Stuffed Pork Loin

Well even though the Quinoa was enough protein for me, Alex was coming back in town finally so I knew a meat-less meal would be just plain evil. I took the 1/2 cup leftover spinach dip and a handful of mushrooms to stuff a pork loin.

If you don't have leftover spinach dip you could just as easily use a handful of fresh spinach and cheese of your choice. This is a really simple thing to make and looks/tastes like you worked all day on it.

Take your pork loin, and cut it in half almost all the way (similar to a french baguette)

before

after

Salt and pepper the meet then spread your filling and add whatever other veggies you want, I added more mushrooms....



Be sure not to over stuff because you will have to fold the other half of the pork back over. Alot of times when folding back over I use the long side of the knife to hold the stuffing in place as I fold. Once folded over secure with a handful of toothpicks...

Bake on 350 for about 20-25 mins

Serve with a side of risotto quinoa :)

Quinoa Risotto

I had this box of Quinoa for a good month before I decided to experiment with it. and i L.O.V.E this recipe. It is one of the only 100% plant based food that also has complete protein value (fact of the day : A complete protein (or whole protein) is a source of protein that contains an adequate proportion of all nine of the essential amino acids necessary for the needs of humans.)  Quinoa comes in Red or White form and sort of reminds me of couscous but better!

1 onion finely minced
4  Garlic Cloves-crushed
16 oz Quinoa (1 box from traders, not the red kind)
1lb spinach
2 cups white wine- you could do less I just really like the taste
1/2 cup Gorgonzola or goat cheese, I used Gorgonzola/feta
handful of Parmesan
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper, I did a little more...oops :)
Chicken broth (you won't use the whole carton)



Saute the spinach lightly in olive oil, just enough to get it wilted a bit and set aside. (Pictured is less than 1lb.

Finely chop your onion..that took 10 seconds and I didn't cry!

Add this to the pan with 1 tbsp butter and some olive oil. Cook until tender, then add the four cloves of crush garlic and cayenne pepper and cook for another two minutes.

Add your quinoa and white wine.Stirring frequently cook this on medium heat until the white wine is almost evaporated.

Then add enough broth (I used chicken broth) to cover the quinoa in the pan. It is pointless to measure this amount just keep pouring until it covers the quinoa, Cook on medium high heat stirring frequently for about 20 mins.

 Quinoa will get bigger and more of a couscous texture.

Add back your spinach, stir in your Gorgonzola and cook for another 2-3 mins. Salt to taste!

Serve as a side, top with parmesean.

Persian Mom Spaghetti

I spent a few nights at my parents house while my roomie was on the West Coast and my mom made me one of my favorite meals growing up, her Spaghetti.

You won't understand how great this Spaghetti is until you try it. My mom simmers the meat sauce with the noodles for about 30 and it has an awesome potato crust that I STILL fight my brother over. 

1 Jar pasta sauce (or homemade pasta sauce)
1 lb ground turkey
1 Box Whole Wheat Spaghetti
1 Potato
Olive oil

First you make the meat sauce, combine the sauce and the raw ground meet in a skillet and brown on medium high.

Boil your spaghetti per the box's directions and drain.

Meanwhile peel and slice the potato. You will want the slices to be about 1/4" thick. The thinner the crispier the potato 'crust' or tadeeg (persian word for cripy rice or in this case cripsy potato) mmmm.

Add about a teaspoon of olive oil to the bottom of the pot, line the pot with  the slices of  potato.

 Add a layer of noodles, a few scoops of sauce, a layer of noodles and a few scoops of sauce. Mix well being sure not to disturb the bottom potato layer. There will be left over pasta/meat sauce which is good for those people who want more meat sauce on the side when serving.

When preparing to simmer your pasta a tip to make sure the water won't drip back into your pot is to put a paper towel on top of the pot then put the top to the pot over the towel.

This prevents the water from dripping back into your pasta while simmering and making it all mushy. Simmer on medium high for about 5-7 mins to make the potato crispy, then on low for about 30 mins.

When its ready, my mom carefully empties the spaghetti into a dish then tops it with the potato...here is a shot of the potato crush flipped over sort of  like the bottom of a cake.

This picture doesn't do it justice..but this is one of my three servings...mmmm.

Spinach & Mushroom Cups/Dip

One of my favorite things is Spinach. I'm always drawn to the Spinach dips at restaurants but hesitate to order bc of how fat it tends to be. So I decided to do my version of the dip and I adapted it to Karen's artichoke cups and it was the bomb.com .

4 cups fresh spinach (or two cups very tightly packed)

2 cups plain Greek yogurt

1 tablespoon Mayo

1/4 cup Parmesean cheese
1/4 cup Gorgonzola Cheese
2 cloves crushed garlic
1 cup chopped mushrooms

Salt and Pepper

24 Wonton wrappers


The first thing I did was chop my veggies.  I chopped up the spinach with my salad choppers..

Then finely chopped the mushrooms . I had bought pre-sliced mushrooms but I still wanted them smaller.

Then combine the Spinach, mushrooms and all the remaining ingredients

I spooned a little bit into each wonton wrapper. As Karen mentioned in her post its best to let the wonton wrappers sit out for a bit, it makes it easier to push them down into the mini muffin pan without tearing the dough.

Bake on 350 for about 16 mins.

You could also just bake the dip on its own topped with additional cheese. I had leftover filling which I will be using for my stuffed pork loin later this week!

** I have made these a few times since my initial post, I recommend putting the wonton wrappers into the mini muffin pan, brushing a bit of olive oil over the ends hanging out, bake on 350 (with no filling) for about 6 minutes, then take them out, spoon in your filling and bake for another 8 mins.