Antonia's Portuguese Stuffing

My husband never knew his grandparents on his father's side of the family as my father in law was the youngest of nine siblings and was a "change of life" baby as they like to call it. His Portuguese grandmother, Antonia, was pregnant with twins at the age of 50, but the doctors thought she had a tumor. Nine months later, my father in law was born and sadly, his brother had passed in the womb. By the time my husband was born, both grandparents had passed away, but the stories lived on through his parents, aunts, uncles and older cousins.

Fennel & Apple Stuffed Pork Chops

I decided for dinner one night that I was going to make some pork chops but wasn't quite  sure what I was going to do with them. I had some leftover homemade whole wheat pita chips from NYE and decided that I'd make a stuffing. I sauteed the fennel with some apples, garlic and thyme then threw in some Asiago cheese last minute too. I decided that since I was using bread as a stuffing, I didn't want to bread these so I just used some of our leftover champagne to help baste the pork while it was cooking. These were fantastic and there was even enough stuffing after filling the pork chops so that I could use it as a side dish also. 

Fennel & Apple Stuffed Pork Chops

4- 6oz. Center Cut Boneless Pork Chops

1 c. Fennel & Apple Whole Wheat Stuffing
1 c. Champagne (You can also use wine, chicken broth or water)
Garlic Powder
Kosher Salt, to taste
Fresh Ground Pepper, to taste

Trim any fat from your chop then make a pocket by slicing the meat horizontally, but not all of the way through. Stuff each chop with 1/4c. stuffing and place in an oven safe baking dish. Add the champagne (or other liquid) to the bottom of the pan to avoid sticking and to help baste the pork chops while cooking. Sprinkle with garlic powder, salt and pepper. Bake at 425 degrees for approximately 20-30 minutes or until desired temperature is reached (depends on the thickness or your pork chops). Serves 4. 

Points+=10 pts

Fennel & Apple Whole Wheat Stuffing

4 Small Whole Wheat Pitas

1/2 Fennel, white part only, chopped

2 Cloves Garlic

2 Apples, peeled, cored and small dice (I used Paula Red)

1 tsp. Fresh Thyme

1 tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 c. Low-Sodium Chicken Broth

1/2 c. Shredded Asiago Cheese

Kosher Salt, to taste

Fresh Ground Black Pepper, to taste

Add the pita to your food processor or chop in fine pieces and add them to a bowl. In a large frying pan, heat oil and add your fennel, apples and thyme. Saute until the fennel and apples start to turn translucent, then add to your pita crumbs. Add in the chicken broth and the cheese and mix well. Season with salt and pepper. Add any remaining stuffing to an oven safe dish and bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Makes approx. 3 cups. 

Points+=3pts per 1/2 cup serving

Enjoy!

Just linked this recipe to Baking Bad Foodie Friday

Rosemary Cornbread Chicken Cutlets and Sausage, Apple & Rosemary Cornbread Stuffing

Ok, you're getting a 2 for 1 today! 

I still had some cornbread stuffing mix left from Thanksgiving and my kids wanted chicken cutlets this past Friday night. Sure, no problem. That is until I actually looked in my pantry and realized I didn't have enough breadcrumbs. So I crushed the cornbread stuffing mix, added some fresh rosemary and garlic powder and Voila, instant breadcrumbs. I actually preferred the cutlets this way, it was very tasty! Then, of course, I had to make some Bruschetta to put on top of them (that's how we love to eat them!). So if you're ever in a pinch for breadcrumbs, just use a mini food chopper (like the one in my Giveaway..hint, hint ;) and make your own. 

Rosemary Cornbread Chicken Cutlets

4 Boneless Chicken Breasts

4 c. Cornbread Stuffing Mix (I used Arnolds®), chopped into fine breadcrumbs

2 tbsp. Fresh Rosemary, chopped

2 tsp. Garlic Powder

2 tsp. Kosher Salt

1 tsp. Fresh Ground Pepper

Egg wash (2 eggs + 1/4 c. 2% Milk)

1 c. All-Purpose Flour

Canola Oil, for frying

For a standard sized chicken breast, you should be able to get approximately 3 cutlets out of each. They don't all have to be uniform in size. If one part is thicker than the other, gently pound the thicker part with a meat mallet to make the piece even for cooking. On a clean cutting board, lay the chicken and place one hand flat on top of the chicken. Holding your knife parallel to the cutting board, slice the chicken horizontally from the thickest end to the thin end into 1/4 inch thick cutlets. You will need three separate bowls. One for flour. One for the egg wash. And another for breadcrumbs, rosemary, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Dip each cutlet first in the flour, then in the egg mixture, then in the breadcrumb mixture. Add approximately 2"-3" of oil in a large frying pan and heat over medium-high heat. Fry chicken cutlets until they are cooked through and lightly browned.  Drain on paper towels or brown paper bags to remove excess oil. Makes 12-16 cutlets(depending on the thickness of your chicken breasts).  

Points+=6 approx. per cutlet. It's hard to determine because most of the oil that is used gets drained off. It is 3 Points+ before frying. 


On another note,  if you don't follow me on Facebook or are a new friend, you are probably not aware that 2 days before Thanksgiving my MIL fell while out shopping and broke her hip. She had to have surgery the day before Thanksgiving where they had to put a rod in her hip that goes down to right above the knee. The surgery went well and she's since been released from the hospital and is now recovering at a rehabilitation facility where they say she should be able to come home by Christmas but it will take about 4 months for her to get full mobility back. So what does this have to do with stuffing? Well, she was supposed to bring the Portuguese stuffing to Thanksgiving dinner and even as sedated as she was (and drugged up on Morphine), she was still worried about that stuffing! I told her not to worry and came up with this version. It was really good and in fact, my sister in law (the one who usually only eats Stove Top) loved it as well!  

Sausage, Apple & Rosemary Cornbread Stuffing

4 c. Cornbread Stuffing Mix (I used Arnolds®)

3 links Italian Fennel Sausage, skin removed

1 Honey Crisp Apple, cored, peeled and diced

1 tbsp. Fresh Rosemary, chopped

1 tbsp. Canola Oil

2 tbsp. Red Onion, minced

1 Stalk Celery, small dice

1 3/4 c. Low-Sodium Chicken Broth

1/2 tsp. Kosher Salt 

1/4 tsp. Fresh Ground Black Pepper

In a small saucepan, bring the chicken broth to a boil then remove from heat. In a separate frying pan, add the oil and cook the sausage, breaking it apart into small pieces. Add in the onion, celery, apples and rosemary and saute for 3-4 minutes until all ingredients are mixed together.  In a large bowl, add the stuffing mix, sausage and apple mixture, heated chicken broth, salt and pepper and mix well. Transfer to an oven safe baking dish and bake at 350°F for approximately 25 minutes or until a light brown crust is formed. Serves 6. 

Points+=8

Enjoy!

Chorizo Cornbread Stuffing

Now that Halloween is over, it's time to start thinking about stuffing. And this one is really good anytime of the year. And since I had a few small links left after making the risotto last week, I didn't want them to go to waste. Waste not want not right?! This is a real easy recipe to make and gives you a little variety from the everyday normal bread stuffing. The chorizo I used wasn't too spicy but if you like the added heat, you can usually find one with more spices in it. 

Chorizo Cornbread Stuffing
4 c. Cornbread Stuffing Mix (I used Arnolds®)
3 oz. Chorizo, skin removed and diced
1 tbsp. Canola Oil
1 Clove Garlic, minced
2 tbsp. Red Onion, minced
1 Stalk Celery, small dice
1 3/4 c. Low-Sodium Chicken Broth
1 tbsp. Fresh Thyme, removed from stem
1/2 tsp. Kosher Salt 
1/4 tsp. Fresh Ground Black Pepper


In a small saucepan, bring the chicken broth to a boil then remove from heat. In a separate frying pan, add the oil, chorizo, garlic, onion, celery, and thyme. Saute for 5 minutes. In a large bowl, add the stuffing mix, chorizo mixture, heated chicken broth, salt and pepper and mix well. Transfer to an oven safe baking dish and bake at 350°F for approximately 25 minutes or until a light brown crust is formed. Serves 6. 


Enjoy!