Sunday, January 20, 2013

Weekend Cooking 1/20

Each weekend, Beth Fish Reads hosts Weekend Cooking.  This is perfect for me since I love food and cooking almost as much as I love books!

I got back into the cooking routine this week with less take-out and lots of simple meals - better for our bank account and our waistlines!  I'll just list links here to some of the recipes I made that I haven't mentioned previously. Pork was on sale last week at our local grocery store, so it featured prominently in this week's meals!

I tried a new recipe - from the 12 years of Cooking Light magazines lined up on my shelves - for Spicy Pork and Vegetable Stir-Fry. This is an older recipe from Cooking Light (I was surprised to find it online). I made a few changes: my husband and older son hate ginger, so I left it out; my younger son doesn't like rice and loves pasta, so I served it over noodles (high fiber thin spaghetti). It was very good, but next time I would sub OJ for the apple juice.

Another night we had a delicious Cooking Light recipe we've had once before, Cider-Glazed Chicken with Browned Butter Pecan Rice, with cauliflower on the side. Everyone liked it. The chicken is tender and tasty (and the kids love the cider flavor), and the Browned Butter Pecan Rice is delicious! I actually like it better than most of the rice mixes we use, and it is very easy.

We also had fish this week: Crispy Fish with Lemon-Dill Sauce and Sauteed Zucchini. We've had this recipe many times before, but last time I made it, the cod came out very tough, so I decided to try pan-frying it rather than using the broiler. Then, I realized I was out of panko, so I used a mixture of white whole wheat flour and cornmeal instead.  So....yeah, it was a bit different, more of a traditional catfish-type preparation. But it turned out well, and everyone enjoyed it. Sometimes you have to wing it!

Friday night, we had Pork Tenderloin with Maple Pan Juices. This one doesn't seem to be online which is too bad because it was wonderful! A real hit - my sons loved it and so did their friend who was here for dinner.  We had a simple rice mix and sauteed sugar snap peas with it.

We went to a potluck dinner with good friends last night, and I brought one of our favorites - both at home and to share with friends - Tuscan White Beans. This dish is super easy and absolutely delicious!  I also made Sugary Spice Pecans to share as a snack. These were sooo good - absolutely addictive! I could have polished them all off myself before we left the house.

So, all in all, a good week of cooking and some yummy meals. Pork roast with potato pancakes and homemade applesauce is on the menu for tonight (with leftovers for tomorrow).

I hope you have enjoyed some good food this week, too!

6 comments:

  1. Cooking Light used to be my go-to magazine for recipes. I have many of their recipes pinned on Pinterest, and I'm going to pin some of yours. It sounds like your family had a healthy, tasty week.

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  2. I pinned the fish and the pork. Your family's preferences made me chuckle. Today I see notes in old cookbooks, jottings of family comments about what they would and would not eat. A frustrating memory on a tomato pilaf: "Lose this recipe."

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  3. You're making me mouth water! All these meals sound delicious and you're inspiring me to be more adventurous in my own kitchen.

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  4. We had a lot of casseroles last week and I made a giant kettle of soup last night for supper. It's been so darn cold here in Wisconsin. That tenderloin with maple pan juices sounds delicious. I'd love the recipe.

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  5. Mmm... love your menu. I don't get Cooking Light issues, but I do like to check recipes online when I have a random ingredient, and you know you can always trust the ones from CL. Thanks for sharing!

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  6. Tuscan white beans is a favorite meal. I cook them in my pressure cooker.

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