Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Stretching an $8 pork loin

Simply frugal meals

Did you know that an $8 pork loin could make three meals for a family of seven?

I didn’t either until last week. 

You know how I like to shop the sales ads for meats that are on sale.  Well, I picked up a pork loin (a little over 4 pounds) for $8 dollars a few weeks ago.  I fully expected to get two meals out of this pork loin.  You can imagine my surprise when we had three meals with leftovers!

Here are the meals & recipes that we used to stretch this pork loin to feed our family:

*quick note…I forgot to take pictures.  Sorry!

Meal #1 ~ Slow Cooker Pork Loin with Veggies

  • 2 pound pork loin (I cut the original pork loin in half and refrigerated the unused half.)
  • potatoes (use whatever amount your family will eat)
  • carrots (same as potatoes)
  • celery (2 stalks)
  • onion (about 1/4 – 1/2 cup)
  • seasonings (I used salt, pepper, seasoned salt, onion powder, garlic powder)
  • olive oil and butter
  • 3/4 cup of water

Directions

  • Season and brown sides of pork loin in small amount of olive oil in skillet.
  • After the pork loin is brown, place it into slow cooker with about 3/4 cup of water.
  • Cut potatoes, celery, carrots, and onion.  Place around pork loin in slow cooker. 
  • Sprinkle seasonings across veggies.  Place a few pats of butter on top.  
  • Cook on high for about 3 – 4 hours.

** The measurements are not exact because I didn’t measure anything.  Just season to taste.  Also remember, more veggies helps to stretch the meat.  For us, everyone got two slices of pork with a lot a veggies and a side of green beans.  No one (not even my teenage boys) left the table hungry. 

Meal #2 ~ Shredded Tex-Mex Pork Loin Nachos

  • 2 pound pork loin
  • onion - chopped
  • can of diced tomatoes
  • small can of green chilies
  • 1 cup of water
  • seasonings:  salt, chili powder, cumin
  • black beans (cooked separately)
  • tortilla chips

 

Directions

  • Place pork loin into slow cooker. 
  • Pour water, tomatoes, and chilies into slow cooker.
  • Sprinkle with onion and seasonings:  1 TBSP salt, 2 TBSP of chili powder, and 1 TBSP of cumin.  (Could use taco seasonings instead)
  • Cook on high for 3 – 4 hours. 
  • Shred meat before serving.  (I did this in the slow cooker with a fork and knife.)
  • We served ours with black beans on the side (or on top) and over tortilla chips.  Top with sour cream and cheese.  YUM!  (Would have been good with lettuce too but I was out!)

Meal #3 ~ Pork Loin Burrito Bowl

  • leftover pork loin from Shredded Tex-Mex Nachos (if you have any…we had quite a bit)
  • leftover black beans from previous meal
  • cooked brown rice
  • toppings: cheese, sour cream, salsa (could possibly add corn too or any other toppings that you like)

Directions

  • Heat leftover pork and black beans while brown rice cooks
  • Place cooked rice in bowl and top with pork, black beans, and toppings of choice.
  • Serve with a side of fruit salad and/or green salad.

*This is just a “dressed up” leftovers meal.  However, don’t let its simplicity fool you.  It is yummy!  (Possibly one of hubby’s and my favorite meals to eat! )

Even after all of this feasting on our $8 pork loin, we still had enough left for a small serving for someone’s lunch!  I truly love it when our food stretches far but satisfies us at the same time. 

Do you have any meals that you cook that stretch a little bit a long way? 

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5 comments:

  1. Wow. That is great. Thanks for sharing. I will put this on my meal list to try this all. Thanks so much.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I don't buy pork loin because I'm never quite sure what to do with it. Now I'm gonna get one and give your recipes a try.

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  3. GIRL! I am lovin'! this new look-thing you've got going on! simple, yet kinda bold; fun but not like Look-At-Her-With-All-Those-Kids-She-Must-Be-Crazy kinda fun...is that fun? I dunno, it's late and I'm tired. I love looking at recipes and learning how to stretch food, mainly freeze portions, so the procrastinator in me can just deal with it later :)
    Thank you for theyumminess! (and um, i've been telling the Mister you are in Tx, not Lousiana....feeling pretty dumb right now....let's just call it pregnancy brain and move on, shall we, hmm?)

    ReplyDelete
  4. You're welcome, Chrissy! Let me know how it turns out!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thank you, Sally. My graphic artist husband helped me out a bit! :) And on the Texas/Louisiana thing...you're right both ways. I am Texas born! I've lived in Louisiana since I was 8 but I've almost always lived only a 30 minute drive from Texas. So I am Texan and Louisianian!

    ReplyDelete

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