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How about a great
old-fashioned dinner for that meat-and-potatoes guy in your life?
And how about a shortcut or two to save time?
I made this meal this week and my family enjoyed it so much... there was
none left by the end of dinner.
I usually like to cook from scratch, however, this week, I decided to
throw caution to the wind and cheat a little by using Stove Top stuffing
instead of making my own. You add a couple of spices and the
recipe becomes your own!
Entree
Easy Stuffed
Pork Chops
1/2 stick
butter or margarine
3/4 cup diced onion
3/4 cup diced celery
1 teaspoon ground sage
1-3/4 cups water
1 6-oz. container Stove-Top stuffing
4 thick-cut pork chops
In a
medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add the onion and
celery, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 8 to 10
minutes.
Stir in the sage and the water. Bring to a boil and then stir in
the stuffing mix. Remove the saucepan from heat and allow to stand
for 5 minutes. Stir the stuffing with a fork to fluff.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease or spray a 13X9X2 inch baking
dish.
Meanwhile, cut a slit in the side of each pork chop to form a
pocket. Stuff each one with about 1/2 cup of the stuffing.
Place the pork chops in the baking dish that you've prepared, and spoon
the remaining stuffing around the chops (or you can use a little more
stuffing in each chop).
Add a couple of tablespoons of water around the chops inside the baking
dish, to help keep from sticking during baking.
Cover baking dish with aluminum foil.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Serve immediately.
Makes 4 servings but can easily be doubled for a larger crowd.
Side
Dishes
This tastes just
like the stuffing in twice-baked potatoes, but it's lighter and
fluffier! Mmmm....
Oven
Potato Puff
5 baking potatoes,
peeled and quartered (about 2 lbs.)
1 cup small curd cottage cheese
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream (regular or lowfat)
1/3 cup chopped onions
1/2 stick butter or margarine, softened
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
In a
3-quart covered saucepan, cook potatoes in boiling salted water for 20
minutes or until tender. Drain well and mash. (You'll need
about 6 cups).
Cover and set aside.
Butter or spray a 2 quart round baking dish.
In a large mixer bowl at high speed, beat cottage cheese and eggs for 2
minutes or until almost smooth. At low speed, beat in sour cream,
green onions, softened butter, salt and pepper, scraping bowl as needed.
Add potatoes and beat until well blended.
Transfer mixture to baking dish. If making ahead, cover and
refrigerate until 30 minutes before baking.
Drizzle top of potatoes with melted butter. Bake at 325 degrees
for 50-60 minutes, uncovered, until completely heated through and top is
lightly browned.
Makes 6-8 servings.
Corn on the Cob
Since
corn isn't in season right now where I live, I buy frozen corn on the
cob, and cook it like this....
4 ears of
corn
1 tablespoon sugar
For microwave, fill a glass dish with water and add the sugar, stirring
to dissolve.
Add ears of corn, just covering them with the water, and microwave on
high power for approximately 20 minutes, or until done. (the sugar adds
just enough sweet flavor to make it taste like fresh sweet corn!)
If you're cooking the corn on top of the stove, just cook in a pot as
you normally would, add the sugar to the water, and boil the corn until
done.
Makes 4 servings.
Dessert
Easy Apple
Crumb Pie
6-7 large
apples such as Granny Smith, Winesap, or your favorite type of apple
1 teaspoon lemon juice (bottled works well)
1 9" unbaked pastry shell
1 cup sugar, divided in half
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup flour
1/3 cup butter, at room temperature
Pare
apples and cut into eighths and arrange in unbaked pie shell.
Drizzle 1 teaspoon lemon juice over apples.
Sprinkle top with 1/2 cup sugar mixed with 1 teaspoon cinnamon.
Mix remaining sugar with flour; cut in the butter, using two
knives, making a criss-cross motion, until mixture becomes crumbly.
Sprinkle mixture over top of apples.
Bake at 400 degrees for 40 minutes or until apples are tender.
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