Soy Sauce Marinated Pork Chops on Spring Greens

This is a recipe I tore out of a magazine last summer.  I finally tried it this summer.  It makes a delicious healthy fast meal.

Soy Sauce Marinated Pork Chops on Spring Greens

Ingredients:

4   6-7 oz. bone in pork chops, trimmed, about 1/2 inch thick
1/4 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
3 Tbsp. lime juice
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. canola oil
1 Tbsp. cider vinegar
2 -3 tsp. grated fresh ginger
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
4 cups mixed spring greens
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:

Place chops in a 3 qt. rectangular baking dish.  In a small bowl whisk together soy sauce, lime juice, sugar, oil, vinegar, ginger, and crushed red pepper.  Spoon 2 Tbsp. mixture over the chops.  Turn to coat.  Cover.  Let stand 20 minutes at room temperature, turning occasionally.

In small saucepan bring remaining soy sauce mixture to boiling.  Boil gently 1 to 2 minutes or until reduced to about 1/4 cup; set aside.

For a charcoal or gas grill, place chops on grill rack.  Cover; grill over medium heat 3 minutes per side or until chops are slightly pink in the center (145 degrees) turning once.

Place greens on serving platter.  Top with chops.  Drizzle with boiled soy sauce mixture.  Sprinkle with cilantro.

Knoephla and Sauerkraut

This is a good old German recipe!  German households in the old days would make their own sauerkraut.  They also made their own sausage.  This was an easy recipe to make with what they had. Hannah grew up loving sauerkraut and a dish like this made her happy!

Knoephla and Sauerkraut

Ingredients:

5 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
2 eggs in cup (fill cup up with water)
Sausage pieces or diced ham
2 cups diced potatoes
1 qt. sauerkraut
Salt
Pepper

Directions:

Oven at 350 degrees

In a large mixing bowl, mix flour, salt and baking powder.  Add in eggs and water.  Add additional water as need to make a stiff dough.    Let set for 3 to 4 hours.   Roll into small finger length pieces.

Fill a large kettle with water and bring to a boil.  Add salt to water.  Using a scissor cut small pieces of dough into the boiling water.     After all the pieces have been added cook for about 3-5 minutes.  Drain well.

In a large fry pan add sausage or ham and sauerkraut.  Simmer for 30 minutes.

In a large roaster, add sauerkraut and meat, potatoes and knoephla.  Salt and pepper to taste.

Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees.

Spinach Orzo Salad

When we had a Macaroni Grill in town we loved the chicken florentine salad.  I have tried several recipes for a similar salad and this one is close.  It is a favorite summer salad!

Spinach Orzo Salad

Ingredients:

3/4 lb. orzo pasta, uncooked
1 Tbsp. olive oil, extra virgin
1/2 cup olive oil, extra virgin
3 Tbsp. white wine vinegar
3 Tbsp. lemon juice, fresh
1 tsp. coarse ground black pepper
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 small garlic clove, minced
1 pinch dried thyme
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
3 oz. fresh spinach leaves, washed and torn into bite size pieces
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and sliced
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes, sliced
2 tsp. capers
3 Tbsp. feta cheese
3 Tbsp. pine nuts
2-3 seasoned chicken breasts, grilled or cooked as desired (optional)
parmesan strips for garnish

Directions:

Cook orzo 8-10 minutes or al dente.  Rinse briefly in cold water and drain.  Toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil.

Prepare dressing by combining remaining oil through cumin, whisking till smooth.  Toss with orzo.  Add spinach, pepper, olives, sun dried tomatoes, capers and chicken.

At this point, salad can be refrigerated several hours.  At serving time, add crumbled feta cheese and pine nuts.  Garnish with parmesan strips.