I love to bless my Paul with nourishing, home-cooked food whenever I can budget time to spare our budget’s strain with economical yet tasty and healthy food. However, I am gluten intolerant, and Paul grew up eating more pork than I did. So, I have had to exercise creativity in how I cook for us in ways that will please us both, stomach wise. Thus, my recipe for Porkini was born.

Today, I would like to share it with you. And hopefully I will do so in a pleasant manner…since I am personally driven batty by food blog articles that tell us about the writer’s family history five generations back and a dozen of their favorite cooking hacks before they get to the actual recipe!

How to Make Porkini

Step 1: In a 9×13 pan, lay out 4 center cut pork chops OR 6-8 thinly slicked pork chops. You may choose to add sliced mushrooms around the chops. Marinate for 20 min or more in light Italian dressing while you prep next steps.

Step 2: Slice two medium zucchinis in this way. First, trim off both ends of each zucchini, then cut each in half horizontally. Then, cut each half zucchini in half again, vertically, to form flat sides. Then, carefully slice into thin strips as pictured.

Step 3: Toss slices of zucchini with one or two tablespoons of olive oil and your favorite dried herbs. Set aside.

Step 4: Shred/grate one 8 ounce block of mozzarella cheese. (Preshredded can be used, but the melting effect will not be as epic.)

Step 5: Lay half of zucchini slices over the pork in a single layer, as pictured. Then, sprinkle half of the cheese over this.

Step 6: Repeat again with another single layer of zucchini strips and then rest of cheese. Bake in preheated oven until all is cooked through. I recommend baking at 400⁰F for about 22-23 minutes, or until meat thermometer reads 145⁰ for the pork. Zucchini should be tender but not mushy, and meat should be moist from dressing and zuchinni moisture.

Enjoy!