Meal Planning Monday

Happy Monday! Last week turned out to be crazy, so we're carrying forward quite a few meals. Here's what I'm planning:

Monday: Chicken roll ups (carryover from last week)

Tuesday: Date night! We're using our free movie tickets from Studio Movie Grill

Wednesday: Cornbread taco casserole (carryover from last week)

Thursday: Turkey burgers, homemade chips, carrots

Friday: Pan fried tilapia with white wine sauce, rice, veggies

Saturday: Chicken fettucine alfredo, salad

Sunday: Grilled cheese and gumbo -Progresso, not homemade :)

Pork tacos - recipe for leftovers!

I typically make the pork roast for guests, but this time I just made it for Bart and me, so there were a ton of leftovers. We had the idea to make pork tacos out of some of the leftover meat, since it was so tender from the crock pot.

Ingredients:
leftover pork, shredded
taco seasoning to taste
salsa
water, about 1/4 cup
tortillas
taco toppings of your choice

Bart actually made these so I'm not entirely sure of all the measurements, but it would depend how much pork you used anyway. Dump everything into a large skillet and simmer the same way you would with ground beef and taco seasoning. Serve immediately with warm tortillas and any toppings you like.

I definitely need to challenge myself to utilize leftovers more - I typically want to throw them out! Thankfully, Bart eats them. Now, what to do with the half a 9 x 13 of baked ziti....noodle sandwiches? :)

Pork Roast

This recipe came from my friend at work, Joy. I have made it three times and it is always so good! The best part is how easy it is. I have copy and pasted from her email and added my comments in italics. Here goes:

Ingredients:
pork roast - any weight is fine, mine are usually about 3 lbs I think
fresh black pepper
kosher salt
cayenne pepper
1 onion, finely chopped
minced onion
baby carrots, about 3 cups
3/4 c cooking sherry
2-3 c low sodium chicken broth (bigger roast = more broth)
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp Worcestershire

1) Coat the roast with fresh black pepper, kosher salt and cayenne. The black pepper should be put on generously. When you think you have enough, put more. Most of the seasoning will end up coming off and into the gravy so there should be plenty. Then I apply the kosher salt, not as much as the pepper since not as good for you. Then dust some cayenne on there. This part you'll just figure out how much you like as you make it more often. I use regular salt and I just bought a pepper grinder, so I've always used regular pepper too.

2) Depending on the fat content in the roast, you may want to try to cut some off if there is a lot. If there's not too much then I broil it in the oven on broil for about 10 minutes. The fat on the outside pretty much disintegrates. If its low fat, like a pork loin roast then I just put it straight in the crockpot and don't broil. I always buy pork loin roast, so I've never done this.

3) In the bottom of the crockpot, put a finely chopped onion, some minced garlic (jar or fresh) and baby carrots (as much or as little as you like). Then put the roast on top.

4) In a mixing bowl, combine the following: sherry, broth, soy sauce, Worcestershire. Then pour over the roast. You want it to pretty much be covered. If you need extra liquid, add more broth.

5) Leave crock pot on low for like 10 hours. Time is not important here, just all day while you are gone. Unfortunately in our line of work its extremely normal to be gone for 10+ hours :)

When you get home:

1) Make rice.

2) Dump the liquid/onions in a pot and add about 3 heaping tbsp of flour. Whisk constantly over high heat until it comes to a boil. Add extra flour if necessary. This step is SO crucial. It makes the meal so much better.

I'm making a commitment to use the crock pot once a week in 2010, because its so helpful for an easy dinner (and cuts back on my desire to just "pick something up"!) My sweet husband has also volunteered to make 1 dinner a week since he has a new job with awesome hours. He's the best! I know this pork roast will be one of my constant go-to's for crock pot meals. Hope you enjoy it!

Pork with Tomato & Pepper Sauce

I made this recipe for our friends, Ashley and Andreas, who came over Friday. I had made it once before, probably 2 years ago, but I couldn't remember how good it was. It was delicious! The recipe is from this recipe. Here it is:

Ingredients:
2 tsp butter -I used smart balance
1 tsp minced garlic
1 1/2 lb lean pork tenderloin, cut into thin strips
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes with green chiles
1 tsp dried basil
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 c thinly sliced green bell pepper- I just used 1 pepper
1 onion, diced - I only used 1/2 an onion

Directions:
1) In a large skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat. Stir garlic into sizzling hot butter, and then arrange as many sliced pork tenderloin strips as you can fit into the pan. Cook, turning occasionally, until browned on both sides. Remove from pan; set aside. Repeat with any remaining pork tenderloin strips.

2) Return all pork tenderloin strips to pan. Stir in tomatoes and season with basil, salt, and pepper. Cook until mixture comes to a boil, then reduce heat to low, and cover.

3) Meanwhile, heat water in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cook peppers and onion in boiling-hot water until vegetables are tender-crisp. Stir into pork tenderloin and tomatoes. Continue cooking until pork tenderloin strips are no longer pink, about 50 to 60 minutes. It only took me about 30-35 minutes, since my strips were fairly small.

We served this over rice, which was perfect because there was a lot of sauce. We all really liked it, so you should try it out!

Meal Planning Monday

Now that work is back in full swing after the holidays, I've buckled down and planned out our meals for the week :) Special thanks to my friend, Katy Link, for the image on this post - isn't it so cute? Here's what we are having:

Monday : taco soup, cornbread

Tuesday: chicken sandwiches, baked french fries, salad

Wednesday: Sour cream chicken enchiladas, spanish rice

Thursday: turkey burgers, homemade potato chips, fruit

Friday: Chicken francais, rice, salad

Saturday: Cornbread taco casserole

Sunday: Crescent chicken, mashed potatoes, veggies

I am very excited to tried the crescent chicken. Click on the link to see the recipe over on Katy's blog. My recipe postings have been seriously lacking lately, but this week I hope to post these I've made recently:

-pork with tomato and pepper sauce

-pork roast (with a great recipe for leftovers)

-tilapia in parchment paper

Have a great week!