Creamy Herbed Pork Chops

Prep Time: 1/2 hour
Serves 4

Delicious with Green Rice to soak up extra sauce!

4 pork chops, cut 3/4-inch thick
1 Tbls butter (or olive oil, for a dairy-free recipe)
1/3 cup finely chopped carrot
1 Tbls snipped fresh parsley
2 Tbls rice flour
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp vegan bouillon
2/3 cup milk (or chicken broth, for a dairy-free recipe)

1. Trim fat from meat. If desired, sprinkle with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, cook chops in butter (or oil) over medium heat for 5 minutes. Turn chops and add carrot. Cook until no pink remains (another 5 minutes if right thickness). Remove chops reserving drippings and carrot in the pan.
2. For sauce, stir parsley, flour, thyme, bouillon, and 1/4 tsp pepper into drippings and carrot. Add milk (or broth) all at once. Cook and stir till thickened and bubbly. Thin with a could Tbls of water if necessary. Return chops to skillet and heat through. Serve chops on a platter and sauce in a bowl or gravy boat.

A word about ingredients: Pork is not the healthiest meat or the easiest to digest. If you have digestive trouble, you may want to avoid it. You can try this recipe with chicken cutlets instead of pork chops.

Mediterranian Salad

Serves 4

1 head of romaine lettuce
4 soft-boiled eggs, cut into quarters
8 oz. uncured ham or turkey ham, cut into bite-sized chunks
1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
2 tomatoes, cut into slices
1 cucumber, cut into slices
1 jar of artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 small can sliced black olives
8 oz. feta cheese, crumbled

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and serve with Giant's Simply Enjoy Ripe Olive and Feta Vinaigrette.

Braised Lamb Shanks with Vegetables

From The Family Circle Cookbook
Serves 4
The taste of the sauce and the vegetables is worth making this dish.

1 tbls olive oil
2 lbs meaty lamb shanks, cut into 1 1/2-inch thick pieces (ask your butcher to cut this for you if necessary)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour (or white rice flour, for gluten-free cooking)
1 large onion, chopped
7 cloves garlic, peeled
2 tsp chopped pared fresh ginger
1 lb all-purpose potatoes, pared and cut into 1/4-inch chunks
12 oz white turnips, pared and cut in 1/2-inch chunks
6 oz carrots (2 to 3), pared and cut diagonally into 1/4-inch-thick slices
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup dry white wine
3/4 tsp leaf rosemary, crumbled
3/4 tsp grated lemon rind
1/8 tsp pepper

1. Preheat oven to moderate (350)
2. Heat oil in ovenproof Dutch oven or pot over moderately high heat. Dredge lamb in flour. Working in batches, add lamb to oil; saute until browned all over, about 5 minutes. Remove lamb to plate as it browns. Lower heat.
3. Add onion, garlic and ginger to pot; cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 10 minutes.
4. Add potatoes, turnips, carrots, broth, white wine, rosemary, lemon rind, pepper and lamb. Bring to boiling. Cover.
5. Bake in preheated moderate oven (350) for 1 hour or until meat is tender. Transfer meat and vegetables to serving platter. Skim fat from sauce. Pour sauce over meat and vegetables. Serve.

Red Beans & Rice with Kielbasa

1 T olive oil
12 oz. Turkey Kielbasa sausage, cut into slices
6 green onions (1/2 c)
1 small red pepper, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cans kidney beans
2 cups water
1/2 t thyme
1/2 t oregano
1/4 t crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 t black pepper
1 bay leaf
Green Rice

Saute olive oil and sausage in a large skillet. Remove, and then in the same pan saute vegetables (except kidney beans) until tender. Add spices and 1 and a half cans of kidney beans. Add 2 c water and cook about 10 to 15 minutes. Crush the remaining half can of kidney beans and mix in with vegetables; add cooked sausage back into pan. Cook a couple more minutes til flavors are combined. Serve with Green Rice (recipe is in Rice Grains and Beans label).