Second Helping: Pork 'Shepherd's Pie'

Growing up, our Irish & Scottish family's version of Shepherd's Pie consisted of instant mashed potatoes, cream-style corn from a can, and whatever scrambled hamburger was on sale that week at Market Basket. The meals my mother made for us growing up were convenient, affordable, and ginormous - she made enough of everything to feed an army, so we had leftovers for the week (and for the freezer). However, no matter how inexpensive and simple our dinners were, I have fond memories of sitting around the table with my family almost every night, which, in turn, made the meals comforting and delicious.

From my experience growing up, I learned at an early age not to waste food - and not to appreciate three nights in a row of the same leftovers. So, the other night when I was faced with leftover, un-stuffed pork and spinach, I got a little creative - and also managed to make use of a favorite childhood meal.

Pork "Shepherd's Pie"
Yields: 2 servings

-2 pork chops, cooked and seasoned like this
-2 cups spinach
-2/3 cup instant mashed potatoes, cooked
-1 tbsp. olive oil
-Herbs de Provence
-Salt and pepper to taste
-Shredded cheddar cheese

Directions: Heat up olive oil in saute pan. Add spinach and cook over low to medium heat until slightly wilted. Take off heat. Cut pork into 1-inch cubes, and place each cut pork chop on the bottom of two ramakins. Spoon 1 cup spinach into each ramakin, over pork layer. Scoop equal amounts of mashed potatoes (while still slightly warm) over the spinach and pork layers. Sprinkle some shredded cheddar cheese over the top of each, and place both ramakins on a cookie sheet. Cook in 350* oven until cheese is melted (about 5 minutes).

And ta-da! You have pork "Shepherd's Pie."

The end result was a lighter, healthier version of the comforting Shepherd's Pie we had growing up. Although I ate this meal without my family sitting around me at the table, I was fortunate enough to enjoy it with thoughts of them and fond memories of our meals together - and I look forward to our meals to come.

What was your favorite meal growing up? 

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Farmer's Market Pork Chops

I'm currently reading The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan, so my writing opportunity with Local In Season could not have come at a better time. The folks at LIS approached me after reading this very blog, and I knew it was a position I could not pass up. How could I not be passionate about supporting local farmer's, business owners, and chefs that utilize locally-grown and locally-made food?

With all this being said, last Saturday I had to cover the Waltham's Early Bird Farmer's Market for LIS - you know, the Saturday where it was raining and lightning? My recap of the event will be on LIS soon, but let's just say the sense of community and commitment I felt from each and every vendor that day was outstanding. I wanted to buy something from everybody to help support their hard work and dedication, but, unfortunately, spending that kind of dough isn't my reality.

Instead, I settled on buying just a few items, including some Vegetable Havarti cheese from Smith's Country Cheese in Winchendon. Smith's offers a variety of fresh Gouda, Havarti and Cheddar cheeses, and even had samples of each and every one of them out on Saturday. I settled on the vegetable flavor because it was so unique - the familiar vegetable flavors tickled their way across my tastebuds, while the creamy, slightly tangy flavor of the Havarti lingered beautifully in the background.

Earlier this week, I decided to use just a little bit of the cheese (the rest I saved for another recipe) with some other vegetables I had in my fridge to make some decadent stuffed pork chops.

Vegetable Havarti & Spinach-Stuffed Pork Chops
Yields: 2 servings

-2 pork chops, sliced lengthwise down the middle
-4 slices of Smith's Country Cheese Vegetable Havarti
-1/8 cup chopped onion
-1 cup spinach (I used Olivia's Organic Single Salad to Go, $1.99)
-1 tsp. garlic
-2 tbsp. olive oil
-Salt and pepper
-Herbs de Provence
-White wine

Directions: Sautee onion in pan with 1 tbsp. olive oil, until onions are translucent. Add spinach, and cook until slightly wilted (for about 1 minute). Take off heat, and let cool slightly. While cooling, add two slices of Havarti to inside of sliced pork chops. Spoon equal parts of spinach and onion mixture inside, then close pork chops with a tooth pick to hold them together. Season pork chops with salt, black pepper and herbs de provence. Cook in frying pan with remaining olive oil until brown on each side. Add garlic and a little white wine to pan, and cook off for 30 seconds. Cover pan with tin foil and place in 350 degree oven for 12 to 15 minutes, or until cooked through completely.

The olive oil, fat from the pork and white wine made a luxurious sauce, while the creamy cheese melted wonderfully throughout the inside of the meat. The spinach and onions worked really well with the flavor of the cheese, too, although I could have easily added more spinach (mental note for next time).

Reminder: You have until TOMORROW MORNING to enter my giveaway for a chance to attend Taste of the Nation in Portland, Maine for FREE! 

Guest post: how to survive being married and hungry

Hey guys! I have a special treat for you today: A guest post from my newly married cousin, Catherine. Catherine has been my fellow foodie in life since we were babies, and she has recently become accustomed to the lifestyle of an economical eater, after paying for a wedding and saving for a future. I’m confident you will find her tips useful for saving some dough, especially if you can relate to being a hungry newlywed.

Take it from me: being newly married, trying to get back on our feet from the wedding, the holidays and paying bills, my husband and I have had to adjust to a lifestyle of bargain shopping and cheap eats! We are a couple who loves to eat, but doesn’t like to spend a lot of money. We are home-bodies, who like the taste of home cooked meals, so we usually try to find good deals right at the grocery store. In order to avoid wasting food, we also try to incorporate ingredients that we already have in the fridge, without completely compromising the quality of the meal. Even making a simple pizza at home saves us a few dollars every week, which adds up over time.

For those of you who are newly married, or could simply use some less expensive meal ideas during the week, here are some of our go-to meals when the wallet is thin:

Baked Pork Chop Dinner

1 package thinly sliced pork chops, $3.99

1 bag bread crumbs, $1.00 (1 package will give you at least three meals)

1 sweet potato, $0.89

1 can green beans, $0.80

1 egg—already had in the fridge

Sometimes a little garlic is added to the pork to add flavor

Dip the pork into a little bit of egg, then cover with bread crumbs. Cook in the oven for 20-25 min (baking keeps them a little more juicy), and then serve with veggie’s on the side.

Cheese Burger on Toast

1 package of ground beef – $2.69 (it’s cheaper to make your own patties)

Toast – bread had at home already, versus buying a $3-4 package of hamburger buns

Cheese - had at home already

Since it's winter, we cook the hamburg patties right on the skillet and then just serve between two pieces of toast with a little mustard and ketchup, have a pickle and a handful of chips on the side, and you have one easy and cheap hamburger.

Homemade Pizza

1 package wheat dough

1 package Market Basket pizza cheese

1 can pizza sauce

If you have any veggies or olives laying around the house, you can throw those on too

Use a little flour and work the dough until it forms a nice circle shape. Please on greased pizza pan or cookie sheet. Cover with sauce (usually the can lasts us two pizzas), then cheese and any additional toppings.

These are just some of the simple meals we like to make when we are in a hurry and on a budget! Any of these meals can be more creative - my husband has a simple palate, so we try to keep our meals pretty uncomplicated.