Pork Braciole

This past weekend we decided to take a friend to dinner at one of our favorite local Italian Restaurants, Lonzano's. Every time I go to Lonzano's I try something new. Usually when I find something I like, I stick to it, but they have so many tempting options, I feel the need to experiment...and I have yet to be disappointed. This past weekend, I decided to try the Veal Rollitini. It was veal pounded thin and stuffed with a ham and breadcrumb filling. It is usually served with a sherry wine sauce, but their maranara is so good, I decided to get that instead. YUM! It was so good, I wanted to try to make it at home this week. The dish reminded me of a dish my mom makes called Braciole. It is basically a thin piece of beef which she wraps around a filling of seasoned breadcrumbs and cheese and cooks in the tomato sauce. One of my favorites! I decided this week to try it with pork. The end result was so tasty, but with the cut of pork I brought home (and the way I used it), it wasn't as thin as I like it, but since it was so delicious I will still post the recipe. I would recommend trying a pork cutlet that you can smash very thin.

Pork Braciole

1 pound pork (I used a loin that I cut to flatten and tried to thin, but it wasn't think enough, so I suggest a pork cutlet)
1 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1/4 cup parmesean cheese
2-3 small cloves of garlic minced
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella
1/2 tsp salt
1 large can crushed tomatoes
1/4 jar (approx 1 cup) Ragu tomato sauce (I used Old World Style)

1. In a bowl, combine bread crumbs, cheeses, salt, garlic and mix until well incorporated. Sprinkle mixture over each piece of thin pork. Wrap the pork around the filling and secure (I used toothpicks, but remember how many are in the meat, you could also use cooking twine).
2. Bring pan (use one with sides, because once meat is browned, I put the sauce over to cook through) to heat over medium high heat. Spray with cooking spray and add pork. Brown on all sides. If you have a smaller pan, you may have to work in batches. Do not overcrowd the pan, or the meat will steam and never brown. Once all of the pork has browned, add it all to the pan and cover with tomatoes and tomato sauce. Bring to rapid simmer and cover. Lower heat to low and allow to cook through (I let mine go for about 45 min to an hour).

I serve mine over pasta and it was SO GOOD! I couldn't stop eating the sauce!

Pork Burgers

My hubby made us a delicious dinner last night...Pork Burgers! With this stupid winter being as long as it had, I was itching to get out the grill. Well last night, it seemed like it was warm enough to do so. I was hoping to eat dinner outside and get some fresh air, but the breeze was too chilly.
Now my hubby had a pork burger for the first time at the fair and was amazed at how good it was. I never even thought of making pork burgers until them, but since, we have made them every so often. They are so tasty! The pork itself doesn't have too much flavor, so you can really flavor them any way you like and they would be delicious. You could go asian and add some soy sauce, sesame oil, and other asian spices. You could make them italian with oregano and tomato sauce, topped with mozz cheese. Really whatever you can imagine. We decided to go the bbq route.

Pork Burgers
(Printable Recipe)

1 lb ground pork
Seasonings of your choice (we used McCormick Barbeque seasoning and Lowrys Seasoned Salt)

1. Make pattys with ground pork (we made 6)
2. Season pattys on both sides
3. Light the grill. You will know it is ready when the coals are white.
4. Cook the pattys on the grill until firm to touch, white, clear juices (to temp of 160).
5. Enjoy!

Super easy and super tasty.