Butternut Squash Fritters

 

Butternut squash fritters are great fall treat. These things are addictive and easy to make. If you need to make a bigger batch for a party, a picnic or family gathering, use the ratio of ingredients and simply bump up the amounts.

Ingredients - makes 20 fritters

one butternut squash - shredded 

1/2 cup plain bread crumbs

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup pecorino cheese

1 egg

1/3 cup milk

1 tsp raw sugar

2 tablespoon chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

2 tablespoon chopped fresh basil

salt and pepper
Optional - crushed red pepper flakes to taste

A Little Eye Candy from Meals and Sides We've Made

 

Orange Glazed Stuffed Pork Chops

This is another great fall dish - Stuffed Pork Chops with potatoes and green beans. Sounds like basic fare but it can be made into a "wow" meal by building interesting layers of flavor with just a few easy cooking techniques and a couple readily available herbs for seasoning. The stuffing has bread crumbs, cranberries, orange juice, onion and fennel seeds. Serve the chops with rosemary roasted potatoes and garlicky green beans as sides. 

For the stuffing - 
Tear up several pieces of good crusty country bread and pulse briefly in a food processor so that they are in approx 1/2 inch pieces not fine crumbs. Saute chopped onion and dried cranberries in a little olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Add 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds and 1/4 cup of fresh squeezed orange juice. Remove half of the liquid and set aside for later use in the glaze. Add the breadcrumbs to the remaining juice mixture and stir together. 

For the pork chops - 
Pick good looking loin chops minimum of 3/4 inch thick, thicker is better. 
Cut a pocket for the stuffing and spoon the stuffing in. Close with a toothpick or two.
Brown well on both sides in an oven proof skillet - cast iron works great!
Add 1/4 cup of water to the skillet and put in the oven pre-heated to 375 to finish cooking - about 20 minutes. 

For the potatoes - 
Cut roasting potatoes into wedges, drizzle with olive oil, season with salt, pepper and finely chopped fresh rosemary. Roast at 375 for 30 minutes, alongside the pork chops, stiring/flipping over once. 

For the green beans - 

Clean and trim the fresh green beans, steam in a steamer for just 5 minutes then take out and saute in a frying pan with olive oil and minced garlic. Season with salt and pepper.

For the orange glaze
Add the reserved orange juice mixture set aside from making the stuffing to the pan juice from the pork chops. Add a little water or orange juice if it is too dry or if you need to make more. Stir together to blend and spoon over the chops on the plate.