Italian Styled Pork Chops

From the Kitchen of Megan Camp

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix together: (All of these are approximates. Do what looks right to you.)
¼ cup flour
½ teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
½ teaspoon garlic powder or crushed garlic
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
1/8 cup parmesan cheese

Pork chops (as many as you're planning on serving. The mixture above will make enough for about 3-6 pork chops)

Wash and pat dry pork chops. *Dip in flour mixture and fry for 2-3 minutes in a skillet with a little oil. I always sprinkle a little more flour mixture onto the pork chops once they’re in the pan. Flip and fry on the other side.

Line a cookie sheet with tinfoil and place pork chops on cookie sheet. Sprinkle remaining flour mixture over top of each pork chop. Put about 1 tablespoon of grated Italian cheese and parmesan cheese on top of each pork chop. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning. Bake in oven for about 15 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and meat is done. The pork chops should be moist, tender and full of flavor. Serve with applesauce if desired.

*If you’d like, you can dip the pork chops in a beaten egg before placing in the flour mixture. I tend to skip this step and it still works out great.

Easy Artichoke Pizza

This is from Pampered Chef, and reminds me of artichoke dip on a pizza. I thought I was taking a bit of risk making it since it's a little different from typical pizza, but my husband and I both loved it. It is another dish I am sharing with our cooking group. I made the topping, froze it in a ziploc, froze the remaining cheese and Italian seasoning separately, and am giving each person a frozen Boboli crust to top when they're ready to eat it.

1 can (14 oz) artichoke hearts in water, drained and chopped (be sure they're not marinated, as that will add a little more flavor than necessary)
1/2 cup pitted ripe olives, sliced
1/2 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese, divided (shredded works fine as well)
zest of 1 lemon, finely chopped, or 1-3 Tbsp. lemon juice
1/3 cup mayo
1 garlic clove, pressed
1 pkg. refrigerated pizza crust (which I don't really like, so I used a Boboli crust instead)
2 plum tomatoes, thinly sliced (I'm just leaving these out of the portions for our cooking group, as they don't freeze well)
1 tsp. Italian seasoning

Preheat oven to 425. Combine artichokes, olives, 1/4 cup cheese, lemon zest, mayo and garlic, mix well.

If using refrigerated crust, unroll and shape/roll with rolling pin into a circle. Spread artichoke mixture evenly over crust to within 1/2 inch of edge. Cut tomato slices in half; arrange over pizza. Sprinkle with seasoning mix and remaining cheese.

Bake 20-25 minutes or until cheese is melted and crust is golden brown. Remove from oven; let stand 10 min. Yield 16 servings.

Baked Jambalaya

This is one of the dishes I am bringing to this month's cooking co-op that Megan has mentioned previously. I checked out the book Once a Month Cooking from the library to get some more recipes that freeze well. This came from there.

3 Tbsp. real bacon bits

1/2 cup chopped celery

1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper

2 Tbsp. green onions, chopped (tastes fine without)

1/2 pound cooked kielbasa, sliced

1/2 pound cooked diced ham

1/2 tsp. dried thyme (I added more)

1 tsp. Cajun seasoning

1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes

1 14.5 oz. can beef broth

1 1/2 cups uncooked long grain white rice

Mix together in a large mixing bowl all ingredients except rice. If freezing, pour into freezer bag, label and freeze. To prepare, thaw, add rice, and place in greased 9x13" baking dish. Cover and bake at 375 for 1 hour or until rice is tender. Uncover and stir before serving. Makes 8-10 servings.