I get by with a little help from my friends: Pork Milanese with Arugula Salad

We can all lack inspiration when it comes to some meals.  Breakfast can get quite mundane with oatmeal or cereal every morning.  This is why I mix things up a bit on the weekends with something off the stovetop or out of the oven.  Lunch is a different story in our household.  I carry my lunch most of the time, and so does the hub.  So, in turn, lunch ends up being a mystery sometimes.  Some days I pull the first container that looks halfway appetizing out of the freezer and go for it.  This doesn’t always work out to my advantage though.  One day, I thought I had chili out of the crockpot, but in actuality I had hot dog chili from Maw-Maw.  Needless to say, I ate in the caf at work that day.

After the sometimes seemingly long routine weekday, one does lose inspiration for what to cook at dinnertime.  This is where my “friends” come in.  I recently read a little blurb in the gardening issue of Martha Stewart Everyday Food about dinner ideas being texted to you daily.  I immediately signed up for this through my phone.  We all can use a little help from our “friends”.

Oh sure, I’d love to be able to say these are actually my friends.  Can you imagine how amazing that would be?  I would be in Foodie Heaven.  *smiles*  Either way, for all intent and purposes, they are.  What I found is that the recipes that were being delivered to my phone by text each day…….we’re SUPER SIMPLE and easy!  Not to mention, they were fresh ideas.  They were ideas I may not have thought of on my own, and I appreciate the team at the Everyday Food Blog for sending such friendly yummy recipes!  Thank you!

The one I most recently tried is the Pork Milanese and Arugula Salad.  Have I ever had Arugula?  NO.  But, will I have Arugula again?  YES!  We absolutely loved it!  A nice peppery lettuce.  Not spicy, peppery.  There is a difference, promise me.  You must give Baby Arugula a try.  I had to hunt it for a while in my local produce section.  I eventually located it in one of the pre-packaged boxes in the boxed lettuce section.  Must try!

This recipe was amazing.  I hope your household enjoys it as much as mine does.  We will be making this again.

Sign up for Martha’s Everyday Food Dinner Tonight by text by clicking here.  Visit their blog by clicking here.  I highly recommend it!

Pork Milanese with Arugula Salad

(with my notes in parenthesis)

Ingredients

• 1 small garlic clove, minced  (We love garlic, so I used 3 cloves)
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice  (I used the juice of one whole lemon)
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Coarse salt and ground pepper (Great time for Sea Salt!)
• 1 cup all-purpose flour  (I actually added a little garlic powder to the flour mixture for the pork)
• 1 1/2 pounds pork cutlets: 1/4-inch thick (You can sub chicken or beef if you would like)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus more if needed
• 3 cups baby arugula
• 1 head radicchio or endive or a combination, thinly sliced  (I just used Endive.  I’m not the biggest fan of radicchio.)
• 1/3 cup thinly sliced red onion (I used half of a red onion so I didn’t have to measure it out)

Directions

1. In a small bowl, whisk together garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil and season with salt and pepper; set dressing aside. Place flour in a small bowl. Season pork with salt and pepper and dredge in flour, shaking off excess.
2. In a large skillet, heat vegetable oil over medium-high. When oil is hot, add cutlets, working in batches and adding more oil if necessary (do not overcrowd pan). Cook until cutlets are golden on bottom, 3 minutes. Flip and cook until cooked through, 3 minutes. Transfer cutlets to a large platter.
3. In a large bowl, toss arugula, radicchio, and onion with dressing, then top cutlets with salad. 

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