Stuffed Pork Loin (Skip to My Lou)

Ingredients: 

Approximately a 4 pound pork loin
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 cup fresh baby spinach
6 slice(s) bacon, cooked and chopped
12 oz (or larger jar) roasted red pepper drained

Directions

Butterfly pork loin (cut down the center without cutting through the pork and open it up like a book). Pound to an even thickness.

Spread cream cheese over pork. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning. Top with spinach, chopped bacon, and roasted red peppers.

Roll up pork like a cylinder. Secure with butcher string at 2 inch intervals. Drizzle with a little olive oil and season pork with kosher salt.

Place pork, seam side down, on a lightly greased cooking sheet or rack. Bake at 425 degrees for 30 - 45 minutes or until it registers 155 degrees. Let stand 15 minutes.

Remove string and slice pork. Serve.

This can also be made with pork tenderloins.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bread (Nancy Creative)

FILLING:

• 1 package (8 ounce) cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup sugar (depending on how sweet you want the filling to be)
• 1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

BREAD:

• 1  2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 to 1 1/4 cup(s) pumpkin puree, canned or homemade
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 2 large eggs
• 1  1/2 cups sugar
• 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

CINNAMON GLAZE:

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 to 2 1/2 Tablespoons half & half
• 1/2  to 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts for garnish

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour two 8 x 4 x 3-inch loaf pans. In a medium mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar, flour, egg, and vanilla; beat until smooth and creamy. Set aside. In a large bowl, blend 1  2/3 cup flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and nutmeg; set aside. In another medium bowl, combine the pumpkin puree, canola oil, eggs and sugar; beat well. Stir the pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture just until combined. Fold in the chopped pecans or walnuts.

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Pour half of the pumpkin bread batter evenly into the two prepared loaf pans. Spoon cream cheese mixture on top of the pumpkin batter layers in each loaf pan and then spoon or pour  on the remaining pumpkin batter (if you don’t have enough pumpkin batter to cover the cream cheese layer entirely, that’s okay, because you’ll be swirling them together anyway). Take a knife and stick straight down into the top pumpkin batter layer and middle cream cheese layer; swirl the knife around in these two layers, creating a marble effect; this will give the cream cheese filling a nice swirly shape as it bakes.

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Bake in a preheated 325 degree oven for 55 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool bread in pans for 10 minutes; remove to a rack to cool completely. While waiting for the bread to cool, mix your cinnamon glaze: combine powdered sugar and half & half, blending well; then add cinnamon and mix until smooth and creamy. Note: the cinnamon makes this glaze darker in color, so if you want a lighter, creamy color glaze, just add a dash of cinnamon to the mixture. Drizzle over completely cooled bread loaves and then sprinkle on nuts for garnish.

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Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins (Annie's Eats)

Yield: 24 muffins
Ingredients:
For the filling:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 cup confectioners’ sugar

For the muffins:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
4 large eggs
2 cups sugar
2 cups pumpkin puree
1¼ cups vegetable oil

For the topping:
½ cup sugar
5 tbsp. flour
1½ tsp. ground cinnamon
4 tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Directions:
To prepare the filling, combine the cream cheese and confectioners’ sugar in a medium bowl and mix well until blended and smooth.  Transfer the mixture to a piece of plastic wrap and shape into a log about 1½-inches in diameter.  Smooth the plastic wrap tightly around the log, and reinforce with a piece of foil.  Transfer to the freezer and chill until at least slightly firm, at least 2 hours.

To make the muffins, preheat the oven to 350˚ F.  Line muffin pans with paper liners.  In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, pumpkin pie spice, salt and baking soda; whisk to blend.  In the bowl of an electric mixer combine the eggs, sugar, pumpkin puree and oil.  Mix on medium-low speed until blended.  With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients, mixing just until incorporated.

To make the topping, combine the sugar, flour and cinnamon in a small bowl; whisk to blend.  Add in the butter pieces and cut into the dry ingredients with a pastry blender or two forks until the mixture is coarse and crumbly.  Transfer to the refrigerator until ready to use.

To assemble the muffins, fill each muffin well with a small amount of batter, just enough to cover the bottom of the liner (1-2 tablespoons).  Slice the log of cream cheese filling into 24 equal pieces.  Place a slice of the cream cheese mixture into each muffin well.  Divide the remaining batter among the muffin cups, placing on top of the cream cheese to cover completely.  Sprinkle a small amount of the topping mixture over each of the muffin wells.

Bake for 20-25 minutes.  Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely before serving.

Guacamole Bruschetta (Just a Taste)

 

Yield: 12-15 servings

Prep Time: 15 min

Cook Time: 6 min

Ingredients:

½ loaf French bread
1 clove garlic
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 tomatoes, medium chopped
2 avocados, medium chopped
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
¼ cup chopped cilantro
2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400ºF.
Slice the French bread on the diagonal into ½" rounds and place on a baking sheet.
Toast the sliced bread in the oven for 3 minutes, then flip each piece over and toast an additional 3 minutes.
Remove the toasted bread from the oven and immediately rub with the clove of garlic (it works best to first cut a small tip off the garlic clove so that the oils will seep out).
Brush the tops of the garlic-rubbed toasts with olive oil and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the chopped tomatoes, avocado, onion, cilantro, lime juice, salt and pepper. Mix together gently making sure the avocado is well coated in the lime juice.
Spoon a portion of the mixture onto each of the garlic toasts and serve.

Fiesta Chicken (The Girl Who Ate Everything)

4 chicken breasts, frozen or thawed

1 (15 1/2 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 (15 ounce) can corn, drained
1 (15 ounce) jar of your favorite salsa
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese

Take 4 frozen, yes, frozen (or thawed), boneless chicken breasts put into crock pot. Add 1 can of black beans, drained, 1 jar of salsa, 1 can of corn drained.  Keep in crock pot on low for about 4-5 hours or until chicken is cooked. Once it is cooked, take it out and shred it. Return shredded chicken to the crockpot.

Add 1 package of cream cheese (just throw it on top!) and let sit for about 1/2 hour. It may look at little strange at this point. Don't worry. Stir in the cream cheese.

Serve over rice or in warm flour tortillas.

Guacamole (the Girl Who Ate Everything)

4 ripe avocados

1/2 cup red onion, diced finely

2 roma tomatoes, seeded and diced finely

1/4 - 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped finely

1 lime, juiced

1 teaspoon minced garlic

salt and pepper to taste

(optional) 1/2 jalapeno, seeded and diced finely

Cut avocados in half and remove pit. Scoop out flesh of avocado and coarsely chop it. Place in a large bowl and slightly mash with a fork. I like mine on the chunky side. Add the diced onion, tomatoes, cilantro, and garlic and toss together with the avocados. If you like your guacamole on the spicy side add some diced jalapeno here.

Add the lime juice, salt, and pepper to taste.

Chill until serving. If not serving right away place saran wrap directly against the guacamole so that it does not oxidize and turn brown. Serve with tortilla chips.

Toasted Whole Grain Apple Cheddar Panini (Picky Palate)

Ingredients:

2 slices Whole Grain Wheat Bread, lightly buttered on 1 side each (Love the Alpine Valley Loaf from Costco)

1/2 Gala apple, sliced almost paper thin, see pic of apples above

1/4 Cup shredded cheddar cheese, Tillamook works wonders here

Side of Dijon Mustard for dipping

1.  Heat a small skillet or grill pan to get the panini look over medium heat.  Place buttered side of bread #1 down in hot skillet.  Layer bread with half the cheese, the apples then the remaining cheese.  Top with bread #2, buttered side up.  Grill for 1- 1 1/2 minutes per side pressing on sandwich (to get grill marks) until golden brown on each side.  Remove, slice, dip in Dijon and EAT!

1 serving