I haven’t posted a recipe in a while, because I haven’t found anything blog worthy though I’ve been trying new recipes. At a recent doctor visit, I was told I should try to eat more greens. Though I’ve been religiously gluten-free, I’ve strayed into eating too much gluten-free cookies and bread. I think it’s easy to treat ourselves to too much processed food with floury, sugary stuff because of all that us gluten-free people think we miss out on. At least that’s what I did. But I’ve recommitted to eating well with lots of fresh greens. I found this recipe in the March 2013 issue of Good Housekeeping. I converted it to be gluten-free. They used orzo pasta and I substituted it with quinoa pasta shells. Both my husband and I loved it and you can get in a lot of spinach without being overwhelmed by it. Here is my version of the recipe:

Ingredients:

8 oz Ancient Harvest Quinoa Pasta Shells (I was able to find this in my local grocery store)
4 boneless pork loin chops (the recipe calls for them to be 1 inch thick, but I found thin sliced that were a little less than that)
2 tsp. Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free all-purpose baking flour
3 tsp. olive oil
lots of fresh spinach (The recipe called for 5 to 6 oz package, but I found a 16 0z bag and used 3/4 of it. I wish I would have used the whole bag because the spinach shrinks up that much.)
1/2 cup white wine
2 tsp. of minced garlic (I uses the kind in the jar to save time)
1/4 c. fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves (I probably used 1/2 cup parsley. I used to not be a fan, but then I learned it’s loaded with vitamin K, something I’m looking for with all this green stuff. I always think of parsley as a unnecessary garnish, but the flavor works well here.)
2 Tbsp. capers
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

Start heating the water for the quinoa and follow package directions. I boiled for six minutes and drained it because it will cook more. While the water is heating, season the pork chops with salt and pepper, then dredge in the flour. I probably used more flour and oil than the recipe called for. Heat some of the oil in the skillet. Add the chops and cook 3 to 4 mins on each side. I probably went a little longer to get them slightly browned. I transferred them to a plate and covered with foil to do the rest so be careful not to over-cook because they will keep cooking like the pasta.

When the pasta is done, dump the spinach into the boiling water with the pasta, then drain immediately. Transfer to a bowl. The recipe calls for seasoning the spinach/pasta mixture with a little pepper and olive oil. We found it a little bland on its own so next time I’m going to add salt and some parmesan cheese.

In the skillet that you cooked the pork chops, add the wine and garlic. Simmer for 2 mins or until the mixture slightly reduces. Remove from the heat. Stir in parsley, capers and lemon juice. Return the pork chops to the skillet and coat with the sauce. Serve the pork over the spinach pasta mix. Next time I’m going to cut the pasta amount in half and use the whole bag of spinach. This recipe seems like a lot of steps, but it’s really easy and it comes together quickly. It’s going to be a keeper for us.

Have a Happy Friday. Improper Pleasures will be available for free on Amazon tomorrow, March 16-20th. Sorry for the lack of links. My cursor keeps jumping and putting anything I try to link at the top of the page. I need to figure that glitch out. It did let me post a new song from Fun below so enjoy.