Tuesday, October 9, 2018

pork chop soup











Always trust the reviews.  This soup was super flavorful and the pork was so tender and delicious.  Two of my kids thought the soup was spicy; I think it was the pepper so just cut that in half if you think you'll need to.  I love spicy so I thought it was great as is.
Note:  I doubled the recipe that is below and I was grateful I did!

pork chop soup in the slow cooker (adapted from allrecipes.com)
2 boneless pork chops (I used pork sirloin chops)
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 bay leaf
3 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 cup flour
1 cup chopped broccoli
1 cup carrots, diced
1 onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
handful of green beans, cut

Place pork chops, paprika, oregano, garlic powder, salt, pepper, chili powder, bay leaf, chicken broth, water and soy sauce in a slow cooker and turn to HIGH.  Add the carrots, onion and celery.  Let cook for several hours.  Take out 5 cups of the soup broth and put into a saucepan.  Heat to boiling.  
Combine the flour with about 1/2 cup of cooled soup broth and whisk into the boiling soup broth that is in the saucepan.  When it is nice and thick add to the slow cooker and stir to combine.  Add the broccoli and green beans and allow to cook for another 20 minutes or so until they are cooked through.  Remove the bay leaf.
Serve with crusty bread.



Sunday, October 7, 2018

lighter eggplant parmesan











I found a gorgeous eggplant at Trader Joes and wanted eggplant parmesan but nothing too heavy or fattening.  This turned out to be a GREAT recipe.  Is it still "lighter" if you eat half the 9x13?

lighter eggplant parmesan (adapted from skinnytaste)
1 large eggplant, 2 pounds
1 tablespoon olive oil
12 ounces fat free ricotta
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons Parmesan/Romano blend
1 medium egg
1 1/2 cups mozzarella
1 jar Classico pasta sauce

Slice the eggplant into 1/4 inch thick slices.  Lightly salt the slices and put in a colander to release excess moisture for about a half hour.  Lay on paper towels to soak up any extra moisture.  Preheat overn to 450.
Brush eggplant lightly with olive oil on both sides and place on cookie sheet.  Bake for 20-25 minutes, turning half way through.
In a medium bowl, combine ricotta, egg and 1/4 cup grated cheese.
In a 9x12 baking dish, put a little sauce on the bottom of the dish and put a layer of eggplant to cover the bottom of the dish.  Top with 1/2 of the ricotta cheese mixture, mozzarella cheese and sauce.  Add another layer of eggplant and repeat until everything is used up.
Cover with foil and bake until cheese is melted and everything is bubbling, about 30 minutes at 400 degrees.  Remove foil and bake an additional 8-10 minutes.  Take it out of the oven and let it sit about 10 minutes before cutting.  Enjoy!
(My eggplant gave me 12 slices so my first layer was 6 slices and I topped those with another 6 slices.  It turned out pretty!)