Pork and Egg Spaghetti with Roasted Veggies

This is a nostalgic play on my Mom's Bacon and Egg Spaghetti. I make it a bit healthier by chopping pork chops instead of bacon and adding wilted spinach on top. As always, the kids want nothing to do with the wilted spinach or fancy veggies, and opt for plain ol' heated up frozen veggies for their side. But both Avery and Addie eat this up even though Addie is usually a bit of a pasta snob and wants little to do with it (the weird child won't even eat mac n cheese), and Avery is usually a bit of a meat snob and wants it only as a separate side to her pasta.

And you may notice in the picture that I used green beans in my veggie mix, which was a change up for me. I used them instead of my usual yellow pepper or zucchini. BIG mistake. HUGE! They weren't too tasty- I think green beans cook better in boiled water. So I fixed that mishap in my roasted veggie portion of the recipe...

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INGREDIENTS:

PORK AND MARINADE:

• ~ 1 pound of pork chops (I use center loin bone-in)
• 1/3 cup Italian dressing
• 1/2 TBSP olive oil
• 3 tsp. lemon or lime juice

ROASTED VEGGIES- click on title for more roasted veggie suggestions:

• head of broccoli, chopped from stalk
• 1/2 bunch (4 oz?) asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 yellow pepper, seeded and chopped into 1-inch pieces, or 1 zucchini, cut into thirds and then halved lengthwise
• 1/2 a small red onion, sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced **or use 1/2 TBSP from a jar of pre-minced garlic
• 1 tsp. sea salt
• 1 TBSP Italian seasoning
• 2 TBSP lemon or lime juice
• 1 TBSP olive oil

SPAGHETTI:

• 8-12 oz. your choice pasta (depending on how many are eating and if you want leftovers for lunch- I used about 4 oz. of Brown Rice spaghetti for myself and Addie and 6 oz. of Whole Wheat Spaghetti for Keith, his mom, and Avery)
• 2 - 3 eggs, depending on how eggie you want it- I used one egg for my pasta and 2 for theirs
• 1/2 tsp. garlic salt per every 4 oz. pasta- not the healthiest... you could just throw in a little sea salt... but I like to indulge now and then

PORK DRESSING:

• 1 TBSP olive oil
• 1 small shallot, peeled and chopped** or use 1 TBSP dried minced onions
• 1-2 tsp. sea salt, optional
• 2 TBSP balsamic vinegar

PASTA TOPPING:

• 1/2 TBSP olive oil
• 3 or 4 handfuls of baby spinach
• 2 garlic cloves, minced, **or as always, I use 1/2 TBSP of pre-minced garlic

DIRECTIONS:

SUMMARY: Get the chops marinating - Get the pasta and chopped veggies cooking - Cook the pork chops - Wilt the spinach - Add the final touches to the pasta

STEP ONE- PORK MARINADE **TO DO IN MORNING**

Pound pork chops with a tenderizer and place them in a storage-sized Zip Lock bag. Pour Italian dressing, olive oil, and lemon/lime juice into bag. Seal the bag and swish the ingredients around until pork chops are pretty much covered in the marinade. Place in the fridge until dinner-time.

STEP TWO- ROASTED VEGGIES**YOU COULD DO THIS IN THE MORNING AS WELL**

Cut veggies accordingly. Place in a large bowl. Add garlic, salt, Italian seasoning, lemon/lime juice. Drizzle olive oil on top and stir. Spray a baking sheet (I use a 12-inch round pizza pan) with cooking spray and spread veggies out evenly on sheet.

You could do this in the morning and refridgerate until dinner-time. Either way, preheat oven to 400 about the time you'll be boiling water to cook the pasta. When oven heats up, place veggies on middle rack, and cook for 12 minutes. Remove when finished and set aside.

STEP THREE- THE PASTA:
Set water to boil on stove and cook pasta(s) according to directions.

STEP FOUR- COOKING THE PORK AND DRESSING:


While waiting for pasta water to boil, heat some olive oil in a nonstick frying pan (OR spray cooking spray on a sticky frying pan) over medium high heat. Wait one minute. Take pork chops out of marinade and place in pan. Sprinkle half the chopped shallots and salt on the chops and cook for about 3 minutes. Flip the chops. Sprinkle the rest of shallots and salt and cook 3 more minutes. Pour the balsamic vinegar over them, stir around for 20-30 seconds. Remove from heat and place them on a large cutting board to cool, at least 5 minutes or so.
Once cooled, remove the pork from the bone, cut the chops in long 1/2 inch pieces. Chop them up to desired size (I like them pretty small.)

STEP FIVE- THE PASTA TOPPINGS:
About 5 minutes before the pasta is finished cooking. Heat the pan you used to cook the pork chops over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil. Wait one minute. Add the spinach and garlic and any seasoning of your liking.  Stir constantly for 3-4 minutes until spinach leaves have wilted. Turn off heat.

STEP SIX- FINISHING THE PASTA:
Once you've strained the pasta(s), return it to it's pan(s) on the stove over medium-high heat. Add the egg or eggs. Since I prepared 2 types of pasta, I added 2 eggs to the 6 oz. whole wheat pasta and 1 egg to my 4 oz. brown rice pasta. **Warning- don't try adding the eggs into both pastas at the same time- do one at a time unless you want a lot of egg stuck to the bottom of both of the pans** Stir frequently until the egg(s)begin to scramble. Stir for one more minute. Add the chopped pork chops (I added about 1/2 to each pasta). Stir for one more minute. Turn off heat.

STEP SEVEN- Plate, top with the spinach, and ENJOY!