Category Archives: Family Dinner

Jan 27 2012

Eat Healthy Pork – Pork Tenderloin #Publix4Pork

As many of you know, my goal for this time last year was to begin a weight loss journey to lose 40 pounds by (age) 40. Well, I failed miserably. Since I barely have a week to go, and instead of losing weight I’ve probably gained several pounds, I’ve started over, but my goals are a little different.

This time around I have just 2 goals. One is to eat less. Although I know that portion sizes are out of control, I still feel the need to eat what’s on my plate and my children’s plate. I don’t want to waste anything. Well, avoiding waste is all well and good until all of that waste makes me gain weight. So, starting this past Monday I began bringing a plastic container with me so that when I order food, I can immediately put 1/2 away to save for later. I’ve been doing pretty well with that.

My 2nd goal is to eat healthier. I’m doing alright with that one as well, although today I ruined the whole week by eating 2 – not 1, but TWO – candy bars at lunch. Crazy. I’ll do better going forward.

So, I’ve been invited to make some recipes with pork to let you know all (and remind myself) just how good pork – the other white meat – is for your health.

IMAG0085Tonight I made an Asian-inspired pork tenderloin medallions with homemade Alfredo tortellini’s. I did cook the medallions a little bit too much, but the dish was still pretty good.

I mixed apple juice, soy sauce, ground ginger, cornstarch, salt, pepper, and brown sugar and bought it all to a boil. In the mean time I put 4 tenderloin medallions into a cast iron skillet on medium and browned both sides. Then I poured the liquid mixture on the pork to give it an Asian-inspired flavor.

For the tortellini’s I boiled them in water while I mixed 1 1/2 cups of heavy cream with 2 tbsp. of butter. While that simmered I grated Parmesan Reggiano cheese ($13 for 5 oz!!!). Once the cream and butter reduced a little bit I mixed in the cheese, salt and pepper, and added the cooked pasta. I also added some peas for to get in a bit of vegetables. I did also crisp some bacon to crumble on top.

It was a yummy meal, although a bit rich. The meat was so thick that the girls and I shared 1 piece. We’ve saved the leftovers for weekend meals.

(Sorry about the yellow picture – I took several and they all came out like this Sad smile.)

Tenderloin

This cut of pork comes from the full pork loin. Most often it is sold in packages of two, and it is usually marinated and then roasted or grilled. When cooked to an internal temperature of 145F degrees, it is done. Once cooked, give it 3 minutes to rest before serving.

For more pork recipes go to PorkBeInspired.com.

Facebook – Enter the Love Me Tenderloin Giveaway and post your pork recipes on the wall

Twitter – Follow @allaboutpork

Disclosure: I was compensated for this post,

Jan 23 2012

Chinese New Year: Year of the Dragon @PFChangs

Chinese New Year

The Chinese New Year falls on a different date each year since it is based on a lunar, not a Gregorian calendar. The Chinese New Year also marks the beginning of spring and the end of winter in that part of the world.

January 23rd marks the Chinese New Year for 2012 and in its 12-year cycle of the animal zodiac this year begins the Year of the Dragon. The color red is an important part of the celebration. People wear red clothes and exchange red envelopes filled with gifts, usually money, which symbolize good luck.

P.F. Chang’s Bistro

P.F. Chang’s Bistro is celebrating the Chinese New Year as well – with an awesome promotion launching Tuesday, January 24th at 12pm on their facebook page. If your family is staying in to celebrate the Chinese New Year, pick up a complete meal with P. F. Chang’s Home Menu’s noodle meals or other meals. They’re supposed to serve 2 people but they are plenty for my family of 3. We even had a little bit left over – not quite enough for a full serving but more than we needed to feed the 3 of us.

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Review

imageThe girls and I celebrated the Chinese New Year with P.F. Chang’s Home Menu noodle entrees. We had Grilled Chicken Teriyaki with Lo Mein Noodles. Lulu liked the chicken the best, Coco liked the noodles the best, and I liked the fact that it was a quick, easy, flavorful meal with little cleanup. None of us used chopsticks because we’re just not adept at using them. I used a well-seasoned cast iron skillet for a non-stick cook and a fast clean up. I think from pan to table it was just over 25 minutes. My normal meals take at least an hour, and that’s only if I don’t have to put something in the oven. When I have to bake a dish it’s usually about an hour and a half before the food is ready.

Disclosure: P.F. Chang’s Bistro and P.F. Chang’s Home Menu provided me with gift cards and free product, but my opinions are your own.

Dec 29 2011

Emergency Preparedness–Food Storage

dreamstimefree_604479I think I’ve mentioned before that I was not prepared when my purse was stolen almost a year ago, I had just started the envelope budgeting system, and I had a purse full of money. I was devastated. And then shortly after that I got sick and had no food in the house that I could just heat up quickly in the stove or microwave for my girls while I tried to get better. Between the two issues, I decided to make it a point to Buy Emergency Foods to get us through lean or sick times.

Since then I’ve been saving about $10 a paycheck to go towards emergency foods. For me, emergency foods are foods that have long shelf life (like canned foods), can be (potentially) eaten without heating up, and/or are foods that we eat or use on a normal basis. So for my first purchase I bought things like canned sugar, canned powdered milk, beans, canned fruit punch, dried apples which can be eaten raw or cooked into an apple pie, and canned flour. They were either ingredients that I can use in combination with others to make foods, or they were foods all by themselves. I bought huge #10 cans and I store some in the kitchen and some in the bedrooms.

Luckily for me I was able to go to a local food storage facility, but there are lots of online options including BuyEmergencyFoods.com. I subscribe to online newsletters so when there are sales, I can be notified and take advantage of them.

I don’t think I’ll ever have a year’s supply of food in storage, but it is my goal to have several months’ supply in case of lean times again. And it’s nice to know that if something happens, I was more prepared than the last time. If nothing happens I can simply start using up the stuff in storage and incorporate it into our regular menus.

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Oct 5 2011

Celebrate National Noodle Day October 6th with P.F. Chang’s New Home Menu Noodle Entree – #Giveaways and #Prizes

About National Noodle Day

image The Noodle Day excitement starts on October 5th, at our Twitter party to discuss all things noodles. Join us on Twitter from 8-10pm EST @PFChangs and follow the hash tag #noodlenight for a chance to win prizes and get the Noodle Day celebration started right.

On October 6th, National Noodle Day, be sure to visit the P.F. Chang’s Home Menu Sweepstakes tab on Facebook (www.facebook.com/pfchangs) for our National Noodle Day Sweepstakes.  You can enter to win one of our VIP noodle tasting kits, chef-quality skillets to prepare your meal, and a grand prize trip for two to spice up your weeknight in Las Vegas!

About P.F. Chang’s Home Menu Noodle Entrees

If you love Asian noodles, you’re in for a treat. P.F. Chang’s Home Menu frozen noodle entrées feature tasty combinations of robust sauces, marinated meats, and  unique “noodle nests” that unravel in the skillet midway through cooking as the noodles get coated in a flavor-packed sauce, ensuring the delicate noodles maintain their trademark textures. The two-serving P.F. Chang’s Home Menu noodle meals are available in four varieties for you to enjoy at home in just minutes:

  • Garlic Chicken with Dan Dan Noodles – White meat chicken with a savory garlic sauce, bell peppers, bok choy and yakisoba noodles
  • Pepper Steak with Chow Fun Noodles – Steak with a sweet and peppery sauce, bell peppers, onions and chow fun noodles
  • Grilled Chicken Teriyaki with Lo Mein Noodles – Grilled chicken with a teriyaki sauce, pineapple, red bell peppers, onions and lo mein noodles
  • Firecracker Shrimp with Yakisoba Noodles – Lightly battered shrimp with spicy sauce, carrots, edamame, onions and yakisoba noodles

Our Thoughts on P.F. Chang’s Home Menu Noodle Entrees

image image The girls and I had the opportunity to try to Pepper Steak with Chow Fun Noodles and the Garlic Chicken with Dan Dan Noodles. I liked them both. I liked the Pepper Steak more, since it had a bit of a kick to it, and Lulu did too. Coco liked the thinner noodles in the Garlic Chicken dish. Both girls LOVED the Crate and Barrel Noodle Bowls! Both meals could have used a little bit more meat in them, but if you’re trying to eat less meat, these will be perfect for you.

These meals are perfect for when you’re late getting home due to after-school activities, and you’re in a rush to put food on the table for your family. The meals are made for 2, but each meal contained plenty for the 3 of us. If you’re feeding more people simply cook 2 or 3 at a time – and if you cook 2 or 3 different meals, you’ll all get to taste each other’s foods! Each meal took less than 15 minutes to prepare from start to finish. Since I don’t use non-stick cookware I had to soak the pans overnight, but if you use non-stick cookware the pans should clean easily.

Generally, we don’t eat pre-cooked foods from the freezer department at the grocery store, but when I’m running short on time, I’m grateful for the ability to pull something out of the freezer, put it in the pan, and then place it on the table just a few short minutes later.

Disclosure: P.F. Chang’s Home Menu provided us with free product but the opinions above are my own.

Sep 5 2011

Back to School for Busy Moms – Marie Callender’s Three Meat and Four Cheese Lasagna

130 On Mondays we hit the ground running. We’re still trying to catch up from the excitement of the weekend. But, at the same time, we need to look forward to the work and school week. Right after I get off work we’re headed to Lulu’s swim lesson. Plus, starting this week, the girls will start having “real” homework in addition to the nightly reading assignment. With all that, unless I’ve prepared something the night before, or we’re having leftovers, dinner is usually a quick trip to a fast food restaurant, which is not my idea of an ideal meal.

So when we were approached to review Marie Callender’s Three Meat and Four Cheese Lasagna’s I was kind of excited. This would be an opportunity to get a home-prepared meal, cooked in the oven, and at a price cheaper than a fast food meal for the 3 of us. Since we don’t use the microwave to cook food, I heated this up from frozen right in the oven. While the box says 45 minutes, I took it out after 50 and it still wasn’t quite done on the inside.

I hadn’t made lasagna before for the girls, so they were both excited to try it. Lulu liked it immediately, although she did complain that it didn’t have enough extra sauce. Coco wasn’t fond of the thick lasagna noodles, although she liked the meat sauce. I liked it for the convenience, the flavor, and the cost – it was less than $5 from Walmart. Between the 3 of us we ate all of the lasagna with no leftovers. Had we prepared a side salad and some garlic bread, we probably would have had a serving leftover.

For a busy mom who is hardly ever not always organized enough to prepare dinners in advance, this is a really good value. If you are a microwave cooker, then your dinner will be ready more quickly. For us, since my goal is to have dinner on the table within an hour, even cooking the meal in the oven allows me to reach this goal, and I’m able to get a quick rest on the evening I use a Marie Callender meal instead of preparing one of my own.

ADDITIONAL DETAILS ABOUT MARIE CALLENDER’S LASAGNA

  • The lasagna includes three Italian-style meats (sausage, ground beef and pepperoni), layered with four different cheeses (Ricotta, Mozzarella, Parmesan and Romano), in a hearty marinara sauce that cooks in the microwave and is ready to serve in just 19 minutes, faster than the competition.
  • Not all lasagna is created equal. According to a national taste test, Marie Callender’s Three Meat and Four Cheese Lasagna is preferred over Stouffer’s 19 oz. Lasagna with Meat & Sauce by consumers two to one. Marie Callender’s delicious blend of meats and cheeses combined with its unique baking tray creates a homemade tasting meal you can be proud to serve to your family.

Disclosure: I received a coupon and compensation to facilitate the review. The project was facilitated by TheMotherhood.