recipe!

Applebee’s Veggie Patch Pizza Knockoff

*Makes 2, 10” pizzas – serves 4 as an appetizer

(printable recipe)

Ingredients:

-          1 ½ cups sliced button mushrooms

-          2 tbls butter, divided

-          2-3 cloves garlic, minced

-          1/3 cup minced onion

-          1 cup artichokes, chopped

-          2 – 2 ½ cups packed baby spinach, chopped

-          1 cup heavy cream

-          ½ cup parmesan cheese

-          2 teas oil  - veggie or canola

-          2 10” flour tortillas

-          ¾ - 1 cup shredded mozzarella or Italian mix cheese

-          1 tomato, seeded and diced

Florentine Crusted Pork Chops

It’s starting to get dark earlier now.

This means taking pictures indoors because it is impossible for me to have dinner ready before 7pm. Other than that, I actually do like changes the clocks back. I need the light in the morning to get moving. That, and a good, strong cup of coffee.

Brent, on the other hand, hates it and will bitch and moan about it until we spring forward. It’s another one of those little things that we are polar opposites about. But he is also able to sleep until 8:30 AM during the week while I’m trying to get up by 6:30AM.

How is that even fair?

So let’s talk about food for a minute! This is a FOOD blog after all. Currently my house is on a pantry cooking challenge. It gets interesting when we go through these challenges, which is about every 3 months or so. Some meals are complete and utter failures, and other times, a pretty great new dish comes together.

This dish, thankfully, is the latter. I had some boneless pork chops I wanted to use and after brainstorming, this idea is what came along. The chops were crispy, but still moist inside, and the spinach and cheese on top kept it from being a plain ol’ boring fried chop. And I was surprised but pork chops actually went well with a side of pasta. I don’t think I’ve ever tried it before.

There is one thing I would do differently next time and that would be waiting to use fresh spinach that had been steamed or sautéed up. But there was no need to go to the store just for that when I had frozen that would work just fine. Use whichever you have on hand!

Florentine Crusted Pork Chops

 

*Serves 4
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
- 4 boneless pork chops, pounded 1/3” thick
- 1 egg
- Splash of water
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 – 1 ½ cups panko bread crumbs
- 3 tablespoons canola oil
- 1 cup frozen spinach, thawed
- ¾ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
- Salt and pepper


Directions:

1. Whisk egg in a small bowl and add a splash of water. Lay bread crumbs and flour out on separate plates. Season flour with salt and pepper. Add canola oil to a large sauté pan and heat to medium high heat.

Baked Spinach and Sausage Stuffed Tomato

In general, I think the theory that our taste buds changed every seven years is true. When I was little I didn’t care too much for tomatoes, but now I like them for the most part. Except, I still hate the squishy guts inside. I love the idea of stuffing tomatoes and baking them till they are slightly soft. This is probably because I have a slight obsession with stuffing items with delicious concoctions. It’s safe to say that anything stuffed makes me happy. And if you pair something stuffed with any kind of dip or sauce, I have seriously died and gone to heaven.

Anyway, this recipe can do triple duty in your kitchen. It can be served as a main course, an interesting side dish, or if you use roma tomatoes, it can be a great appetizer. This makes 4 large vine-ripe or beefsteak tomatoes, but if you want to make it as an app, go with about 6 roma tomatoes and halve them.

Even though my cheese got a little too browned, I couldn't not share these with you.



Italian Sausage and Spinach Baked Stuffed Tomatoes
*Makes 4
(printable recipe)

What you need:
- 4-5oz loose mild Italian sausage
- 4 large beefsteak or vine-ripened tomatoes
- ¼ cup minced onion
- 1 small garlic clove, minced
- 1/3 cup frozen spinach, squeezed of excess liquid
- 1/3 cup breadcrumbs
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese
- ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon garlic salt
- salt and pepper

French Bread Pizza #1

Recipe: Spinach and Mushroom French Bread Pizza with Sun dried Tomato Spread

Who didn’t love Stouffer’s French Bread Pizza as a kid? I’d venture to say very few didn’t like them. In the world of frozen pizza where there are hundreds to choose from, Stouffers is in my top three that I will enjoy from time to time. That being said, this idea came from a commercial I saw about a bajillion times on the Food Network for those sandwich thins. The idea sounded good to me, so I ran with it since I had nearly all the ingredients in my fridge that night anyway.

 Spinach and Mushroom French Bread Pizza

These pizzas would be great for a quick dinner, a weekend lunch or snack, or maybe some really big sports game that might be right around the corner…

*Serves 4 (as a meal)
(printable recipe)

Ingredients:
- 1 long French loaf
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 3-4 sun dried tomatoes in oil, depending on size
- 1.5 teaspoons oil from sun dried tomatoes
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ¼ cup milk
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 3 cups fresh baby spinach
- 2 cups mushrooms
- ¾ cup fresh mozzarella, cubed

Directions:

Florentine Omelet

If there is one thing in the kitchen that I am utterly useless at, it’s making the perfect omelet. I can never seem to get it juuuust right and believe me I have tried countless times. Brent however is a total rock star when it comes to making them, and this is my favorite that he makes. It takes a bit of effort but it’s well worth it. After several hours of begging and promises to give him back rubs, he wrote the recipe down so I can share it with you.

Brent’s Florentine Omelet

*Serves 2
(printable recipe)

Ingredients:
- 3 eggs
- slash of milk
- ½ cup mushrooms, sliced
- 4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
- 3 tablespoons butter, divided
- 2/3 cup heavy cream + a splash;
- ¼ cup onion, diced
- 1 teaspoon of garlic
- 1/3 cup artichoke hearts, roughly chopped
- ½ cup frozen spinach, thawed and excess water removed
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
- ½ cup shredded Italian cheese
- salt and pepper

Directions:

For the sauce: sauté onion and garlic in 1 tbl butter on medium heat until translucent. Add artichoke hearts and spinach, then toss to combine allow to cook for a minute. Add heavy cream and let reduce by half over medium heat. Whisk in parmesan cheese and salt and pepper to taste. Cook for an additional minute or two, then serve over omelet.

Spinach and Prosciutto Lasagna

Life has been crazy busy lately. You would think this is a good thing, but all I can think about is how Thanksgiving is right around the corner and then its nonstop chaos until 2011 arrives. Three weeks ago was Brent’s birthday, two weeks ago my dad was in town, and last week we went out of town for a lovely little vacation. And now the next week or so will be trying to catch up with life and focus on checking off about 167 things off my 500+ to do list. I’m ok with that, I love checking things off my TDL.
Back to the food.

I made this dish for dinner while my dad was in town. During his stay I didn’t want anything that took too much time away from chatting over a couple of cups of coffee with him. It’s actually my version of a Giada DeLaurentiis dish that I saw her make many years ago. So many in fact that this was the first meal I ever made for Brent (which I forgot actually), but he kindly reminded me of this as he ate it.

Spinach and Prosciutto Lasagna Rolls

Adapted from Giada

*Serves 4

(printable recipe)

Ingredients:- 1 10oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed
- 2 1/4 cups ricotta
- 1/5 lb prosciutto, sliced and diced
- ¼ cup parmesan
- 2 cups mozzarella, divided
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ½ teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon ground pepper
- 2 cups of your favorite red marinara sauce
- 1 cup alfredo sauce
- 10 lasagna noodles ( maybe throw one or two extra in case one rips)

Directions:

1. Cook lasagna noodles according to package and drain when done. Separate noodles and lay flat to cool.

Spin-Art Spread

This is very close to Spinach Artichoke Dip, but is instead a spread for sandwiches, paninis, burgers, etc. And its probably a little healthier for you.

Spin-Art Spread

(print the recipe)

Ingredients:

- ½ cup chopped artichoke hearts

- ½ cup chopped frozen spinach

- 1 4.4 ounce tub of Boursin Light

- S&P

Procedure:

1. Squeeze any excess water from the thawed frozen spinach. Roughly chop spinach and artichoke.

2. In a small bowl add spinach, artichoke, and entire tub of Boursin Light. Mix well.

3. Add salt to taste and a good amount of freshly ground black pepper. Mix again.

Makes approximately one cup. Can be stored in the fridge in a sealed container for several days.

Thoughts: Boursin's garlic and herbs add a lot of flavor to this spread. And in my opinion, spinach and artichokes are always a winning combination. This is would be really great as a burger topping one night.

Popeye would Approve Sauteed Spinach

When I was a kid I hated spinach, probably like most other kids. I can’t remember when I started to like it, but I believe it was early in my college years and I had some Spinach dip. Now I use it in a lot of dishes. The recipe below is for Sautéed Spinach with pan fried garlic and shaved parmesan. So simple to make and yet is full of flavor.

Sauteed Spinach with Garlic and Parmesan

Print Recipe

Ingredients:

- 1 lb of fresh baby spinach

- 4 cloves of fresh garlic

- shaved parmesan

- 2 tablespoons of EVOO

- S&P

Procedure:

1- Slice each garlic clove thin length-wise and sauté over medium heat until a light golden brown. Takes maybe 5 minutes. Be careful not too burn it though!

2- Add spinach and toss until slightly wilted. This takes only a few minutes. Add S&P to taste.

3- Transfer to serving dish and toss in several tablespoons of shaved parmesan.

You’re DONE! It’s that easy. With pan-frying the garlic, it infuses the EVOO which coats the spinach as you toss it. The parmesan will get slightly soft from the spinach, but adds a nice salty-nuttiness to the dish.

My thoughts on this dish: I love spinach now almost anyway you can make it and incorporating it with two of my other favorite ingredients – garlic and parmesan – you get a home run in my opinion. This makes a great side dish for when you’re making pasta, but would like a vegetable on the side rather than a salad. It’s probably even easier than making a salad because you don’t need to cut all the veggies!

Comfort Food Heaven: Stuffed Meatloaf

At the request of DB I made some simple, homemade comfort food. We rarely eat at home on Monday night's as we opt to get out of the house and have a few drinks instead but this week was an exception. Monday nights do seem to be a good night to partake in some soul-warming food though. I decided on making Stuffed Meatloaf, Whipped Potatoes and Corn. I had been craving this meatloaf for a good while now and luckily I remember how I did it before. (I've only made it once before).

One of the main reasons I wanted to start a blog was so that I would HAVE to write down my recipes. I never write them down, hardly ever follow one and refuse to share them - till now. I love looking at recipes for inspiration but its a very rare instance that I would follow one to a T when it comes to cooking. I also don't measure, so most everything is a "guesstimate" as to the proportions but close enough.

Stuffed Meatloaf

Inspiration: This recipe is actually derived from one Rachael Ray does. I caught a 30 Minute Meal and this was the main dish. This was well over two years ago so I have no clue what her recipe is.

(printable recipe)

Ingredients:

- 1.5lbs of ground beef

- 1 shallot

- 1 heaping tablespoon of minced garlic (I use a regular large spoon)

- 1 tablespoons of dried oregano

- 1 tablespoon dried basil

- 1 teaspoon dried parsley

- 3 slices of prosciutto

- 5 sliced of provolone cheese
- Two handfuls of fresh baby spinach

- 1/3 cup of bread crumbs

- 1/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese

- 1 egg

- few dashed of Worcestershire sauce
- Salt and Pepper to taste

You will also need: Cooking spray, parchment paper and two cookie sheets

Procedure:

1. Mince garlic and shallot.

2. In a large mixing bowl, crack and whisk the egg.

3. Add meat, garlic, shallot, oregano, parsley, basil, bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, worcestershire and S&P (salt and pepper). Mix well with hands until well incorporated but don't over mix it.

4. Take two cookie sheets and two pieces of parchment paper. Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray. Lay one piece of parchment over the cookie sheet. ****I forgot I was out of parchment so I just sprayed the pan but parchment makes this A LOT easier.**** Place meat mixture in the form of a ball in the center. Then take 2nd sheet of parchment and lay over it. Take the second cookie sheet and press down until the meat is about 1/3 - 1/2 of an inch thick.

5. Remove top cookie sheet and parchment paper. Layer the three slices of prosciutto, then the provolone cheese and finally the spinach straight down the middle.

6. Start at one side of the meat and slowly roll the meat to the other side. Remove parchment and flip the meat so that the seam side is down. Mold and pinch the ends to create a seal to keep the cheese inside.

7. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and bake for 25 - 30 minutes. ** I prefer to take mine out when its still just a little bit pink.

8. Let stand for about 5-10 minutes and then cut into 1" thick slices to serve.

My thoughts on this dish: Its super simple and a nice twist on a pretty standard comfort food. I was very happy with the flavor of the meat. All the flavors blended really well and it was super moist. I was a little concerned that I put too much garlic (which is very rare for me because I love it) but BD said he couldn't even taste it. If you aren't a garlic fan you might to use a little less just to be on the safe side.