Meal Plan W/E 04/1

I haven't been sticking to the meal planning, consequently we've been eating out a lot and the number on the scale is going up and the number in my bank account is going down.  So with a fun weekend planned at the end of this week as well as many nights out  this week between work commitments and hockey we made a big commitment to get back on track!

We did Beef Stew in the crockpot on Sunday because it would make 8 servings and with an unseasonable winter I was looking forward to a rainy Sunday on the couch.  We also made this amazing Asian Chicken Noodle Soup (thanks Pinterest!)

We had to buy chicken at BJs because I had a chicken shortage again and I haven't really grocery shopped in the last couple weeks and I missed the chicken sale (seriously, I missed it, can you believe it!)

Printable Meal Plan & Ingredient List

Sunday:
Breakfast: Turkey Bacon & Eggs
Lunch: Asian Chicken Noodle Soup
Dinner: Beef Stew

Monday: (Hubs alone)

Breakfast: Cereal & Coffee

Lunch: Beef Stew

Dinner: Tilapia & Vegetables

Tuesday: (Hubs alone)

Breakfast: Vitamin C Smoothie

Lunch: Asian Chicken Noodle Soup

Dinner: Chili (leftover freezer meal)

Wednesday:

Breakfast: Cereal & Coffee

Lunch: Beef Stew

Dinner: Thai Green Curry over Basmati Rice

Thursday: Hockey Date

Breakfast: Tropical Fruit Smoothie

Lunch: Thai Green Curry over Basmati Rice

Dinner: Out

Friday: 

Breakfast: Cereal & Coffee

Lunch: Beef Stew

Dinner: Chicken Sausage Pizza

Saturday: Out

Breakfast: Out

Lunch: Out

Dinner: Out

Cider Braised Pork Roast

Cider Braised Pork Roast Ingredients

So a few weeks back I got a great deal on Bone in Pork Shoulder and had a bunch of apple cider leftover from holiday cooking and baking.  Cider Braised Pork Shoulder sounded like it would be delightful.  I was excited to try it.  It went all day in the crockpot giving off great aroma, but it didn't really measure up.  I can't lie, I didn't love carving it and anything with bones and skin is not so much for me.

So this time I took advantage of a boneless pork loin roast on sale when we were at the Hilltop and tried again.  Let's see how this attempt came out.


Cider Braised Pork Roast

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 3 1/2- 4 lb boneless pork loin roast
• 3 1/2 cups apple cider (divided)
• 1/2 cups water
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground sage (divided)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder (divided)
• 1 teaspoon cayenne (divided)
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 2 shallots, chopped
• 1 rib celery, chopped
• 1/2 apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 3 peeled garlic cloves
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 Tablespoon cold butter
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions:

Mix 1 1/2 cups apple cider, water, 1 teaspoon each of ground sage & garlic powder and 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne.  Place pork in brine overnight and refrigerate .  This will fit in a gallon freezer bag.

Briney Goodness 

Remove pork from brine and discard brining liquid.  Pat pork roast dry and tie with kitchen twine at one inch intervals.  Season pork with salt & pepper.  

I need to work on my tying skills

Heat 1 Tablespoon olive oil in saute pan till shimmering.  Sear pork on all sides to create dark crust. 

Mmm Crusty

Place pork roast in slow cooker.

Into the slow cooker

Heat remaining oil in saute pan and add shallots and celery to saute pan.  Cook for about two minutes.  Add remaining ground sage, garlic powder, cayenne, ground cinnamon and ground cloves.  Deglaze pan with apple cider vinegar and cook until vinegar has evaporated.  

Developing Flavors

Transfer mixture to slow cooker.  Pour remaining apple cider into crock pot. Place bay leaf, peeled garlic clove & cinnamon stick into the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 4 hours.  Halfway through cooking, give the roast a turn as the braising liquid is only about halfway up the pork.

Apple Cider Braise

Remove pork roast from slow cooker to a carving board and tent with foil.

Almost Finished Pork

 Strain braising liquid into sauce pan over high heat (skim excess fat as possible)  and reduce to about 25%and remove from heat.  Off heat whisk in Dijon mustard until combined and whisk in cold butter to finish the sauce.

This sauce is very flavorful and concentrated - a lot goes along way

Slice pork and serve with sauce.  

Pork Deliciousness

Happy Hubs/Sous Chef

Pack up four lunches for later in the week

The results are in, this was fantastic.  Really very delicious.  The brine really made the difference in this attempt.  I am in sweet love with this recipe and next time boneless pork loin roasts are at my buy price (2.99/lb) I will be making this again and likely for company!   I do recommend doing something easier for a side.  I did the buttermilk mashed potatoes which I highly recommend and will have to share in the future.  Just finishing the sauce, taking care of potatoes and sautéing green beans proved to be a little too much right before serving.  But then again, I'm not a professional chef.

Meal Prep Day 1/22/2012

We got up pretty early and decided to go grocery shopping without the coupons.  It's typically against my system and beliefs but the idea was that the grocery store would be crazy with a 3PM Pats game and we had the Caps on at 12:30 and I would be keeping an eye on my Bruins playing at the same time as the Pats.

We did pretty well with some coupons but we did need to buy a decent amount of fresh items that weren't on sale for this week's meals.  I did get $120.46 worth of groceries for $88.73.  I used 12.15 in coupons this week too.  I realized when I got home I missed $3.00 worth too!

First thing on the prep list was to get that Cider Braised Pork into the crock-pot.

You can't appreciate how delightful a smell this was all day

While putting the pork together, I had to chop up some celery for the recipe.  I just broke down the entire package and put together some snack sized containers of celery sticks that will be eaten this week, since the are already cut up

Try to break down as many ingredients for future use when opening a package of anything

I put together an awesome ginger rice, which I need to tweak and share the recipe!  

I packed up some cereal for the week so we can grab and go in the mornings we have cereal.

2 of 3 days cereal packed, so there's no confusing pouring while sleepy

I had to make a Marinara sauce for the lasagna, turned out really delightful

Mixed up a great marinara sauce with mostly on hand items 

For my last trick I assembled the Butternut Squash Lasagna so that it can just go straight into the oven Monday night.

Butternut Squash Lasagna - I can't wait to put this in the oven!

I was in the kitchen longer than usual today, but I didn't have Hubs on KP duty for most of the day, so I had to do my own dishes!  He's really good at keeping ahead of them so I can just move on with the prep.

All in all, a good day - Pats are headed to the Super Bowl, we had a wonderful dinner and Hubs is finishing the rest of the dishes now.

Spicy Sausage Ragu with Red Peppers

In this week's episode of Crock-Pot Sunday...we go with a sauce instead of a large piece of meat.  I still need to share the recipe for the Sunday Italian Meat Gravy, and I hope this weekend's snow will keep me in home so I can share some more recipes.  But that recipe is so delightful that when the multiple meat items for it are on sale I stock up and freeze them in the portions for this sauce.  This is why I had 2 pounds of Hot Italian Sausage in my freezer.  So this meal choice was great because I had most of the items on hand (sausage and a variety of canned tomato products)  I always stock up on these items when various grocery stores have sales or I buy them at BJ's as well.  Of course this recipe is from my Crock-Pot bible Slow Cooker Revolution

All items on hand with the exception of the fresh peppers

Spicy Sausage Ragu with Red Peppers


Printable Recipe

Makes 12 cups

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 pounds hot Italian sausage, removed from its casing
• 2 onions, minced
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh oregano or 2 teaspoon dried
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 cup dry red wine
• 1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes
• 1 (28 oz) can tomato sauce
• 2 red bell peppers, stemmed, seeded and cut into 1/2 pieces
• 1/2 cup minced fresh parsely
• Salt & Pepper

Directions

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage and brown well, breaking up large pieces with a wooden spoon, about 5 minutes; transfer to slow cooker

Add onions, garlic, tomato paste, oregano, and red pepper flakes to fat in skillet and cook over medium-high heat until onions are softened and lightly browned, 8-10 minutes. Stir in wine, scraping up brown bits and simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes

Stir crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, and tomato sauce into the slow cooker. Cover and cook until the sauce is deeply flavored. 9 to 11 hours on low; 5 to 7 hours on high.

Let sauce settle for 5 minutes, then remove fat from surface using a large spoon. Microwave bell peppers with remaining tablespoon of oil in bowl, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir softened bell peppers into sauce and let sit until heated through, about 5 minutes. Before serving, stir in parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste.

We had this for dinner one night and then packed up 4 portions for 2 lunches later in the week and the rest has been frozen 4 portions at a time - my guess is you'll see this in a meal plan in the near future since it was a huge hit with Hubs.

Shredded Chicken Filling

So part of the strategy for my meal prep day is to utilize the slow cooker, slow roast in the oven or make a big batch of something that can kind of just go in the kitchen for a bit while I do all the other stuff that I do for the week and then after I'm done cleaning up - just like that I have a meal!  Well in theory that's what happens.

Also - I have a friend that I often refer to as a crockpot pusher (strangely - I saw her refer to herself as one on the old facebook the other day) she's always telling everyone how great the crock-pot is.  I always saw the appeal in theory.  Hubs and I both work long days and have long commutes.  This friend of mine has two kids in the mix too, so I can see why she loves the darn thing.  However I don't know if I'm just a crock-pot reject but I always seemed to feel like every-time I used it it was a big fat pile of crock-pot fail.  The recipes I found were full of processed and convenience foods or foods I didn't like.  Being a giant fan of America's Test Kitchen I anxiously awaited their crock pot book: Slow Cooker Revolution. Does it have more steps than the standard crock pot book?  Yes, but you know what? I've not had a bad thing out of it.  I can't say that about most of the crock pot books I've looked through or used.  So with that I give this ATK book a hearty thumbs up!  

In this book there is section called Enchiladas, Tacos & More.  Starts off with very basic filling recipes for chicken, pork and beef.  Then it gives all kinds of applications to use said fillings in.  So we figured since it was boneless skinless chicken (breasts & thighs!) that this would be a great week to try this out and help us to wean off my latest obsession Chipotle 

Printable Recipe

Yields: 8 servings 

Ingredients

• 1 onion minced (or 1 cup frozen chopped onions)
• 3 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 jalapeno chili, stemmed, seeded, & minced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 (8oz) can tomato sauce
• 11/2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed
• Salt and pepper
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

Microwave onion, chili powder, oil, jalapeno, garlic, coriander and cumin in a bowl, stirring occasionally, until onions are softened (about five minutes)

Transfer to slow cooker.

Stir tomato sauce and sugar into slow cooker.  Season chicken with salt & pepper, add to slow cooker and coat evenly with the sauce mixture.  

 Cover and cook until chicken is tender, 4-6 hours on low.

Transfer chicken to large bowl, let cool slightly, then shred chicken with two forks. 

 Cover bowl to keep warm. Let braising liquid settle for five minutes and skim the fat with a large spoon.

Toss shredded chicken with 1 cup of braising liquid, add more liquid as needed to keep chicken moist and flavorful.  Stir in lime juice and season with salt & pepper to taste.

This was great.  We immediately used it in burritos that night and used some in burrito bowl fashion for lunches for the week.

We even served it up take out style!

Burrito "Bowls" for lunch

And still 3 cups of chicken left to go into my freezer for meals to be planned later!

Meal Prep Day 01.02.2012

We made our monthly - ish trip to BJ's this morning only to realize we forgot the list.  I live for lists, I can't believe we forgot the list.  Anyway, since most of the stuff we pick up at BJ's is more for stocking up, no big deal.  We we went there, picked up some items, stopped at home and picked up the list and threw some stuff in the fridge.

I had picked up my main item of fancy at the grocery store the night before - chicken.  When boneless skinless chicken breast is on sale I stock up, but it's like once in a blue moon that boneless skinless thighs are on sale the same week.  So I got a little of both, which worked out great because I put them to good use in a shredded chicken filling that I'll share with you fine folks later in the week.

When we got home, we started lunch and prep for the week so we could park it on the couch for a little hockey (what else do we do?)

My strategy will likely be to roast a larger piece of meat for a multi purpose meals throughout the week on prep day or use the crockpot.  This week, I used the crockpot to make a shredded chicken filling for burritos for dinner on Monday

Prep plan:

1. Roast Spaghetti Squash

2. Get Chicken Filling going in Crockpot

3. Brown Chicken Sausage & make sauce

4. Eat Lunch

5. Make Cilantro Lime Rice

6. Wash & Prep Salad with Chicken

7. Sit Down and Watch Hockey.

All this took less than two hours and I have three lunches in the fridge, lunch in me and dinner going for tonight, which will yield a lunch for the week too and leftovers for the freezer.

BBQ Pulled Pork

BBQ Pulled Pork

Adapted by America's Test Kitchen - Slow Cooker Revolution

Printable Recipe

I love this cookbook and if you are from the school of thought that all crock-pot meals taste the same (I was) or don't like that a lot of crock-pot recipes have a lot of ready made or processed ingredients (I did) but want to use your crock-pot, this is worth picking up.  I love ATK, I know some people have hard time with it because their tends to be a lot of steps, but I find the show & cookbooks fascinating.  The adjustments I made to this recipe were to use boneless pork loin (the recipe calls for boneless pork butt) and less of it (recipe calls for 5lbs and I used 2.5) 

Ingredients:

• Barbecue Rub (see below)
• 1 (2.5 lb) boneless pork loin roast
• 1 cup Barbecue  sauce
• Cider Vinegar (to taste)
• Salt (to taste)
• Pepper (to taste)
• Brown Sugar (to taste)

BBQ Rub (makes enough for 5lbs pork)

• 1/4 Cup packed brown sugar (I used light brown)
• 1/4 Cup sweet paprika (I used regular)
• 1 Tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 Tablespoon onion powder
• 1 Teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 Teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 Teaspoon salt

Using a fork, prick pork all over. Rub the pork loin with 1/2 the rub noted.  Save the rest of that rub for another time.  Wrap pork loin in plastic wrap and refrigerated from 8 to 24 hours.  Unwrap pork and place in crock-pot.  

Spread barbeque sauce evenly over pork, cover and cooke until pork is tender, 9 to 11 hours on low or 5 to 7 hours on high.

Transfer pork to bowl, let cool slightly, then shred into bite size pieces.  Discard excess fat; cover to keep warm.  Let braising liquid settle for 5 minutes, then remove fat from surface using large spoon.  Season with salt, pepper, sugar & vinegar to taste.

Toss shredded pork with 1 cup of braising liquid, add more liquid as needed to keep meat moist.  Serve with barbecue sauce

The verdict:

We'll be using this recipe for years to come.  It's great for prepping the night before we have it (10 minutes tops) and while the coffee is brewing in the morning the prep is super easy (maybe 3 minutes)  Getting home from work to the smell is priceless and in less than 10 minutes its on the table.  As noted, we used this in a variety of ways, we had it on the night we made it as a sandwich, we brought it to work with a side salad for lunch, and it arrived in pizza form later in the week.  What other ways can you use this dish?