It’s well known I do not like many forms of pork that do not involve a) bacon or b) ribs, so I have some difficultly eating a pork chop or pork tenderloin unless it’s absolutely exceptional, moist, and flavorful.  Otherwise, I rather eat the sides on my plate and call it a day.  With that pickiness in mind, I gave this Better Homes & Gardens recipe a try.  Thankfully, it turned out fantastic.  I used my favorite stuffing – Meijer chicken stuffing in a large, tall container.  Since we have an egg allergy in the house, I omitted the egg and milk and used buttermilk instead.  It was great!  Don’t skimp on the butter here.

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 pork loin chops, cut 3/4″ thick
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted (unsalted is safest as your stuffing mix will have sodium)
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 1 cup herb-seasoned stuffing mix, finely crushed

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 425.
2. Trim fat from meat.
3. Pour butter into a 13x9x2″ baking pan, tilting pan to coat the bottom.
4. In a shallow dish, combine egg, milk, and pepper (or combine buttermilk and pepper).
5. Place stuffing mix in another shallow dish.
6. Dip chops into egg/milk/pepper mixture or buttermilk/pepper mixture.
7. Coat both sides with stuffing mix.
8. Place chops in prepared pan.
9. Bake uncovered for 10 minutes.  Turn chops and bake additional 10-15 minutes until 160 degrees and juices run clear.

***After trying this recipe once, I figured out another option.  That is to preheat your oven with butter and pan inside.  Then *carefully* add your prepared chops to your hot pan with the hot butter already melted and up to temperature, to get more of a searing effect.

We loved this recipe from Martha Stewart’s “Great Food Fast” cookbook!  It’s a perfect recipe when you want a homemade meat sauce to go with your pasta and want to avoid a jarred sauce.  It reminded us of the flavors of the Greek dish called Pastichio, but it was infinitely easier to make!  The secret ingredient is shredded carrot and most people would never know!  This was a quick recipe and could be made even on a week night.

This recipe includes milk, which channels Northern Italian recipes like that of the famed Ragu alla Bolognese.

The only change I made was that I used about 1/3 of an onion instead of a whole onion, so I decreased the butter to 2 tablespoons and used the 1 tablespoon olive oil as instructed.  I probably could have decreased the butter to 1 tablespoon looking back, because it left a little oil/butter residue.  Very yummy dish!

*We used a little over 3/4 LB. of lean ground beef (90%).  Next time I’d use a full pound.  

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 tablespoons butter, which you can reduce (unsalted is best to use)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 carrot, grated (about 1/2 cup)
• 1 onion, chopped**
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 3/4 lb. to 1 lb. ground beef*
• 1 can (28 ounces) whole tomatoes**
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 dried bay leaf
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
• 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper**
• 1 LB. fettuccine
• Grated Parmesan cheese, for serving

**Known IC irritants, tread carefully!

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat the butter and oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.
2. Stir in the grated carrot, onion, and garlic.  Cook a few minutes.
3. Add the ground beef and cook until it turns from pink to brown, about 5 minutes.
4. Add the tomatoes and their liquid, crushing them with the back of a large spoon.
5. Stir in the milk, bay leaf, thyme, nutmeg, 1/2 tsp. salt, and 1/8 tsp pepper.
6. Simmer for 20 minutes.  Then discard bay leaf.
7. Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the fettuccine until al dente according to the package directions.
8. Reserve about 1/2 cup of the cooking water, and drain the fettuccine.
9. Return the pasta to the warm pot.
10. Add the meat sauce to the pasta, and toss.
11. Add the reserved pasta water as needed if the sauce seems dry.  (I ended up adding maybe 1/4 cup to make it moister).
12. To serve, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

The simplicity and flavor of this four ingredient chicken enchilada amazes me.  It really is easy and delicious.  I LOVE this recipe!  You can accent it with sour cream once it’s cooled out of the oven, or green onions, or whatever you like.  Use as much or as little cheese as you want, but definitely use the entire 28 oz. can of enchilada sauce, it needs it or it will dry out!  A+!

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 boneness, skinless chicken breast halves (a total of approx. 18-24 oz.)
• A package of corn tortillas (6-inch) *I always buy 2 pkg’s at a time just because.
• Monterey Jack or Mexican blend cheese
• One 28 oz. can mild, traditional enchilada sauce**
• sour cream, green onions**, etc for topping (optional)

** = may be considered irritants to some IC patients resulting in a flare.  Please tread carefully.

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. In a large skillet with lid, bring 1″ water to a boil.
3. Add chicken and season with salt.  Cover and reduce heat to medium-low.
4. Simmer 5 minutes, remove skillet from heat.
5. Let chicken steam, covered, until cooked through or registers safe on an instant-read thermometer, about 12-14 minutes.
6. When slightly cooled, shred with two forks and transfer chicken to large bowl.
7. Mix 1 cup enchilada sauce with chicken; toss to combine.
8. Spread some enchilada sauce evenly in a baking dish.  (I used a 9×13″ Pyrex glass baking dish which has an awesome lid for later storage).
9. Fill each corn tortilla with chicken mixture.  Roll up tightly and arrange seam side DOWN, in a baking dish.
10. Cover with remaining enchilada sauce and top with desired amount of cheese
11. Bake until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbling, 15-20 minutes.
12. Let cool 5 minutes before serving (believe me!).

This is a very good lasagna.  What we found interesting was the day we made it, it was just in the “okay/good” pile.  The next day, after a night in the fridge, it morphed into something you would taste at a fancy, exotic Italian restaurant.  It got 100x better!  It had more depth of flavor and didn’t taste bland at all.  **We used 85% ground beef, ricotta, and shredded Italian cheese.  For the ricotta, don’t use fat free ricotta, at least use the medium fat one like we did – I think the ricotta was 6g fat a serving.  Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes with Italian herbs
• 1 lb. ground beef or Italian sausage (casings removed)
• 6 uncooked dried lasagna noodles
• 2 cups (8 oz) shredded Italian cheese blend or mozzarella cheese
• 1 1/2 cups cottage cheese or ricotta cheese
• 2 T. grated or shredded Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS:

1. Set oven at 350 degrees and preheat.
2. Spray 2 qt. rectangular baking dish with cooking spray.
3. Spoon 1 cup crushed tomatoes into baking dish.
4. Cook meat in large skillet, drain.
5. Stir in remaining undrained tomatoes, bring to boil.
6. Place 2 uncooked noodles in dish, top with 1/3 of the meat/sauce mixture and 1/3 of the Italian cheese.
7. Repeat layers.
8. Top with cottage cheese (preferably ricotta!),  then remaining noodles, meat mixture, and Italian cheese.
9. When in doubt, if that’s confusing, JUST KEEP LAYERING! LOL
10. Cover with foil and bake in preheated 350 for 1 hour.  Put a jelly roll pan under the baking dish to collect any spillage.
11. Let stand 15 minutes to cool (or you’ll burn your mouth!)
12. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

This is a cool recipe I found in my CrockPot slow cooker book that I love.  It takes your classic sloppy joe ingredients and adds flavorful, easy add-ins like baked beans, bell pepper, and BBQ sauce.  It’s really better than I thought it’d be and very yummy!  It’s extremely simple – look at the directions!  This is one you could throw together in the morning in about 10-15 minutes and have a scrumptious meal come dinner time.  We’ll definitely make this again!

Makes 4-6 servings.  

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 1/2 lbs. lean ground beef
• 1/2 cup chopped sweet onion (or use powder)**
• 1 medium red bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped
• 1 large clove garlic, crushed (or use powder)
• 1/2 cup ketchup**
• 1/2 cup BBQ sauce**
• 2 T. cider vinegar**
• 1 T. Worcestershire sauce**
• 1 T. packed brown sugar
• 1 tsp. chili powder**
• 1 can (8 oz.) baked beans
• 6 kaiser rolls, split and warmed
• Shredded sharp cheddar cheese (optional, but great!)

**Known IC irritants, tread carefully!

DIRECTIONS:

1. Brown ground beef, onion, bell pepper, and garlic 6-8 minutes in large skillet, stirring to break up meat.  Drain and discard excess fat.  Transfer beef mixture to slow cooker.
2. Combine ketchup, BBQ sauce, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, and chili powder in small bowl.  Transfer to slow cooker.
3. Add baked beans.  Stir well to combine.  Cover, cook on HIGH 3 hours.  (I did low and it was fine).
4. To serve, fill split rolls with 1/2 cup sloppy joe mixture.  Sprinkle with cheese, if desired, before topping sandwich with roll lid.