Just One

This week was so very busy for me and I was not feeling well for most of it. I kept things quite simple for meals thanks to two things: Wegman's and my freezer. So I only have one true recipe to share in this post...the rest of the week, I just kind of put things together for us to eat.

I don't shop at Wegman's regularly because they don't have very many sales. I know many people argue that their prices are lower overall, and that may be true (depending on what products you are looking at)...but I have found that I save money by shopping the sales at other stores and going to Wegman's for certain things.

Do I make my own pizza dough? I sure do. Do I make it when I'm really busy? I sure don't.

I absolutely love using Wegman's pizza dough from their pizza shop. They sell their pizza dough (regular and whole wheat) in little plastic containers so that you can make pizza at home with ease. They even sell toppings and cheese (I think these are rather expensive and opt to assemble my own toppings). I head over to the produce department to pick what I'd like on top (usually mushrooms...we love mushrooms). Sometimes I buy the real mozzarella cheese (in ball form) when I want a treat...but I often just top it with shredded mozzarella. If I have another kind of cheese in the fridge, I throw a sprinkle of that on there too...just for kicks. I buy a $.99 jar of Ragu pizza sauce (over in the pasta aisle).

I take the dough ball and use my rolling pin to spread it this way and that way until it's the shape I want. I poke it with a fork all over so that it doesn't puff up when it bakes and then I rub a small bit of olive oil onto it. I bake it in a 375 degree oven for about 10 minutes. Then I take it out and spread pizza sauce on it, top it with cheese and various other nice things, and put it back in the oven for another 15 minutes or so. I always cut into the crust to see if it's baked inside...if it's doughy I give it a few more minutes. Sometimes I have to swab up a bit of moisture that comes from the melted cheese and toppings with a paper towel. Give it a minute or two to cool and then dive in.

So we had Wegman's pizza on Monday.

On Tuesday, I made pulled pork sandwiches. I like to buy pork tenderloins from Wegman's because they sell small ones (1 or 2 lbs). I much prefer the smaller ones to the gigantic ones they always sell at Giant. Not only are they easier to cook, but they are cheap too! The one I got for the pulled pork sandwich recipe below was only $3.95.

Lighter Pulled Pork Sandwiches
~This takes about an hour, but it's mostly "walk away" time~

1 can (15 oz) crushed tomatoes in puree
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tbsp spicy brown mustard
salt and pepper
1 pork tenderloin (about 1 lb), cut into 4 pieces
1/4 cut light mayonnaise
1 tbsp plus 1 tsp cider vinegar
1/4 tsp celery seed (I didn't use this because I didn't have it and didn't want to buy it)
1/4 head small green cabbage, shredded (I bought it already shredded in a bag)
Rolls (I used the ciabatta rolls I keep in the freezer)

1. In a medium saucepan, stir together tomatoes, sugar, garlic, mustard, and 1/2 cup water. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and add pork.
2. Simmer, covered, until pork is tender (18-20 minutes).
3. Transfer pork to a plate to cool and simmer sauce over medium, uncovered, until reduced by half (about 20 minutes).
4. Meanwhile, make slaw in a bowl by whisking mayonnaise, 1 tbsp vinegar, celery seed, and 1 tbsp water. Season with salt and pepper. Add cabbage and toss to coat.
5. Shred pork with two forks, and return to sauce. Stir in 1 tsp vinegar. Serve pork on rolls and top with slaw.

Recipe taken from the March 2009 edition of Everyday Food Magazine

On Wednesday, we had our faithful freezer standby: Turkey Chili. We have it often, I know, but it's such a filling and satisfying meal. It freezes so well and can be thawed easily as a last minute meal.

On Thursday, we had....wait for it....cereal! I came home from work exhausted so Sonny ate a big bowl of cereal while I took a power nap before Bible study. I woke up, had a bowl of cereal myself and we headed out the door. Sometimes you just have to eat cereal for dinner...it's just part of life.

On Friday, we went out for Chinese food at Han Dynasty in Exton. It was Sonny's birthday and he loves Chinese food. We'd heard good things about this restaurant and we thought it was quite yummy. The service was interesting because it seemed as though there was one waitress for 50 million people...but we weren't in a hurry and it didn't bother us very much. If you split the name of the restaurant up differently, it looks like "Handy nasty". This makes me laugh.

On Saturday, I spent a good deal of time preparing for Thanksgiving dinner. Thanksgiving in March, you may wonder? I will leave you in wonderment until my next post.