For His Master's Veneration: Tuscan Pork Pasta Bake

This surprising one dish dinner is perfect for these rainy spring days. It combines Tuscan flavors with some Chinese cooking techniques that are sure to impress.

First the pork is “velveted”, then the spinach is well cooked. These are the secrets to making this dish irresistible even to die hard spinach haters. With mushrooms and cream cheese to complete this wonderful casserole, you will be proclaimed a cooking genius.

Ingredients:

½ cup red onion, chopped

1 cup mushrooms, rinsed and quartered

½ pkg cream cheese cubed into ½ inch pieces

1 cup cheese, grated

1 pkg frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

2 lb. lean pork cut into thin strips

½ cup Cornstarch

2 TBS soy sauce

1 Tbs sesame oil

1 egg white

Directions:

Pat the meat dry using clean paper towels. Slice your meat as thinly as you can while still keeping each slice intact.

Whisk together cornstarch and soy sauce until no lumps remain. Add egg white, and whisk until thoroughly combined but not frothy.

Pour mixture over the meat. Squish the mixture together with your hands so that the meat is coated well. Cover, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, up to one hour.

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees and spray a 9 x 13 casserole dish, set aside.

Place spinach in microwave bowl and cook on high for 2:30, drain well. This will thaw and blanch it.

Cut up the onion. Rinse the mushrooms and quarter. Set aside.

Heat oil in a large skillet. Working in batches, brown the pieces of the meat for about 3 minutes each, removing these from the pot with a slotted spoon into a colander to drain.

Add the chopped onion and mushrooms to hot oil and let cook for 5 -6 minutes. The onions should be translucent and mushrooms starting to brown.

Scoop them out and drain on paper towels.

In a large bowl, mix can of soup with alfredo sauce and broth.

Add the pasta and stir until each piece of pasta is well coated.

Squeeze out any liquid left in the spinach.

Stir together the onion/mushrooms with the spinach in the skillet.

Cut up the cream cheese into small chunks.

Stir them into the skillet until they melt.

Then into the soupy pasta and stir in the pieces of pork.

Pour this into the sprayed casserole dish and cover tightly with foil.

Let roast in the 375 degree oven for 45 minutes.

Carefully remove from oven, uncover and stir.

Sprinkle top with shredded cheese and return to oven for another 15 – 20 mins to make sure the cheese has touches of brown and the pasta is tender.

Let stand 10 mins before serving.