Sausage & Peach Pork Chops

Sometimes the greatest recipes are ones that combine flavors that you'd NEVER think to combine like fruits & cheeses. To me pork chops are a comfort dish that can be simply seasoned with salt, pepper, & rosemary or smothered with onions & gravy, or of course down in the South fried pork chops!!! However after finding this recipe I must say out with the old ways & in with these new mouth watering stuffed pork chops. This dish combines sausage, peaches, & pepper jack cheese for a stuffing that is out of this world!!! Definitely comfort food worthy.

Sausage & Peach Stuffed Pork Chops
6 boneless pork chops
1 pound mild sausage
1/2 of a red onion chopped
 4 peaches, peeled & diced
1 1/2 cups of pepper jack cheese grated
1/4 of a cup of Italian dressing

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 Tbs lemon pepper
1/2 Tbs garlic salt

Preheat oven to 375.

Brown sausage in a skillet breaking up the meat until done. Drain. In a large bowl combine the sausage, onion, peaches, cheese, Italian dressing, & the red pepper flakes. Stir until mixed well.

With a sharp knife butterfly each pork chop by slicing horizontally, almost through to the other side.

 

Fill each pork chop generously with stuffing then place in a baking dish.

Sprinkle lemon pepper & garlic salt on top of the pork chops.

Bake covered for 45 mins.

Serves 6

1 serving: 501 Calories 36.5g fat Carbs 13.1 WWpts 13

A Pretty In Pink Treat

I know this is not a recipe but I must share my newly discovered treat!!! So after making it 4 days straight running I decided a reward was in order, especially after today. This morning my mom & I walked over 3 miles then around 5:30 decided to go run...and that we did. We only jogged an extra mile but it was our fastest mile so far!!! Yes I feel a "WOOHOO" is in order. For the first time in 4 days this evening I felt like I kicked that run's butt, instead of the run kicking mine.

Anyway back to my must share........

 

Not too rich, not overly sweet, not too big...this creamy pink bar of deliciousness is JUST RIGHT and it's only 100 calories!!! These bars are definitely now a staple in our freezer!!! Check them out for yourself & let me know what you think.

Dinner Scavenger Hunt

So after a busy day ends & dinner time closes in on you, sometimes the only choice you have is to raid your freezer/fridge & pantry on a "Master Chef" type mission to find something...ANYTHING you can throw together for dinner. Today was that day for me. On my scavenger hunt I managed to find 3pieces of grilled chicken breasts, brown rice, & frozen peas....woohoo!! Well not really however a recipe idea came to me. Earlier today I did an order of honey glazed chicken for a customer & my house STILL smelled like yummy curry & honey, so I decided to make a kind of stir-fry with my findings!!! This was a really quick & easy meal & it was really tasty too!!! Please feel free to let me know what you think of this recipe.

Honey Chicken Stir-Fry
3 grilled chicken breasts
1 cup of brown rice
2 1/2 cups of water
1 small onion chopped
1/4 cup of honey
1/8 cup of brown sugar
2 Tbs of low sodium soy sauce
the juice of 1 lemon
1/2 tsp curry
8 oz of frozen peas
Salt & pepper to taste

In a large skillet combine brown rice & water. Bring to a boil & cover. Reduce temperature & simmer for about 35 mins or until almost done.

Meanwhile cut chicken into bite size cubes. 

When the rice is ready add the cubed chicken, onions, honey, brown sugar, soy sauce, lemon juice, & curry. Cook until the rice is finished & chicken is warmed completely (about 10 mins). Add the peas & stir to combine. Turn heat off & cover skillet. Let stand for 5 mins.

Serves: 5    1 serving: 320 Calories  3g of fat  4.3g of fiber  6 weight watchers points

Vi-Shape Smoothie

Ok so I have a confession.....I did not even come close to 30 days without meat :( There are, however LOTS of fruits & veggies in our house AND I have started running again in the park. Today my mom met me & we did a little over 3 miles jogging & walking both but the goal is eventually NO walking....except to the car when we are finished. I normally don't get super excited about  running, sweating ridiculously or growing GILLS to breathe outside down here in south Louisiana, but I did like the energy boost afterward. I do get excited about a post run smoothie though!!! I use a shake mix called Vi-Shape by Body by Vi. It tastes really good, it's gluten & lactose free, loaded with vitamins & only 90 calories or 2 scoops. These recipe options are endless but this was one of the yummy creations we made today!!

Honey Berry Smoothie

1 cup of mixed berries (frozen or fresh)

2/3 of a cup of fat free milk

2 scoops of Body By Vi shake mix (or your favorite protein mix)

2 tsp of honey

1/4 tsp of cinnamon

3-4 ice cubes

 Combine all ingredients into a Pampered Chef Manual Food Processor (or blender) & blend until smooth!

 Nutritional info: 278 Calories  1.2g Fat  50.9g Carbs  18.1g Protein 633.3mg Potassium

The Fruit Of Summer

On a hot humid summer day, there is nothing better than super cold fresh pineapple!!! I know, I know, watermelon is supposed to be the official summer fruit but fresh pineapple is a tiny bite of summer in your mouth. It's sweet, tangy, juicy, sticky, and sunny....the definition of summer in my opinion. I don't know too many people that don't like pineapple, but I know plenty that either don't know how to cut up the fruit, or just don't want the trouble of messing with it. Well Pampered Chef's pineapple wedger solves both those problems. It's really easy to use & I soooooo LOVE this product!!!!

To remove the top lay the pineapple on it's side and twist until it comes off. Cut both ends.

Place the wedger in the center of the pineapple lining up the middle circle with the core.

Holding the handles use a rocking motion to press down & cut through the fruit.

Remove the peels. Then remove the fruit halves.

Slice & enjoy!!!!!!!!

To order your "summer saving" pineapple wedger visit my Pampered Chef site: www.pamperedchef.biz/theredheadedcook

Happy 4th Of July

Grilling outside is a necessity on the 4th of July & it is totally unpatriotic not to eat a hamburger on this day!! So yes my 30 days of no meat has been compromised. Instead of a normal grilled burger, we took a yummy favorite recipe & put a little "swamp flare" to it!!  These turtle burgers are a really fun way to get the kids involved in the kitchen. Not only did Tracy have a blast creating her very own turtle burger, so did her uncles.

Turtle Burgers:
3 lbs of ground beef
1 egg
1/4th of a red onion finely diced
1/2 cup of salsa
2 tsp Slap Ya Momma (or other Cajun seasoning)
1 1/2 tsp of Pampered Chef Chili Lime Rub

2 packs of hot dog wieners
2 packs of bacon
1 block of cheese sliced into 7 pieces

In a large bowl combine beef, egg, onion, salsa, Slap Ya Momma, & the chili lime rub. Use your hands to mix until everything is combined. Pat out 14 patties.

To make the turtle's body cut franks in into thirds. This will give you enough pieces for each turtle to have 4 legs, a head, & a tail.Take your knife & make small cuts in the end of the "feet" pieces.

Cut the "tail" pieces into a triangle shape.

 

 Top 7 of the patties with cheese then place feet, tail, and head hotdogs in place. Place the remaining meat on top of each hamburger.

Take the bacon and weave it like a basket. Cut some of the fat off the outside of the bacon to make it straight. Then place the bacon weave on top of each turtle burger. You can place toothpicks into the burgers to keep the hotdogs in place.

Cook on the grill until burgers are done.

No lions, no tigers, no clowns. Oh my!

Beautiful bright colored feathery costumes, sweet sticky pink cotton candy, the booming voice of the ringmaster filling the stadium, sharp gasps from those in their seats quickly followed by the roar of applause after the tight rope walker makes it to safety....all of the things are just a tiny part of the magic that is the CIRCUS!!!! 

Saturday night we took Tracy to the Ringling Brothers & Barnum & Bailey's circus along with her cousins.To say it was a little disappointing would be a huge understatement. The most "magical" part of the show was the fact that we all sat through the whole thing...Ta-da!!! A friend that was with us summed it up quite nicely. She said she didn't know we were going to a dance recital!! 

There were no lions, tigers, or even clowns!! Now I will admit clowns aren't my favorite part but seriously a circus without clowns is not a circus at all. I did however create some circus inspired snack to get Tracy pumped up Saturday afternoon before we left. I called the first Clown Trail Mix, which only now makes me laugh since there weren't ANY clowns there! Oh well she had fun making these colorful & super easy snacks!!!

Clown Trail Mix

1 100 calorie bag of kettle corn popped
21 pieces of rainbow twizzler twists
1 cup of fruit loops
2/3 of a cup of party peanuts
40 frosted animal cookies
2 cups of mini marshmallows

Cut the rainbow twizzlers into bite size pieces. In a large bowl mix all the ingredients to combine. Then enjoy this yummy colorful treat!!!
 Serves:16    1/2 a cup: 185 Calories   7g fat   28 Carbs

 

Yogurt Covered Circus Animals

2 cups of vanilla or strawberry yogurt

4 cups of powdered sugar

1 bag of animal crackers

Sprinkles

•  
•  Preheat oven to 250°F.
• In a large mixing bowl, mix the powdered sugar into the yogurt one cup at a time with a hand mixer.
• Dip the animal crackers, one at a time into the yogurt mixture and place them on the wire cooling rack. Shake sprinkles on the top while wet.
• (Place a cookie sheet under the wire rack to catch the excess yogurt that drips from the crackers.)
• Once all the animal crackers are coated, turn the oven off and place the wire rack and cookie sheet in. Leave the door slightly open
• Allow yogurt to harden for 3-4 hours, remove from oven, and keep animal crackers in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
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