Herbed Pork Chops

Tonight's dinner was herbed pork chops and "vegetable pasta" with salad. I actually try to keep our dinner carbs to about 25-30, but tonight's dinner was more like 10 grams. This was a great and light meal. And really easy, although it does require a little prep time (for the "vegetable pasta"). The pork chops were *extremely* easy, and only took 30 minutes in the oven, plus about 5 minutes before to brown the pork chops, combine the herbs, and get it in the oven. Excellent weeknight option!

From Idiot's Guide:

 Herbed Pork Chops


6 pork chops, 3/4 inch thick
2 Tbsp butter
1 onion, chopped into large pieces
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried marjoram
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup water

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.  Mix oregano, marjoram, rosemary, thyme, garlic powder, and black pepper together. Set aside.

3. Melt butter in an ovenproof medium saucepan (that has a lid for later) over medium-high heat. Brown both sides of pork chops in butter.  Near the end, throw in chopped onion.

4. Sprinkle both sides of the pork chops with the herb mixture.  Off heat pour in water and cover pan.

5. Bake covered for 30 minutes.

Vegetable Pasta


3 (6-inch) zucchini
1 tsp salt
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp black pepper

1.  Cut each zucchini in half crosswise and then into several lengthwise strips, 1/2 inch thick. cut each strip into 1/2 inch-thick-pieces. Place in a colander and sprinkle with salt.  Put over a bowl since this will make water drain from the zucchini.  Let stand for 30 minutes. Pat dry. (This is supposed to pull water out of the zucchini to make it hold its shape and get less mushy during cooking).

2.  Put zucchini in a microwave-safe bowl. Toss in olive oil, lemon juice, and pepper. Microwave for 1-2 minutes or until tender-crisp.  Serve as is or with sauce.  (I sprinkled it with grated Parmesan, and it was pretty tasty, although definitely not pasta-like).

We, of course, finished this with a salad (green salad with blue cheese and sunflower seeds).  Definitely a very light meal, but the pork chops were very tasty! They are definitely a repeat item!

Chicken "Spaghetti"

We tried this Sunday because it requires a little bit of time (you have to cook the chicken before you make the casserole and then bake the casserole for 30-40 minutes), but it sounded reminiscent of the chicken spaghetti that was a comfort food for so many of my friends when I lived in TX. So it was a nice Sunday dinner. In the end, the sauce is more like an alfredo than I remember "traditional" chicken spaghetti being.  And this doesn't use pasta (not even whole wheat, although you could make that substitution if you wanted). We considered making the recipe as listed (which is what we did) or using tofu noodles (which are a pretty good low-carb alternative, especially for stir fry or with a lot of sauce).

From Idiot's Guide:

Company Chicken Spaghetti

2 lb chicken, cooked and shredded (I used boneless breasts, so the shredding was really easy)

1 medium sized spaghetti squash, cooked and shredded (see directions below)

2 Tbsp cornstarch

1 cup chicken broth

1 cup non-fat cream

1 cup light sour cream

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, divided (3/4 cup in the casserole and 1/4 cup on top)

2 Tbsp lemon juice

1/4 cup white wine (optional and I skipped this)

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper

1 tsp dry mustard

1 Tbsp butter

8 oz sliced mushrooms

salt and pepper to taste

1. Cook the chicken (boil in water for about 30 minutes or until it shreds easily).  Remove from water and cool slightly.  Shred the chicken and set aside.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

3. Make basic white sauce by stirring cornstarch into chicken broth until smooth. Add cream, sour cream, Parmesan cheese, lemon juice, wine (if using), garlic powder, red pepper, and mustard. Set aside.

4.  Melt butter in a skillet and saute mushrooms until soft. Slowly stir in cream sauce mixture and simmer until bubbly.  Mix sauce mixture and chicken together and pour into a sprayed 3-quart baking pan. Sprinkle top with additional Parmesan cheese.  Bake for 30-40 minutes.

5.  Cut spaghetti squash in half, remove seeds, and place on a buttered baking sheet. Cook for 20-30 minutes or until soft.

6.  Take a fork and scrape the inside meat from the squash, making spaghetti-like stings.

7.  Serve chicken mixture over 1/2 cup spaghetti squash.

We finished this meal with homemade low-carb bread and a salad.

This was the first time we had tried spaghetti squash. I expected Robert to be a little resistant to this, but he said that it was actually pretty good - it has very little flavor of its own, but holds sauce well, and the texture is actually better than tofu noodles. This was really easy and a great alternative to pasta!  We have a couple of other recipes that call for spaghetti squash, and I'm looking forward to trying those, too. We'll let you know how they are!