Creamy Spinach Stuffed Pork Chops

 

So everyone knows the  stereotypical pregnancy craving – pickles and ice cream. But, do you think anyone has ever actually craved that combination?? I’ve wanted some interesting combinations, but definitely not that interesting. My cravings usually come in the form of a specific dish and not necessarily bizarre combinations (though I have discovered that ranch and Italian dressing are delicious when combined).

One specific dish that I was craving last week was creamed spinach. When it came down to actually putting my meal plan together, I wanted to mix it up a bit. I decided a sturdy pork chop would be the perfect vehicle for the creamed spinach. Jesse loves pork chops so of course he was excited to see this on the menu, he even went back for seconds so I know he was fan. I liked the way the spinach tasted with the pork, but I have to be honest and admit that the filling was my favorite. 🙂

 Other tasty pork recipes!

Barbeque Pork Tenderloin Wrapsk
Island Pork Tenderloin
Ribs
Garlic and Herb Crusted Pork Loin
 

Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Shells

Up until a few weeks into my second trimester I had a major aversion to chicken. Just the thought of it icked me out. The first time I noticed the aversion was when I was having lunch with a friend and I ordered a buffalo chicken wrap. I took one bite, looked at my friend, covered my mouth with a napkin and said, “Sorry”. I wound up picking out all of the chicken (and half of the lettuce). Next time we went for lunch I asked them to replace the chicken with beans (yeah, that’s right, I ordered a buffalo bean wrap, and it was delicious!).

I am finally over that crazy aversion and we’re back to having chicken several nights a week. Of course it’s easy for things to get repetitive when you eat chicken for dinner several times a week, so I’m always trying to think up new ways to use it. What better way to spice up chicken than to add buffalo sauce? To mix it up even more I decided to stuff the chicken in pasta shells. The result was fantastic! We absolutely loved this dinner, hope you do too!

 

Check out these other tasty Buffalo recipes, too!

Buffalo Chicken Salad
Buffalo Chicken Bites
Homemade Spicy Garlic Buffalo Sauce
Buffalo Chicken Sliders
 

Greek Turkey Meatballs with Tzatziki Sauce

Despite the fact that the last 4 recipes I have posted have all been desserts, we are actually eating real food too! In fact we’ve had quite a few good meals lately. Unfortunately for the blog we’ve been eating when it’s already dark and my attempts at photographing food with an external flash have come up a little short lately. The good news is that one of our delicious dinners made for pretty delicious lunch leftovers, and I finally was able to get a decent photo. The sun is starting to stay out a little later so hopefully this won’t be an issue for too much longer!

These are flavorful and good-for-you meatballs. On the first night, I served them with roasted potatoes and asparagus (probably not Greek…). For lunch, I laid them on a bed of lettuce, onions, bell pepper, and tomatoes, and served them with (homemade!) pita bread. It was delicious both ways. I actually loved the way the roasted potatoes and asparagus tasted when dipped in the tzatziki sauce. But I also really loved the way the pita bread tasted with the tzatziki sauce. Win win situation if you ask me!

Note: I found the turkey meatball recipe over on Skinny Taste and she also had a tzatziki sauce recipe, but I’m a huge fan of  Elly’s recipe so I stuck with that. Below both recipes are listed as I made them.

 

 

Slow Cooker Chicken and Quinoa Chili

Even living in a slightly warmer climate, there’s just something about winter that makes me crave hearty, warm, soups and chilis. These warm and hearty dinners are even better when they basically prepare themselves. That’s one of the things I loved about this chili. I literally threw all of the ingredients in my slowcooker and let time do the rest. The other great thing about this chili is that its good for you! Loaded with good for you quinoa, black beans, tomatoes, and corn and have very minimal fat (especially if you top it with nonfat Greek yogurt and low fat cheese!). Oh, and they go perfectly with those Cheddar Jalapeno Drop Biscuits I posted last week!

I was excited when I found this recipe, but of course I had to make a few adjustments. First, I like a bit of smokey spicy taste to my chili, so I replaced the bell pepper with chipotle pepper. Second, I upped the smokey flavor by using fire-roasted tomatoes. If you can’t find fire-roasted tomatoes (or don’t care for them) you can of course use regular tomatoes, but I really loved the flavor they added. I also cut back just a bit on the chicken stock and added some tomato paste. I wanted a thick chili and I think the result was really great. Finally, I had a huge split chicken breast thawed, so I used that instead of boneless skinless. I’m sure the bones helped to add a little bit of flavor, but to be honest the breast was so tender it just fell away from the bones, and it was kind of a pain making sure that I got all of them out of the thick chili. Next time I’ll probably go the boneless skinless route (and the recipe below will reflect that).