Richard Merrill, a fire fighter with Fairfax County, VA Local 2068, enjoys cooking for his shift at Station 10. His menus often include spaghetti and grilled chicken – both fast and easy to cook for a large group.

The recipe featured below is one of the delicious, healthy dinners that Merrill cooks at Station 10. He tries to accommodate the fellow fire fighters on his shift and cook food everyone will enjoy.

This menu features stuffed lean pork chops with fat-free gravy, breadsticks, apple sauce, green beans and a low-fat yogurt dessert.

Pork Chops

4 extra thick (lean) pork chops
3 1/2 cup herb seasoned croutons
1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 cup chopped onions
1/3 cup melted butter (substitute healthy butter spread)
1/2 cup water

Topping:
1 can Campbell’s cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup chopped sweet onion
1 can water
Toss first five ingredients together until moist. Slice pork chops (if extra thick) to allow stuffing. If normal thickness, place stuffing onto chops and use butcher’s string to tie up. Place in baking dish, mix topping ingredients together and pour over top. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake for 10 to 15 minutes until done.

Low-fat Strawberry Yogurt Tarts

Mix yogurt and whipped topping together in bowl. Halve six strawberries and set aside. Quarter remaining strawberries and place on bottom of crusts. Spoon yogurt mixture over strawberries and place halved strawberries on top of desserts and refrigerate. Do not freeze.

To submit your recipes or contribute to the Fit to Survive menu planner, email firehouserecipes@iaff.org.