Monday: Orange Ginger Pork with Roasted Potatoes

I love the flavour of this pork; potatoes balance it well but a nice brown rice would also complement. I have found a lot of orange-included meals tend to be over-sweet, that is not the case here. If anything, I would watch your pork peppering, it can get a little spicy.

You will need:

1 c orange juice
1 tsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 shallots, minced very finely
2 Tbsp ginger, peeled and minced - about 2 inches or so
2 garlic cloves, minced (sensing a theme?)
1\4 to 1 tsp red pepper chili flakes
1 1\2 c chicken stock, divided
1 Tbsp soy sauce
2 - 1 lb pork tenderloins
Salt, pepper
1 Tbsp butter

1 lb red potatoes, mini or you-chop
1 Tbsp olive oil
Kosher salt, pepper, dried thyme leaves, oregano

Not pictured: garlic. It is like Where's Waldo every time!

Obviously not a whole pound, although it is a big fella

First, preheat your oven to 400 degrees. I've done these potatoes on here, but now have greatly scaled back the amount of olive oil used, from 1\4 c to 1 Tbsp. Olive oil is good for our hearts, but we probably shouldn't bathe in it. Cut your mini-potatoes in half or chop your bigguns into bite-sized pieces.

Drizzle with the oil and sprinkle on the seasonings, stir with a spatula (of course!) and throw in your warmed oven. I usually use parchment paper, but I am lazy today. Or maybe I just feel like scrubbing a pan later, who really knows? Bake for 45 to 60 minutes, stirring with your spatula every 15.

You can also use already-cooked potatoes, as in microwaved or left over from the night before, just adjust your cooking time accordingly. 15 minutes is long enough to get a nice crunchy brown crust. Now I'm making myself hungry.

Now you can start the pork! To prep your pork, trim off all of the silverskin and fat; then slice each tenderloin into 2-inch-thick pieces. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Go half this thick

Then, set aside two tablespoons of the orange juice, stir in the cornstarch.

Heat the oil in heavy-bottomed saucepan, add the shallots, ginger and chili flakes and cook until the shallots are almost golden, a couple of minutes. Add in the garlic, just one more minute!

Add in the rest of the orange juice, 1\2 c chicken stock and the soy sauce, bring to a boil. Turn down and let simmer until it reduces enough for a spoon to leave a trail across the middle of it.

Add in the cornstarch mixture and let boil for another minute. Set aside and keep warm. Heat the butter in a non-stick frying pan, brown the pork in batches and set aside to keep warm.

Deglaze the non-stick saucepan with 1\2 c chicken stock, scrape all that amazing flavour into the sauce saucepan and warm through. Add up to another 1\2 c chicken stock to get the consistency you like.

I separated this into 6 servings at 215 calories per serving; added in some broccoli and the roasted potatoes at 140 calories and we are all good!

Enjoy!

Friday: Orange Beef with Noodles

I may have fibbed a little to my husband and told him this is almost exactly like ginger beef (it's totally not) but it is a nice asian-ish meal. I've read other versions of this that require tangerine peels and being as I have a hard time getting anything more exotic than your basic navel orange, I am going to go in that direction. Should you have access to tangerine peels, have at 'er!

You will need:

1 lb lean beef ( I like to use flank steak as it is very lean and cuts perfectly for strips. It is crazy expensive these days, so get it on sale and freeze it if you can)

Zest and the juice of one orange

1 Tbsp light soy sauce

1 tsp cornstarch

1 inch piece ginger

1 large carrot, cut into 2 inch strips

2 green onions

First, start your marinade. Cut your beef into strips across the grain:

I find it easier if I cut it in half first

Then cut each piece cross ways

Place the beef in a bowl and sprinkle with the orange juice and zest. Marinate for at least 30 minutes. 

While you are waiting, prep your veggies. You will want to cut your carrots julienne, which just means in little matchstick shapes. 

First cut into two-inch chunks

Then each piece into slices, then each slice into littler shapes until they look like this. Ish.

They don't have to be perfect, the most important thing about cutting things julienne is that you want all the pieces to be relatively the same size. Then they will cook evenly! In theory.

Do 'em all!

Chop your ginger finely and your green onions thinly. Back to the beef!

Drain the meat, reserve the liquid, then mix in the soy sauce, cornstarch and ginger. Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan and stir-fry the beef for one minute. 

Add the carrot and cook for another couple of minutes.

Stir in the reserved marinade and green onions and cook, stirring until boiling and a bit thickened. 

This would be a good time to add in a little extra orange juice, if you have some and you like your  dishes a little saucier

Serve over egg noodles or brown rice. I have been a-ricing it up all week, so I am going with noodles. I portioned this into 3 servings and came up with 277 calories per. I really meant to do it in 4 servings but I got ahead of myself. I added noodles and salad and steamed veggies and called it a meal. Done!

Enjoy!

Monday - Black Bean & Pork Stirfry

This is so fast and so yummy that I would have it every week if I didn`t get the side-eye from my husband whenever I suggest it (green beans, see). Also, it doesn`t have actual black beans, in case you were avoiding it for that reason (Mom). I was able to feed it to everyone tonight, including the 1-year old, so I am taking it as a win.

Tuesday: Saucy Beef Lo Mein

This is one of my favourite Chinese dishes, but I would guess that it is about as authentic as my French accent. As in, not very much. For one thing I've never been able to find lo mein noodles and I've substituted green beans instead of bean sprouts because it occurred to me that I have lots of one and none of the other. You guess which is which!!

You will need: