Pork Schnitzle

Pork Schnitzle

Take boneless pork loin chops and pound with big teeth of meat mallet to break up fibers. Then take the finer teeth and pound until almost paper thin. (I pound them out early and throw in fridge, takes a step out later)

Dip in flour seasoned with salt and black pepper & shake off excess,

Dip into egg mixed with a few Tablespoons of milk (about 1 egg per chop)

Now dip into seasoned Italian bread crumbs that have a couple Tablespoons of flour mixed into them. Then back into egg and bread crumbs if desired. I highly recommend  double dipping.

Set onto a tray and chill for about 30 min.

Now heat a skillet with enough Veg. oil to go ½ way up sides of meat when frying.

Fry until nice golden brown, turn and repeat on other side. It won’t take but maybe 3-4 minutes per side as they are so thin. Keep warm in oven as you continue to fry.

Take a very small pat of butter and spread on top to melt and serve with wedge of fresh lemon or sprinkle with Real Lemon lemon juice.

Serve with Sweet & Sour red cabbage, Potato pancakes, speatzle , etc….

15 Bean Soup

15 Bean Soup – MY way. (It’s AMAZING!!!)

Makes 2 dutch ovens worth or a really big stock pot

1 bag of 15 bean dried bean mix – throw away the seasoning pkg., yuck!

1 ham bone divided (or use 2 hambones)

Meat from bone - chopped (I had a good 1 1/2 C. for each pot)

2 big boxes of Chicken stock or broth 

2 cans of chicken broth

Water (just enough to finish covering the bones that the broth didn’t)

2 cans Rotel Tomatoes

1 small can tomato paste (to be divided between both pots)

1 Large yellow onion - chopped

5 large carrots - sliced

2 large stalks celery – sliced

½ small turnip – diced small

2 Tblsp Chili powder – 1 tblsp in each pot

1 tsp chipotle chili powder – ½ tsp in each pot

2 good tsp. chopped garlic – 1 in each pot

2 good pinches of bouquet garni – 1 in each pot

2 pinches of white sugar

About 12 grinds of fresh cracked black pepper

Sort through beans and soak overnight. Drain and rinse in morning. Divide beans and rest of ing.  between 2 pots - chopped onion, 2 carrots, 2 stalks celery,  turnip, ham bones and chopped ham meat , broth, top off with water if needed and seasonings. Bring to a rapid boil, turn down to simmer, cover with lid slightly open for 2 hours. Add tomato paste, white sugar the rest of the carrots and celery. Cook on low for a few more hours.  Fry up 2 lbs of bacon crisp and add to soup right before serving.

Pasta With Cauliflower

The credit for this recipe goes to Laura In The Kitchen. You can find her channel on You Tube, she has amazing dishes. This is a wonderful recipe for those no meat days.

Pasta with Cauliflower

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

1 Head of Cauliflower, core removed and florets cut into med. pieces

3 to 4 Cloves of Garlic, sliced thin

3 Tbsp of Olive Oil

Pinch of Hot pepper Flakes (I used a good ½ tsp - add more if you like spicy!)

2 Cups of Chicken Stock

3 to 4 Tbsp of Fresh Chopped Parsley

1 to 1 ½ C. cup of Freshly Grated Parmasan

16 oz of Rigatoni pasta

½ C of the pasta water reserved

2 Tbsp of Unsalted Butter

Salt and Pepper to taste

For the Bread Crumb Topping:

1 to 1 ½ C. cup of Fresh Breadcrumbs, made from a few slices of Italian bread

1 Tbsp of Fresh Chopped Parsley

2 to 3 Tbsp of Olive Oil

½ tsp of Fresh Lemon Zest

1) Fill a large pot with water, sprinkle in some salt and bring to a boil.

2) In a large skillet with high sides, add the oil and garlic and let it sizzle over medium heat, add the hot 

pepper flakes and cook them for about 30 seconds or until the garlic is lightly golden brown and fragrant.

3) Add the cauliflower, season well with salt and pepper and sauté for about 8 to 10 minutes or until most of it is turning a lovely golden brown color.

4) Add the chicken stock and turn the heat down to medium low. You can cover the pan with a lid if you would like at this point.

5) Allow the mixture to cook for about 15 to 20 minutes or until the cauliflower is nice and tender. You don't want it to be mushy.

6) When the cauliflower has about 10 minutes left to cook, add the pasta to the boiling water and cook according to packaged instructions. Reserve ½ cup of the starchy cooking water(VERY important, this helps to thicken the sauce). 

7) Drain the pasta and add it to the skillet with the cauliflower, add the starchy water along with the butter, parsley and cheese and cook the mixture together for about 1 minute on medium heat until the sauce thickens and coats all those pieces of pasta.

8) Add the pasta to a large platter and serve as is or make the bread crumb topping.

9) To make the topping, add the oil to a skillet and let it preheat over medium heat. Once it’s nice and hot, add the bread crumbs, parsley and lemon zest and let it toast up for several minutes or until the mixture has a golden toasted color all around and the bread crumbs are crunchy.

10) Sprinkle this mixture all over the top of the pasta. Serve!