Each week, I try to sit down and plan out our meals for the week. We have certain recipes that have become favorites, and they make frequent appearances on our menu rotation. Also, because I like efficiency - and Brandon hates to see any food go to waste - there are certain recipes that often go together when I'm planning out the week's meals. Here are a couple pairs of recipes that show up periodically in the rotation that, when made together, make efficient use of ingredients - cost effective and minimizes waste :)
First up - Pork Shoulder Roast, two recipes. We can get pork shoulder roast at Costco for less than $2/lbs - but you have to get two roasts. I usually by the two-pack, cook one roast and freeze the other for later. Here are two of our favorite ways to prepare them.
First up - Pork Shoulder Roast, two recipes. We can get pork shoulder roast at Costco for less than $2/lbs - but you have to get two roasts. I usually by the two-pack, cook one roast and freeze the other for later. Here are two of our favorite ways to prepare them.
- The Recipe: Pork Roast - Tasty Kitchen
- A simple pork roast in the crock pot.
- The Revision: This recipe is actually for pork tacos, complete with chipotle Greek yogurt and coleslaw - but I just follow the recipe for the pork (minus the mushrooms - yuck!) and serve it with potatoes - mashed, roasted or baked! I've never shredded it and used it for tacos.
- The Rave: This recipe is super simple and results in a moist, flavorful roast. Some crock pot recipes take tons of prep work - chopping, pre-cooking ingredients, mixing sauces - but this one is super quick; all you have to do is chop up an onion and toss everything in the crock pot.
- The Recipe: Memphis BBQ - Creme de la Crumb
- Another crock pot recipe - BBQ pulled pork and a unique, tangy coleslaw, served in pita pockets
- The Revision: I didn't change a thing about this recipe! ...Except I think I used regular mayo instead of reduced-fat.
- The Rave: This was seriously so good! The sauce is a bit involved to prepare, but so worth it. And definitely reserve the extra sauce to serve with the finished pork. Also, make the coleslaw! I'm not usually a coleslaw fan, but in this case, it makes the sandwich. It is tangy and has a bit of a kick. I also like the crunchiness of the broccoli slaw, as opposed to a cabbage-based slaw. When we make this, I eat mine in the pitas (Paleo cheater!), but Brandon tends to stay Paleo-strong and eat his sans-pita. He says it's still good out of a bowl :)
Next - How to utilize a whole turkey (or bone-in turkey breasts + rib meat). This pairing came about because I wanted to make the first recipe, using turkey breasts, but I didn't want to pay $7/lbs for just turkey breasts - which is what they cost at the grocery store. One week, the grocery store had bone-in turkey breast, with rib meat, for $1.19/lbs, so I used that...but then I had all this leftover non-breast meat. I used it to make the second recipe, turkey soup. I have also made these two recipes using an entire turkey (a small one, so that it will fit in my crock pot), when that is cheap/on sale. It is certainly a lot more work that way (you do a lot of the carving yourself)...I suppose that's why turkey breasts are so expensive - they do all the work for you. Basically, I carve the breast off the raw turkey and use it make the first recipe. Then I toss the rest of the bird in my crock pot with some water to cook the rest of the meat. After it's cooked, I pull all the meat off the bone to use in the soup later in the week -- strain your cooking liquid and save to use as your broth for extra savings! Voila - two fabulous meals in one! (Admittedly, they are very similar meals...you end up eating a lot of turkey and rice in one week).
- The Recipe: Bacon Wrapped Turkey Breast with Creamy Wild Rice Stuffing - Iowa Girl Eats
- A turkey breast, stuffed with rice, onion, celery, dried cranberries and walnuts, then wrapped in bacon!
- The Revision: I don't make the chutney. I don't like chutney. Sometimes I use walnuts, sometimes I leave them out. Also, if you buy a whole turkey, you will have two turkey breasts, so you may need more bacon. The recipe makes tons of extra stuffing, though, so you should have plenty of that. (We serve the extra stuffing on the side). When I prepare the rice for the stuffing, I don't add the seasoning packet. There are enough flavors going on in this recipe - save yourself the extra sodium.
- The Rave: This is a tasty dish, and makes a nice presentation, too. I think the bacon helps keep the turkey breast moist when it bakes. And the celery and walnuts give the stuffing a nice crunch. The cranberries add a hint of sweetness, while the bacon adds some saltiness. Overall, it's an interesting combination and something a little different. Fairly easy to prepare, also.
- The Recipe: Cream of Turkey and Wild Rice Soup - Eating Well
- A lightened-up version of a creamy turkey/chicken and rice soup.
- The Revision: I left out the mushrooms (ick!). Also, I almost always use onions when a recipe calls for shallots. And I went with full-fat sour cream over reduced-fat (it's only 1/2 cup, after all). If you saved your cooking liquid from the turkey, use that in place of the chicken broth.
- The Rave: A hearty soup perfect for using up all that left-over turkey! Keep this in mind for Thanksgiving. It's a pretty forgiving recipe - you can tailor it to whatever's in the fridge. You could probably even substitute potatoes or noodles for the rice, and it would still work. I like the addition of sour cream to make it a little creamier, without making it too heavy/rich. Again, if you also made the wrapped/stuffed turkey breast, it's pretty similar ingredients - but turkey breast and soup are different enough you probably won't mind eating both in the same week.
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