Pork Chops Stuffed with Goat Cheese, Spinach and Sun-dried Tomatoes

I don't exactly know how I stumbled upon this recipe.  Maybe it was one of those "pop-up" things on Facebook - you know what I mean - they "send" you pages that you might be interested in because I don't remember ever hearing of this blog or webpage before.

This recipe comes to us from the Foody Schmoody Blog.   As always, I made some changes to the recipe which I will mark with an **

This is a really easy recipe to make.  Chances are you will have to make a trip to the grocery store for the ingredients.  Surprisingly enough, I did have most of the ingredients, except the spinach.   

Pork Chops Stuffed with Goat Cheese by Food Schmoody

Ingredients

1 to 2 T butter
5 boneless pork chops ** (her recipe said 4 - mine made 5)
4 cups fresh spinach
4 oz goat cheese ** (I used 5 oz. goat cheese)
1/3 cup julienne style sun dried tomatoes drained, packed in oil ** (I didn't have those - mine were just sun dried whole tomatoes - so I chopped them up into small pieces)
1/2 cup seasoned breadcrumbs ** (I used crumbled up Ritz crackers)

Directions:
Rinse the spinach and place it in a microwave safe bowl with a fitted cover.  (her instructions are to microwave it with 1 T water on high for 1 minute until wilted - it took me about 3 minutes to get my spinach wilted).

Drain the water from the spinach in a colander.

In a separate bowl, mix together the goat cheese, wilted lettuce and sun dried tomatoes.

Cut a slit in each pork chop, making it deep enough to create a pocket, but not enough to cut the pork chop in half.

Spoon the spinach mixture into each pocket and coat each pork chop on both sides in the crumbs to coat.

Heat the butter in a large skillet and add the pork chop.  Cook about 4 to 5 minutes until nicely brown (I put a cover over the skillet while it was cooking) and turn over.

Entire Recipe:

Pork Chops Stuffed with Goat Cheese by Food Schmoody

Ingredients
1 to 2 T butter
5 boneless pork chops ** (her recipe said 4 - mine made 5)
4 cups fresh spinach
4 oz goat cheese ** (I used 5 oz. goat cheese)
1/3 cup julienne style sun dried tomatoes drained, packed in oil ** (I didn't have those - mine were just sun dried whole tomatoes - so I chopped them up into small pieces)
1/2 cup seasoned breadcrumbs ** (I used crumbled up Ritz crackers)

Directions:
Rinse the spinach and place it in a microwave safe bowl with a fitted cover.  (her instructions are to microwave it with 1 T water on high for 1 minute until wilted - it took me about 3 minutes to get my spinach wilted).

Drain the water from the spinach in a colander.

In a separate bowl, mix together the goat cheese, wilted lettuce and sun dried tomatoes.

Cut a slit in each pork chop, making it deep enough to create a pocket, but not enough to cut the pork chop in half.

Spoon the spinach mixture into each pocket and coat each pork chop on both sides in the crumbs to coat.

Heat the butter in a large skillet and add the pork chop.  Cook about 4 to 5 minutes until nicely brown (I put a cover over the skillet while it was cooking) and turn over.

Verdict:

Yep, we have another winner!  My resident expert, aka my husband, loved it.  I thought it was pretty good myself.  It was super easy to make.  The pork chops were nice and moist.  My other "expert", will be taste testing his tonight for his lunch (he works 3rd shift).  

Blueberry Cheese Pie

Trust me!!!  This is even better than it looks!!  And it is super easy to make!!  I did cheat and use a store bought graham cracker crust (I know - oh the horror!!!).
I found this recipe in Melissa's Southern Cookbook.  The recipe is entitled "Granma's Famous Blueberry Icebox Pie."  I made this pie for Memorial Day and it was a HUGE hit and I thought it would be perfect for the 4th.  BUT, this time I thought I would make a few changes . . .

The recipe calls for 2 8 ounce packages of soft cream cheese.  Well, I have a recipe from Mary Jane Toth's Cheesmaker's Journal for Farmer's Cheese which is excellent!!!  Best goat's milk cheese I have ever tasted.  So I made a batch of the Farmer's Cheese (using goat's milk) and used that in the recipe instead of the cream cheese.  The pie was superb!!!!

Granma's Icebox Blueberry Pie by Melissa

Ingredients:

1 graham cracker pie crust (she does include a recipe or you can buy one from the store)
2  8 oz packages of softened cream cheese (or goat's milk farmer's cheese)
1 (2.6 ounce) box Dream Whip (use both envelopes)

1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 18 oz blueberry pie filling

Farmer's Goat's Milk cheese - this is the BEST goat's milk cheese recipe around!!!

In a medium mixing bowl, using a mixer add the cream cheese/farmer's cheese, Dream Whip, cream, powdered sugar, vanilla and almond extracts.

Beat together for about 2 minutes.

Spoon the mixture into your pie crust and spread evenly around.

Top with the pie filling.

Put the pie in the refrigerator for about 4 hours before serving.

Entire Recipe:

Granma's Icebox Blueberry Pie by Melissa

Ingredients:

1 graham cracker pie crust (she does include a recipe to make your own or you can buy one from the store)
2  8 oz packages of softened cream cheese (or goat's milk farmer's cheese)
1 (2.6 ounce) box Dream Whip (use both envelopes
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 18 oz blueberry pie filling

In a medium mixing bowl, using a mixer add the cream cheese/farmer's cheese, Dream Whip, cream, powdered sugar, vanilla and almond extracts.

Beat together for about 2 minutes.

Spoon the mixture into your pie crust and spread evenly around.

Top with the pie filling.

Put the pie in the refrigerator for about 4 hours before serving.

ENJOY!!!

Comments:

As I mentioned before, I made this for Memorial Day and it was a HUGE hit. So this is definitely a keeper recipe.  And I think you could use almost any pie filling for the topping - strawberries, cherries, blackberries, etc.  Excellent recipe!!!

UPDATE:

I made this for Labor Day, but used cherry pie filling instead of the blueberry pie filling - OMG - it was wonderful!!  Not sure which one I like best.  I think the cherry is the best since my husband asked me to make him another one with the cherry pie filling.

Frank and Bean Sandwich

It was one of "those" evenings where I had no clue what to make for dinner.  I stared at contents in my refrigerator for several minutes and had no inspiration for dinner.  Carryout had no appeal either.  I had a hungry family to feed and dinner time was fastly approaching.   So I turned to my "library" (as my husband calls it) of cookbooks.  I was sure I could find SOMETHING worth making.

And there, buried way back in the corner was the Campbell Soup "Cooking with Soup" cookbook.  As if ordained by the Cooking Angels, I opened up the cookbook to the page with this recipe.  Lo and behold, I had all the ingredients!!  It was a miracle!!  Once again my family would not go hungry!!

This is a real easy meal to make.  It takes about 10 minutes total to prepare this.

Frank and Bean Sandwich by Campbell Soup

Ingredients:

6 frankfurters (I used bun length hot dogs)
1/4 cup chopped onions
2 T butter
1 can (11 1/2 ounces) condensed bean and bacon soup**
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 sweet pickle relish
6 hot dog buns

Directions:

In a skillet, melt the butter and brown the frankfurters and onions.

In a separate bowl, mix together the soup, water, ketchup and pickle relish.

Pour the soup mixture over the frankfurters in the skillet and let simmer for several minutes.

Serve the frankfurters on the hot dog buns and spoon the bean sauce over the sandwich.

**I would think that you could easily substitute baked beans for the bean and bacon soup.

Entire Recipe:

Ingredients:

6 frankfurters
1/4 cup chopped onions
2 T butter
1 can (11 1/2 ounces) condensed bean and bacon soup
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 sweet pickle relish
6 hot dog buns

Directions:

In a skillet, melt the butter and brown the frankfurters and onions.

In a separate bowl, mix together the soup, water, ketchup and pickle relish.

Pour the soup mixture over the frankfurters in the skillet and let simmer for several minutes.

Serve the frankfurters on the hot dog buns and spoon the bean sauce over the sandwich.

ENJOY!

Verdict:

My resident experts (aka husband and son) loved it.  I am not a big fan of hot dogs and beans.  I thought it was OK.  Will I make it again - yes because "the experts" loved it.

Blueberry Buns

I accidentally stumbled upon this recipe through another blog. I believe it was "Eat Your Cookbooks."  She was giving away several cookbooks and one of them was Joan Nathan's King Solomon's Table, a cookbook about Jewish cooking.  On my husband's side on the family, many generations ago, they were Jewish.  Not sure when or why they converted to Christianity . . .   

I digress  , , , I thought it would be interesting to look up the author on the Internet.  She does have a web page plus a facebook page and has written numerous cookbooks on Jewish cooking.  PLUS she has several recipes on her website.  This is where I found this recipe.  So I thought I would make these for my husband to honor his distant Jewish relatives.

Fortunately, I did have most of the ingredients (and blueberries are reasonably cheap in the supermarkets!).  I did not have sour cream, so I substituted plain yogurt).

Blueberry Buns by Joan Nathan

Ingredients:

2 3/4 cups all-purpose unbleached flour, divided, plus flour for kneading (I used King Arthur's UnBleached All Purpose Flour)

1/2 teaspoon of salt ** (I omitted)
1 c sugar, divided, plus 1 tablespoon sugar
1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature, divided
1 T yeast
2 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk
2 heaping T sour cream (I used plain yogurt)
1 1/2 C blueberries (about)
2 tablespoons chopped candied ginger (optional) - I omitted

---

Directions:

Combine 2 1/2 cups of flour, the salt, and 3/4 cup of sugar in a mixing bowl. add half the butter. Mix well.  Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. 

Mix the yeast with 1/4 cup of warm water and stir into the flour mixture. 

Add the 2 whole eggs and the sour cream, mixing well with a spoon. (You can also put everything in a standing mixer.) Then cover with plastic wrap and let sit for about 2 hours until the dough doubles in volume.

Using your fingers, blend the remaining 1/2 cup of flour and 1/4 cup of sugar with the remaining butter and set aside in a bowl.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and cover two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Dust a baking board with flour and roll out the dough to a circle about 1/8 inch thick, adding more flour if the dough sticks (the dough is VERY sticky!!!).

Cut into 12 three-inch rounds (I used the ring from a large mason jar) and press at least 12 blueberries** into each round of dough and sprinkle with a little of the remaining tablespoons of sugar and the candied ginger if using. Then, cradling the filled circle of dough in one hand, use your second hand to carefully pinch it closed into a 3-by-5-inch oblong shape. Repeat with the remaining dough and blueberries. Put the buns on the baking sheets.

Brush the buns with the remaining egg yolk, pat the streusel – the flour-sugar-butter mixture – on top of the buns, 

and bake for about 25 minutes or until golden – don’t worry if some of the juices boil over. That is part of the buns’ charm.

**Yield: 12 blueberry buns - I got 18 buns.

Entire recipe:

Blueberry Buns by Joan Nathan

Ingredients:

2 3/4 cups all-purpose unbleached flour, divided, plus flour for kneading (I used King Arthur's UnBleached All Purpose Flour)

1/2 teaspoon of salt ** (I omitted)
1 c sugar, divided, plus 1 tablespoon sugar
1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature, divided
1 T yeast
2 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk
2 heaping T sour cream (I used plain yogurt)
1 1/2 C blueberries (about)
2 tablespoons chopped candied ginger (optional) - I omitted

---

Directions:

 Combine 2 1/2 cups of flour, the salt, and 3/4 cup of sugar in a mixing bowl. add half the butter. Mix well.  Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. 

Mix the yeast with 1/4 cup of warm water and stir into the flour mixture. 

Add the 2 whole eggs and the sour cream, mixing well with a spoon. (You can also put everything in a standing mixer.) Then cover with plastic wrap and let sit for about 2 hours until the dough doubles in volume.

Using your fingers, blend the remaining 1/2 cup of flour and 1/4 cup of sugar with the remaining butter and set aside in a bowl.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and cover two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Dust a baking board with flour and roll out the dough to a circle about 1/8 inch thick, adding more flour if the dough sticks (the dough is VERY sticky!!!).

Cut into 12 three-inch rounds (I used the ring from a large mason jar) and press at least 12 blueberries** into each round of dough and sprinkle with a little of the remaining tablespoons of sugar and the candied ginger if using. Then, cradling the filled circle of dough in one hand, use your second hand to carefully pinch it closed into a 3-by-5-inch oblong shape. Repeat with the remaining dough and blueberries. Put the buns on the baking sheets.

Brush the buns with the remaining egg yolk, pat the streusel – the flour-sugar-butter mixture – on top of the buns, and bake for about 25 minutes or until golden – don’t worry if some of the juices boil over. That is part of the buns’ charm.

**Yield: 12 blueberry buns - I got 18 buns.

ENJOY!!

Comments:

I did drizzle these with a powdered sugar icing which made them WONDERFUL!!! These are definitely a winner!  My husband was snacking on them all night!!  And I put 3 of them in his lunch for today.  

Mini Strawberry Muffins

I love this time of year - BERRY SEASON!!!  Everywhere you go . . . you will see strawberries!!  Big beautiful strawberries!!  Oh how I wish I knew a strawberry farmer . . . hmmm (a light bulb goes off in my brain!!) - maybe I COULD be that strawberry farmer!!  (that's another blog!!)

Anyhow, my refrigerator has 3 box of strawberries - what is a person to do??  So off to the Internet I go.  One of the first recipes I found was on the Land of Lakes website is this recipe for mini strawberry muffins by Ree Drummond (aka the Pioneer Woman).

For those of you who don't have a mini muffin pan, you can find one at Walmart Mini Muffin Pan at Walmart

I did make a few minor changes and will note those with an *

Mini Strawberry Muffins by Ree Drummond

Ingredients Muffins
 ½ cup Land O Lakes® Unsalted Butter, room temperature * (I did not have Land O Lakes butter, I used Kroger's Unsalted Butter)
½ cup sugar
1 large egg
3 to 5 drops red food coloring (optional, to give muffins a pink color)
1 cup, plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ cup buttermilk * (I didn't have buttermilk, I used goat's milk kefir)
½ cup finely chopped strawberries

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Spray one 24-cup mini muffin pan with baking spray. * I used mini cupcake liners from Wilton
Mini Cupcake Liners
Combined the butter and sugar until creamy.
Add the egg and beat until smooth.  If you are going to add food coloring, this is where you would add it.

Sift together 1 cup of the flour, baking powder and baking soda.
Alternate adding the dry ingredients to the mixer with the buttermilk, with the mixer on low.
Toss the ½ cup finely chopped strawberries with 1 tablespoon flour.
Fold the floured strawberries into the batter.

Drop tablespoons of the batter into the muffin tins. (I used a small cookie scoop - worked great!)

Bake for 14-16 minutes until muffins spring back when lightly touched and are light golden around the edges.
Remove from the oven and allow to sit in the pan for 15 minutes or until cool enough to easily remove from pan.

Entire Recipe:

Mini Strawberry Muffins by Ree Drummond

Ingredients Muffins
 ½ cup Land O Lakes® Unsalted Butter, room temperature * (I did not have Land O Lakes butter, I used Kroger's Unsalted Butter)
½ cup sugar
1 large egg
3 to 5 drops red food coloring (optional, to give muffins a pink color)
1 cup, plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ cup buttermilk * (I didn't have buttermilk, I used goat's milk kefir)
½ cup finely chopped strawberries

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Spray one 24-cup mini muffin pan with baking spray. * I used mini cupcake liners from Wilton
Mini Cupcake Liners
Combined the butter and sugar until creamy.
Add the egg and beat until smooth.  If you are going to add food coloring, this is where you would add it.
Sift together 1 cup of the flour, baking powder and baking soda.
Alternate adding the dry ingredients to the mixer with the buttermilk, with the mixer on low.
Toss the ½ cup finely chopped strawberries with 1 tablespoon flour.
Fold the floured strawberries into the batter.
Drop tablespoons of the batter into the muffin tins.
Bake for 14-16 minutes until muffins spring back when lightly touched and are light golden around the edges.
Remove from the oven and allow to sit in the pan for 15 minutes or until cool enough to easily remove from pan.

ENJOY!!

VERDICT:

My husband loved them!!!  He thought they made the perfect snack.  Yep, we have another winner on our hands.   I thought they would also be great sprinkle with cinnamon sugar on top.

Goat's Milk Kefir Cheese

A customer of mine introduced me to kefir last year.  Though I am not a big fan of drinking it straight, I did find many different uses for it.  One of my favorite uses is to make kefir cheese.  Of course, the only available milk I have available to me (and it is free!) is goat's milk.   Pictured above are kefir grains.

For those of you who are not familiar with making kefir.   It is pretty simple.  I put the grains in a quart size mason jar, pour fresh milk (in my case) goat's milk over the top of the grains and let the milk "ferment" for a day or so at room temperature (not in the refrigerator.  When the grains come floating to the top, it is time to pour off the milk into a large container, straining off the grains. to start the process over again.

To make the cheese, I found this "nifty" greek yogurt maker on Amazon and it works great for making the kefir cheese.  I use a half gallon of milk.  Unfortunately, it only makes about 4 ounces of cheese :-(

I store this in the refrigerator while the whey is draining from the kefir.  

The cheese tastes very similar to sour cream.

I used it last night on a baked potato and it was really good!  I imagine on a bagel it would be great!

There are several good places you can find kefir grains - Culture for Health, the Cheesemaker, Amazon and you can't forget eBay!

ENJOY!!

Eggplant, Zucchini and Mushroom Lasagna

You know how you get in "ruts" with making dinner - same old, same old, but a different day or a different week.  What I have been doing lately is opening my cookbooks and whatever page I open to, goes onto the menu for my grocery shopping.  We have had some really interesting (and good) dinners lately!! (and some that the chickens and dogs have enjoyed - LOL!!)

I found this recipe in the Weight Watcher's cookbook Weight Watcher's All Time Favorites cookbook - I LOVE this cookbook!!!  This is so easy to make!! And it makes your kitchen smell wonderful!!! And, yes, it does require a run to the grocery store for eggplant, zucchini,  mushrooms (I forgot those, so I just used canned mushrooms) and no-boil lasagna noodles.

Eggplant, Zucchini and Mushroom Lasagna by Weight Watchers

1 lb eggplant, peeled and cut in 1/4 inch slices
1 or 2 zucchini, cut into 1/4 inch slices
1/4 t pepper
1 T olive oil
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 28 oz can petite diced tomatoes
1 10 oz. package of mushrooms (or a small can of mushrooms drained)
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 T dried basil leaves
1/4 t crushed red pepper
6 sheets of no-boil lasagna noodles
grated Parmesan Cheese (I used the package shredded Parmesan cheese)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400

Spray a baking sheet and an 8 inch baking dish with Pam or something similar

Place the eggplant and zucchini slices on baking sheet, spray the vegetables with Pam and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Bake until tender, about 15 minutes.

Heat the oil in a large non-stick skillet.  Add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds.

Add the tomatoes with their juice, mushrooms, bell pepper, basil, crushed red pepper and pepper.

Reduce the heat and simmer until the sauce is bubbly but no thickened - about 10 minutes.

Spread 1/2 cup of sauce in the baking dish and cover with 2 lasagna noodles.

Top with a combination of eggplant and zucchini.  Cover that with 1/2 cup of sauce.

Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Repeat this ending with a layer of noodles and sauce (I did put a final layer of cheese).

Cover the dish with foil and bake for 35 minutes.

Uncover and bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes longer.

Let stand for 5 minutes,  then cut into four portions.

Entire Recipe:

Eggplant, Zucchini and Mushroom Lasagna by Weight Watchers

1 lb eggplant, peeled and cut in 1/4 inch slices
1 or 2 zucchini, cut into 1/4 inch slices
1/4 t pepper
1 T olive oil
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 28 oz can petite diced tomatoes
1 10 oz. package of mushrooms (or a small can of mushrooms drained)
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 T dried basil leaves
1/4 t crushed red pepper
6 sheets of no-boil lasagna noodles
grated Parmesan Cheese (I used the package shredded Parmesan cheese)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400

Spray a baking sheet and an 8 inch baking dish with Pam or something similar

Place the eggplant and zucchini slices on baking sheet, spray the vegetables with Pam and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Bake until tender, about 15 minutes.

Heat the oil in a large non-stick skillet.  Add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds.

Add the tomatoes with their juice, mushrooms, bell pepper, basil, crushed red pepper and pepper.

Reduce the heat and simmer until the sauce is bubbly but no thickened - about 10 minutes.

Spread 1/2 cup of sauce in the baking dish and cover with 2 lasagna noodles.

Top with a combination of eggplant and zucchini.  Cover that with 1/2 cup of sauce.

Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Repeat this ending with a layer of noodles and sauce (I did put a final layer of cheese).

Cover the dish with foil and bake for 35 minutes.

Uncover and bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes longer.

Let stand for 5 minutes,  then cut into four portions.

ENJOY!

Verdict:

I was pleasantly surprised by this recipe.  Wasn't sure how this would taste because eggplant can be rather tasteless.  But I thought this was pretty good.  Opinion of my two "resident" experts - my husband thought it was really good.  My other "expert," my son thought it was OK.   So 2 out of 3 is not a bad rating.  Chances are I would probably make this again.