Breaded Pork Chops with Warm Bulgar Wheat and Arugula Salad

Let's talk dinner!

Really good, incredibly tasty, fast and wholesome dinner.

That, after all, is exactly what this recipe is! It's comfort food, but lightened up. It's fresh but fulfilling. The flavors are bold and full of that summer brightness. I just love it, and I'm sure you will too!

I served this recipe for Breaded Pork Chops with Warm Bulgar Wheat and Arugula Salad for Monday night dinner and it was the perfect start to a busy week. I had a couple of 3 ounce pork chops that I sliced in half lengthwise then pounded them out thin. I breaded them the way all good cutlets are breaded: dredged in flour, dipped in egg, pressed into whole wheat seasoned bread crumbs. Fool-proof and delicious.

Along with the crispy and juicy chops, we need a light and refreshing salad. Summertime means lemon, tomatoes, arugula and basil are plentiful, so we must be sure to utilize this season's bounty. For a nutty bite, try ditching the quinoa or rice or barley and walk on the wild side with a bit of bulgar wheat. Bulgar wheat is a whole wheat grain that has been cracked and partially cooked. It has a texture similar to cous cous but is less starchy and a bit more flavorful.

Summer, if you can believe it, is flying by but you can really savor it with this dish. It's quick enough to enjoy on a weeknight, but pretty (and pretty delicious!) enough to serve for a dinner party. Break out a chilled bottle of prosecco or sauvignon blanc and savor every bite!

Salami and Arugula Breakfast Quesadillas

I just took breakfast to a whole new level.

This is like a cheese plate all wrapped up crunchy, gooey, quesadilla. My first bite sent me into wonderful breakfast bliss and all my troubles faded away.

Melty cheddar cheese, salty cured salami, crisp peppery arugula and perfectly scrambled eggs--oh this is what dreams are made of. I'm not kidding. This is a breakfast dressed to impress.

I am so obsessed with quesadillas that if I can have one for breakfast, lunch, brunch and dinner, I will. I love the crunch of the tortillas and the smooth blanket of cheese. And let's not forget the bells and whistles--that is, the garnish. For me, my knees go week for cool, creamy sour cream and spicy salsa. If guacamole and chopped cilantro make your skirt fly up, they would be just perfect as well.

Now, I know there is some controversy over the best way to cook a quesadilla. Do you get a big tortilla, burrito size, fill one side with the good stuff and fold the other half over? Or do you get a smaller, 10-inch tortilla and top it with a second tortilla? I have tried both, but for this particular dish, I used the smaller, sandwich technique. I find it easier to flip this way.

Whatever way you flip, this a breakfast that will start each and every day on the right foot.

P.S. Quesadillas, previously: BBQ Chicken

A quick and flavorful stuffed chicken

I was starting to feel like I was accumulating a few too many leftovers from a variety of different meals and dishes when I whipped together last night's dinner. There is no worse feeling than tossing half a bag of wilted spinach or a nice chunk of cheese that got moldy when you know damn well that you could have done something amazing with it.

Enter my fridge and pantry. Here's what needed some quick love:

3 frozen chicken breasts
1/4 bag of fresh arugula
1/2 ball fresh mozzerella cheese
1/4 bag of freshly grated parmesan
breadcrumbs
spices
1/2 small yellow onion

Here's what I did with it:

Thaw the chicken breast overnight in the refrigerator. If it is still frozen at the time you want to cook, run it under hot water for 5 minutes.
Slice the chicken breast down the middle, being careful not to cut the whole way through.
Place the chicken on a greased baking sheet.
Using a new knife and a new cutting board (nobody likes contamination), slice the fresh mozzerella into crescent moon shapes (cut each slice in half). Basically, it needs to be small enough to fit in the chicken.
Cut the onion into small chunks, about the size of a clove of garlic.
Place 2 to 3 slices of mozzerella in each chicken breast. Stuff a small handful of arugula in the chicken as well, being sure that none of the leaves spill out (they will burn and shrivel quickly in the oven if they are exposed to the direct heat).
Season the tops of the chicken with crushed black pepper, salt, garlic powder and dried basil.
Lightly dust the tops of each chicken breast with about a teaspoon of breadcrumbs and a teaspoon of the grated parmesan.
Place the onion chucks on the baking sheet all around the chicken (this will infuse a yummy flavor and leaves it up to you if you want to eat the onions or not. I devoured them happily and mixed some in my side dishes).
Drizzle olive oil over the chicken and the onions to crisp everything up.
Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.
Serve alongside brown rice and vegetables of your choice!

This was really delicious and all the different flavor profiles played together really well. It was packed with peppery arugla, tart spices, and the mozzerella gave everything a smooth finish. This entire dish was completely unprepared -- I just tried to get inspired by what I had left over.

What is your most impressive left over dish?! How do you ramp up plain, old chicken into something more gourmet?