Spinach & Cheese Stuffed Shells

Ingredients
12 jumbo pasta shells (1/2 box)
1 1/2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
6 ounces frozen spinach
1 cups part-skim ricotta cheese
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1/2 cup mozeralla
3  garlic cloves
handful fresh basil chopped
Freshly ground pepper to taste
1 large egg white, lightly beaten
3 cups prepared marinara sauce

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Cook shells in a large pot of boiling water, stirring often, until just tender, about 10 minutes or according to package directions.

Drain and rinse under cold water. Set aside.

In a bowl combine ricotta, Parmesan, 1/2 mozzarella cheese, garlic, basil, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper to taste. Stir well and then add spinach and beaten egg white.(you can leave the egg white out if you want)

Stuff each of the reserved shells with a generous 2 tablespoons of the ricotta mixture.  Spread 1 cup marinara sauce in the bottom of baking dish.

Arrange the stuffed shells in a single layer. Top with the remaining 2 cups of the sauce and sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese and mozzarella. Bake until the top is golden and the shells are heated through, about 30 minutes.  I cooked Italian turkey sausage to serve alongside the stuff shells.

Stuffed Pork Chops

1 c rice
4 pork chops
1 bell pepper
1 TB hoision sauce
1 TB soy sauce
2 garlic cloves
1 Tb vegetable oil
1 small onion
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions
 Cook rice. If your using thicker pork chops carefully slice them in half but not all the way through. You want to make a little pocket for the rice. I bought thinner pork chops, so I can just fold them over and stuff them. The thinner chops make smaller stuffed pork chops.


Mix 1/2 cup rice with the hoision sauce, 1/2 bell pepper chopped into small pieces, and minced garlic.









Take the rice mixture and spoon it into the pork chop. Do not over stuff the chops they won't be as easy to close and it gets messy. Close the pork chops with a tooth pick to keep the rice from falling out.

This is what over stuffed looks like. 

You just end up with burnt rice in pan.

Add salt and pepper to taste. Brown the pork chops so they get a nice color on them. 

Then bake them for 15 minutes. Longer if you used the thicker cuts of meat.









While the pork chops are baking saute the remaining bell pepper and onion. I seasoned/sauteed it with a lot of red pepper, 1 tsp curry powder, 1/2 tsp all spice, 1 tsp chilli powder, 1 tsp garlic salt and then added 1 c chicken stock to allow it to simmer into a sauce until the pork chops were done. You can saute/season them with anything even just soy sauce is good.

Take the remaining white rice and put on the plates. Top it with the pepper and onion mixture.

After you remove the pork chops from the oven carefully remove the tooth picks. You need to do quickly so they are still hot when you serve them to your guests. Put on the plate with the rice covered in onions and peppers and enjoy!










I ate my stuffed pork chop with leftover pork lo mien and it was delicious, so it can work with almost any sides.

Pork Lo Mein

Ingredients
8 oz pork
3 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce, divided
2 garlic cloves
2 Tb ginger

1/2 tsp curry powder
2 tsp red pepper flakes
8 oz uncooked linguini
handful shredded carrots
1 tsp canola oil
4 oz mushrooms
1/2 c chicken stock
1 green bell pepper

Instructions
In a medium bowl, toss pork with 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, red pepper flakes, garlic and ginger; let stand 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook linguini in a large pot of lightly salted water according to package direction. Add carrots to pot half way before linguini will be done. Drain and set aside.

Heat canola oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat; add mushrooms and saute until they release some liquid.

 

Add pork mixture and bell pepper. Stir fry until pork is cooked through, about 6 minutes.

Add drained linguini and carrots, chicken stock, remaining tablespoon of soy sauce and curry to skillet. Stir until everything is mixed evenly.

Chicken Pad Thai

7 oz packaged noodles
2 chicken breasts
4 c frozen broccoli and cauliflower, florets
Handful of shredded carrots
1/4 c lime juice
3 Tbsp brown sugar
3 Tbsp water
1 1/2 tsp ginger
4 tsp vegetable oil
1 tsp green curry paste
2 cloves garlic
1Tb cilantro
Bell Pepper
3 Tb soy sauce
1TB rice vinegar
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 can stewed tomatoes

Instructions
Cook noodles

Saute garlic and red pepper flakes in 2 tsp oil.Add chicken and cook until browned. Add the bell peppers, steamed broccoli/cauliflower, tomatoes, any other veggies you want and the green curry paste.

Meanwhile, in another small bowl, combine remaining 3 tablespoons of soy sauce, 3 tablespoons of lime juice, sugar, water and ginger; mix well and set aside.
Drain noodles thoroughly. Off heat, coat same wok or skillet with cooking spray and warm over medium-high heat; add remaining 2 teaspoons of oil.

Add noodles and soy sauce mixture; cook, stirring, until sauce is mostly absorbed, about 3 minutes.

 Stir in chicken and veggie mixture; remove from heat. Add remaining tablespoon of lime juice, cilantro and if you want to spice it up add sriracha hot chili sauce; mix well. Serve immediately.

White Chicken Enchiladas

Enchilada pictured with Mexican rice

Chicken enchiladas with green chili sour cream sauce

6 soft taco shells

1 can shredded chicken

1 cup shredded hot pepper cheese

3 Tbsp. butter

3 Tbsp. flour

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup sour cream

1 (4 oz) can diced green chillies
1/2 c enchilada sauce red or green 
1 bell pepper
chopped tomato

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease  pan. I only had a deep loaf pan so that's what I used. you can use any pan that is deep enough to allow you to cover the enchiladas with sauce. Mix chicken, bell pepper, chopped tomato, enchilada sauce, and 1/2 cup cheese.  Roll up in tortillas and place in pan.

In a sauce pan, melt butter, stir in flour and cook 1 minute.  Add broth and whisk until smooth.  Heat over medium heat until thick and bubbly.  

Stir in sour cream and chilies.  Do not bring to boil, you don't want curdled sour cream.

 

Pour over enchiladas and top with remaining cheese.

Bake 22 min and then under high broil for 3 min to brown the cheese. Use more cheese If you want the cheese to brown on top. I was trying to save on calories but original recipe called for 2 cups cheese.