Pumpkin Risotto

 Recipe here

Best Pork Chops

• 4 Large Pork Chops about 1 Inch Thick, Bone In
• 1 Box of Oven Fry for Pork made by Kraft Foods
• 2 Eggs
• 4 Tablespoons of Butter
• 2 T of Honey
• 1 T of Yellow Mustard
• 1 T of Vinegar, I used Red Wine Vinegar
• 3 to 4 T Fresh Parsley, Minced
• 1 teaspoon Paprika

Time to get cooking. There are a few important steps you need to remember to do.

1. Let the pork chops sit out for about 30 minutes before prepping them.
2. Let the eggs sit out for about 30 minutes after whisking them.
3. Dry the pork chops really well on all sides with paper towels.
4. Set yourself up a breading area with the egg, oven fry, chops and an empty plate to make it easy on yourself.

Bread the chops:

1. Dip a chop in the egg mixture making sure to coat all sides.
2. Then press the chop down into the oven fry, turn to get all the edges and opposite sides.
3. Place chops on plate while you do the remaining chops.
4. Prepare a baking sheet with foil and non stick spray and place the chops on the sheet while heating the oven to 375 to 400 degrees depending on how hot your oven gets.
5. Then sprinkle a little bit of the oven fry on top of the chops with a pat of butter on top of each chop.
6. My oven runs pretty hot so I baked these for about 20 minutes before they were done.
While the chops bake, prepare the honey mustard glaze by whisking together the honey, vinegar, mustard, half the parsley and paprika.
Remove the chops from the oven, turn off the oven, drizzle the chops with the honey mustard glaze and place the sheet pan back in the oven (that is turned off) for about 5 to 7 minutes  so the glaze bakes on. Reserve the remaining glaze for dipping.
Remove the chops from the oven, plate and sprinkle with the remaining parsley. We had pan friend onions and potato pierogis with these chops and it was the perfect meal. There were just a few leftovers and I used the remaining chops and honest mustard for a salad for lunch the next day.
This recipe was certainly a surprise hit. I will be adding it to my regular dinner rotation. The bone in pork chops are key in this recipe because they make the finished dish so much more juicy. The honey mustard glaze adds such a delicious sticky sweet touch. I hope you love this recipe as much as we do! I think you will agree that these are the best pork chops ever.

Turkey & Sweet Potato Stuffed Peppers

Ground Turkey Sweet Potato Stuffed Peppers

Maple Mustard: One Pan

Ingredients

• 4 skinless, bone-in chicken thighs
• 1 to 1-1/2 pounds small new potatoes, halved
• salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
• 1/3 cup brown mustard
• 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. Season chicken and potatoes with salt and pepper; transfer to a nonstick pan or 12-inch skillet that is oven safe. Set aside.
3. In a small mixing bowl, combine mustards and maple syrup; whisk to combine.
4. Pour the mustard mixture over the chicken and potatoes; toss to coat.
5. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until chicken is done cooking and potatoes are tender.

Chicken, Apple, Sweet Potato, and Brussels Sprouts Skillet

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 4 slices thick-cut bacon, chopped
• 3 cups Brussels sprouts, trimmed and quartered (about 3/4 pound)
• 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes (about 8 ounces)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into 3/4 inch cubes
• 4 cloves garlic, minced (about 2 teaspoons)
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth, divided

1. Heat the olive oil in a large,nonstick or cast iron skillet over medium high, until hot and shimmering. Add the chicken, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, and black pepper. Cook until lightly browned and cooked through, about 5 minutes. Transfer to plate lined with paper towels.
2. Reduce skillet heat to medium low. Add the chopped bacon and cook until crisp and brown and the fat has rendered, about 8 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate (I simply laid another paper towel on top of the plate with the chicken, then stacked the bacon on that). Discard all but 1 1/2 tablespoons bacon fat from the pan.
3. Increase skillet heat back to medium high. Add Brussels sprouts, sweet potato, onion, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender and the onions are beginning to look translucent, about 10 minutes.
4. Stir in the apples, garlic, thyme, and cinnamon. Cook 30 seconds, then pour in 1/2 cup of the broth. Bring to a boil and cook until evaporated, about 2 minutes. Add the reserved chicken and remaining 1/2 cup broth. Cook until heated through, about 2 minutes. Stir in reserved bacon and serve warm.

Pesto Spaghetti Squash Sausage Skillet

Ingredients

• 1 medium spaghetti squash, cut in half and seeds discarded
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 sweet pepper, diced
• 1 medium onion, finely diced
• 4 chicken or turkey sausages, sliced 1/4-in thick
• 1/2 cup prepared basil pesto
• Shredded Parmesan cheese for topping, optional

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Prick spaghetti squash halves with a fork several times and rub inside with 1 tablespoon oil. Season with salt and pepper. Place squash flesh side-down on a greased baking sheet. Bake spaghetti squash at 400F 40-45 minutes or until squash is tender. Allow squash to cool slightly, then shred squash inside with a fork and place spaghetti squash in a bowl. Set aside.
2. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat remaining oil until hot. Saute onion and sausage 5-7 minutes until lightly golden.
3. Add spaghetti squash to skillet and stir occasionally until squash is heated through. Stir pesto into squash and season skillet with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese if desired. Serve spaghetti squash warm. Enjoy!

Salmon with Veggies

really really good and so easy

Mustard Ribs

Grilled with Green Bean Salad

Dijon Prk Chops

Citrus Skillet Shrimp

Seared Steak with Peas and Asparagus

Steak Tagliata

Pork and Chinese Eggplant Stir Fry

Spinach and Black Bean Enchiladas

Ingredients
{For the sauce}  **Jess: I used a can of sauce b/c I try to make recipes as easy as possible!)
3 cups organic low sodium vegetable broth
1/4 cup tomato paste
1/4 cup all purpose flour (or gluten-free flour)
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. chili powder
Salt/pepper

{For the enchiladas} 
15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 cups corn (I used frozen, thawed)
6 oz. fresh baby spinach
6 green onions, thinly sliced
1/3 cup cilantro, chopped
2 tsp. cumin
3 cups shredded 3 cheese blend (or pepper jack, etc.)
8 large flour tortillas
Jess: I also added shredded chicken

Directions
Make the sauce: in a saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add tomato paste, flour, 2 tsp. cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, and chili powder. Cook 1 minute, whisking. Whisk in broth, bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer, and cook until slightly thickened about 8 minutes. Salt/pepper to taste, and set aside.

Saute the spinach in olive oil over medium heat for 1-2 minutes until slightly wilted.
In a large bowl, combine beans, 2 cups cheese, spinach, corn, green onions, 2 tsp. cumin, and cilantro.
Preheat oven to 375. Lightly spray a 9x13 inch baking dish, and pour a small amount of the sauce to coat the bottom.
Generously fill tortillas with mixture, roll up tightly with ends tucked in, and place seam side down in dish.
Pour remaining sauce over the enchiladas, coating evenly. Sprinkle 1 cup cheese on top.
Bake about 20 minutes, and garnish with cilantro and/or green onions (optional).

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Freezer Instructions
A sweet reader of mine, Kara, tested out this recipe as a freezer meal and found it worked great. Here are her instructions:

"I made the enchiladas as you outlined above, stopping before adding the sauce and cheese to the top. I froze the enchiladas and the sauce separately. Thawed the sauce in the fridge overnight, then when I was ready to bake, I heated the sauce slowly in a saucepan - whisking helped keep it smooth. Then poured the sauce over the frozen enchiladas, added some cheese, and baked @ 400, covered for 30 minutes and uncovered for 15 minutes."

Parmesan Crusted Pork Chops

Ingredients

• 4 boneless pork chops
• ⅓ cup Parmesan cheese
• 2-3 TB Italian breadcrumbs (dried)
• ⅛ tsp. paprika
• 1 tsp. dried parsley
• ½ tsp. garlic powder
• 2 TB olive oil
• ¼ tsp. pepper

Instructions

1. Mix Parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, paprika, parsley and garlic powder and place on a plate.
2. Dip pork chops in the mixture (making sure mixture sticks) and sear in a pan of olive oil on medium-high heat. Sautee for 5 minutes on each side.
3. Place pork chops in a glass baking dish and cook according to thickness. Ours were an inch thick and we cooked for an hour at 300. If yours are regular thickness, cook at 350 for half hour.

Maple Dijon Chicken Thighs

Ingredients

• ¼ cup Dijon mustard $0.45
• 2 Tbsp real maple syrup $0.65
• 1 Tbsp olive oil $0.16
• 2 tsp soy sauce $0.04
• 1 clove garlic $0.08
• ½ Tbsp dried rosemary (or 1 Tbsp fresh) $0.15
• 2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs $4.00

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl, stir together the dijon mustard, maple syrup, olive oil, and soy sauce. Mince the garlic and chop the rosemary. Stir both into the marinade.
2. Coat the inside of an 8x8 inch casserole dish with non-stick spray. Arrange the chicken thighs in the dish so that they are close, but not overlapping. Pour the marinade on top and then spread it around until the thighs are completely covered.
3. Bake the chicken thighs in the preheated oven for 45-60 minutes, or until they are golden brown on top.

Notes

Use a spoon to drizzle the cooking juices over top of the chicken after baking. Avoid using a brush as this will wipe off the baked on marinade.

Ground Turkey Sweet Potato Skillet

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 lbs extra-lean ground turkey
• 1 tsp clove garlic, minced
• ½ cup onions, diced
• ½ cup yellow pepper, diced
• 1 ½ cup sweet potato, diced
• Salt and pepper
• A pinch of chili pepper
• ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• Green onions for garnishing

Instructions

1. In a skillet, heat olive oil over medium high heat.
2. Add ground turkey and garlic. Stir occasionally and cook for about 10 minutes.
3. Add onions and yellow peppers and cook until onions are gold brown.
4. Add the sweet potato, cover the skillet and cook until they are tender. Don’t forget to stir occasionally. If necessary, add more olive oil or a little bit of water to cook the sweet potato.
5. While the sweet potato is cooking pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.
6. When the sweet potato is tender, add shredded mozzarella cheese and bring the skillet to the oven to melt the cheese.
7. When the cheese melts, remove from the oven and garnish with green onions.