Oven Roasted Pork Loin

Pork

Evening friends! I hope you all had a great weekend! Becca had a chorus concert, my mom had a Christmas party, the girls and I hung out at Main Even with one of our favorite friends, and the DAWGS won! It was a nice way to start out December!

So tonight I made another version for pork loin. This was a thicker cut than normal. When you are cooking any type of meat, you really do need to rely on your thermometer.  Take it out at 145 (med. rare) up to 160 (well done). We like it med. rare, so I take it out between 145-150 and let it rest for about 10-15 minutes. Here is how I did it…

Oven Roasted Pork Loin

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
Make a paste with 1/2 cup of olive oil, 2 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce,  1 1/2 tablespoons of salt, 1 tablespoons pepper, 1/2 tablespoons of onion powder, cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, paprika, and fennel seeds. Mix well.
Rub liberally and massage in to pork loin.
Put your pork in a sprayed shallow roasting dish or oiled cast iron pan.
When the oven reaches 400 degrees, cook your pork fat side up for about 10 minutes.
Then lower your heat to 350 degrees and cook for about 40 more minutes (usually I do 20 minutes per pound)
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Serve with rice/mashed potatoes/polenta and a veggie. See ya real soon 😉 Amy

Thankful…

Leftovers/ Freezer Meals, poultry

Brined turkey with lots of butter! Becca has stepped up big time in the kitchen this year. She loves it, and I am glad that she is showing an interest in cooking. I also taught her my fool proof mashed potatoes- Boil in slated water with a stick of butter. When done, add potatoes to a crock pot and 2 more sticks of butter with 1/3 cup or so of heavy cream and a bit more salt and pepper. Mash well and keep warm in the slow cooker until ready to eat.

We also made this delicious turkey pot pie the next day. Here I made an individual version, but this time I made it in a regular pie dish and covered it with puff pastry. Delicious! I have a few more leftovers in the fridge, but tonight I am making cheeseburgers. We are tired of turkey and need some beef! =)

Leftover Lovin’- Mediterranean Veggies and Parmesan Couscous

Leftovers/ Freezer Meals, Vegetarian

Tuesday-Thursday nights are pretty busy and hard to figure out what to cook for dinner. Becca has cheer practice smack dab in the middle of dinner time, so I have to have something quick and easy, or have a dinner prepared ahead of time to make sure she eats in plenty of time. Sometimes it is a crock pot meal, sometimes it is breakfast for dinner, sometimes I pick-up a rotisserie chicken and make mac and cheese, and other nights like last night she raids the freezer and eats a veggie corn dog and a piece of garlic toast.

Another factor is who is home eating dinner. On a perfect night, all of us are gathered around the table eating together. BUT we all know that is a rare precious thing for a family to achieve on a busy school night. The hubby is a flight instructor and sometimes works past dinnertime; or he gets home in time to pick up Becca so I can still cook. Our schedule is always changing, so I have to be prepared so we don’t eat out every night! We need to save money, but don’t want to eat PB&J and Ra-amen for every meal!

Tuesday we ate out after practice, because it was my birthday =) We hit up the local Mediterranean joint for a yummy meal.  I usually get a vegetarian or seafood meal when we go out to eat. This time I opted for the Eggplant Platter which has sauteed eggplant and other veggies served with a Greek Salad, pita, tzatziki, and potatoes (I opted for the sweet potatoes). I had some eggplant leftover in the fridge…cue last night…

After dropping off Becca at practice, Katie and I came home. She also wanted a veggie corn dog (I don’t think they knew they were vegetarian). The hubby came home, and I made him a chicken quesadilla. Then I spied some peppers and spinach in the fridge. So I decided to saute them with my leftover eggplant. Would have been good on it’s own, but I remembered I had a box of couscous in the pantry. Score!

You could do this with any veggie, add tofu to keep it vegetarian, or maybe add chicken. Delicious!

 

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Crockpot Chicken Pot Pie Stew

Chicken, Crockpot /Make Ahead Meals, Soups

Another great crockpot recipe! I love putting all the ingredients in the crockpot in the morning and coming home to have dinner ready! The family LOVED it! It is a great fall dish on a chilly night!

Crockpot Chicken Pot Pie Stew
Ingredients

3 chicken breasts
1 small onion, chopped
3-4 carrots, chopped
1 container sliced mushrooms
1/2 bag frozen mixed veggies (corn, peas, etc.)
10 small yellow potatoes (I halved some of the larger ones, but left the small ones whole)
1 teaspoon each of salt, pepper, poultry seasoning, celery salt, nutmeg, garlic powder, and onion powder
2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce
8 oz. chicken-flavored cooking stock
1 container of cream cheese and 1 dollop of sour cream
puff pastry

Directions

Place chicken breasts in a large slow cooker. Add veggies and seasonings. Pour chicken stock and Worcestershire sauce. Stir mixture on top of chicken, cover crockpot and set to cook for 8 hours on low or 4 hours on high.

Thirty minutes before cook time is up, remove chicken breasts from slow cooker and place on a cutting board. Shred the meat using two forks and return shredded meat to crockpot. Add the cream cheese and sour cream and let melt and mix together, about 20 minutes. Add the chicken back in and mix together.

Ladle in individual ramekins and top with puff pastry. Bake in the oven until the puff pastry is golden brown and puffed up =)

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