Breakfast: Green ‘n’ Gold Egg Bake, Yogurt with Toasted Quinoa, Almonds and Apricots
Lunch: Leftovers + banana, pear, orange, cherries
Dinner: Breaded Pork Chops, Spaghetti Carbonara, Easy and Elegant Ham, red potatoes, sauteed red peppers and red onion
Dessert: Yogurt Tartlet
Breaded Pork Chops
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine 1 cup of Italian-seasoned bread crumbs and 2 Tbsp of grated Parmesan cheese in a shallow dish (like a pie plate). Place 1/3 cup of ranch salad dressing in another shallow dish. Dip 6 pork chops in ranch dressing, then coat in the crumb mixture.
Place in an ungreased baking pan. Bake, uncovered, for 25 minutes. Meanwhile, heat a jar of red sauce in a small pot. Pour over pork chops and sprinkle with 2 Tbsp of grated Parmesan cheese to serve.
Green ‘n’ Gold Egg Bake
Thaw 2 packages of frozen spinach and squeeze dry. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of seasoned bread crumbs into a greased baking dish. Bake for 3-5 minutes. Combine spinach, 3 cups of cottage cheese, 1/4 cup of grated Romano cheese, 1/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese, 3 eggs, and 3/4 cup of seasoned bread crumbs in a bowl. Spread over the baked crumbs. Beat 2 more eggs. Pour over spinach mixture.
Bake, uncovered, for 45 minutes. Let stand for 5-10 minutes before serving.
Yogurt Tartlets
I’ve featured this recipe before on Week 21 in my Year as a Single College Student Series. You can view the recipe here:
https://theshortchef.wordpress.com/2014/03/27/week-21-special-week-5-recipes-for-50/
I decorated mine with dates, nectarine, and peach slices this time.
Yogurt with Toasted Quinoa, Almonds, and Apricots
To toast the red quinoa, add 1 Tbsp to a medium saute pan and cook over medium/low heat about 3-5 minutes. Remove from the heat and transfer to a bowl to cool.
Add 1 Tbsp of sliced almonds to the saute pan, and toast over low heat, moving around the pan constantly. Almonds will toast in 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a bowl to cool.
Add 1 Tbsp of coconut chips to the saute pan, and toast over low heat, moving around the pan constantly. When coconut is toasted, transfer to a bowl to cool.
Add 6 oz of Greek yogurt to a small bowl. Top with toasted quinoa, almonds, 3 roughly chopped dried apricots and coconut chips. Drizzle with honey and a small sprinkle of sea salt. Flaky sea salt, like fleur de sel works best.
Spaghetti Carbonara
Cook a package of thin spaghetti according to package directions. Meanwhile, dice 10 strips of bacon, and cook over medium heat in a skillet until crisp. Drain on paper towels. Add 1/3 cup of butter to the drippings. Heat until melted.
Drain spaghetti. Toss with 2 lightly beaten eggs and 3/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese. Add to the skillet. Cook and stir over medium heat for 3-4 minutes. Sprinkle with bacon.
Easy and Elegant Ham
Drain 2 cans of sliced pineapple, reserving the juice and setting aside. Place half of the pineapple in an ungreased slow cooker. Top with a 6 lb fully cooked boneless ham. Drain a jar of maraschino cherries well. Add cherries, remaining pineapple, and reserved pineapple juice on top of the ham. Spoon a jar of orange marmalade on top as well. Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours.
Remove to a warm serving platter. Let stand for 10-15 minutes before slicing. Serve pineapple and cherries with sliced ham.
SHOPPING LIST:
Parmesan cheese (at least 2.5 cups worth grated)
Romano cheese (1/4 cup worth)
Cottage cheese (24 oz)
Greek yogurt
Plain lowfat vanilla yogurt
Eggs
Italian-seasoned dry bread crumbs
Red chili pepper
Red onion
Bag of red potatoes
3 red peppers
Bananas
6 pears
Dates
Nectarine
Peach
6 oranges
Cherries
6 lb fully cooked boneless ham
6 pork chops
Bacon
2 pkgs of frozen chopped spinach
Jar of maraschino cherries (6 oz)
Jar of orange marmalade (12 oz)
Jar of red pasta sauce
Pkg of thin spaghetti (7 oz)
Red quinoa
Dried apricots
Coconut chips
Natural cane sugar
[Also needed: butter, sliced almonds, honey, sea salt, all-purpose flour, oats, salt, maple syrup, lemon juice, seasoned bread crumbs, ranch salad dressing]
theshortchef 