YUM. This was made from the leftover pork (should have been beef) from a few nights ago. It was very tasty....I couldn't even taste the pork and it still tasted good in a whole grain tortilla shell....now that is saying something. Matthew loved it, the other kids picked at the beans, so we have LOTS of leftovers. This was a really slick meal to make.
Will I Make It Again? Yes!
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Friday, November 19, 2010
Roast Pork Picante
Well, I think I am quickly figuring out what is so frustrating about cooking....ME. I have this horrible habit of skimming recipes and not reading them carefully. I can hardly believe myself after telling hundreds of students to "read the directions more carefully". Anyway, I realized that the reason my meatloaf was super runny was because I added an entire can of diced tomatoes with liquid instead of half. OOPS.
Tonight, I made Roast Pork Picante. It was supposed to be Roast Beef Picante, however I hadn't looked at the recipe, only the grocery list that called for boneless sirloin roast. The butcher said they really didn't put those cuts of beef out and asked if pork would work. I went with the pork.
The entire day, I could smell the pork marinading in the fridge and it smelled sooo good. However, when it came out of the oven it didn't small as good. I thought it tasted okay, but it wasn't my favorite. Layne said I just don't like the taste of pork. I wish I could have made this with beef....I don't know if I would have liked it better or not.
My favorite part of dinner was the Baked Sweet Potato Fries. The cookbook suggested serving this meal with sweet potatoes, so I improvised....baked fries are still wholesome, right? They were VERY good.
Will I Make This Again? Yes. But I think I will try it with the intended Roast BEEF. Now, I'm all screwed up for my other meal this week because I was supposed to use the leftover beef from tonight for burritos another night. Layne is insisting that we will use the pork, but what if that sort of ruins them too? What to do.
Tonight, I made Roast Pork Picante. It was supposed to be Roast Beef Picante, however I hadn't looked at the recipe, only the grocery list that called for boneless sirloin roast. The butcher said they really didn't put those cuts of beef out and asked if pork would work. I went with the pork.
The entire day, I could smell the pork marinading in the fridge and it smelled sooo good. However, when it came out of the oven it didn't small as good. I thought it tasted okay, but it wasn't my favorite. Layne said I just don't like the taste of pork. I wish I could have made this with beef....I don't know if I would have liked it better or not.
My favorite part of dinner was the Baked Sweet Potato Fries. The cookbook suggested serving this meal with sweet potatoes, so I improvised....baked fries are still wholesome, right? They were VERY good.
Will I Make This Again? Yes. But I think I will try it with the intended Roast BEEF. Now, I'm all screwed up for my other meal this week because I was supposed to use the leftover beef from tonight for burritos another night. Layne is insisting that we will use the pork, but what if that sort of ruins them too? What to do.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
The Beginning and Italian Turkey Meatloaf
In January 2009, I made a New Year's Resolution to enjoy cooking dinner and actually make dinner every night. I spent countless hours making up grocery lists and menus for six weeks which I would rotate. Well, turns out I didn't really like my recipes enough to make them over and over. I quickly stopped using my handy dandy (okay, someone has had too much of Blue's Clues lately) lists and menus and resorted to surfing the Internet for hours at a time looking for new, exciting, simple and healthy recipes. HA.
Before I made my New Year's Resolution about dinner two years ago, my good friend lent me the cook book that she LOVES. I flipped through it, didn't see any pictures to go along with the meals and gave it back to her. (I know, really mature, right) So, this year for my birthday, my friend went out on a limb and bought me the book for my birthday. She was even going to try and take photos to go with each recipe so I would try it......but, upon turning 35 I have become much more grown-up and I think I can handle a cookbook without the pictures.
Because I think it was such a thoughtful gift AND my dinners are still seriously lacking AND these recipes are pretty healthy AND they come with a grocery list for a week of dinners, I have decided to cook each and every recipe....thus making it "My Own Julie and Julia". One of my weaknesses is flipping through a cookbook and thinking, "No, that doesn't sound that good, don't have the ingredients for that one, that will take way too much time, that will be too much work...." I'm hoping that by blogging about it, I will be more inspired to continue with it even after week 3 or 4 (when I usually piddle out). I am not going to go in the exact order of the book, however it does start with Fall Recipes...yes, they are even organized into seasonal meals....how cool is that. I will probably occasionally cook something of my own, but I am determined to try each and every recipe in this book....then I can document what I liked or didn't like about it, etc.
So, for those of you who also DON'T love dinner time, you are probably dying to know what the name of this cookbook is. It is called, Saving Dinner by Leanne Ely. You can also see more about her book(s)at SavingDinner.com As much as I have hated cooking in the past, I am slowly realizing how important it is to feed my family something healthy and get us together as a family every night.
Without further adieu, let me tell you about my first dinner from her book: "Italian Turkey Meatloaf". This morning Hyrum and I headed to the WinCo. I was able to get pretty much everything on my list with a little help from the butcher. I think that is another one of my hangups, I never know which roast to buy or which cut....but this book tells you EXACTLY what to get. I will admit I would not have normally chosen to cook this recipe just because I have some negative association with meatloaf from my childhood (no offense, Mom).
Around 4:15 I started preparing dinner. Yep, wish I would have read the ENTIRE recipe and I could have seen that it has to bake for over an hour. Luckily, I fed the kids a snack and they were able to hold out until 6:00 (an hour past our regular dinnertime). The only other icky part of the recipe was using your hands to mix the turkey burger and the sausage. I think I handled it pretty well. I will admit that my meatloaf was not the prettiest sight, but it was good. Layne said it tasted like something from Johnny Carino's (I will take that as a compliment). My boys LOVED it and Kennedy managed to choke some down after asking if I put meat in it. She is pretty sensitive to textures, smells and strong tastes.
Will I Make it Again? Yes. However, I think that I may make it into meatballs and serve it with pasta. I am not going to post each and every recipe, but I will post them or email them if people request them. Now I have enough for leftovers tomorrow so I might not be trying a new recipe until Friday. Wish me luck!
Before I made my New Year's Resolution about dinner two years ago, my good friend lent me the cook book that she LOVES. I flipped through it, didn't see any pictures to go along with the meals and gave it back to her. (I know, really mature, right) So, this year for my birthday, my friend went out on a limb and bought me the book for my birthday. She was even going to try and take photos to go with each recipe so I would try it......but, upon turning 35 I have become much more grown-up and I think I can handle a cookbook without the pictures.
Because I think it was such a thoughtful gift AND my dinners are still seriously lacking AND these recipes are pretty healthy AND they come with a grocery list for a week of dinners, I have decided to cook each and every recipe....thus making it "My Own Julie and Julia". One of my weaknesses is flipping through a cookbook and thinking, "No, that doesn't sound that good, don't have the ingredients for that one, that will take way too much time, that will be too much work...." I'm hoping that by blogging about it, I will be more inspired to continue with it even after week 3 or 4 (when I usually piddle out). I am not going to go in the exact order of the book, however it does start with Fall Recipes...yes, they are even organized into seasonal meals....how cool is that. I will probably occasionally cook something of my own, but I am determined to try each and every recipe in this book....then I can document what I liked or didn't like about it, etc.
So, for those of you who also DON'T love dinner time, you are probably dying to know what the name of this cookbook is. It is called, Saving Dinner by Leanne Ely. You can also see more about her book(s)at SavingDinner.com As much as I have hated cooking in the past, I am slowly realizing how important it is to feed my family something healthy and get us together as a family every night.
Without further adieu, let me tell you about my first dinner from her book: "Italian Turkey Meatloaf". This morning Hyrum and I headed to the WinCo. I was able to get pretty much everything on my list with a little help from the butcher. I think that is another one of my hangups, I never know which roast to buy or which cut....but this book tells you EXACTLY what to get. I will admit I would not have normally chosen to cook this recipe just because I have some negative association with meatloaf from my childhood (no offense, Mom).
Around 4:15 I started preparing dinner. Yep, wish I would have read the ENTIRE recipe and I could have seen that it has to bake for over an hour. Luckily, I fed the kids a snack and they were able to hold out until 6:00 (an hour past our regular dinnertime). The only other icky part of the recipe was using your hands to mix the turkey burger and the sausage. I think I handled it pretty well. I will admit that my meatloaf was not the prettiest sight, but it was good. Layne said it tasted like something from Johnny Carino's (I will take that as a compliment). My boys LOVED it and Kennedy managed to choke some down after asking if I put meat in it. She is pretty sensitive to textures, smells and strong tastes.
Will I Make it Again? Yes. However, I think that I may make it into meatballs and serve it with pasta. I am not going to post each and every recipe, but I will post them or email them if people request them. Now I have enough for leftovers tomorrow so I might not be trying a new recipe until Friday. Wish me luck!
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