Parmesan and Sage-Crusted Pork Chops

Love, love, love these! So tender, easy and flavorful. Instead of getting chops, I used a pork tenderloin and made medallions. I paired it with a rich, home-made scallop potatoes and some asparagus. The scalloped potatoes might have been a little over powering for the pork, but both of them were delicious.

The sage took front and center for the pork, which typically doesn't have a whole lot of flavor on its own. The sage was a nice, earthy flavor and a good change of pace. I don't cook with a lot of sage, so it was a great change up of flavors to day to day meals.

If you use pork tenderloin instead of chops, plan on one tenderloin per two people. The cooking time will also depend on the thickness of your pork.

Parmesan and Sage-Crusted Pork Chops

Ingredients

• 1 (1 1/4-ounce) slice white bread, torn into pieces
• 1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon prepared mustard
• 2 large egg whites
• 4 (4-ounce) boneless thin-cut pork loin chops, trimmed
• 1 1/2 tablespoons canola oil

Preparation

1. Place bread in a food processor; pulse bread 10 times or until coarse crumbs measure about 1 cup. Combine breadcrumbs, cheese, sage, salt, and pepper in a shallow dish. Place flour in another shallow dish. Combine mustard and egg whites in another shallow dish, stirring with a whisk.

2. Working with one pork chop at a time, dredge pork in flour, shaking off excess. Dip pork into egg white mixture, allowing excess to drip off. Coat pork completely with breadcrumb mixture. Set aside. Repeat procedure with remaining pork, flour, egg white mixture, and breadcrumb mixture.

3. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add oil to pan, swirling to coat. Add pork; cook 3 minutes on each side or until browned and done.

Garlic Herb Cheese Stuffed Pork Tenderloin & Corn Cakes

Another one of my mom's class recipes. Before I knew how to make this, I thought it was pretty involved. But after making it a couple of times, it's not that hard. This is possibly one of my favorite dishes. (I think all of my favorite dishes are ones that my mom made at home.) One tenderloin is good for two people, so if you're cooking for more, follow the recipe as is below.

Garlic-Herb Cheese Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

2 pork tenderloins
1 bunch fresh spinach - I leave this out. Don't ask why. I don't ever remember my mom using this ingredient either.
2 - 5 oz. Rondele Cheese - I usually grab the garlic & herb kind.
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 Tb. olive oil
1 cup chicken broth

Trim fat & silverskin from pork. Butterfly pork by slicing lengthwise down center but not all the way through. Lay open and flatten to 1/2" thickness.

Wash, dry & remove stems from spinach leaves. Lay leaves over pork. Salt & pepper.

Spoon cheese onto leaves down center of meat & sprinkle with Parmesan. The cheese spreads more easily if it's been sitting out a little while. Leave at least a 1/2" border so that the cheese doesn't completely ooze out when rolling up the meat. Roll meat up and tie with string. This keeps the whole thing together while you sear it.

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees. Heat large oven proof skillet over medium-high heat on stove and add oil. I use a non non-stick pan so that crusties form on the bottom of the pan. Brown pork on all sides. Place skillet in oven and cook for about 20 minutes until meat is cooked through. Meat temperature should read 160 degrees. Remeber the handle of the pan is hot too when removing it from the oven!! I stupidly forgot one time and yeah, my hand hurt.

Remove pork to carving board and return skillet to stove top. Add broth to pan and bring to a boil, scraping up the brown bits. Boil sauce until reduced to syrupy mix.

Slice meat and spoon sauce over meat.


Corn Fritters

1 package corn muffin mix (Jiffy mix)
1 egg
2 Tb. vegetable oil + more for frying
3/4 cup milk
1 Anaheim or poblano pepper, seeded & thinly sliced - I use jalapeno peppers too.
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1 cup shredded cheddar
salt

Combine dry mix with egg, 2 Tb. oil and milk to make batter. Then stir in chile peppers, corn and cheddar. Heat thin layer of oil in large skillet & cook six small cakes, for 2-3 minutes on first side and 1-2 minutes on second side until evenly deep golden in color.

Transfer to towel lined plate & salt the cakes. Repeat, adding additional oil for remaining cakes.

The gravy sauce on the pork makes everything so much yummier!

Normally I serve the pork with mashed potatoes and a veggie, but I decided to fry up some corn cakes instead. This things are really good. The crispiness from the crust on the outside and the crunch from the whole corn kernels inside give a nice contrast to the pancake like consistency the corn muffin mix gives. Then there are the jalapeno peppers which give it a nice zing. I really like these corn cakes with BBQ (ribs or chicken). They just have that home style feeling.

But let's not forgot about that delicious pork tenderloin. I love how the cheese oozes out. It makes scooping it up with the meat that much more yummy. The sauce is what brings it together though. Without those crusty bits on the bottom of the pan, the sauce just wouldn't be the same. That's why I don't use a non-stick pan. No matter how stubborn the pork seems to be when trying to brown it, it makes it worth while. And the meat is so tender, you can cut it with a fork!

One of my favorite meals. The hardest part might be tying the meat up with the string. That can get a little messy if the cheese is oozing out from the pork.

You have to give this one a try! Happy cooking!

Soy Glazed Pork with Rice and Asian Veggies

Soy Glazed Pork with Rice and Asian Veggies

Disclaimer: This is not my recipe. My notes are in italics.

1 1/2 cups of rice

8 oz. snow peas, trim off each ends

2 medium carrots, thinly sliced

2 red bell peppers (ribs & seeds removed), thinly sliced - I used one red and one yellow since I bought that tri-color bell pepper pack

1 bunch of scallions, ends trimmed and cut into 3" lengths - I omitted these.

2 Tb. vegetable oil

1/4 cup soy sauce

Salt & pepper

1 pork tenderloin ( 1 - 1 1/4 pounds)

1/4 cup of honey

Cook rice according to package instructions. Meanwhile, heat broiler and set rack 4" from heat.

On a large rimmed baking sheet, toss snow peas, carrots, bell peppers and scallions with oil and 2 Tb. of soy sauce. Season with salt and pepper.

Trim pork of silver skin and fat. Place on top of veggies and salt and pepper. Spread about 1 Tb. of honey over the pork. I didn't measure the honey, I just drizzled enough over the top to make sure it was well covered. Broil until pork and veggies begin to char, 6-8 minutes. I cooked it 8 minutes each time. Toss vegetables and turn pork. Drizzle with another 1 Tb. of honey. Cook another 6-8 minutes.

Toss vegetables again and continue to broil another 6-8 minutes until a meat thermometer, inserted in thickest part of pork, reads 145 degrees and vegetables are charred in spots. Remove from broiler. Tent with aluminum foil and let rest for 10 minutes.

In a small bowl, stir together remaining 2 Tb. of soy sauce and 2 Tb. of honey. Thinly slice pork and serve with vegetables, rice and sauce.

I thought this dish might end up too salty with all the soy sauce. But the honey nicely balances it out with some sweetness. I really like the pork with the honey on it. It's not too sweet, but it definitely has a nice flavor to it. If you like it sweeter, add more honey! The veggies did end up a little bit soggy and the only vegetable that really got charred was the snow peas. I might even suggest only using 1 Tb. of oil with the soy sauce on the veggies. I was also afraid the vegetables might end up salty too, but the honey from the pork actually mixes in well with the vegetables while cooking.

This is a healthy meal that's easy to make. It took maybe 40 minutes total from prep to plate. And pork tenderloin is one of the healthiest cuts of meats out there. In the package, you usually get two tenderloins. So you could double the meat or put the other tenderloin in a freezer zip lock and save for later. If you save for later, I would suggest trimming the silver skin and fat off now so that it's ready to go for next time. (I meant to do that but forgot by time I already stuck it in the freezer.) But one tenderloin is usually good for Wes and me with a little bit of leftovers.

The meat really isn't that pink, it's the sauce that makes it look a little pinker than it really is.

The most intimidating part of this recipe maybe cooking the pork tenderloin if you've never cooked with it before. But this is a good introduction to it since there's not a lot that you have to do to the meat. Just trim it and stick it on the baking sheet.

Great and easy meal for a busy week. Happy cooking!