1 pkg. dry yeast
1  2/3 cup very warm water
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups unbleached flour
1/2 tsp. kosher salt

Dissolve yeast in water. Add oil. Add flour and salt, stirring until moistened. Turn onto lightly floured surface and knead until it forms a smooth ball, about 2 minutes. Put in lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until double, about 1 hour.

Divide into 2 portions. Preheat pizza stone or pray pizza pans with cooking spray; dust with cornmeal. Roll or press dough to form crust. If it’s too elastic, let dough rest for a few minutes. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Top crusts w/ desired toppings and bake on lowest oven rack for 25 minutes or until golden brown.

4 center-cut boneless pork chops, 6-8 ounces each, 3/4 – 1 inch thick
Table salt for brining (I used kosher salt)

To brine: Dissolve 1/4 cup salt in 1 quart water. Submerge chops, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate 30 minutes. Remove from brine, rinse chops under cold water and dry with paper towels. If you are using enhanced pork injected with a salt solution, eliminate this step.

Breading:
4 slices hearty white sandwich bread, torn in 1-inch pieces
1 small minced shallot (about 2 Tbsp)
3 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed in garlic press (about 1 Tbsp) (this tends to be a bit garlicky, so watch out!)
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
Ground black pepper
2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp minced fresh thyme leaves (or 1/4 tsp of dried)
2 Tbsp minced fresh parsley leaves
1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour - plus 6 Tbsp, used separately
3 large egg whites
3 Tbsp Dijon mustard
Lemon wedges

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare pork chops with brine as directed above.

2. Pulse bread in food processor until coarsely ground. You should have about 3 1/2 cups crumbs. Transfer crumbs to rimmed baking sheet and add shallot, garlic, oil, 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper. Toss until crumbs are evenly coated with oil. Bake until deep golden brown and dry, about 15 minutes, stirring twice during baking time. (Do not turn off oven.) Cool to room temperature. Toss crumbs with Parmesan, thyme and parsley.

3. Place 1/4 cup flour in pie plate. In second pie plate, whisk egg whites and mustard until combined and smooth; add remaining 6 Tbsp flour to mixture and whisk until smooth, with pea-sized lumps remaining.

4. Increase oven temperature to 425 degrees. Spray wire rack with cooking spray and place in rimmed baking sheet. Season chops with pepper. Dredge 1 pork chop in flour; shake off excess. Using tongs, coat with egg mixture; let excess drip off. Coat all sides of chop with bread crumb mixture, pressing gently so that thick layer of crumbs adheres to chop. Transfer breaded chop to wire rack. Repeat with remaining three chops.

5. Bake until instant-read thermometer inserted into center of chops registers 150 degrees, about 17-25 minutes. (It took longer for my chops to reach 150 degrees, but maybe living at 7400 ft. had something to do with that.) Let rest on rack 5 minutes before serving with lemon wedges.

These chops were tender from the brine bath and the tops of the chops were crunchy, just like ATK promised they’d be. The bottoms of the chops, however, were not as crunchy as the top. If you went through the trouble of browning them before baking, maybe you could remedy that, but I like the ease of popping them in the oven straightaway.

1 pkg. sweet or hot Italian pork sausage (if you use links, remove from casing)
1 large onion, chopped
2 tsp minced garlic
2 green bell peppers, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 (28 oz.) cans crushed tomatoes
2 tsp marjoram
salt and pepper to taste
1 lb bowtie or penne pasta

Bring large pot of salted water to boil and cook pasta according to package directions.  Meanwhile, cook sausage in large skillet over medium heat, breaking up chunks with a spoon, until no longer pink. Drain off excess fat. Add onions, garlic, peppers and mushrooms; saute until crisp-tender. Add crushed tomatoes and marjoram. Simmer for 10-15 minutes until flavors blend. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve sauce over pasta. Garnish with freshly grated parmesan. Add a fresh salad and garlic bread to complete your dinner!

FILLING:
6 cups cooked chicken, torn into bite-size pieces
1 medium onion, diced
1/2 green pepper, diced
8 oz  fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 1/2 cups frozen peas
4 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup flour
1/8 tsp dried thyme (optional)
3 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup half-n-half or heavy cream
3 Tbsp freshly chopped Italian parsley
salt and pepper to taste

In large skillet, melt butter, then saute onion, green pepper, and mushrooms until tender. Sprinkle flour over vegetables; stir and cook briefly until well mixed. Stir in chicken broth, thyme, and cream; add peas. Cook until peas are tender and sauce is thickened. Add chicken and parsley; salt and pepper to taste. Keep mixture very hot until biscuits are made, then pour into greased 9×13 inch baking dish. Place on baking sheet lined with foil to catch any spillovers. Preheat oven to 425 degrees while making biscuits for the top.

DROP BISCUITS:
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup cold buttermilk
8 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted, then cooled for 5 minutes

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt together in a large bowl. Combine buttermilk and melted butter in measuring cup.

Add buttermilk to flour mixture and stir gently just until dough pulls away from bowl.

Drop 12 large spoonfuls of biscuit batter over hot chicken mixure in baking dish. (If the mixture is cool, your biscuits will be soggy.) Bake at 425 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until biscuits are golden brown. While it’s baking, how about making a crisp salad to complete your dinner!

Dough:  (or use your favorite bread dough recipe, such as Easy Wheat Bread)
1 cup warm water
1 Tbsp. canola oil
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
1 pkg. yeast
3 cups flour

Filling:
1 lb. ground beef
½ cup diced onions
¼ cup ketchup
¼ cup prepared mustard
¼ cup dill pickles, diced
4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
sesame seeds

To prepare dough:
Mix together the water, oil, salt, sugar and yeast. Mix until yeast is dissolved. Stir in flour. Work into a smooth ball. Put in lightly oiled bowl and cover to rise.

To prepare filling:
Brown ground beef and onions until beef is no longer pink. Remove from heat and drain all excess fat. Mix in ketchup, mustard, pickles, and crumbled bacon. Set aside to cool.

Roll dough into 12×18-inch rectangle. Spread filling down center of rectangle. Sprinkle with cheese. Cut sides into strips for braid; braid dough over filling, tucking end under to hold filling in. Place on greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise for 15-20 minutes.  Brush with egg wash; sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Bake @ 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes until nicely browned. Remove from oven, cool for 5 minutes to let cheese set before slicing and serving.

Variations:

Instead of braiding, spread filling over rectangle, sprinkle with cheese, and roll like a jelly roll. Place seam-side down on baking sheet and bake as directed.

Make individual calzones. Divide dough into serving-size pieces; roll into tortilla-size round. Put ¼ cup of filling; top with cheese. Fold dough over filling and crimp to seal edges. Brush with egg wash; prick with fork; sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake as directed.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with foil. Combine dry ingredients and parsley in shallow bowl; mix thoroughly. Melt butter and add Worcestershire sauce and dry mustard. Dip chicken into butter mixture. Place chicken on baking sheet and drizzle with any remaining butter. Bake for 50-60 minutes, until thoroughly cooked and golden brown.

8 skinned and boned chicken breasts
2 medium onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 Tbsp canola oil
2 (14 oz) cans chicken broth
4 (15.5 oz) cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
2 (4.5 oz) cans chopped green chiles, undrained
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cumin
3/4 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
Toppings: shredded Monterey Jack cheese, cheddar cheese, salsa, sour cream, black olives, cilantro

Cut chicken into bite-size pieces. Saute chicken, onion, and garlic in hot oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat for 10 minutes. Stir in broth and the next 10 ingredients; bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered for 30 minutes. Serve with desired toppings. Makes 15 cups.

Slice beef into thin strips about 2″ long. Brown in oil in dutch oven. Stir in onion, garlic, broth, salt, and pepper. Cover and simmer gently for 20-30 minutes. (Don’t boil; boiling will toughen meat.) If desired, meat can be refrigerated at this point.

Before serving, stir in peppers and mushrooms. Simmer until crisp-tender, 3-4 minutes. Mix cornstarch and water in small bowl. Add to meat mixture to desired thickness. Stir in soy sauce; add cherry tomatoes and heat for 2-3 minutes. Serve over rice, noodles or mashed potatoes.

Mix ingredients together; pour into shallow pan. Add pork chops; turn to coat. Grill over medium-high heat, watching carefully, until 145 degrees in center, or to desired doneness.  (Any nasties in pork are killed at 140 degrees, so don’t overcook. Pork will be dry if overcooked.)

Because of the honey in the glaze, the chops will brown beautifully. If they get brown too quickly, move to cooler space on the grill to finish cooking.

1 lb lean ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 slice bread, torn
1 large egg, beaten
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 can cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1 can beef broth, undiluted
1 (3 oz) pkg cream cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Combine beef, onion, bread, egg, garlic, salt, and pepper in large bowl; mix lightly . Line baking sheet with foil (easy clean-up!). Shape meat into 16-20 small meatballs. Arrange on baking sheet and bake in 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. Drain well and set aside. Put soup, broth and cream cheese in deep skillet. Heat and stir until combined; add meatballs and simmer until meat is thoroughly cooked, about 10 minutes. Stir in sour cream and parsley and cook just until heated; do not boil or sour cream will curdle. Serve over egg noodles or mashed potatoes. If desired, garnish meatballs with dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of more parsley. Peas are a great accompaniment, and add needed color.

To up the ante to this dish, saute fresh sliced mushrooms in skillet before adding soup, etc. I really like the difference this makes!