Desirée’s Dinner Menu

Week of February 27, 2011

Mini Meatball Calzones, served with garden salad.

Pizza crust loaded with chunky tomato sauce, meatballs and mozzarella cheese.

Tomato Basil Pasta with fresh mozzarella, served with sweet Italian sausage & garden salad.

A light and chunky tomato sauce with fresh chopped basil & chucks of fresh mozzarella served over cavatappi.

Mediterranean Pork Chops, served with couscous.

Simmered with fresh oregano, garlic, olive oil, summer squash, zucchini, green beans, diced tomatoes and sliced black olives.

Tacos Done Light, served with whole wheat tortillas, Spanish rice & fire-roasted corn.

A mix of seasoned ground beef and pork for a little less fat. Also served with classic taco fixin’s:  shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, shredded cheese, sliced olives & salsa.

Asian Meatballs, served with Asian noodles & stir-fried vegetables.

Pork meatballs made with ginger, sesame oil and other Asian flavors for a far-east twist on a Mediterranean classic.

If you are what you eat...

then I must be crap! 
For whatever reason(s), in recent years, I've developed a very unhealthy relationship with food, but I'm trying to change that. I read an eye-opening article the other day about food myths and other good-to-know facts.  The part that stuck out most in my mind is this little tid-bit for you to chew on...

For a healthy and well balanced diet your plate should be half fruits &/or veggies (yes that's right I said HALF!), one quarter lean protein and one quarter complex carbs.  That is like a complete 180 for my family, and Americans in general.  I mean, I knew we needed to eat more fruits and veggies, but I didn't fully understand just how far off the mark we were.
STOP!....
...and think about this for a minute! When you go out to eat that is not the way your plate looks at all!!! It's more like half meat/half carbs (both of which are equal to two servings or more and likely not lean or complex to boot) and then an extra 1/8 - 1/4 veggies as an after thought. The vegetable is more like a garnish! Unless, or course, you order a vegetarian dish or a salad and even then there's probably ten times the amount of fat (dressing) you should eat.

So I am making a vow to meet this goal for my family as often as possible.

I have to say that I did this for myself yesterday and felt better than I have in a  l  o  n  g  time. I eat a bunch of fruits & veggies at each meal and for snacks. Though it was my lost calorie day (other than the day I had a stomach flu and didn't eat at all) I felt fuller longer all day. I was never starving. I felt the way I am supposed to feel and it felt good!

Wish us luck and I hope you and yours have the same success in healthy eating. ;D

Skillet BBQ Pork Chops

This is a classic from my childhood and oh so good! It's one of the first recipes I put in my recipe box when I moved out of the house; one of the first dishes I learned to prepare. It's pretty simple.  I'm not really sure why it's been so long since I last made it? Anyway, it was delicious and I thoroughly enjoyed it! The kids protested at first but once they had a taste of the sweet & tangy sauce they ate it up without complaint. Andrew loved it, but then he's the best eater in this house anyway. ;-)

Ingredients:
6 Pork Chops (I use boneless)
1 Tbs. Oil
1/3 C. Celery, chopped
2 Tbs. Brown Sugar
2 Tbs. Lemon Juice
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
salt & pepper to taste
2 cans Tomato sauce (8oz. each)

1 can Diced Tomatoes (15oz) optional, see tips below.

How To:
Brown chops in the oil over med heat for about 3-5 minutes per side. Set aside and add remaining ingredients to pan, stir to mix and return chops to the pan. Bring to a light boil, reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 1 hr. stirring occasionally.

Serve over whole wheat egg noodles or brown rice alongside your favorite veggie. My kids like steamed broccoli, green beans or baby carrots.

Tips:
Brown rice is a great choice as it takes almost as long to simmer.  Also, I love this sauce so much that I usually make 1.5 - 2 times the recipe and I like to add a can of diced tomatoes for a bit more texture but the main recipe listed above is the way my mother always made it.