Clean Eating Meat and Potatoes

Hello!  Welcome to my blog!  My name is Jeanette.  I am a wife and a mom who also wears a lot of other hats.  Of course, right?  You can probably relate!  We began eating clean back in September 2013.  We have cut out most sugar, things that are processed, contain preservatives, are in high sodium, saturated fat, etc. We go with a simple, whole foods approach.  It is more important to read ingredients than it is to count calories!

I am asked on a regular basis what it is like to cook this way?  Honestly, it is quite simple!  We are not using "weird"  or hard-to-find ingredients!  Things are not complicated.  Our children are ages 5 and 8.  My husband is 6'2" and has a great appetite.  I cook things that work for the entire family.  Our snacks are clean and the kids like that I am snacking right along with them during the day!  I have heard quite a few times, "I could never cook clean for my family.  My husband is a meat and potatoes kind of guy."  Sure you can!  Meat and potatoes can be quite "clean"!  The main thing is to not load them up with lots of added fat and sodium.  Those are two of the categories that contribute heavily to heart disease - so we want to avoid going overboard with them! 

Tonight was one of those days where it is the end of the week and we are no longer following the exact meal plan that I had mapped out earlier in the week.  This happens!  What can I say??  The main thing is that we ARE still eating clean and I am hitting the right amount of servings from each category of foods.  So keeping that in mind, if we wind up with something other than what was planned, no big deal!

Tonight I took a look at what was in the fridge and which veggies needed to be used first... three bell peppers and a package of mushrooms.  I had three red potatoes which I had picked up two weeks ago and also some onions. They could be used whenever.  And I also had two (1 pound each) pork loins.  I had broiled two like this last weekend.  When using the second pound as leftovers, I found how much my family liked it when I sliced the broiled pork loin and then tossed it in the skillet.  That texture was a big hit.  So, what to make this evening?  

Clean Eating Meat and Potatoes

        * Serves 2 adults and 2 kids twice (leftovers!)

3 Medium Red Potatoes

1 Onion

1 1/2 Cups Sliced Mushrooms

2-3  Bell Peppers (I started with 3 and the kids came by and grabbed nearly 1/3 of them!)

2 Pounds Pork Loin

Garlic Powder

Minced Onion

Salt and Pepper

EVOO Mist/Spray

Wegmans Organic Teriyaki Marinade (used just as a glaze - no advance prep needed)

Butter or Oil for Sauteeing

I HATE when my potatoes are not ready to go with the rest of a recipe.  So to avoid that fiasco, I took a different approach with them this evening...

1) Slice red potatoes.  Place them in foil and lay that packet in an 8x8 pan.  No need for any seasonings here.  Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.  Get this part going first and then begin prepping everything else as they bake.

2) Trim any fat from the pork loin.  Cover a small bar pan with foil and place the pork loins on top.  Sprinkle lightly with garlic power, minced onion, and a dash of salt and pepper.  Mist with EVOO.  Place in the oven on BROIL.  Set the timer for 4 minutes.  Flip the pork loins.  Set the timer again.  Repeat this process for 16-20 minutes, depending on the thickness of your pork loin.  Remove from oven and allow to rest for 5-7 minutes. 

3) While the potatoes and later the pork loin are in the oven, prep your veggies by slicing the onions, mushrooms and bell peppers.

4) I like to saute my onions first to get them a bit brown and to a good texture.  I pull them out and set them aside.  Next I do the mushrooms with a sprinkle of sea salt.  They do not take nearly as long!  Set aside the mushrooms.  Last I do the peppers.  I want to keep them with a bit of texture and just a hint of crunch remaining.  This will add a nice touch later!  Set aside your peppers.  All of these veggies can wind up in the same dish.

5) After the pork loin has rested after broiling, slice it into bite-size pieces.  Place them in your skillet.  Add 1-2 tablespoons of Wegmans Organic Teriyaki Marinade.  This will just serve as a glaze that adds a touch of sweetness.  Toss everything and keep it going over medium-high heat as the meat browns and becomes a great texture.

6) At this point I began to assemble everything on my large bar pan (stoneware).  I could have just kept it going in the skillet if I had a larger skillet.  BUT the dog needed to be walked before dinner was served and the oven was still warm.  So I pulled out the pork and just placed it on the bottom of the bar pan.  I took my sliced red potatoes out of the 8X8 and just tossed them in the skillet for a moment or two.  This crisped up the edges just a bit.  I placed my potatoes on top of the pork.  Then I took my sauteed veggies which by now were all in the same bowl.  I spread them on top and put the entire thing into the oven for 5-10 minutes.  

I came back in from walking the dog and the house smelled amazing!  My family sat down for dinner and this one was easy to just scoop right into bowls.  No cutting needed for the kids!  No tricky plating with this one!  AND I have leftovers ready to go for tomorrow.  THIS will be sooooo helpful on a weekend and will save us from ordering pizza when I just do not feel like cooking!  There was a bit of a time investment this evening.  None of the steps were complex or tricky.  Everything flowed together smoothly and I enjoyed listening to a Sara Groves CD while I cooked.  The best part was that my entire family liked this meal and my husband asked me to please "put it on the list" of things to cook again.  My daughter said, "Mom!  You have to blog this one!  It is sooooo good!"

Music to my ears!  Eating clean really can be quite simple and family-friendly.   Happy cooking to you!