Pork with Mushroom, Onion and Spinach Sauce

4-5 boneless, lean pork chops

Salt & pepper to taste

2 tablespoons vegetable oil (or olive oil)

4 tablespoons butter (or substitute oil)

8 small can sliced mushrooms, drained

1 small to medium red onions , thinly sliced

3 garlic cloves , minced

1 cup chicken stock

1 tablespoon self rising flour

1/4 cup milk

2 cups baby spinach, tightly packed 

Season the pork chops generously on both sides with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, heat the vegetable oil. Gently place the pork chops into the skillet and cook over high heat for 5 minutes on each side. Do not disturb the pork chops while cooking so that a nice golden brown crust can form.  Carefully remove the pork chops from the skillet onto a large plate.  Add the butter, mushrooms, onion, and garlic to the skillet and stir fry over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes or until the onions are transparent.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the chicken stock and the flour until no clumps remain.  Add the chicken stock/flour mixture and milk to the skillet, and stir. Add the baby spinach and stir. Cover and continue cooking for 2-3 minutes, or until the baby spinach starts to wilt.  Add the pork chops back into the skillet and cover with the creamy mushroom-spinach sauce. Cover with a lid and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until the pork chops are fully cooked. Remove from heat. Serve warm, spooning the mushroom sauce over the pork chops.

Portabella Egg Caps

Large Portabella caps
eggs
pre-cooked bacon
cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  In a baking dish sprayed with non-stick spray place your Portabella caps, stems removed, top side down.  Crack 1 egg into each cap.  Bake 25 minutes or until Portabella and eggs are done.  Remove from oven and fill cap with cheese and top with pre-cooked bacon.  Bake another 5 minutes.

Comments:  A friend brought over 2 large portabella mushroom caps for me to 'play' with.  The first thing that hit me was stuffed and I decided to go with a breakfast/brunch idea.  I put the caps, top side down, in a baking dish and broke off their caps.  One cap was larger than the other so in the small one I added 1 egg.  In the larger I added 2 eggs.  I baked them at 375 degrees for 10 minutes, checked to see how they were doing and went another 10 minutes.  The smaller one with just one egg was done after about 25 minutes.  It also drained it's liquids into the pan.  The larger one with two eggs took about 35 minutes.  I also had to poke it with a knife to allow its liquids to drain out.  Now for taste.  If you like portabella mushrooms, like I do, you'll love this and the possibilities of changing the taste are endless.  You could use sausage, ham or even pour a little hollandaise sauce over it.  Your baking times may vary depending on the size of the portabella.  This is a dish I'll be playing with for a long time.

Comments from Carol:  The bacon and cheddar give a lot of flavor to this egg bake in the portobella mushroom top.  Their flavors are sufficiently pleasing to the palate and dense to bring out the earthy, yet light, flavor of the mushroom.  The egg is a long time friend of all three ingredients and together they are a treat.  And I mean a TREAT!  This recipe is perfect for breakfast, or brunch...or any time of day.  And easy too.