Cheesy Potato and Pork Bake

I was feeling the need to try something different, now that the weather is getting a bit colder. I have been very lucky with recipes I find on Pinterest; they are always recipes someone has tried and even adjusted to their liking. When a realized I had a nice boneless pork roast begging to be cooked, I was tempted by this flavorful recipe. It's a winner!

Ingredients:

3lb of russet potatoes
1 bay leaf
3-5 TBS olive oil for the pork
2-3 lbs of boneless pork
1 TBS soy sauce
1 medium onion
3 cloves garlic
4 oz heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup fresh dill
1/2 TBS of Mrs. Dash seasoning
1 cup of mozzarella cheese

How to make:

1~ Wash and peel potatoes. Cut them into chunks and place them in a pot with cold water. Add the 1 bay leaf and a little salt. Cook for 15 minutes on medium high heat until you can pierce with a fork, but not fully cooked. Drain potatoes and set aside.

2~ While potatoes are cooking, cut pork into chunks and cook in olive oil in a skillet for 10 minutes. Add 1 TBS soy sauce.

3~ Then add diced onion and fresh garlic, saute until golden brown.

4~Preheat oven to 350.

5~In a large bowl, combine the cooked potatoes, fresh dill, heavy whipping cream, 1 TBS Mrs. Dash seasoning and gently mix together.

6~ Empty into a 9X13 baking dish and top with the cooked pork. COVER baking dish with foil and place in oven for 20-30 minutes.

7~ Remove foil and top with at least one cup of mozzerella cheese. Put the dish back in the oven for 10-15 minutes.

Braided Spaghetti Bread

I have to give a shout out to Danielle for finding this yummy bread on Pinterest! And what a better day to  make it...drinking some wine and waiting for this hurricane!! :)

I made homemade dough and sauce, but if you want to keep it really simple, follow these simple ingredients:


1 loaf bread dough, thawed ( I make a pizza dough recipe for any stuffed bread)
6 oz spaghetti, cooked - I used angel hair pasta
1 cup spaghetti sauce
8-12 oz mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/2 inch cubes ( the more, the better!)
1 egg white ( i brushed the bread with olive oil)
Parmesan cheese
Parsley flakes
Garlic powder


Lightly flour the surface you are going to roll dough on; make into a 12x16 rectangle.

Cook pasta according to package; drain and let cool slightly.

Mix spaghetti and sauce together and then place in the center of the dough; top with cubed mozzarella cheese.

Make cuts 1 1/2 inches apart so you can braid the dough. Begin by braiding top and bottom strips towards the filling. Then braid strips left over right, then right over left and tuck last strip under braid.

Brush with egg white (or olive oil) and sprinkle with parsley, parmesan cheese and garlic powder.

Bake @ 350 for 35 minutes or until golden.  Cool slightly and slice to serve.