Greek Pork Roast Stuffed with Spinach & Feta

 

……………………………………………………………………………………………………

done2

Christmas dinner can be an expensive proposition.  It usually involves a pretty expensive protein, a turkey or a goose, a prime rib or a spiral honey ham carefully prepared with love and attention.  It is savory and delicious and something that is a yearly treat! What if I told you you could have the same delicious flavor and careful preparation in this gorgeous pork roast for a fraction of the cost as some of those more expensive meats?

This Greek Pork Roast Stuffed with Spinach & Feta will not disappoint and at just around $12 for the entire thing, you could save some of that Christmas money to put under your tree this year!  You can pick up a large 30″ pork tenderloin for anywhere between $13-$26 at my local wholesale shopping club (BJ’s) and in this recipe, I only use half of it to feed 8-10 people!  Talk about inexpensive! (So inexpensive, you might even make it on other special occasions throughout the year! shhhh)

And did I forget to mention that this is one of my husband’s favorite meals? Bonus! This is a crowd pleaser for sure!  Let me show you how I do it…

The pork loin I buy is about 30 inches long… I cut that in half to feed 8-10 people.

Sprinkle some kosher salt and fresh herbs… I am using rosemary and thyme. I also use a dry Pampered Chef Greek Rub.

Place the meat on a large skillet fat side down. I am using the Pampered Chef Executive Non-stick Skillet, which is my absolute most used pan! (It’s 12″ round and holds up to 5 qts!)

Be sure to sear on each side. You should be forming a nice crust all the way around.

Once you have seared all sides set aside in your roasting pan.

Cut into the meat about 3/4 of the way in. Be careful not to cut all the way through. This will be where you stuff the filling.

This is what you should be left with.

Spread salt and pepper in the cut meat.

This is now ready for the filling.

Add in a little more olive oil and sautée your onions in the rendered fat from the meat.

Mince up some garlic.

I use a large package of baby spinach. I have used fully grown spinach and it works out nicely as well.

Once your onions are tender, add in the garlic and then pile on the spinach. It will look like way too much spinach, but it will all shrink right down.

See… it melts right down. To this add in 1 tablespoon of the Pampered Chef Greek Rub and about 1 tsp. kosher salt.

Shut off heat and add in some crumbled feta.

Stuff the filling in the roast.

Sprinkle some more feta crumbles to the top.

The roast is ready for the oven. Roast for about 45 minutes until the meat reads 160°F with a meat thermometer.

Allow meat to rest for about 10 minutes before serving. This will ensure you get nice juicy cuts of meat.

Allow meat to rest for about 10 minutes before serving. This will ensure you get nice juicy cuts of meat.

done3

Greek Pork Roast Stuffed with Spinach and Feta

Serves 8-10

Ingredients:

3-4 lb. boneless pork loin

6 cups baby spinach

3/4 cups crumbled feta, divided

1 large onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tbs. Pampered Chef Greek Rub

2 sprigs rosemary

2 sprigs thyme

3 tsp kosher salt, divided

fresh cracked black pepper

olive oil

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 375°F.

Take meat out of the fridge about 1/2 hour before cooking.  Prepare meat by rubbing on 1 Tbs. Greek Rub, 2 tsp. kosher salt and the rosemary and thyme.

Add olive oil to a large skillet set over high heat.  Sear meat on all sides until a crust has formed around the entire roast.  Set aside in the roasting pan.  Prepare for stuffing by cutting down the length of the meat 3/4 of the way.

To prepare stuffing: Add more 3-4 Tbs. olive oil to the skillet (over medium heat) with the rendered drippings.  Sautée the onion until tender, then add in garlic and spinach.  When tender add in 1 Tbs. Greek Rub and 1 tsp kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper.  Turn off heat and add in about 1/2 cup feta.

Stuff the meat with spinach filling.  Sprinkle with remaining feta. Immediately place in oven and roast for about 45 minutes until the meat reads 160°F on a meat thermometer.  Let rest for 10 minutes before cutting. Serve hot. Enjoy!

*Gluten-free

Stacy’s Yummy Chocolate Chip Cookies

done1

I have been to many the Christmas cookie swap in my day.  I actually went to two just last week.  One cookie that is ever impressive is the Chocolate Chip Cookie.  It’s in need of no special decoration or presentation, a well made Chocolate Chip Cookie can hold it’s own in any crowd!  To me the perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie must be chewy but also a little crisp on the edges and not cakey, but have some body to it.  With being so particular, it’s probably no surprise to know that I have experimented with dozens of different recipes throughout the years.  Finally I decided to take the best elements of each and combine them into one YUMMY cookie!  Take a look at what I did…

Start with some softened butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.

Add in brown sugar.

Add in white sugar.

Once you have both sugars in with the butter, beat on medium high until creamed together.

Add in one egg at a time being sure to mix well after each addition.

This is what you should have when that is done.

Add in a shallow tablespoon of pure vanilla extract.

In a separate bowl add in flour.

Baking soda.

And salt. Whisk together until combined and no lumps remain in flour.

Add into the mixer in two additions and beat on low until just combined. Then scrape down the sides and mix for about 10 seconds on high until thoroughly combined.

Add in semi-sweet chocolate chips and stir by hand.

Scoop out into 1Tbs. scoops with the small Pampered Chef Cookie Scoop if you have it.

Place two inches apart on the cookie sheet.

Bake for exactly 10 minutes.

When the cookies come out of the oven, they won't look quite done. They will have lightly browned edges and they will be very fragile on the cookie sheet itself. Allow them to cool on the cookie sheet for about 5-6 minutes before moving them to the cooling wrack. Then allow to cool completely before moving to a cookie jar... Of course you could sneak one with a glass of milk on the way!

When the cookies come out of the oven, they won’t look quite done. They will have lightly browned edges and they will be very fragile on the cookie sheet itself. Allow them to cool on the cookie sheet for about 5-6 minutes before moving them to the cooling rack. Then allow to cool completely before moving to a cookie jar… Of course you could sneak one with a glass of milk on the way!

Stacy’s Yummy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yields 30 cookies (using 1 Tbs. scoop)Ingredients:

2 sticks unsalted butter

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

2 1/4 cups All purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp kosher salt

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350°F.

Cream butter and sugars in an electric mixer using a paddle attachment. Cream for about 1-2 minutes. Once thoroughly combined add in 1 egg at a time until well combined.  Add in vanilla, mix another 30 seconds.

In a separate bowl whisk together flour, baking soda and salt.  Add to mixing bowl in two additions mixing until just combined.  Scrape down the sides and mix on high for about 10 seconds.

Add in chocolate chips and mix by hand.

Scoop out using a 1 Tbs. cookie scoop onto a parchment lined cookie sheet leaving 2 inches between each scoop.  Bake for exactly 10 minutes.  Allow to cool on cookie sheet for 5-6 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. 

Pot Roast with Mushroom Gravy

done3

I don’t know about you, but after the third turkey leftover meal, I am about done with turkey for a while.  It’s time to change things up come December and I’ve got a special treat to kick things off.  Nothing says good old American ‘stick to your ribs’ comfort good like Pot Roast!  And with my recipe for Pot Roast with Mushroom Gravy, it’s a one pot meal you will be sure to keep in your Sunday dinner arsenal.

Start by clipping some bacon into a dutch oven. I am using my Pampered Chef Roc Crock Dutch Oven.

Cook bacon until crisp and set aside. Reserve the bacon fat in the pan.

I am using a 3lb. Boneless Chuck Roast for this recipe.

Use a good kosher salt in this recipe.

Spread the salt evenly on all sides of the meat. You can do this ahead of time if you like. Doing it up to 8 hours ahead of time allows the salt to really get into the meat.

Dredge all sides of the meat in flour.

Shake off the excess.

Place meat in the heated bacon grease on med/high heat.

It’s o.k. for this process to take time, you really can’t rush it. The more patience you have during this step in the process, the more flavor you will have in your dish.

Peel and cut carrots into 2″-3″ segments.

These are little red potatoes, the largest is probably 2″ in diameter.

Add carrots in over the potatoes.

Over the carrots and potatoes add in a couple stems each of rosemary and thyme.

Next, place the meat on top of the potatoes and carrots. Then spread frozen pearl onions on top of that.

Add in red wine.

Cover and place in a preheated oven at 275°F for about 3 hours.

AAA

GGG

You can use any type of domestic or portabella mushroom in this or really whichever kind you like. These white button mushrooms were on sale this week, so that’s what I used here. You want to brush them clean, no water and cut off any really blackened ends.

Quarter the mushrooms. I like quartering in this instance because I like more of a chunck to this gravy. If you like them smaller, by all means chop them up however you see fit. If you don’t happen to care for mushrooms, you can of course omit them.

Now it’s time for your reserved crispy bacon.

Melt a half a stick of butter into your pan. Remember you poured your liquid into another container for now, so your pot should look like this one.

Grab one large clove of garlic.

Slice it up pretty thinly.

Saute garlic, mushrooms and bacon in the butter.

I am using flour to thicken the gravy. If you are doing this in a gluten free mannor, swap out the flour for cornstarch.

Spread the flour over the contentts of then pan. Mix it around and cook for a minute or two.

Now add in your reserved cooking liquid.

Bring the liquid up to a boil for about one minute, then shut off and serve in a gravy boat.

Pot Roast with Mushroom Gravy

Ingredients

3lb. Chuck Roast

1 cup flour or corn flour

2 Tbs. kosher salt

Olive oil for frying.

4 medium carrot

9 small red potatoes

1 cup pearl onions

2 sprigs rosemary

2 sprigs thyme

3 slices of bacon

1-1 1/2 cups red wine 

Directions:

Salt all sides of the meat. Dredge in flour and shake off ane excess. Fry up the chopped bacon, remove bacon and set aside for gravy, reserve fat in pan.  While on med/high, sear all sides of beef.  remove and set aside to build pot.  Place potatoes in bottom of pan, then top with carrots, rosemary and thyme.  Place beef on vegetables and top with pearl onions. Add in 1-1/1/2 cups of red wine.

For gravy:

1/2 stick butter

1/4 cup flour or corn starch

6 mushrooms, quartered

1 garlic clove, sliced

reserved bacon bits

1 1 1/2- 2  cups reserved liquid from roast

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Melt butter into the pot where the roast was made.  Add in garlic, bacon and mushroom, saute.  Once mushrooms are tender add in flour.  Cook flour for about a minute or two while stirring.  Add in reserved cooking broth.  Bring to a boil for about one minute or so.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

*By switching from flour to corn flour and corn starch, this recipe can easily become gluten-free.