Best Pork Recipe Found So Far This Year

Best Pork Recipe Found So Far This Year!!

On my grocery store coupon "jaunt" this past weekend, our local market had a BOGO (Buy-1-Get-1) on Pork Loin Cutlets (the thicker pork chops). Naturally, I bought some and played around with a few different recipes to get one that turned out to be the very BEST pork recipe this year - maybe ever......

(By the way, I got $279.65 in free groceries between BOGO's, coupons,

and sale items! More on that strategy later!!)

This recipe is SO EASY and SO YUMMY - I hope you'll try it and love it as much as we did.

(Is anyone really reading these BLOG entries? If so, could you let me know?? Thx!)

Pork Cutlets/Chops in Mushrooms and Tomatoes

• 4 pork boneless cutlet/chops - thicker than ordinary thin-sliced chops - maybe called "butterflied chops?"
• 1 tbsp. flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 1/2 tsp. garlic salt
• 2 - 3 tbsp. butter (as Julia Child would say - "You can never have too much butter....")
• 1/2 tbsp.minced onions
• 8 to 12 oz. fresh mushrooms - sliced (you could use canned, but fresh is much better)
• 2 cans - 15 oz. - diced tomatoes
• 3/4 cups chicken broth (I buy the Swanson cartons and refrigerate leftovers)
• 1 tsp. dried parsley flakes
• 2 tbsp. Extra-Virgin olive oil

Drizzle olive oil in a large skillet. Put flour, salt, and pepper in a shallow bowl and dredge each pork cutlet/chop until coated in the flour mixture. Brown the pork pieces in the olive oil in the skillet until slightly golden on all sides. Remove pork from skillet.

Add garlic salt, minced onion, mushrooms and butter to the skillet and cook until the mushrooms are tender and butter is completely melted. Add the chicken broth, dried parsley flakes, and diced tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Reduce temp. to "simmer." Add the browned cutlet/chops and continue to simmer for 20 to 25 minutes until the meat is tender. And "voila!!!" - melt-in-your-mouth-tender-juicy-pork!!!

You can serve the prepared pork cutlet/chops with rice - or even noodles - but we enjoyed it without any extras! Well,maybe a glass of wine - but that's a "given."

A Spot of Summer - For Kids of All Ages

A Spot of Summer - For Kids of All Ages

Having a pretty solid case of the "Winter Blahs," and since my throat is scratchy from dry heat and cold windy weather, I craved a cold treat for my throat and for my well-being. In some way, I needed to have a summer treat, that wasn't TOO fattening and unhealthy, to brighten my day. Sooooooo,

I glanced through my many Food Betty's* in search of a treat to satisfy this craving.

Stay Tuned for a definition of "Food Betty" in future posts. Or, if you know any of my students, they could explain to you the meaning and purpose of any type of "Betty."

A long time ago, during one of my MANY weight-loss pledge times - some successful, some not - I came across these Weight-Watcher-Friendly summer snack recipes, and decided the revised version that I made back then would be the perfect fit for my state of mind.

There are two versions - one is with fruit and the other is a creamy version. Both are easy and delicious. If you don't have a popsicle mold, you can use paper or plastic cups covered with foil. Cut a small hole in the foil and put a popsicle stick in the center of each foil covering. Freeze the pops for at least 5 hours. Tear the paper or plastic cup away so you can eat it like a popsicle.

Orange Juice Pops

• 1 cup fresh blueberries, strawberries, or mandarin orange wedges - I chose strawberries
• 1/2 cup diced mango
• 1 cup orange juice - with or without pulp - I made mine without pulp (I hate juice with "things" in it! HA!)

Divide 1/2 cup of the fruit of your choice evenly between 8 (2-oz.) pop molds or cups. Top evenly with the mango, and then with the remaining fruit you chose for the recipe. Divide the orange juice evenly among the cups/molds. Cover and freeze until solid - at least 5 hours or overnight.

In case you count point values for your food - this is a Zero Point value treat - based on Weight Watcher's.

Banana Pops

• 2 (4.4-oz.) packages vanilla pudding - or you could use soy vanilla pudding
• 2 small bananas - diced
• 1 drop coconut extract (if desired)
• 4 tsp. milk or dark chocolate chips - or shavings, squares, etc. - it's your choice

Combine the pudding and coconut extract in a small bowl. Stir in the banana pieces and the chocolate pieces. Divide the mixture between 8 (2-oz.) cups or molds. Cover and freeze for 5 hours or overnight.

Weight Watchers would give this a 1 Point value.

There are lots of versions that you could create with this method of making a fun, cool-to-the-throat treat. Let me know if you have any other versions/ideas that I can try. I have a feeling it is going to be a llllooonnngggg winter.

Greek Pasta Salad

GREEK PASTA SALAD

My boys used to swim for the Davison Athletic Club (DAC) summer swim team and for the Flint YMCA Falcons swim team. We made many friends and had so much fun hanging out together and watching our kids swim at practice and at swim meets. If you've ever been to a swim meet, you know how L-O-N-N-N-G-G-G...they are, so we spent a lot of time getting to know parents of the other swimmers.

We started having family get-togethers periodically and we'd all bring something to eat and drink to share with the group. At one of these gatherings, my friend made a pasta salad that I absolutely DEVOURED. I couldn't get enough of it. I asked her if she had the recipe and she DIDN'T!! I told her that I wanted to make it at home, so she told what the basic ingredients were - but since my penmanship isn't real legible after a couple of glasses of a good Chardonnay and I knew I left out some details - I began searching the Internet for what I hoped would be a close second. After trial and error and phone calls to my friend, I managed to eek out a great recipe that includes pieces of several different recipes. I love Greek Pasta Salad, so I am providing you with this recipe in hopes that you will like it, too. It's easy and even tastes great the day or two after you make it and wrap it up for the refrigerator.

Greek Pasta Salad

• 1/2 cup Extra Virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 1/2 tsp. dried basil (you can use fresh if you want to - but the dried works very well)
• 1 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
• 3/4 tsp. black pepper
• 3/4 tsp. white sugar
• 1/2 tsp. garlic salt
• 2 1/2 cups rotini pasta - cooked (or any pasta type that you prefer or have on hand)
• 3 cups mushrooms - sliced - fresh or canned - whatever you prefer
• 1 pkg. cherry tomatoes - halved
• 1 cup red bell peppers - sliced
• 1 pkg (4 oz) feta cheese - crumbled
• 1/2 cup green onions - chopped
• 1 can (4 or 6 oz) black olives - halved
• 1/3 cup green olives - halved - if desired

In a large bowl, whisk together olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic powder, basil, oregano, pepper, and sugar. Add cooked pasta, mushrooms, tomatoes, red peppers, feta cheese, onions, and olives. Toss until evenly coated with the herb mixture. Cover and chill for 2 - 3 hours prior to serving. But honestly, I've eaten it without doing that and it was still delicious.

Try the recipe and let me know what you think. Any suggestions or variations I could try would be fun to get! ENJOY!!