This recipe was meant to be a Valentine Day special but as usual life got in the way! Here it is now and best of all you DO NOT need to wait for a special day to make this delicious and super EZ meal!

EZ PORK MILANESE DINNER

Serves: 2

Ingredients:
-Milanese-
2 boneless pork loin chops
1/2 cup panko crumbs
1/2 cu all purpose flower
1 egg

-Roasted Asparagus-
1/2 lb asparagus, trimmed
2 tbsp good balsamic vinegar

-Creamy Mashed Potatoes-
2 white rose potatoes
1/4 cup whole milk
2 tbsp butter
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Place potatoes in large pot fill with cold water just to cover. Bring to boil and cook for 15-25 minutes or until easily pierced with a fork.

2.  Pound loin chops to about 1/3 then season with salt + pepper.

3. Prep for Milanese:

• pour flour in shallow bowl
• lightly beat eggs in another shallow bowl
• take a  third shallow bowl of the panko bread crumbs

4. Dredge that pork!

• lightly cover pork in flour
• then dip in egg, allowing excess to drip off
• finally dredge the pork in the crumb mixture, patting to coat completely
• place finished product on clean plate, repeat!

5. Prep the asparagus:

• heat oven to 400 degrees
• line small baking sheet with aluminum
• place asparagus in a single line drizzle with olive and season with salt + pepper
• roast for 10-15 minutes
• take out of oven and drizzle with balsamic vinegar

6. At this point the potatoes should be ready, drain water from pot. Place potatoes back in pot add butter, milk and cheese. Smash to desired consistency adding more milk if needed.  Cover and set aside.

7.  Cover deep frying pan with vegetable oil, heat over medium flame until hot. Add milanese fry for about 2-4 minutes (depending on thickness) per side, then pat off oil with paper towel and repeat!

8. Plate and enjoy!!!

CARNITAS RE-VISITED

Servings: 3

This is my 2nd attempt at carnitas, my first attempt was delicious BUT it was missing the crunch! So I did some research and found an easy way to make street like carnitas without frying them! The result?! SUCCESS trust me when I say that these carnitas are crunch-tastic!

Ingredients:

-CARNITAS-

3lb pork shoulder  [aka pork butt]

12 corn tortillas

1 white onion chopped

3 garlic cloves, peeled

3 tbsp. tomato paste

2 bay leaves

1 tbsp. salt

1.5 tbsp. cumin

1 tbsp. oregano

1 liter stock or broth [chicken, beef or vegetable]

water

Garnish: minced onion and cilantro

-GREEN SALSA-

1/2 lb. peeled green tomatillos milperos

4 serrano peppers

1 tbsp. oil

salt

Garnish: chopped cilantro

Directions:

1.  Place all of  the carnitas dry ingredients in a large dutch oven.

2. Pour liter of stock over dry ingredients then add water to just to cover meat.

3. Bring ingredients to bubbling simmer then cover pot and  lower heat to lowest setting, braise for 3 hours until fork tender.

4.  Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Take braised pork out of the pot; season [generously with salt] and shred over sheet pan, I covered it with aluminum to make clean up easier

5. Cook pork until the edges are golden brown and crispy about 20-25minutes. Take this time to make the delicious green salsa!

6. SALSA RECIPE:

• cut tomatillos + peppers in half
• heat large sautee pan over medium heat, add oil
• place tomatillos + peppers in hot pan
• cover with lid or plate
• sautee for 10-15 minutes until tomatillos are soft and turned a dull green
• take ingredients from pan to blender
• pulse until ingredients reach your desireed consistency, I like my salsa smooth
• pour into serving bowl and season [with salt only!!!]
• garnish with cilantro
• RETURN to CARNITAS!

7. Your carnitas should be golden brown and crispy! Take carnitas out of the oven and onto a cutting board, chop or shred that beauty!

8. Heat your tortillas over a hot skillet and prepare tacos! Place a heaping serving of carnitas onto warm tortilla and garnish with salsa, onions, and cilantro as desired!

WEEKNIGHT SPAGHETTI

Servings: 6

This recipe is sure to cure the weeknight pasta itch, its easy, hearty and delicious!

INGREDIENTS:

4 Italian sausages without casings [I used chicken sausages]

1 zucchini

1 bell pepper, any color

1 jar of your favorite store bought spaghetti sauce

2 tbsp olive oil

12oz cooked spaghetti

Fresh Parmesan cheese  for garnish

DIRECTIONS:

1. Rough chop the veggies.

2.  Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, place sausage in skillet. Cook until evenly brown, crumbling it as it cooks.

3. Add veggies, cook for another few minutes until veggies are soft but not over cooked.

4. Pour in Spaghetti sauce, bring temp down bring the boil then simmer for 5 minutes or so.

5.  Serve this incredibly delicious sauce over cooked spaghetti and garnish with lots of Parmesan!

SWEET PORK LOIN

Servings: 6

Ingredients:

2lb boneless pork loin

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup olive oil

1/3 cup brown sugar

steak seasoning

salt + pepper

Directions:

1.   Season loin with salt and pepper. Dissolve steak seasoning and sugar in balsamic vinegar, then stir in olive oil.

2. Place pork into a resealable plastic bag and pour marinade overtop. Squeeze out air and seal bag; marinate 2 hours to overnight.

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

4. Place pork into a baking dish along with marinade. Bake in preheated oven, basting occasionally until the pork reaches an internal temperature of 160 degrees, about 1 hour. Let the roast rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Mushroom Chops!

Servings:2

Ingredients:

3 boneless loin chops

80z sliced mushrooms, any variety

1 0nion, thinly sliced

1 [10oz can] cream of mushroom

garlic powder

salt + pepper

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Season chops with salt, pepper and garlic powder

3. In a large skillet, brown the chops over medium-high heat, transfer to oven safe casserole dish.

4. Add the onion and mushrooms, and saute for one minute, transfer to casserole dish.

5. Pour cream of mushroom over chops, cover casserole with aluminum paper. Cook in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until chops are cooked through.

6. Serve and enjoy!