Pork Roast w/ Leek Gravy and Roasted Fall Veg

I'm Back! Man it has been awhile! No posts from me in forever!!! Well here you go! A new post. It was delicious!!
Slow cooked Pork Roast with leek gravy. Roasted delicata squash, spuds and rainbow carrots. Sweet corn and delicious buns from my Mother in-law! It went down soooo good!

Ingredients:

2lb Pork loin
2 small leeks
1 lb rainbow carrots
1 small delicata squash
5 spuds.
1 spanish onion.
5 tbsp white balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp olive oil
Salt and Pepper
3 tbsp corn starch.

(we had frozen local corn, and home made buns on the side)



Slow cooked pork roast is dead easy, actually, slow cooked anything is easy! Season your roast with salt and pepper, wash and cut leeks throw em in. half a cup of water, cook on low for 6-8 hours. Pull out and let rest for 10 mins before slicing. I removed the drippings from the crock pot, and simmered those on the stove for 15 mins, added corn starch, re seasoned, and leek gravy is done!!

We are so blessed to live in an area that is abundant in fall vegetables. Local spuds, carrots, squashes, peppers, beets, cabbage, leeks, onions and more!!

This roasted veg was easy! Cut the veg to any size you want, the squash I chose, you can eat the skin and all! Its called Delicata. Google it!! Very mild and tasty. I removed the seeds and stem, and sliced into wedges. Add to the rest of the veg, season well with salt and pepper and add the Balsamic and olive oil. Balsamic when roasting vegetables is fantastic. The sweet flavors of the vinegar become evident, and the acidic flavor disappears. Wonderful. Roast for 1 hr at 400f. turning once.

Enjoy!!!

Cory

Lasagna Rolls w/ Ricotta, Turkey and Sausage

We had some leftover ground turkey from burgers yesterday that needed to be used. I saw some lasagna rolls  on google that looked pretty good! So I tried it for myself! I also had one link of Mennonite Farmer sausage leftover from a couple of days ago, I started by boiling my lasagna noodles in salted water until done. Drain and set aside. I friend up the ground turkey and sausage until brown and a bit crispy. I also combined 1 small tub of ricotta, chopped spinach and salt and pepper. Then I started assembly.

I placed a tbsp or 2 of the ricotta mixture on first.

I then added the sausage and turkey mixture. Roll up and place in a casserole dish on top of a layer of pasta sauce, seam side down.

I made 9 rolls, covered with pasta sauce and smothered in cheddar cheese. Baked at 350f for 30mins.


Served with some cut of veg and dip!

The boys enjoyed!

Enjoy
Cory

Pulled Pork Buns with Au Jus!

I love, love, love pulled pork. It is dead simple to do, cheap and really tasty. I bought a pork butt roast for .97c a lb. 9 bucks total. Rubbed with salt, pepper, garlic and sage. Slow cooked on low for 7 hrs. Once done, I removed and started pulling at the roast with my fork, shredding the tender meat off the bone. Separating fat and gristle. Your result is tender chunks of pork. I placed all the meat back in the cooker, added a bottle of bbq sauce and cooked on high for 1 more hour. We made it with rice and salad the first night, leftover buns yesterday and today....toasted pulled pork buns with mozzarella and Au jus! 

I bought some day old buns from the bakery, split and toasted lightly. Add heated up pork, lightly mayo one side, add slices of mozzarella and place under broiler until golden brown. Serve with warm Au jus and enjoy!!

Cory 

Butter Pork Wrap w/ Fresh Tortillas

We love Butter Chicken in our house! It is a great meal, the boys love it. We substitute chicken with pork most times. These are dead simple to make. I used the flour tortilla recipe from my previous blog, whipped those up as the pork was simmering in the sauce. Delicious.

I am still amazed how simple these tortillas are to make. I made the dough, let it sit and then rolled out all 12, and cooked after that. Result: A fresh whole wheat tortilla!

When it comes to butter chicken sauce, the sky really is the limit on varieties. We used to mainly eat the pc blue menu sauce. It is great, not overly spicy for the kids, but it has jumped in price to almost 5 bucks. So That just does not make sense for us as a family. We found a packet paste variety, I forgot the name brand....good one ha, All you did was add water and a bit of optional cream at the end. Great flavor, we added some more milk to the boys to cool down the spices a bit. And it was 2.25.

I mixed some rice with the sauce and meat, added some fresh chopped cilantro, and then tightly wrapped the tortillas. Fried on med high turning once until crisp on either side.

Serve with some chutney if you'd like, very good take on tasty butter chicken...or pork...or whatever meat you want!

Total cost for meal.....

Tortillas: .25 cents.....literally.
Pork: 2.50
Sauce: 2.25
Rice: .50

$5.50 Not bad....And that served us, the boys just had it with no wrap, all same price!!

Enjoy

Cory

Balsamic Glazed Pork Loin w/ Honey roasted Beets!

I was inspired for this meal from my wife. She came across a blog on pinterest which used this recipe. Click here.

My roast was frozen, so I was not able to slow cook it on low because I didnt start until 12. But it cooked in 3.5 to 4 hrs with slow cooker on high. I did pull the roast out and glazed it in the oven. I glazed 3 or 4 times over a 20 min period.

This recipe was so simple to do, I highly recommend it!





We used a Pork Loin roast off of a whole loin we bought from Askews for $2.27lb


I think If I would have been able to cook low for 6-8 hrs the meat would have been able to shred a bit better. But it was still Moist and delicious.

We had some beets stored from awhile back. I had been meaning to use them!



For these, I boiled whole, cooled, peeled, cut into chunks, added creamed honey, dash of olive oil, salt and pepper and some dried rosemary. Tossed and Roasted for 45 mins @ 350f. Turn once or twice, the honey might burn, but so good!!





Mt grandma made the best apple sauce. Growing up she would serve it nice and cold with a hot pork roast. It was great!.

Last year we made some apple sauce, it paired perfect for this meal.

So simple too. Apples...a bit of sugar, cinnamon so good.!

Enjoy!!

Cory

Feta Marinara Chops w/ Garlic butter noodles!

We have been buying feta for a long time now, it is so versatile, great with salads and eggs. I bought this huge 1kg tub of feta for 11 bucks at Superstore, way better deal then the 400g one for 8!

We had some left over pasta sauce from pizzas, I browned the chops then covered in sauce and chunks of feta, baked for 30 mins.
The chops came out so moist, with creamy feta with every bite!!

For the noodles I used PC blue menu whole wheat spaghetitini, thinner then regular, they are so good in stir fry's as well! After boiling, I added noodles to some butter and minced garlic I had browned up in a pan. Tossed and served.

We moved to all whole wheat pasta, rice and breads when Elias was born. Its way more filling!! Dont get me wrong...a white bun is soooo good!! But if you are going to eat some grains and rice, it might as well be whole wheat!

I'm pretty sure I didn't need 2 pork chops..
But I just couldn't resist!!!
Again, some wonderful sweet corn from the Hansons!!

Pork: $4.50
Noodles: $2.00
Feta: $1.00
Sauce:$.75
Corn: $ Sweat labor

Total: $8.25 for 6 peeps!

Enjoy,

Cory

Pork loin Burgers w/ Maple Balsamic Onions and Acorn Squash Fries!

Question......What do you get when you take a juicy pork loin....home made buns....and maple balsamic onions? This awesome tasting burger!!!! You take the best and put it together. Who doesn't love a lean juicy pork chop?  Who doesn't like home made buns!!! So I figured you might as well combine them and go for a ride!!!

Now you don't have to go to the extreme of making home made buns...just get your significant other to do it for you :) Any bun will do!!, Grab some pork loin chops and bbq them or fry them in the pan. Add a little of your favorite BBQ sauce....boom. I took an onion, sliced it, cooked low for 15mins with a little oil and butter, added a dash of balsamic vinegar and a splash of real maple syrup! Cook on low another 5 or 10 mins! Its the perfect add on to a burger!!

Yummy Buns, You will have to ask my wonderful wife the recipe. I tried buns yesterday, but I doubled and didnt add enough liquid...so we had some nice thick dough buns. These were soft, so perfect for this!




Pork Loin chops from a whole loin I bought, about 3 bucks worth.

These tasted great with our home made Zucchini relish!! Check back through the posts to see!!

We had some acorn squash, And I wanted to find a new way of having it. I saw one recipe that had made squash fries....Genius. I cut the squash in half, used a vegetable peeler to get the skin off, scrape the insides out, cut into fry shape pieces, covered in oil and salt and garlic salt, baked off for 35 min at 350f. Delish.

They could have used a higher temp I think, they were a little soft, but they did have some crispys to them. They were awesome!! This picture is deceiving, because Elias took like 5 mins at the end of his meal to finish one bite of fries....``I dont like them...`` Ha. Win some lose some!!

 Yum!!!

I hope you take the chance to try this one out!! The Burger was excellent, I was glutonous and had 2....still full!! And cheap!! Cant go wrong!! Enjoy!!!

Cory

Pork Chops w/ Mashed Veg and Salad

One of the ultimate comfort foods that my mom used to make was pork chops in Campbell mushroom soup. She would start off browning the chops with some salt and pepper and some onions, then add some mushroom soup and milk and cover and bake! Delish!!

I did almost the exact same!! Started off the chops over high heat in the pan, with onions, salt and pepper. Added in my mixed soup and milk, Covered and simmered for 20 mins!

We scored an awesome t-fal pan with lid at Crappy tire awhile back, Perfect for this type of meal!!

To make the mashed veg, I used potatoes, carrots and spinach. I boiled the carrots and spuds until tender, threw in some butter, salt and pepper, garlic and a bunch of fresh spinach. I used an immersion blender (hand held) to whip them up!! The one negative with this is....If you get caught whipping to long...they really get whipped!!

The spinach adds such great fresh color, mixed in with flakes of orange!! The boys had no trouble eating these!! And bonus...raw spinach. A wonderfully good green for you!!

Total cost: $10 bucks. 6 pork chops, 1lb spuds, 1lb carrots, handful of spinach, garden salad with feta and peppers.

Pork Chow Mein!

One Meal my boys love and mainly for one reason!!.....Chop Sticks!!! Kids love chopsticks, they are like mini swords with food poking ability...and they double as drums!! It is a joy and pleasure to watch my boys try to pick up noodles and meat with their chopsticks, Each one so different!. Wyatt simply stabs meat, Elias uses the twisting method, and Jude use two hands!! This meal is one that the boys will always eat!! They may not last the whole meal with chop sticks, but they eat the cabbage and spinach I put in there!!

We get our noodles usually from superstore, they come in two different size bags, one for 1.98 one for 3.49ish. This was just the small bag, which fed all of us plus leftovers for my lunch. I used the pork that I had cubed up and froze, Threw in some cabbage and spinach from our Vegetbale box...fried up in some sesame oil and soya sauce!!

Total Cost: $6.98, I had 2 bowls, Rest of family had 4 bowls, and 1 for my lunch. About a buck a serving!!

Definitely a quick meal!!

Tips:

• If buying larger quantities of pork, chicken or beef, cube or slice up a dinner amount and freeze in ziplocks!! Pull one out for supper!!
• Anything can go into a stir fry!! Great way to use older vegetables! My one cabbage was 2 weeks old, peeled off some layers...good to go!!
• Try chopsticks with your kids!!! Great way to encourage them to eat and have fun!! Buy at the dollar store!!

Here is proof my kids had fun!!!

 

 

So next time you are in superstore, pick up a package of chow mein noodles!! You can find them just past the "fancy" cheeses (feta etc), where the tofu is!! 

Cory

Butter Pork

Mrs Munk whipped up some yummy butter pork!
We always use brown basmati but we were out, so shebs ran to nicis for some white basmati!
Used 3 pork loin chops, one jar of pc blue menu butter chicken sauce, added spinach and cauliflower!
Pork: $3
Rice: $.75
Spinach/cauliflower: $1
Sauce: $2.89
Total:$ 7.64!
Enjoy!
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