Menu: Pork Tenderloin Tacos & Greek Shrimp Scampi

This week, we will be cooking three times, but if you are in a pinch, you could even get away with cooking twice. We will make four meals total, but soon I will begin offering menus for five meals.

Day One:

*Pork tenderloin w/dijon-apricot glaze

Ingredients:

1 pork tenderloin (about 2 lbs.- this will feed you twice)

4 T dijon mustard

4 T apricot jam (Don't like or have apricot jam? Try pineapple, blackberry, or raspberry)

2 T brown sugar

sea salt

fresh ground black pepper

*When cooking large pieces of meat in the oven, allow them to come to more room temperature before cooking. DO NOT go straight from the refrigerator or the meat will not cook well.

1. Preheat the oven to 425.

2. Place the pork in a foil-lined glass pan & season liberally with salt and pepper.

3. Stir half of the dijon, apricot jam, and brown sugar in one bowl. Stir the other half in another bowl. You will use one bowl for basting and the other for a dipping sauce.

4. Baste the pork liberally with the glaze and place in oven.

5. Bake for 20-30 minutes, basting with the glaze at least one more time during the cooking process. For pink pork, a meat thermometer should read 160, but I like mine at 170. The pork will still cook itself a little once removed. (Use a meat thermometer, so you don't have to cut into the pork and risk losing the juices.)

6. Allow pork to sit for 10 minutes before slicing. While pork sits, heat the other bowl of glaze in the microwave for a dipping sauce.

* Toasted Sesame Balsamic Asparagus

* Wild Rice/Any other grain (Feeling ambitious? Try Israeli cous-cous with pine nuts!)

Day Two:

* Pork Tacos w/ pineapple (serves 2)

Ingredients:

Leftover pork, cubed

1 small can of chopped pineapple

1/4 cup yellow onion, chopped

4 corn tortillas

chopped cilantro, for garnish

lime wedges, for garnish

1 T olive oil

1. Heat oil in nonstick skillet over med-high heat.

2. Add onion, sautéeing for about 1 minute.

3. Add pork and pineapple, sautée until heated through

4. Fill tortillas with pork mixture, top with cilantro, and squeeze lime juice over top

* Fiesta Rice

Halve the recipe (then it serves 4), leftovers make a great vegetarian lunch

Day Three:

* Greek-style shrimp scampi (Use the leftovers for day 4)

I LOVE this recipe. A few changes: either use more shrimp than called for, or a little less pasta, the ratio seemed off to me. Also, I love olives, so I add extra. Don't like olives? Use sun-dried tomatoes instead. You could also wilt in some fresh spinach for a punch of color and extra nutrients.

* Tossed Side Salad

* Crusty Bread w/roasted garlic

Have you ever roasted garlic? Oh, so yummy.

Roasted Garlic:

1. Preheat oven to 400

2. Cut the top off of a whole garlic bulb.

3. Liberally pour olive oil over the garlic.

4. Cover in foil. (It should look like a foil ball.)

5. Roast for about 25-30 minutes, or until you can squeeze the garlic with tongs and it has some give.

6. Scoop out the cloves and spread over the bread instead of butter.

Day Four:

* Repeat Day Three exactly. (Is that boring? Then, make two new sides, such as blanched green beans, steamed broccoli, or roasted brussel sprouts.)

PLEASE COMMENT if you have QUESTIONS or FEEDBACK.

Have a WEEK-LONG MENU of your own? Email it to me typed exactly how you want it posted at newmoms09@yahoo.com, and I might post it to share and try myself!

Happy Eating!

~Mamacita