stuffing Archives - The Midnight Baker

Deluxe Sausage & Mushroom Stuffing

Judith Hannemann — Wed, 18 Nov 2020 00:00:20 +0000

Elevate your stuffing from ordinary to outstanding this Thanksgiving with this creative use of good old pantry staples.

Great Stuffing

With the holidays almost upon us, many of us are planning our menus right now. Is stuffing on your Thanksgiving list? It is on mine–always.

We all like the “basic” stuffing in this household with some additions. In years past, I’d stuff the bird with traditional seasoned bread stuffing, but stuff the neck area with pure bulk sausage. That’s pretty much a British tradition (for Christmas as they don’t have Thanksgiving there) that I kept up from Mom.

But recently I’ve taken to roasting the bird unstuffed and doing the stuffing in a separate casserole. It’s a trade-off because the turkey cooks faster, but sometimes the stuffing gets a bit dry. I wanted to preserve the crunchy and toasty top on the stuffing, but eliminate the dryness below the surface.

My stuffing recipe replaces part of the water/broth with cream of mushroom soup. The addition of the soup gives the stuffing more depth of flavor and does away with the dryness I spoke of earlier in the post. My additions were mild sausage, onions, celery and extra mushrooms–I used the small button variety there, but larger ones can be used as well as long as they are sliced. These are extras that we like, but substitute your own faves if any of these are not to your liking.

Start out by chopping your veggies.

Next comes browning the sausage, onion and mushrooms. You’ll want to drain this as there’s quite a bit of fat that will come out of the sausage.

Then, mix your soup, the broth, the sausage mixture and the celery. I don’t saute the celery with the sausage because I like to preserve the bit of crunch it provides.

Now just add your croutons (they can be seasoned or unseasoned) to the soup mixture and mix well so all the croutons are coated. I recommend using unseasoned croutons so you can control your seasonings.

Place the mixture in a baking dish, and voila, you’re done!

It’s as easy as that! And another benefit here is you can also make this in your slow cooker!

The Recipe

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Deluxe Sausage & Mushroom Stuffing--A New Twist on a Holiday Favorite

Elevate your stuffing from ordinary to outstanding this Thanksgiving with this creative use of cream of mushroom soup.

Prep Time20

Cook Time45

Total Time1 5

Course: breads, Pork, side dishes, Slow Cooker

Cuisine: American

Keyword: baby bella mushrooms, sausage, stuffing recipe

Servings: 8 -10

Calories: 337kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

23 oz cream of mushroom soup
1 lb mild bulk sausage
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped onion
8 oz fresh button mushrooms sliced in half*
1 cup chicken broth
12 oz bag seasoned stuffing croutons**
2 tbsp melted butter

Instructions

*canned may be substituted or an equal amount of larger mushrooms, sliced
**Unseasoned stuffing croutons may be substituted. Add 2-4 tsp poultry seasoning, if desired, to the soup mixture.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly spray a 13 x 9-inch baking dish.
Brown sausage, onion and mushrooms in a large skillet; drain and cool slightly.
Mix the soup, celery, broth and browned sausage mixture in a very large bowl.
Add the croutons and stir so they are well coated with the soup mixture.
Turn stuffing into prepared pan and cover with aluminum foil.
Bake for 25-30 minutes covered.
Remove foil, drizzle with melted butter and cook for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until top is browned.
SLOW COOKER DIRECTIONS:
Follow recipe up until the addition of the croutons to the soup mixture.
Lightly spray the liner of a 5-6 quart slow cooker with non-stick spray.
Add the stuffing mixture to the slow cooker.
Cook on low 4-6 hours, high 2-4 hours. Slow cooker times are approximate, always check for doneness at minimum time.
Switch to warm setting until ready to serve.

Notes

You can substitute 2 10.5 oz cans of cream of mushroom soup for the stated family-size can.

Nutrition

The post Deluxe Sausage & Mushroom Stuffing appeared first on The Midnight Baker.

Stuffed Flank Steak

Judith Hannemann — Sun, 25 Nov 2018 00:00:22 +0000

Elegant but easy stuffed flank steak will be the star at your holiday party!

A Real Treat

Because of it’s cost, flank steak is a rare treat with most of us. It does go on sale periodically, but even then it is a bit pricy for most budgets. I considered myself very lucky with this steak–it was on sale at a local store and when it’s coming up to the last day of sale, they stick a discount coupon on it. In this particular store, the meat they mark down looks every bit as good as the fresh cut. Therefore, I take advantage of this!

If there’s ever a time to splurge, it’s holiday time. So treat yourself and your guests and family alike, to this stuffed flank steak.

Preparing The Steak

The most difficult thing about this recipe is preparing the flank steak. “Difficult” here just implies some time needed to prep–not hard to do.

No matter what method you choose, you must remove the “silverskin” from the meat. That’s the shiny membrane that covers part of it–like what you find on the back of the bones on pork ribs. If it’s not removed, much like the pork ribs, the meat will curl around the silverskin because it shrinks.

Next you have a choice–either use a meat mallet to pound down the meat to approximately 1/2-inch or butterfly the steak. There’s videos for this all over Youtube if you want to see how that’s done. I chose not to butterfly the flank steak. Mainly because mine was pretty thin to begin with and yes, I was chicken too because I was scared I’d louse it up because the steak was thin. Therefore I chose to pound it down with the meat mallet. But if your meat is about 1-inch thick, then I’d advise butterflying.

Simple Stuffing

I kept my stuffing very simple. Just a savory soft bread crumb stuffing which is the same one I use for my stuffed pork tenderloin. Essentially this flank steak is the same thing as that only the meat and some seasonings are different.

You can get pretty creative here with stuffings. Lots of people like spinach and cheese stuffing. All that entails is laying a layer of fresh baby spinach on the steak, putting some mozzarella on top then rolling the whole shebang up. This flank steak will become a different meal with each stuffing so you can get very creative with it. The possibilities are endless.

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The Recipe

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Stuffed Flank Steak

Elegant but easy stuffed flank steak will be the star at your holiday party!

Prep Time30

Cook Time50

Total Time1 20

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: flank steak, flank steak recipe, stuffed flank steak

Servings: 5

Calories: 415kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

2 lbs flank steak
2 cups soft bread crumb stuffing
1 tbs olive oil for basting.
string for tying

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with non-stick parchment.
Prepare flank steak by either pounding down with a meat mallet until it’s approximately 1/2 inch or butterflying as per video.
Spread stuffing evenly over prepared steak and roll up, jelly-roll style, from the long end. Tie in about 3 places, evenly spaced, to hold roll together.
Transfer steak to prepared baking sheet and bake for 30-50 minutes, depending on the amount of doneness you desire. The longer bake time will produce meat that is “medium”. I wouldn’t recommend well done for this recipe as the meat will likely begin to get tough. For more accurate results, it’s best to use a meat thermometer.

Nutrition

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Stuffed Tomatoes

Judith Hannemann — Sat, 08 Sep 2018 23:00:22 +0000

These easy stuffed tomatoes are a great way to use those end-of-season beauties.

Great In Any Season

Tomatoes must be everyone’s favorite veggie–even though it’s actually a fruit by classification.

So many of us grow them therefore, there’s always an excess at the end of the growing season. If you don’t grow them yourself, then I’m sure you notice that farmer’s markets and even the supermarkets are packed with them.

Of course the best choice for this recipe is home-grown ones. Their flavor is second to none, but you can find great-tasting varieties in the stores too. Plus you can find great tomatoes in stores year round so these stuffed beauties don’t only have to be a summer treat.

The Stuffed Tomato

Stuffed tomatoes have been around since the year of the flood so this is hardly my original idea!

Memories of stuffed tomatoes, at least to me, are associated with “ladies lunches” from the 1950s or 1960s. I can see the women’s magazines with pics of tomatoes stuffed with tuna or shrimp salad. Any you know what? They are still yummy despite the age of those recipes.

Years ago, a friend used to make up a lunch for him and another friend after their strenuous tennis game. He said this meal was light yet packed a lot of what was necessary after sustained exercise–mainly to “carb up.” He made these tomatoes for me and they were just delicious. However, he didn’t bake the tomato–everything was raw.

I thought about Ed’s tomatoes just recently and thought I’d like to do my own version. And can you believe it, with less garlic!!! He was a bigger fan of garlic than me, if you could believe it.

To Cook Or Not To Cook

There are a few choices here when it comes to how to serve these stuffed tomatoes.

You could do like Ed and just stuff them and serve them right away. Likewise, you can merely pop them under the broiler to toast the top of the crumbs–which essentially is the same as the first way except the presentation is nicer. Baking or grilling them of course warms them so I find that the best method if you are serving this as a side dish with other hot food. It also makes the tomato a little juicy and to me that adds a lot of flavor.

Try them all ways and see which you like best!

The Recipe

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Stuffed Tomatoes

These stuffed tomatoes can be a side dish or a main course

Prep Time5

Cook Time10

Total Time15

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: tomatoes

Servings: 6

Calories: 470kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

6 large ripe tomatoes
Stuffing:
4 cups fresh soft bread crumbs
1 medium onion finely chopped
2 cloves garlic finely minced
1/4 cup grated Parmesan -OR- Romano cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
4 oz butter
1 tsp salt or to taste
1/2 tsp pepper or to taste

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. If you are putting them on the BBQ grill, preheat the grill to high heat.
Cut off the tops of the tomatoes at the stem end, then scoop out the seeds and spines. I use a melon baller for this. Place the hollowed-out tomatoes cut side down on a paper towel lined plate.
For the stuffing, place the bread crumbs in a large bowl and melt the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until the onion is just soft; about 3 minutes.
Add the onion/butter mixture to the bread crumbs then add the parsley, cheese, salt and pepper. Mix well.
Fill each tomato cavity with the stuffing mixture, letting it mound up on the top.
Bake or grill about 5-10 minutes or until the tomato is just beginning to get soft. If you want more browning on the top of the stuffing, pop them under the broiler for a minute or two.

Video

See video in post (if there is one)

Nutrition

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Spinach & Feta Stuffed Chicken

Judith Hannemann — Sun, 04 Feb 2018 00:00:06 +0000

These spinach and feta stuffed chicken breasts are so easy to make!

Easiest Stuffed Chicken Breasts Ever

There’s no fuss or muss with this stuffed chicken breast.

Why? Because you cook the chicken before you stuff it! In fact, this type of stuffing lends itself to this method. Other, more creamy stuffings may adapt well too, although I haven’t tested it yet but plan to do so.

You start by butterflying the chicken breasts. You can pound them down a bit too if you want because this will result in them cooking more evenly. I also find a couple of hits with the mallet tenderizes it too and that’s an added benefit.

Then all you do is brown each side which will almost cook the chicken, then stuff it to finish the cooking process and melt the cheese!

Spinach And Feta: A Winning Combination

Years ago when I tried feta cheese, I didn’t really care for it. However, a friend was recently raving about how delicious it was and convinced me to try it again. My friend said I may have had the bad luck to have tried an inferior brand.

He must’ve been right because this time when I tried it, I was amazed at the super flavor. Yes, it’s a bit on the salty side, but you can compensate for that by reducing any salt elsewhere in the recipe.

Spinach has a great flavor too, just like the feta does, but the combination is more than the sum of its parts here. Together they form something that’s taste is fantastic. And it’s oh-so great with chicken!

Add Ins

I had a few crimini mushrooms in the crisper so I used them up in this and it tasted wonderful. Whatever veggie you like that would go with the spinach and cheese is also fine to add. You could do some sauteed or caramelized onion in this too. That’d add a very fine flavor!

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The Recipe

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Spinach and Feta Stuffed Chicken

These spinach and feta stuffed chicken breasts are easy to make and cook in just 30 minutes!

Prep Time20

Cook Time30

Total Time50

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American

Keyword: chicken recipe, feta cheese, spinach, stuffed chicken breast

Servings: 4

Calories: 284kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 tbs olive oil
Salt and pepper

Filling:

1 tbs olive oil
4 cups baby spinach
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
2 cloves garlic minced
1 cup crimini mushrooms or white mushrooms, sliced (optional)

Instructions

Prepare filling as follows: Heat 1 tbs of olive oil in a large deep skillet over high heat. Add all ingredients, except the feta cheese. Cook, stirring constantly until spinach has wilted; remove to a bowl and stir in the feta cheese. Keep it warm.
Butterfly chicken breasts, but do not cut all the way through. Sprinkle chicken with salt & pepper if desired.
Heat 2 tbs olive oil in the same skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken to the pan and brown well on each side—about 8 minutes per side.
Remove chicken and place 1/4 of the spinach mixture in each chicken breast. Return to the skillet, cover and cook over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes or until chicken reaches 165 degrees F on a thermometer or the juices run clear.

Nutrition

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Cranberry Stuffed Pork Chops

Judith Hannemann — Wed, 20 Dec 2017 00:00:18 +0000

These cranberry stuffed pork chops are so good, you’ll add them to your regular rotation. They’re easy too.

Cranberry Stuffed Pork Chops: Different But Delicious

I’ve always loved stuffed pork chops because it makes them less boring. Especially when they aren’t fancied up with sauces and other ingredients.

This time I wanted to try something a little different than just my standard soft-bread stuffing and again, just like it was with my Mushroom Asiago Chicken, the answer literally dropped on my foot.

There was some whole-berry cranberry sauce left over from Thanksgiving. It probably would have ended up in the back of the fridge and forgotten if it hadn’t fallen out onto my foot. I figured I try that because then I would use it up. Also since pork and poultry can use similar herbs, I figured cranberry sauce would taste as good with pork.

Craisins?

I wouldn’t recommend using jellied cranberry sauce in this because it’d just melt. You need the whole-berry variety.

However, you could probably substitute Craisins for the whole-berry sauce. The dried cranberries certainly would add pretty nice texture. Mind you, I haven’t tried this, but I offer it as a pretty decent substitution.

Raisins might work as well, but you wouldn’t get the slight acidity you get with the cranberries. It’s the slight acidity that gives these chops their oomph.

Is Baking Necessary?

This question could be up for debate. The chops would likely cook enough with the browning process. However, the oven offers at least a couple of pros.

I know nowadays they say that pork is OK to eat if there’s pink in it and I don’t dispute experts. I, however, just cannot eat it that way. Even though rare pork might be safe to eat, it’s not as tender rare as it is well done. It’s a weird meat for that reason alone. So if you’re like me and just can’t do any pink, then the oven is necessary to completely cook.

The baking also crisps up the exposed stuffing and toasts it slightly. That’s great flavor there!

Lastly, make sure you use an oven-proof skillet. I use cast iron which is the best choice!

The Recipe

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Cranberry Stuffed Pork Chops

These cranberry stuffed pork chops are so good, you’ll add them to your regular rotation. They’re easy too.

Prep Time10

Cook Time30

Total Time40

Course: Main, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cranberries, pork chop recipe, stuffed pork chops

Servings: 6

Calories: 483kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

6 boneless center-cut loin pork chops at least 1-inch thick
2 tbs olive oil

Stuffing:

2 cups fresh soft breadcrumbs see NOTES
1 small onion finely chopped
2 tbs chopped fresh parsley OR 1 tbsp dehydrated parsley
4 tbs (2 oz) butter
1-2 tsp poultry seasoning
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
3/4 cup whole berry cranberry sauce

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350℉
Cut a deep pocket in each chop.
Mix the breadcrumbs, parsley, poultry seasoning, salt and pepper in a medium bowl.
Melt the butter in a large heavy ovenproof skillet and saute the onion until they begin to get soft; about 3-5 minutes.
Add the entire contents of the skillet (onions & butter) to the breadcrumb mixture. Toss until all the bread is coated with butter; stir in the cranberry sauce.
Stuff each chop with the stuffing (you may not use all the stuffing, but it can be frozen for future use). Secure pocket opening with toothpicks if desired.
Heat the olive oil in the same skillet used for the onions.
Brown chops well on each side, about 5 minutes each side.
Place the skillet with the chops in preheated oven. Bake for 20-30 minutes.

Notes

I use plain white bread--just tear it up and pulse a few times in a food processor. About 4 slices should yield approximately 2 cups of crumbs.

Nutrition

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Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

Judith Hannemann — Sat, 14 Oct 2017 23:00:56 +0000

This succulent stuffed pork tenderloin is so easy to make, you’ll add it to your regular rotation.

Autumn And Pork: The Perfect Combo

Since childhood, I’ve associated pork with fall.

It’s probably because there’s great sales on pork during this season. Maybe it has to do with it being apple season here in New York as well since they are often paired together like my Rosemary Pork Chops with Honey Apple Stuffing.

One of my stores recently had a terrific promotion on pork tenderloins–buy one get one free. I stocked up because tenderloins are perfect for making all kinds of dishes–wiener schnitzel being one and this stuffed tenderloin is another.

Stuffed Pork Tenderloin And Fond Childhood Memories

This is a meal I ate many times as a child.

It was actually a recipe my mother ate many times as a kid growing up in England. My mother recreated the British recipe using things she could get in the USA. She used to use a fresh pork shoulder, bone it then stuff it with a soft-bread herby stuffing. I think the old family recipe used Paxo Parsely & Thyme variety–so a soft bread stuffing isn’t exactly the same. I believe Paxo wasn’t made with bread, but some kind of grain and the flavor is very intense. And it’s flavor is probably way too heavy on the herbs for an American taste–taking my American dad’s tastes into consideration.

Family Recipe Updated

Since I’m all about easy, especially now I’m older, the last thing I want to do is tackle de-boning a pork shoulder. And besides, it’s a very fatty cut. Therefore, I substitute either a boneless pork loin or tenderloin for this recipe.

If you use the pork loin, cut it in half lengthwise and pound each half down to about 1/2-inch. The tenderloin generally comes in 2 pieces, so just pound down each piece to 1/2-inch thickness.

I make the stuffing pretty much the same as my mom did, although I go a little heavier on the minced onions because I like the flavor. If you prefer less onion, you can use half the amount I give in the recipe.

The Recipe

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Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

This succulent stuffed pork tenderloin is so easy to make, you’ll add it to your regular rotation.

Prep Time30

Cook Time1 30

Total Time2

Course: Main, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: pork loin, stuffed pork tenderloin

Servings: 12

Calories: 368kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

3 lbs pork tenderloin OR 1 boneless pork loin
2 tbs melted butter for basting

Stuffing:

4 cups fresh soft breadcrumbs see NOTES
1 medium onion finely chopped (use a small onion if you prefer less in the stuffing)
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley OR 2 tbs dehydrated parsley
1/2 cup butter
2-3 tsp poultry seasoning
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350℉. Place a rack in a large baking/roasting pan (I use a flat rack).
Prepare pork as follows; If using a boneless loin, cut it in half lengthwise and pound it down to 1/2-inch thickness. Pork tenderloins generally come in 2 pieces so pound each piece down to 1/2-inch thickness.
Mix breadcrumbs, poultry seasoning, parsley, salt and pepper together in a large bowl; set aside.
Melt butter in a small skillet. Add the onions and cook over medium-low heat until they are translucent—don’t let them brown.
Add the entire contents of the skillet to the breadcrumb mixture and mix well until all the bread is coated with the onions/butter mixture.
Divide the stuffing evenly between the 2 pork pieces. Roll up from the short side tightly, forming a “jellyroll.” Secure seam with toothpicks.
Place on the rack in the pan and baste with half the butter.
Bake for 90 minutes, basting again with the melted butter halfway during the cooking, or until the meat registers 160℉ on a meat thermometer.

Notes

I make soft breadcrumbs by tearing apart plain old white bread and processing it to fine crumbs in my food processor.

Nutrition

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Pork Chops with Apples & Stuffing

Judith Hannemann — Sun, 22 Jan 2017 00:00:33 +0000

If you are looking for a different way to make pork chops, look no further! Easy too!

Pork Chops Were Never So Good–Or Easy

Tired of the same-old same-old when it comes to making pork chops?

Nothing could be easier than these chops, or delicious. They require very little work on your part but the end result is superb because all the flavors come together to make this dish special.

Crock Pot Too!

You can make them in the crockpot too! Just brown the chops and make up the stuffing as in the main recipe then layer all the ingredients in the crock pot same as the main recipe. Cook on low about 8 hours; high about 4-5, but remember the times are approximate and the stuffing won’t crisp up.

Juicy And Tender

I really love pork chops, especially bone-in rib chops. Boneless center-cut chops are the ones I like the least since they tend to end up dry. But not here!

It was really amazing how tender and juicy these boneless chops turned out.

The recipe requires rather thick chops–about one inch thick. I usually cut my own off of a whole boneless loin. That’s a lot cheaper than buying them pre-cut from the butcher. That’s exactly what I did here. If you can believe it, I ended up with two whole loins because I thought one was–now get this–baby back ribs. I must be losing it! Anyway, there was nothing I could do once I got home so I tossed the extra loin in the freezer.

Yesterday I decided to defrost it and cut it up as I usually do. I do two “roasts” and cut the rest as chops. I cut these babies thick too; about 1 1/4-inch thick.

I’m positive the pork chops remained tender because of how this casserole is assembled.

Apples With Pork? Of Course!

I wasn’t a lover of apples with pork either. That is before I tasted this.

The secret here I believe is the subtle spiciness of the apples.

You need to use apple pie filling flavored with a bit of cinnamon. It’s no problem if your canned filling lacks cinnamon. Taste if to find out. If it doesn’t, add about 1/8-1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon to each can.

Stuffing’s On The Outside

That’s right! The stuffing is outside these chops.

It’s the crowning glory to these chops too. The original recipe used (from what I could gather) Stove Top. If you like that, then go right ahead. I find it a bit too “fake” tasting and salty.

What I did here was use the Pepperidge Farm stuff in the blue bag. I always have this on hand because I use it as seasoned bread crumbs. But this variety, unlike the Stove Top types is that I can dress this up as much as I want and control the salt. FYI I used reduced-sodium chicken base in this.

That’s exactly what I did here. I could have eaten the stuffing alone it was so good!

The Recipe

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Pork Chops with Apples & Stuffing

If you are looking for a different way to make pork chops, look no further! Easy too!

Prep Time10

Cook Time50

Total Time1

Course: Comfort Foods, Everyday Meals, Pork

Cuisine: American

Keyword: apples, pork chops, stuffing recipe

Servings: 6

Calories: 1464kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

6 thick 1 - 1 1/2-inch thick boneless center-cut loin pork chops (see NOTES)
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cans 21 oz each apple pie filling, preferably with a hint of cinnamon (see NOTES)

STUFFING

1 1/4 cups water
5 tbsp 1/3 cup unsalted butter
2 tbsp dehydrated onions -OR- 1 small onion chopped
1 tsp chicken base i.e. Better Than Bouillon
3 - 3 1/2 cups seasoned stuffing mix i.e. Pepperidge Farm in the blue bag
1 tbsp parsley

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray or grease a 13 x 9-inch baking pan.
Heat a large skillet over high heat. Add the oil and pork chops. Brown well on each side.
To make the stuffing, boil the water and butter in a large saucepan. Mix in the chicken base and the onion; stir well and add the stuffing mix. Start with the lowest amount of dried stuffing; remove from heat and let it sit for 5 minutes. If it seems to wet after it sits for 5 minutes, add additional stuffing mix. The stuffing should be moist but NOT wet.
Spread pie filling in the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Place the pork chops on top of the apples.
Divide the stuffing into 6 equal portions. Place a portion on top of each pork chop, pressing it down to cover the top of the chop.
Cover pan with foil and bake for 35-40 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes until stuffing is browned and chops reach 160 degrees F internally.

Notes

You could probably substitute bone-in chops, but they would have to be thick.

If your pie filling doesn't taste like it has cinnamon in it, add 1/8-1/4 tsp to each can. The hint of spice really takes this meal to the next level.

Nutrition

Adapted from Taste of Home

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Sage and Onion Stuffed Pork Loin

Judith Hannemann — Sun, 10 Jan 2016 00:00:46 +0000

This boneless pork loin stuffed with soft sage and onion flavored stuffing is a blend of perfect flavors. Great company or family meal and it’s easy too!

This stuffed pork loin is so easy, it even will qualify as a weeknight meal!

Back in the fall, I bought a whole boneless loin because is was on sale at a super-low price. Half of it I cut into chops and used them in my Pork Chops & Scalloped Potatoes casserole. The rest I froze whole for later use.

I finally defrosted it for New Years. I wanted to stuff it but didn’t want to bother butterflying it and rolling it up with the stuffing within. I often stuff bone-in pork rib end roasts and that’s easy because all I do is cut down between the meat and the rib bones and pack it with stuffing, but there was no way to do that with this piece.

So what I decided to to was just cut a couple of major slits across the top and pack it with stuffing that way. That worked very well since the excess stuffing that remained on the top baked up into a nice savory crispiness.

The stuffing is made with soft breadcrumbs. All I do to make these is use plain old white bread that I process in my food processor. Then I add some butter sauteed onions and my sage seasoning. I’d have preferred to use fresh sage, but my plant upped and died on me so I relied on the dry powdered form, but if you can use fresh, then about 2 big leaves chopped finely will do nicely. But since sage is a strong flavor, I’d advise adding it bit by bit (if using fresh) and taste the stuffing. Too much will spoil it, IMO. You’re looking for delicate flavors in this.

If you don’t want to use sage, then thyme will do since it also goes nicely with pork and in a pinch, poultry seasoning is a good substitute.

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Sage and Onion Stuffed Pork Loin

This boneless pork loin stuffed with soft sage and onion flavored stuffing is a blend of perfect flavors

Prep Time30

Cook Time2

Total Time2 30

Course: Pork

Cuisine: American

Keyword: stuffed pork tenderloin

Servings: 6 -8

Calories: 614kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

1 boneless pork loin about 3-4 lbs

STUFFING

5 slices white bread
1 small onion finely chopped
2 finely chopped sage leaves -OR- 1 tsp ground sage -OR- 1 tsp poultry seasoning
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley -OR- 1 tbs dehydrated optional
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp white pepper
4 tbsp butter

Instructions

Process bread into fine crumbs using a food processor or hand grater. Place in medium bowl and add the sage, parsley (if using), salt and pepper and set aside
Melt butter in a small skillet and add onion. Cook about 5 minutes or until onion is transluscent.
Add the entire contents of the skillet--onions and all the melted butter--to the crumb mixture and mix well to combine.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
Cut a deep slit along the top of the roast (the fat side up) and stuff with stuffing.
Place in a baking dish (13 x 9-inch is good) and roast until center of meat registers 170 degrees or juices run clear. This should take about 1.5 - 2 hours.

Nutrition

The post Sage and Onion Stuffed Pork Loin appeared first on The Midnight Baker.

Pinwheel Meatloaf

Judith Hannemann — Fri, 20 Nov 2015 00:00:20 +0000

Pinwheel Meatloaf

One of my mother’s treasured recipes. Comfort food at it’s best.

This is a recipe my mother transformed. Originally, she said, the filling was mashed potatoes. She thought it would taste better with a soft-bread stuffing. What do they say? Mother is always right? YEP!!

Mine never looks as good as my mom’s. Her stuffing stayed relatively white. Mine doesn’t…however, it tastes the same, and that’s what counts!!!

This is made like a jellyroll. The ground beef is rolled into a rectangle, the stuffing is spread on top of the meat, then rolled up. She cooked this in a “V” roasting rack so it never sat in the fat. The use of the roasting rack is optional, of course, but I suggest using it, especially if you are watching your fat intake.

The Recipe

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Pinwheel Meatloaf

Prep Time25

Cook Time40

Total Time1 5

Course: beef, Comfort Foods, Everyday Meals

Cuisine: American

Keyword: easy meatloaf recipe

Servings: 4

Calories: 558kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs very lean ground beef

STUFFING

1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 tbsp parsley
4 tbsp butter
2 cups soft breadcrumbs
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp poultry seasoning

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place a rack in a roasting pan
Mix all stuffing ingredients in a bowl; set aside
Roll out ground beef between 2 sheets of waxed paper to make a 12 x 8-inch rectangle.
Spread stuffing on top of meat and roll up, jellyroll style, from shorter end. Seal seam.
Place meatloaf on rack in prepared pan.
Bake for 30-40 minutes or until center of meatloaf is 160 degrees F

Nutrition

Pinwheel Meatloaf

The post Pinwheel Meatloaf appeared first on The Midnight Baker.