Sausage and Apple Stuffed Pork

This dish was a winner at my house. It takes a little more prep than some of the other recipes I make but it was worth it. I love stuffing but never seem to eat it till Thanksgiving. This is a nice recipe to get your stuffing fix. The sauce goes beautifully with this - it's so tangy and keeps the pork nice and moist. This recipe was inspired by another recipe my friend Kathy gave me. Enjoy!

P.S. My daughter ate it all so it's kid-approved! :)

Sausage and Apple Stuffed Pork

• Toothpicks
• 4 T butter, divided
• 2 T olive oil
• Jimmy Dean pork sausage (I bought one of those "logs" of sausage & cut it in half & saved the rest for something else)
• 1 apple, finely chopped
• 3-4 celery stalks, finely chopped
• 1 small onion or 1/2 of a large onion, finely chopped
• 1 box Stove Top stuffing mix
• 1 1/2 lbs Boneless pork chops
• 1/2 C chicken stock
• 2 T dijon mustard
• 2 T coarse ground mustard

First, pound out your pork chops till they are pretty thin, but can still hold stuffing. Set aside.

Melt butter in a large saute pan. Throw in the apple, celery, onions and sausage and saute till everything is cooked through and soft. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

Cook stuffing according to directions on box. When done, combine the stuffing with the sausage and apple mixture.

With a spoon, measure about a tablespoon worth of the stuffing and place in the middle of the pounded out pork. Roll up and stick in toothpicks to close it up. Repeat until you have stuffed each pork chop. You will have left over stuffing - serve it with your meal.

In the same large saute pan that you cooked the sausage & apple mixture in, melt 1 T butter and 2 T olive oil over medium high heat. Place the rolled up pork chops in the pan when the oil is hot and brown each side for a few minutes. Pour in 1/2 C chicken stock and use a wooden spoon to scrape up the amazing bits stuck on the bottom of the pan - that's the flavor! Add the dijon mustard and the coarse ground mustard. Stir to combine and roll around the pork so it has the sauce on it. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low and continue to cook uncovered for about 10-15 minutes. Liquid will be reduced and thick and yummy! Pork will be cooked through.

Take out the pork and remove the toothpicks. You can pour the sauce over the top or have it on the side as a gravy. Serve with the stuffing and your favorite veggies!

Pineapple & Green Chile Pork Tacos

I just made this awesome recipe yesterday for dinner. I love using the Crock Pot as often as possible. The meat is always cooked perfectly, falls apart and just melts in your mouth. It's amazing. Both the hubby and I gobbled it up. I know it sounds weird but trust me, try it! I've never had pork in a taco but it kind of makes me think of fish tacos - something I've never had but want to try. I'm SO glad I did and you will be too!

My notes: Regarding the choice of meat: when I made this, I used pork ribs I had in the freezer that I wanted to get rid of. Next time, I will probably just use a boneless pork butt (the "butt" is actually the shoulder, not the "butt"! Don't know why it's called that.) roast - it's cheap and not such a hassle to de-bone. You can find tomatillo salsa on the same aisle as all the Mexican/Spanish food in your grocery store. I served it with taco shells, mexican rice (one of those Knorr (formerly Lipton) packets), cheese and sour cream. I wish I had fresh tomatoes but maybe next time. This makes so much pork so you can make a whole other meal with it the next day! Enjoy!

Pineapple & Green Chile Pork Tacos (from RealMomKitchen.com)

3 lb. boneless pork roast
1 (20 ounce can) crushed pineapple with juices
1 (16 ounce) jar tomatillo salsa (green salsa or salsa verde)
2 (4 ounce) cans green chiles, undrained
2/3 cup brown sugar

Combine all ingredients in the crock pot and cook on high for four hours or on low for 6 to eight hours. Shred pork, season to taste with salt and pepper. In a colander, drain juices from crock pot. Mix shredded pork with pineapple/salsa mixture that remains in colander and serve in tortillas with desired accompaniments. It also works great to serve as a quesadilla.

Sweet and Sour Pork

Something you will learn about me very soon is that I love Asian cuisine...well, most of it, anyway. I don't do sushi but I like most everything else. There's just something about the combination of the sweet peppers and sour pineapple that make this dish so tasty. It's sauteed, not fried (so you actually taste the meat, not the breading!) and, amazingly enough, it'll be ready in 30 minutes! I'm making this tomorrow night for dinner!

My notes: I don't use scallions because they come in a bunch at the grocery store, I never use them all and inevitably throw them away and feel bad later. The rice is fine without them, but do what you want! Also, I don't use fresh pineapple, again, because it's a waste for us. I usually buy canned pineapple tidbits and add a little of the juice to the sauce for extra flavor. If you don't want to use pork, chicken, shrimp or beef would be equally delicious!

Sweet and Sour Pork (from RachaelRay.com)

2 cups water
1 cup white or brown rice
2 scallions, finely chopped
2 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
1 tablespoon hot sauce
Juice of 1 lime
3 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons soy sauce or Tamari (dark soy sauce)
3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 can tomato sauce (8 ounces)
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 package pork tenderloins, trimmed of silver skin and cut into 1-inch dice
2 cloves garlic, grated or finely chopped
1 inch ginger, peeled and grated
2 green bell peppers, seeded and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 large onion, cut into 1-inch pieces
6 slices fresh pineapple, drained and cut into 1-inch pieces
Freshly ground black pepper

Bring the water to a boil in a medium size pot with a lid. Add the rice and give it a stir, then put the lid on and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook the rice until tender, about 18 minutes. Once it’s ready, fluff it with a fork and stir in the scallions.When the rice is about halfway done, place a large skillet over high heat with two turns of the pan of oil, about 2 tablespoons. While the pan is heating up, grab a small bowl and combine the hot sauce, lime juice, honey, Tamari, vinegar, tomato sauce and cornstarch, stirring to dissolve the cornstarch. Set the sauce aside.When the skillet is searing hot, add in the pork and cook the meat until caramelized, 3-4 minutes. Add in the garlic, ginger, peppers and onions, and stir fry the meat and veggies for 2 minutes more. Add in the pineapple and reserved sauce and stir everything together. Bring the sauce to a boil and allow it to cook for 1 minute to thicken up.Season everything with some ground black pepper and serve the sweet 'n sour pork over the scallion rice.