Pursuant to the rules, any weeknight meal additions must take 20 minutes or less to prepare.
Night #1: Simple Porkchops
Who knew pork chops were so easy??? I never buy them because they always overcook and become tough and dry, but this time around, I followed the advice of a local chef and they turned out perfectly and with no trouble. Bonus: they're super cheap. I got a nice pack of four for about $4. It was a great change of pace from chicken, and they're just as versatile.
What you need:
Thick cut pork chops (not super thick, just not the thin ones)
1 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
1/2 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. seasoning of your choice (I chose cumin tonight because we were doing a Mexican theme)
Mix the spices together. In a skillet, heat a few tablespoons over med-high. Season the pork chops with the spice mixture (don't over season, just give them a nice dusting). Sear them, one or two at a time (don't crowd the pan), for 2-3 minutes on each side (so that they have a nice brown crust) and then transfer them to a baking dish. Place them in a 375 degree oven for about 10 minutes. Check for the temperature or cut one in half to see if it's done. Unlike chicken, pork can be a slight pink color in the center and still be done!!! I can't stress this enough, DO NOT OVERCOOK THEM.
These were served alongside the black bean salad and some quick cook rice. Annie LOVED it. Gabe is still being a brat and won't eat anything except fruit and sweets.
Monday, April 29, 2013
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Guacamole, Black Bean Salad, and Napolean Quiche
OK. This is what I made today. If I hadn't forgotten to soak the beans last night, it wouldn't have taken long. I did take pictures, but I will have to add them in later as I'm not sure how to upload here.
Snack: Easy Guacamole
Truthfully, any guacamole is easy. Just chunk up some avocados and throw in a little lime juice and voila! You've got guacamole. This version takes advantage of some leftover ingredients for a second recipe.
You need:
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Beat the eggs and dressing together (props to Katrina for teaching me this trick!). Ladle in the mixture until the shells are 1/2 full. Dot the quiche with ricotta cheese and top with chopped basil. Add the rest of the egg mixture. Top with pieces of tomato and salt and pepper. Top with cheese (as much or as little as you like). Place them in a 375 degree oven until done; it usually takes about 45 minutes for both. (*to make putting the quiche in and taking them out easy, put them on a baking sheet for easy handling)
Coming Later This Week
Gazpacho (uses up cilantro, parsley, and some stock veges I have lying around)
Pasta Pesto (uses up basil)
Snack: Easy Guacamole
Truthfully, any guacamole is easy. Just chunk up some avocados and throw in a little lime juice and voila! You've got guacamole. This version takes advantage of some leftover ingredients for a second recipe.
You need:
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5 avocados - halved, pit removed, giant dice, and scooped out
1/4 red onion
1 clove garlic minced
1 lime - juiced
handful of cilantro – chopped
salt & pepper - to taste, but I usually do a "big pinch" of salt and several grinds of pepper
½ 7oz. jar diced pimentos (drained)
Put all of the ingredients in a bowl and use a potato masher to pulverize it to a chunky dip consistency. Taste and adjust seasonings. To store, squeeze more lime juice on top put a piece of plastic wrap directly on the dip (do not leave it exposed to air). This will last several days (though probably not once you start finding an excuse to snack...)
Cold Salad: Black Bean Salad
This can really be made with any bean you have; I just think it's pretty with black beans.
You Need:
1 lb. black beans – cooked by directions in heavily salted
water
½ red onion
½ 7 oz. jar of diced pimentos (drained)
1 clove garlic
3 T. oil
1 T. stone ground mustard (I already had this, but you can use a dijon too)
¼ c. vinegar (white balsamic, apple cider, or really anything you would make salad dressing out of)
heavy pinch salt
heavy pinch pepper
1 cucumber seeded and diced
2 bell peppers diced (any color, but I prefer
red/orange/yellow over green)
1 handful of italian parsley – rough chopped
Mix the onion, pimentos, garlic, oil, mustard, vinegar, salt and pepper in the bowl first to make the dressing. Add the vegetables and beans. Mix to coat and chill in the fridge. This is great to eat as a side dish with some chicken or as a salad to take to work.
Main Course: Napoleon Quiche
Quiche is easy and makes a great breakfast too. It doesn't seem very filling (especially to men), but when served with a nice bowl of soup or a side salad, it makes a great dinner. This makes two quiches (I needed to get rid of a dozen eggs hovering on extinction), but if you don't eat both in the week (unlikely), they freeze really well (or you could always gift one out to a friend or coworker to brighten their day!
You need:
12 eggs
2-pack frozen pie crusts (I don’t bake)
¾ c. ranch dressing (or any other creamy salad dressing)
1 c. ricotta cheese
2 c. shredded cheese (any kind you have on hand)
1 sliced tomato (each slice cut in half)
1 c. fresh basic leaves – rough chopped
salt & pepperBeat the eggs and dressing together (props to Katrina for teaching me this trick!). Ladle in the mixture until the shells are 1/2 full. Dot the quiche with ricotta cheese and top with chopped basil. Add the rest of the egg mixture. Top with pieces of tomato and salt and pepper. Top with cheese (as much or as little as you like). Place them in a 375 degree oven until done; it usually takes about 45 minutes for both. (*to make putting the quiche in and taking them out easy, put them on a baking sheet for easy handling)
Coming Later This Week
Gazpacho (uses up cilantro, parsley, and some stock veges I have lying around)
Pasta Pesto (uses up basil)
The Rules:
1. No specialty ingredients. If it isn't a staple, won't be used in its entirety in one dish, won't be used in at least one other dish this week, or doesn't have a shelf life of a few months, I'm not buying it.
2. Fresh is better, but price is king. Whenever possible, I will choose fresh, unprocessed ingredients, but if it's cheaper to buy it frozen or shelf stable (like frozen green peas or juice), then sorry, my wallet wins the day.
3. Waste Not, Want Not. Put simply, my goal is to NEVER throw away good ingredients just because I never got around to using them up. No more 1/2 cartons of strawberries or mushrooms. No more mold ridden blocks of cheese. No more random pints of sour cream or bags of mushy herbs or blackened bananas.
4. Cook on Sunday. I have a job, a house, a husband, a dog, and two kids - I don't have time to cook during the week. Anything that is made on a weeknight must be able to be made in less than 20 minutes (take that, Rachel Ray!); otherwise, my only goal is to dish, heat, and serve.
5. Use what you've got. This is more of an extension of Rules 1, 2, & 3 rather than its own rule. The basic idea is that I don't live and die by recipes. If I'm supposed to use balsamic vinegar, but all I have is red wine vinegar, oh well. Cheese is cheese. Oil is oil. Pasta is pasta.
6. The kids have to eat too. These aren't supposed to be "grown-up" meals, but they aren't so flavorless and simplistic that only someone with the palate of a 2 year old could enjoy them. My daughter has always been good about eating variety of foods, whatever is put in front of her. I love that, and I want it to filter over to my son (who is the very definition of 'picky' right now!).
7. Keep it square. Vegetables, proteins, and carbs. I strive to provide a balance of flavors, colors, and ingredients. This is a little bit of everything kind of cooking.
And that's it. Of course, not everything I make will be from scratch, and a lot of this experiment will be a learning exercise for me on how to make this concept work. But, in the end, I'm just happy that I'm doing one of the things that I love to do and that I get to share it.
2. Fresh is better, but price is king. Whenever possible, I will choose fresh, unprocessed ingredients, but if it's cheaper to buy it frozen or shelf stable (like frozen green peas or juice), then sorry, my wallet wins the day.
3. Waste Not, Want Not. Put simply, my goal is to NEVER throw away good ingredients just because I never got around to using them up. No more 1/2 cartons of strawberries or mushrooms. No more mold ridden blocks of cheese. No more random pints of sour cream or bags of mushy herbs or blackened bananas.
4. Cook on Sunday. I have a job, a house, a husband, a dog, and two kids - I don't have time to cook during the week. Anything that is made on a weeknight must be able to be made in less than 20 minutes (take that, Rachel Ray!); otherwise, my only goal is to dish, heat, and serve.
5. Use what you've got. This is more of an extension of Rules 1, 2, & 3 rather than its own rule. The basic idea is that I don't live and die by recipes. If I'm supposed to use balsamic vinegar, but all I have is red wine vinegar, oh well. Cheese is cheese. Oil is oil. Pasta is pasta.
6. The kids have to eat too. These aren't supposed to be "grown-up" meals, but they aren't so flavorless and simplistic that only someone with the palate of a 2 year old could enjoy them. My daughter has always been good about eating variety of foods, whatever is put in front of her. I love that, and I want it to filter over to my son (who is the very definition of 'picky' right now!).
7. Keep it square. Vegetables, proteins, and carbs. I strive to provide a balance of flavors, colors, and ingredients. This is a little bit of everything kind of cooking.
And that's it. Of course, not everything I make will be from scratch, and a lot of this experiment will be a learning exercise for me on how to make this concept work. But, in the end, I'm just happy that I'm doing one of the things that I love to do and that I get to share it.
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