Barbecue Rubbed Pork Chops

These Barbecue Rubbed Pork Chops from Cooking Light are a staple in my house. They make for a quick weeknight meal and are very juicy and flavorful. I stock up my freezer with pork chops when they are on sale, and I have all of the other ingredients in my pantry so the lack of planning required is a big bonus for me. The only changes I make to the recipe are that I add extra brown sugar if I'm in the mood to make it a little sweeter or extra ground red pepper if I want something spicier, I add more rub each time I turn the meat, and if I have onions on hand I slice them up and grill them with the meat and rub.

I usually serve this with the grilled sweet potatoes from this post or just microwave a sweet potato (poke some holes with a fork and microwave 5 minutes, flip it over and cook for 5 more minutes), but tonight I wanted to make whatever side I could find at the small farmers market outside of my building. So red potatoes and random ingredients from my fridge resulted in mashed red potatoes with spinach and mascarpone cheese. The recipe is below.

Naan Pizza

I made two variations of naan pizza for dinner last night; one meatball and spinach (because I had some leftover meatballs begging to be eaten in the freezer) and one zucchini, tomato, and onion. Both were really tasty and it was tough deciding which one I wanted a second slice of, so I opted for both.

Naan pizzas are a great solution if you don't know what kind of pizza to make, the smaller size allows you to make several different kinds and it's quicker and easier than making pizza dough. If you can't find naan, use flatbread. Below are the ingredients and directions, but you can of course use any combination that inspires you.  I also refer to 'grilling', but I live an apartment so am forced to use a grill pan which doesn't give the taste that a real grill does.

Poached Eggs

I love poached eggs, but I've always been a bit intimidated to try to make them on my own.  The Easter Bunny was nice enough to give me these egg poachers from Crate and Barrel in my Easter basket, so I figured I should give it a whirl.  Below you can see how to poach an egg, or at least how I did it.

1. Bring salted water to its almost boiling point.
2. While water is heating up, crack egg into a bowl or ramekin
3. Hang the egg poacher on the side of a pot.
4. When water is almost at it's boiling point, place egg in the egg poacher
5. Keep water just below its boiling point, and cook for about 4 minutes (longer if you do not want a runny yolk).

I cooked some spinach leaves with a little pepper and pecorino romano cheese, placed it on toast, and then put the poached egg on top.  It was a good way to start the day!

Pasta With Mascarpone, Chicken, Sun Dried Tomatoes & Spinach

I thawed some chicken and was in the mood for pasta; this recipe from Italian Food Forever hit the spot. I used some whole wheat pasta shells I had on hand and otherwise followed the recipe.  It got a 'will you please make this again' response from my husband who claims he doesn't like sun dried tomatoes.

Lasagna Rolls

Lasagna Rolls

Giada's Lasagna Rolls were tasty and a nice spin on regular lasagna.  I added extra prosciutto and mushrooms because I wanted to use up the ones I had on hand.   You could really throw anything in the lasagna rolls; sausage, ground meat, eggplant, more spinach, etc.  Timing wise, the recipe instructions were not laid out that great (which I would have realized if I read it ahead of time).  I'd start the lasagna water boiling, then make the ricotta mixture, throw in the lasagna, and then make the bechamel sauce.  

I served it with a side of cucumber-tomato salad and a bottle of Grande Fleur De Lyeth Reserve (a blend of Cabernet, Merlot, and Petit Syrah).  The wine was good, nothing great.

Sliced Steak with Herbs, Bacon Horseradish Mashed Potatoes, Creamed Spinach Stuffed Tomatoes

Sliced Steak with Herbs

Bacon Horseradish Potatoes

Creamed Spinach Stuffed Tomatoes

I don't normally watch Rachael Ray, but I happened to turn it on for this episode and knew it was a meal my husband would love.  I was right.