Dinner Time: Pork Chops with Oranges and Spinach Artichoke Pasta Bake

As I planned out this past week's dinners, I scoured two of my favorite places to find recipes -- Everyday Food from Martha Stewart and other blogs. Both were a success.

Here are the two recipes I tried out this week. They will definitely make their way back in our rotation.

Sunday night: Pork Chops with Oranges and Parsley (from Everyday Food, November 2010)

Ingredients: 

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

4 bone-in pork chops (1 inch thick; about 2 1/2 pounds total) (NOTE: I used boneless, still great.)

Coarse salt and ground pepper

2 strips orange zest, plus 1/2 cup orange juice and 2 oranges, peel and pith removed and flesh cut into

segments (3 oranges total)

1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves, chopped

Directions

1. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Season pork with salt and pepper and cook until cooked through, 9 minutes, flipping once. Transfer to a platter. 
2. Add orange zest and juice to skillet. Cook until slightly thickened, 1 1/2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in orange segments. To serve, spoon orange mixture over pork chops and top with parsley

Nutrition:

Serves: 4

Calories:  486

Carbs: 12.6

Fat: 28.8

Protein: 38.2

This was so tasty and flavorful. The orange sauce was the perfect accompaniment to the pork. I used boneless pork medallions from Trader Joes, and they were excellent. 


This next recipe comes from an adorable blog I started following not too long ago called the rose record. It is written by Katie Rose, a fellow Kappa, and she is so clever and funny. Check out her blog and her recipe for my new favorite pasta dish. It combines one of my favorite ingredients of all time: artichokes. I wish I could put artichokes in more dishes. Enjoy!

Monday night: Spinach Artichoke Pasta Bake (courtesy of the rose record) 

Ingredients: 

14 oz. whole wheat penne 

1/2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil 

3 cloves garlic, minced 

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (or more to your preference) 

salt and pepper 

10 oz. frozen chopped spinach, cooked to package directions and thoroughly drained 

1 can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped 

8 oz. 1/3 less fat cream cheese 

6 oz. non-fat plain Greek yogurt (or use sour cream) 

1/4 cup reduced fat grated Parmesan cheese 

1 1/2 cup part-skim shredded mozzarella cheese 

non-stick spray

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Spray a 13" x 8" casserole dish lightly with non-stick spray.
2. Cook pasta to al dente according to package directions. Reserve 3/4 C. pasta water. Drain.
3. While pasta cooks, heat large skillet to medium-high heat and add olive oil. When oil is hot, add garlic and red pepper flakes.  Cook one minute, until fragrant. 
4. To the skillet, add in cooked and drained spinach, artichoke hearts, cream cheese, Greek yogurt, salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Reduce heat to medium-low until pasta finishes cooking. 
5. Once pasta is cooked (don't forget to save some of that pasta water!), add pasta, pasta water, Parmesan, and 1 C. of mozzarella. Stir until cheese melts and noodles are coated with the sauce.  (Start by adding in just 1/2 C. of the pasta water.  If mixture still seems too thick, add in remaining 1/4 C.)
6. Pour pasta mixture into sprayed casserole dish. Top with remaining 1/2 C. mozzarella. 
7. Bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees or until top is bubbling and brown. 

Nutrition:

Serves:  6

Calories:  492

Carbs:  55

Fat:  19

Protein:  28