Main Course

Breaded Pork Bites

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I originally started making this recipe using whole pork chops, which you can do, just follow all steps except cutting up the pork chops. After a friend tried it, she suggested cutting the pork chop into smaller bites so there was more crunchy breading to enjoy. Once I started cutting the pork chops down, I haven’t gone back. These are great as a main course or an appetizer, dipped in marinara sauce, or just eat them as is.

This is a very quick and easy recipe to make; quick enough to throw together on a busy week night. Just mix the marinade ingredients together – olive oil, mayonnaise, Dijon, and Worcestershire sauce. Cut your pork chops into cubes, or not, and marinate the pork for about 30 minutes. If you are in a hurry, marinate long enough to get your bread crumb mixture ready and your air fryer out.

Next, combine the bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese. If there are allergen issues, there are gluten-free bread crumbs available and if it’s a dairy issue, omit the Parmesan or use a dairy-free Parmesan. Remove the pork from the marinade and roll around in the bread crumb mixture, pressing it into the pork. I like to set the breaded pork on a rack for another 30 minutes. This helps the breading stick to the pork after it’s cooked and you cut into it. Again, this step is not 100 percent necessary, or you can do everything up to this point and put your breaded pork, uncovered, in your refrigerator overnight.

Now it’s time to pull out that air fryer. Spray the bottom of the pan with non-stick cooking oil. Arrange the pork so it is not touching each other – you may have to do this in 2 batches. If you are making 4 whole pork chops, you will probably be able to fit all 4 in at once. Spray the tops with the cooking oil. Turn on your air fryer and set it to 360 degrees for 4 minutes and cook. Turn everything over and repeat – 360 degrees for 4 minutes. I’ve made these many times and they are done at this point, but check the temperature and make sure they have reached 155 degrees.

If you have to do this in 2 batches, put the first batch on a pan lined with parchment paper in a warm oven or a warm toaster oven until the second batch is done.

I usually eat this as a dinner, not an appetizer, generally serving it with Rosemary Parmesan Roasted Potatoes and a vegetable. I steamed some chard this time around.

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Breaded Pork Bites

Marinating and breading pork, then cooking it in an air fryer gives you moist, tender, crispy, and delicious bites of pork. These are great as an appetizer dipped in marinara sauce or as the main part of your meal.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time8 minutes
Resting Time1 hour
Total Time1 hour 28 minutes
Course: Appetizer, Entree, Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Air Fryer, Pork
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 320kcal
Author: Eating With Deb

Equipment

  • Air Fryer

Ingredients

  • 4 each pork chops
  • ¼ cup Worcestershire
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • 4 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 4 tsp mayonnaise
  • 1 cup bread crumbs Italian seasoned
  • ½ cup parmesan cheese shredded

Instructions

  • Mix together Worcestershire, olive oil, mustard, and mayonnaise. Cut pork chops into bite size pieces and mix into marinade. Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
  • In a separate bowl, combine bread crumbs and parmesan cheese.
  • Remove pork bites from marinade and toss a few at a time into bread crumbs and parmesan. Set aside on a wire rack for 30 minutes (not completely necessary but the drying out process will help the breading stick to the pork when it is cut).
  • Get air fryer ready by spraying the bottom of the basket with cooking spray.
  • Arrange pork bites in bottom of the basket taking care to not over-crowd the basket. You may have to cook in 2 batches. You can put your first batch in a warm oven or toaster oven to keep hot while you are cooking the second batch.
  • Set air fryer to 360 degress and cook for 4 minutes. Turn pork bites over and cook at 360 degrees for another 4 minutes. They should be done and crispy at this point. Double check by making sure the pork has reached an internal temperature of 150 degrees.
  • Enjoy!

Nutrition

Serving: 1each | Calories: 320kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 11mg | Sodium: 649mg | Potassium: 202mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 111IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 219mg | Iron: 2mg

Deconstructed Lasagne

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One of the great things about winter is comfort food. There are many wonderful comfort foods, one is lasagne – noodles layered with meat or roasted veggies, covered in saucy, cheesy goodness.

However, sometimes it’s too much work to make, so figuring out a way to get all the flavors and saucy, cheesy goodness into a dish that is much easier to make was high on my list.

First, let’s talk a little bit about the spelling, is it lasagna or lasagne? I always thought that when spelled with an “e” that was the Italian (and everyone else in Europe) way of spelling it and when ending in an “a”, it was the American way of spelling it. A quick google search gave me the answer and I was partially correct, but there is more to it.

Lasagne is plural and lasagna is singular and the name of the noodles. Americans use the word lasagna to refer to the dish in total. Basically, Americans are using the wrong word when referencing is dish – we don’t just get one noodle when we eat a serving of lasagna. However you spell it, it’s a wonderful winter comfort food.

 

So, let’s make lasagne much simpler. You can use whatever filling you desire. If you only want meat or vegetables, use just that. I like both, but sometimes I only want vegetables. This version gives me a little of both.

Start by gathering and preparing all of your ingredients. You can replace the ground beef with ground turkey, a ground meat substitute, or Italian sausage. If you use sausage, you will want to omit the fennel and probably crushed red pepper flakes.

Yes, my ground beef in this picture is frozen, but that was ok, just put it in your pan, on low heat to start defrosting it, scraping off the meat around the outside as it thaws.

Once your meat is brown, add the vegetables and seasonings and saute for a couple minutes to get them mostly cooked.

While browning the meat and cooking the vegetables, boil your pasta to al dente according to the package instructions. When done, drain and set aside until needed. Do not toss pasta with oil to prevent it from sticking, all this does is prevent the sauce from sticking to and flavoring your noodles.

When cooking pasta – bring your water to a boil before adding salt to the water. Salt can pock mark pans, so if you add the salt before the water is boiling, it will sit on the bottom of the pan creating marks in your pan. Also, don’t add oil to your boiling water – again, all this does is cover your noodles and create a barrier so the sauce cannot flavor the noodles. To keep them from sticking while cooking, keep your water at a rolling boil and stir frequently.

So now we are ready to put this all together. My saute pan was not big enough to mix in, so I grabbed a bowl and mixed it in that. Add your meat mixture, pasta, tomatoes and sauce, and cheese and stir to combine. If your noodles stuck while waiting to get put into the dish, don’t worry, the sauce will “unstick” them.

 

Once combined, put in a casserole dish that you sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Top with the bread crumbs and more Parmesan cheese. Cover and put it in your preheated oven and bake for about 30 minutes until all bubbly hot.

Time to sit and enjoy all the saucy, cheesy, flavorful goodnes of lasagne with a nice slice of garlicky cheese toast!

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Deconstructed Lasagne

This dish has all the wonderful flavors of lasagna without all the work.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time45 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Lasagna, Pasta
Servings: 12 cups
Calories: 261kcal
Author: Eating With Deb

Equipment

  • Medium Stock Pot
  • Large saute pan
  • 4-quart Casserole Dish

Ingredients

  • 1 pound ground beef extra lean
  • 4 cups mushrooms sliced
  • ½ cup yellow onions diced
  • 1 each bell peppers diced
  • 15 oz can tomato sauce
  • 15 oz can diced tomatoes
  • 2 cups rotini pasta dry
  • 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
  • 2 tsp garlic fresh, minced
  • ½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
  • ½ tsp fennel seeds
  • 2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
  • ½ c Parmesan cheese grated
  • Topping
  • 1/3 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
  • ½ cup parmesan grated

Instructions

  • Gather and prep all ingredients. Crush pepper flakes and fennel seeds using a mortar and pestle.
  • Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
  • In a large sauté pan, start browning the ground beef. When almost done add the onions, mushrooms, bell pepper, and seasonings. Sauté for about 5 minutes.
  • While sautéing meat and veggies, cook pasta to al dente according to package directions. Drain and set aside until needed.
  • In the saute pan or a bowl, combine the meat mixture, tomato sauce and diced tomatoes, pasta, and cheese.
  • Spray a 4 (to 6)-quart casserole dish with cooking spray and add pasta mixture. Top with bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese. Cover and bake for 30 minutes until bubbly.
  • Enjoy!

Nutrition

Serving: 1cup | Calories: 261kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 47mg | Sodium: 561mg | Potassium: 455mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 424IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 234mg | Iron: 2mg

Lemon Pepper Chicken & Veggies

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This slightly tangy, light and refreshing dish tastes great no matter what time of year. Getting a little tired of the heavy meals we all tend to eat during the cold winter months, try this one.

For those who have never tried capers, this is a good dish to try out. Paired with fresh lemon juice, they add just the right amount of tang.

First prep your veggies. Cut the zucchini and yellow squash down the center and each half down the center one more time. Then cut into slices. Slice your mushrooms and chop your tomatoes. I generally use roma tomatoes in this dish since they have more meat and less juice and hold up better when cooking, but you could use any tomatoes you have on hand. Get your capers out and make sure your lemon is at room temperature – it will give you more juice.

Heat up a large saute pan on the medium low setting. Add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and butter. Then put your chicken in the pan making sure to scrape as much seasoning off the plate as you can.

Cover the pan and cook 3 – 5 minutes (depending on thickness of chicken). Flip over, replace lid and cook another 3 – 5 minutes. Remove chicken from the pan.

Time for the veggies. Add the other 1 tablespoon of olive oil and butter, zucchini, yellow squash, and mushrooms. Also add 1/2 cup of the chicken stock.

While stirring, scrape the bottom of the pan to incorporate all the seasonings left behind from the chicken.

Once the seasonings have been scraped up and the chicken stock has simmered out – about 3 to 5 minutes – add the chicken back to the pan and the other 1/2 cup of chicken stock. Cover and cook 5 to 10 minutes – the chicken needs to reach 165 degrees.

Now, remove the lid and add the tomatoes, capers and fresh lemon juice and zest. Simmer for a few more minutes until the liquid has reduced down be about half.

Time to eat. I like to put some fresh greens on my plate and top it with the chicken and veggies plus some juice. This adds a little more nutrients to my meal. I also pair it with Quinoa Pilaf. Top with some fresh chopped parsley and chives to finish it off.

Enjoy!

Print Recipe

Lemon Pepper Chicken & Veggies

This fresh and slightly tangy dish is good any time of the year. Fresh lemon juice and capers are a must to complete the flavors of this chicken and veggie entree.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Chicken, Lemon pepper chicken
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 107kcal
Author: Eating With Deb

Equipment

  • Large saute pan

Ingredients

  • 3 each chicken breasts cut in ½ for 6 pieces
  • 1 each zucchini small
  • 1 each yellow crookneck squash small
  • 4 cups mushrooms sliced
  • 3 each roma tomatoes
  • 3 tbsp capers
  • 1 each lemon zest and juice
  • 1 tbsp lemon pepper
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 cup chicken stock
  • Chopped chives and parsley
  • 2 handfuls fresh greens spinach, kale, arugula

Instructions

  • Slice mushrooms and dice tomatoes.
  • Slice zucchini and yellow squash in half lengthwise then in half again. Cut strips into slices.
  • Make sure your lemon is at room temperature and get your capers out.
  • Cut chicken breasts in half or if thick, slice through the middle to split full breast in half. Sprinkle lemon pepper on both sides of chicken breasts.
  • Heat a large sauté pan on medium low heat and add 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp butter. Add chicken breasts to pan. Cover and cook for 3 - 5 minutes. Flip, cover and cook for another 3 - 5 minutes. Remove from pan.
  • To pan, add 1 tbsp olive oil and butter plus zucchini, yellow squash, mushrooms and ½ cup chicken stock. Stir, scraping the bottom of pan to remove seasoning left from chicken.
  • Once tasty bits from bottom of pan are scraped off and chicken stock is almost boiled out, return chicken to pan plus the other ½ cup of chicken stock.
  • Cover and cook on low until chicken reaches 165 degrees – about 10 minutes.
  • Remove lid, add tomatoes, lemon juice and zest, and capers. Simmer for a couple minutes until stock is reduced by about ½.
  • Serve as is or on top of some fresh greens (the heat and juice will wilt the greens) and sprinkle some fresh chives and parsley on top.
  • Pairs well with Quinoa Pilaf.
  • Enjoy!

Nutrition

Calories: 107kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 12mg | Sodium: 205mg | Potassium: 259mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 117IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 6mg | Iron: 1mg