ENTREE: Santorini Butterfly Pork

Okay, so I have no idea if they make this in Santorini. But it has kalamatas -- that's Greek, right? And really, I just like to think about Santorini.

This is one of those dishes that looks super-impressive but was deceivingly easy to make. My mom thinks I'm completely kitchen-incompetent and happened to drop in as I was putting this on the table -- I think she's mentioned it six different times since then. "That pork you made looked amazing!" she says, with more than a hint of disbelief. Can't argue with her.

• 1 1/2 lbs. butterfly pork loin*
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• 2 T. minced garlic
• 2 or 3 c. frozen chopped spinach, thawed (measure to your own taste -- I like a lot of spinach)
• about 20 kalamata olives, chopped
• 1/4 c. feta
• a couple of toothpicks

Tenderize the pork if you feel so inclined, but you don't need to go crazy, or even do it all. It might make the rolling easier. Mix the pepper, garlic, spinach, and olives in a bowl. Scoop some of the mixture onto each strip of pork**, roll it up, and secure it with a few toothpicks. Spread some olive oil on the bottom of a casserole dish, put the pork in there (pork-side down -- try not to let the veggies touch the bottom) and cook at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes. Accept compliments.


* My husband thinks we should have used more.

** If you buy the butterfly cuts, they're already pretty flat and separated for you. If you buy a big hunk of pork roast, you'll just have some extra slicin' to do.

ENTREE: Italian-ish Turkey-Stuffed Squash

My hubby is on a diet, so I've been dragged into his little low-carb hell. (I'm a pasta addict. This is torture.) On the bright side, it's forced me to come up with some creative, healthy dinner recipes. I'm not posting any of them unless I can honestly say "I didn't miss the carbs." This one qualifies -- it was delicious.

• 1 lb. ground turkey
• 1 yellow squash (cut in half, lengthwise)
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• 2 T. minced garlic
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 1 T. parsley
• balsamic vinegar

THE SQUASH: Cut the squash in half. Scoop out the insides, put them in a bowl, and set it aside. Put the squash "boats" in a dish, cover them with 1/2 cup water, and cook them in the microwave for three minutes. Drain the water.

THE STUFFING: Mix the squash innards with the uncooked turkey, chopped pepper, garlic, black pepper, and parsley. Mash it up like you're making a meatloaf. Cook it all in some olive oil.

THE FINAL PREP: Drizzle balsamic vinegar into the squash boats. Fill them with the meat mixture. Eat. Feel virtuous.

Sweet Pork Stir-Fry

Okay, so it's not technically stir-fry, but it tastes just as good without all the stirring and frying.

• pork rib end (I don't know...2 lbs?)
• 1 bag of steam-in-bag asian veggie mix
• 1/2 can of mandarin oranges*
• 1/3 c. brown sugar
• 1/3 c. cider vinegar
• 1/4 c.soy sauce
• 1 T. minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp. chicken bouillon
• 1/4 t. ginger

Throw everything but the veggies in the crock pot and cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours. ABout half an hour before you're ready to eat, cook the veggies in the microwave and dump them in. You can also dump them in frozen at the very beginning, but they stay a little crisper this way. At least that's what I've convinced myself.

* I assume you could just peel a regular orange, but who wants to? Oranges are one of my favorite fruits and I almost never eat them because they're so hard to get into.