Weekly Menu and Grocery Haul

Chadd and I braved the snow storm on Sunday night to go to Costco and Safeway. I wish we had the receipt from Costco, but we spent about $210 and came home with:

- 2 pound of salmon ($20)
- 5 tilapia filets ($15)
- 6, 1.5-2lb bags of boneless, skinless chicken thighs (5 thighs per bag) ($22)
- 10 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts ($20)
- 4 pounds ground beef ($18)
- 7 1/2 dozen eggs ($8)
- Giant tub of coconut oil ($15)
- 14 Fuji apples ($8)
- 14 Gala apples ($6)
- 2 gallons milk (for Chadd only)
- Heavy cream (for Chadd)
- Large bottle of sea salt ($5)
- Toilet paper

So, if we're talking paleo, our Costco bill came out to: $190

We took everything home, divvied up the meat into meal-sized portions and put most of it in the freezer. This should last us for the next month, at least.

I'm aiming to price out each of our meals, but I failed to impart this to Chadd...so no receipt. I've given rough estimates of cost to the above.

For Safeway, we came home with:

Unsweetened applesauce: $2.50
Walnuts: $4
No sugar added apple juice: $1.67
Slivered almonds (to make almond flour): $6.79
8 packs of frozen veggies: $15
Bacon: $7
Duck (this was a special treat for us): $14
1.5 pounds beef for stew: $5.25
1.5 mixed ground beef, veal, and pork: $4.50
1 pound ground veal: $5
1.5 pound ground lamb: $7.60
2 pounds frozen shrimp: $17
.9 pounds asparagus: $3.50
1.25 broccoli - $1.89
2.3 pounds grapes $4.5
2 bunches parsley - $2.98
Celery - $2.38
Strawberries - $4

Total: $105

When we go to Safeway, I spend about a half hour before hand going through the Safeway app and choosing the coupons on it. I'm sure it's a total scam, trying to get info, but doing that and reading the weekly circular in that app saved us a total of: $68.46. That's a lot of money!

Tonight, I spent a lot of time cooking for the rest of the week. I made paleo tomato soup (which, honestly, isn't amazing, I need to work more on the recipe) as well as carnitas, which will probably appear in some lunches, snacks, and dinner.

My week got a little changed up with the snowstorm and our work schedules, so here is what wound up happening for our weekly meals:

Sunday night: Taj Mahal Chicken (Well Fed 2) with cauliflower
Monday lunch: Taj Mahal Chicken leftovers
Monday dinner: Hill Country (BBQ!)
Tuesday lunch: Taj Mahal leftovers
Tuesday dinner: rosemary lemon salmon and asparagus
Wednesday lunch: Tomato soup
Wednesday dinner: Carnitas (Paleo Slow Cooke)
Thursday lunch: Carnitas
Thursday dinner: Beef stew
Friday lunch: Carnitas, tomato soup, or beef stew
Friday dinner: Chicken with the leftover curry sauce from meatballs and the curry earlier in the week
Saturday: Pork tenderloin

The biggest tip for going to the store and shopping is to plan out at least 2 weeks of meals. I bought all of our protein based on about 20 meals that I looked at and would plan to make. The only thing that takes weekly trips (for us) is produce, so I probably head to the grocery at least once a week for veggies and fruit. Save money by purchasing things in season - not because you want them.

The last thing is to make sure you make enough the night before  to have leftovers. It'll save you time more than anything else.

In other news...

My workout schedule looks like this:
Monday - Off
Tuesday - Spin and Yoga
Wednesday - Track
Thursday - Swim
Friday - Swim
Saturday - 6 mile run
Sunday - 1.5 hours on the bike

This is my second week back to training, so I'm already feeling a little bit of a time crunch just having the stress of needing to make sure I get home in time to work out, or go to bed early enough to wake up to train.

Annnnnd speaking of. Time to go to bed.

Whole 30 - Week 2

Whole30 - Week 2

My week one ended with a bad car accident. Car totaled, pain pills for neck issues kind of bad accident. But a few things came of this:

1) I am more grateful than ever to be alive and with all functional limbs (minus the toe I bruised up pretty badly)
2) I am overwhelmed by the love of my friends. I had no less than 6 offers from people to pick me up on the side of the GW Parkway.
3) I need a new car.

Day 8 (Tuesday)

This was a ROUGH day. I woke up in a lot of pain, tired and hungover from the pain killers and muscle relaxers. As a result, I had a Lara bar for breakfast, half heartedly ate some more eggplant leftovers between what would be breakfast and lunch, and some veggies, I think. I don't actually remember and I'm writing this on Wednesday. Rough.day.

I got in bed when I got home and was like...eff it. Beer and pizza me. But I did not. Instead, I got up and made indian spiced hamburgers on portabello mushroom "buns."

Breakfast: Lara bar
Lunch: leftover eggplant, squash
Dinner: hamburger on portabello mushrooms

Day 9 (Wednesday)

Another crazy day, but this time I managed breakfast...but not lunch. I swear to you all, I never want to eat eggplant again and I can already tell the biggest problem I will face with this diet is getting sick of whatever it is that I'm eating. Note to self: make leftovers, but not THAT many leftovers.

The real challenge came when it was time for dinner. Tomorrow is a holiday. Chadd and I haven't spent a lot of time together lately, so off we went to Lauriol for dinner. Normally? Chips and salsa forever and bring on the cheese enchiladas and a margarita. Tonight? Yeah, that's not happening.

Breakfast: eggplant strata
Lunch: skipped, I know I know, though I did sneak in an apple and almond butter
Dinner: fried plantains, guacamole, chicken and steak fajita meat and grilled veggies

Day 10 (Thursday)

I feared this day. Well, feared is a strong word, but I was apprehensive about getting through the 4th easily. What is more American than a beer and a burger? Originally, Chadd's dad's family was coming in, but that changed at the last minute, so we were without plans. I am seriously burning out on food. I need to get the energy and motivation to make new foods. Not working out due to the car accident has been a real bummer, too. I just feel irritated and listless.

Chadd did drag my butt to the pool down the street and after an easy 500m, my neck felt better than it did going in, so that was a win.

Breakfast: More sleep for breakfast!
Lunch: Eggplant strata (so help me God I never want to eat this ever again)
Snack: apple and almond butter
Dinner: Stirfry with chicken and veggies and spaghetti squash

Day 11 (Friday)

Yesterday was ridiculous. I wanted to punch someone for a milk shake. I guess we're in that realm of weird cravings. I wanted everything sweet. ANYTHING. Milk. I wanted a huge glass of milk. I don't remember the last time I drank milk straight. Friday, not so bad. I had to be up early to meet with Geico to get my claim check, I still struggle with getting up early enough for breakfast.

The hardest part of today was working with Danny and not being able to test much of the food we made. I did eat a lot of steamed veggies and proscuitto.

Breakfast: Egg, leftover veggies
Lunch: leftover stir fry
Dinner: veggies, proscuitto

Day 12 (Saturday)

I made some rookie mistakes today. As in. I forgot to plan. Totally, 100% spaced out. I got up, made a late breakfast (more eggs) and then off we went to test drive cars. Out of the city. Away from anything but fast food. Cue dangerous hangry music. After fussing around at CarMax (fail), we wound up grabbing food at a place where I could, not even kidding, only order a chicken breast with tomato and lettuce. And an unsweet tea. And fruit. I was not happy. But I tried to calm the hangry monster inside and quickly ate my gross lunch. I celebrated making it through this with some cashews and sparkling water before we went and looked at more cars.

On the fun side, on the way back into the city, we stopped at Whole Foods and I spent an obscene amount of time with the butcher playing "what is in that sausage." #TWSS

Breakfast: Eggs, veggies
Lunch: grilled chicken, lettuce, tomato, fruit cup
Dinner: grilled salmon with green beans and spaghetti squash

Day 13 (Sunday)

Brunch brunch brunch. Every self respecting DC girl enjoys a good brunch. I happen to love brunch, but really hate that it can lend itself to wasting the day with day drinking. I decided it was wise to try brunch at a location that would probably accomodate my odd needs. Chef Geoff's, it was.

I warned the waiter in advance, who very nicely, asked if I had allergies or was just special. Just special, I assured him, as I took out my ziplock container of whipped coconut milk that I spooned into my coffee. Very special.

Brunch: Just egg omelet (really more like a flat mix of egg and egg) over oil sauteed onions, peppers, and spinach. Fruit plate, avocado, and sweet potato. Plus more fruit. Bless our waiter.
Dinner: Chicken with artichoke hearts, capers and lemon, broccoli, and spaghetti squash

Day 14 (Monday)

Today felt like a normal day. I got up, had a left over burger thing and portabello mushroom. This did not seem odd to me. Lunch was normal. I found myself distinctly NOT thinking about the Whole30. Breaking news: I have learned to enjoy black coffee. Old news: I'm addicted to Whole Foods. It's blissful picking up produce and meat there.

Breakfast: Leftover indian burger
Lunch: Lamb meatballs in sauce, spaghetti squash, peach, nuts
Dinner: Grilled flank steak, asparagus, onions and mushrooms, sweet potato, berries with whipped coconut cream

Week Wrap Up:

After the first week, I knew this week (and next) would be the hardest, simply because the excitement would have worn off and it would be harder to avoid "normal" life with the 4th, friends in town, etc. But the week went better than expected. By the end of it, Whole30 felt very doable and I'm pretty certain we'll be sticking to a modified version of it (read: I won't freak out when there is sugar in my bacon).

Positives:
- I feel good. Even post accident, I feel GOOD
- The sleep is black and dreamless and I don't have insomnia or wake up unable to sleep again
- I've never trimmed down this fast - ever. Ever ever.
- Saving money. I know that a lot of people disagree and say they spent MORE going paleo. Maybe we just ate out a lot...

Negatives:
- I can't measure my athletic performance since I can't do anything aerobic
- When you have unexpected plans and you must.eat.right.now.
- Sorry, there is SUGAR in bacon?? Surely you jest.
- The whole foods employees are about to restrict me from accessing the building
- Sometimes, the idea of having to cook for a half day to prep for the week is overwhelming, but once I get started, it's pretty nice and relaxing

Half way!

Victory! Or, the week I started training (in earnest) again

2013 started out, in a word, crappy.

Early January, my foot was swelling at the end of long runs. I'd had ankle issues for a while now, but I mostly ignored them...until January. By early February, my entire ankle was made of #RAGE. It got to the point where running was totally out of the picture. Soon, cycling was too much, and swimming wasn't doing anyone any favors. I could literally hear grinding in my ankle and the back of my heel was turning shades of purple unknown in nature.

No one knows what caused it. No one had any perfect solutions. By mid-March, I was apoplectic every time I saw someone running (which, in DC, is frequently). But I still did my best to support runners at the RnR Half.

Finally, things started to change. My podiatrist re-fit my orthotics with a higher arch. I started seeing Erin twice a week for active release therapy, I continued to foam roll and use the stick like my life depended on it...and...I bit the bullet and took up yoga. I know, I know. But, much like my experience with Crossfit, yoga wound up surprising me. I used to be a mix of "this isn't making me sweat" and "w.t.f."

I signed up for a 6:30am flow yoga class with Yoga District in Dupont. I should say, up front, that Kat is a GREAT instructor. I'm not flexible and I'm really impatient, but class flows (ha) at a pace that keeps me moving, engaged, and focused. I loved starting my day SO much with yoga that I went ahead and signed up for Tuesday morning...and then Friday morning. Yoga feels a lot more like this:

aka: badass.

Ayla, if you want to gchat me with "I TOLD YOU SO" ^ infinitum, go for it.

A brief #miacooks interlude: my new favorite breakfast is a very simple protein shake. I use Vega protein powder at the recommendation of Christine. I do a banana, frozen strawberries, heaping tablespoon of greek yogurt from the market (no, do not buy that from the grocery), a scoop of Vega, and some almond milk. Boom. Awesome post morning workout breakfast.

I also went back to Crossfit this week. Since CFDupont is no longer (unicorn tears), I went ahead and gave Crossfit DC a shot. I got back from my first workout and talked Chadd's ear off. I said I might look around at other boxes, but I knew I'd already made up my mind.

So, come to Crossfit DC. Best box in DC. Chris and Tom know their stuff. They care about everyone there. The equipment is great. The space is epic. The vibe is like coming home. Or maybe I just missed Crossfit. Or both, who knows, but I'll go with it.

Better yet - Lindsey came to town! I was healed up in time to workout with her before she moves back to California.

This was for a photo opp. Let's not judge my form more harshly than I have.

On Wednesday, I was allowed to run precisely 1 mile at track. I'm sure my time was shameful, but my ankle didn't swell. I woke up Thursday feeling NORMAL (hence: all systems go for Crossfit).

This weekend is my first brick since...a long time. Wish me luck and enjoy the weather this weekend!

Mia Cooks - Mushrooms and Broccoli

Training update: none. well. the basics. A day on my feet more than usual and my ankle is swollen and tender. Goooood stuff. The doctor basically told me that 3 ibuprofen, 3x a day and "if it hurts, don't do it." Not helpful. We'll see what happens on Tuesday when I go back.

I'm keeping up my Sunday cooking for the week; I made sweet potatoes, brussel sprouts, and a few other things:

Portabella Mushrooms 

You need:
- Portabella mushrooms
- Olive Oil
- Red wine
- 2 cloves garlic
- Soy Sauce
- Balsamic Vinegar

1) Preheat oven to 400
2) Clean mushrooms (remove stems)

3) Mix. In a baking dish, mix 1/2 c. red wine, 1 tbsp olive oil, 2 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar, and 2 cloves garlic, minced.
4) Marinate the portabellas in the dish, upside down for 15 minutes.

5) Cover with foil and put into the oven for 25 minutes.

These are great cold or hot - I recommend sautéing spinach or another green and putting that over the mushroom cap with some goat cheese. You can also slice these up and eat with other grilled veggies, or as a side dish for a dinner. The possibilities are endless.

Broccoli with Raisins and Bacon

Growing up, I remember this very Southern salad recipe - it's basically broccoli, mayo, raisins, and bacon. Great tasted, but I can feel myself getting fat thinking about that. Instead, I decided to roast some broccoli and try to get some of the same flavors into the recipe. I wound up with a recipe that blew my mind. I cannot recommend this enough.

You need:
- broccoli
- coconut oil
- cayenne pepper
- cinnamon
- salt
- red pepper flakes
- golden raisins
- bacon
- onion
- garlic

1) Chop broccoli
2) Toss with coconut oil, cayenne pepper, salt, and some cinnamon

3) Bake broccoli on 400 on a baking sheet for 15 minutes

4) Microwave 4-5 pieces of bacon, until crispy (6 minutes)
5) Toss some coconut oil into a skillet and melt, then add about a half cup of chopped onions, saute.
6) Once the onion is sautéed, add the raisins, 2 cloves of garlic, minced, salt, red pepper flakes

7) Add the raisin mix to the broccoli and salt/cayenne pepper as needed.

I also spent some time sauteing some greens - if you don't know how to saute greens, here's your step by step:

1) Heat up a tiny bit of olive oil
2) Add a little garlic
3) Add chopped greens and cover

4) It'll cook quickly, but stir now and then until reduced and thoroughly cooked

After all the cooking today, here's how I made out:

Mia Cooks (again) Pesto Shrimp

I'm a little (a lot) wound up over the amount of work I have to do (but thankfully, I'm actually excited about all of it) and what turned this fabulous energy from productive to #RAGE was when, as I was leaving from teaching #RAGE spin, I heard one of my participants say to the other "I'm so tired, I'm just going to go heat up a lean cuisine" and the other said "Oh that's a great idea! I love having healthy stuff in the freezer!"

Seriously. I was looking for the Punk'd crew to show up and be like LOL GOT YOU!

No such luck. So, while I went silently apoplectic in the elevator, I vowed to come home and make dinner in less than 15 minutes. I know, sorry, this is the time it takes to cook TWO lean cuisines, but it'll taste more than twice as good.

Pesto Shrimp over Spaghetti Squash

You need:

- pesto you made on Sunday

- shrimp

- grape tomatoes

- olive oil 

- 1 clove garlic

- spinach

- spaghetti squash

1) Clean shrimp.

2) Chop spaghetti squash in half, longways and clean out the crap in the middle.

3) Put spaghetti squash cut side down in a microwavable container with some water and cook in the microwave for 15-18 minutes.

4) Heat up a tiny bit of oil and some garlic on low/medium.

5) Add shrimp.

6) Add tomatoes once the shrimp is pinkish.

7) Give it another minute and add some chopped spinach.

8) Cover and steam until spinach is wilted and add a heaping tablespoon of the pesto.

9) Scoop out the spaghetti squash.

10) Mix shrimp stuff and spaghetti squash.

Stop it with the Lean Cuisine. Or at least, let's all admit that it's not healthy. It's just low calorie.

Now taking requests from the peanut gallery on what you want #miacooks to do next.

Mia Cooks: Moroccan Beef Lettuce Wraps

In lieu of talking about training (at all) because I'm not doing training in any form (I work out like a normal person these days and I'm feeling super sucky about it), here's another recipe from me to you.

Moroccan Beef Lettuce Wraps

You need:
3/4 lb ground beef
1 egg
2 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground ginger

Sauce:
1 c. greek yogurt
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp lemon rind
2 tsp tahini
salt
1 garlic clove

"Wrap" Ingredients:
- big leaf lettuce (I like iceburg for this)
- tomato
- onion

1) Mix all ingredients for the patties

2) No, I mean REALLY mix it.

Yes, use your hands.

3) Form 8 patties out of that meat

4) Cook the patties on medium heat on the stove, use non stick spray. About 2:30 on each side should do it.

5) Put the patties on an oven tray and pop into oven on 400 for 5-8 minutes.
6) Prep the sauce - just combine all ingredients and stir
7) Prep the fixin's
8) Wrap and eat!

And...I'm off to foam roll. F*cking ankle.

Mia Cooks: Prep for the Week Edition

Christine and I had a chat earlier this week about better planning for food - it's too easy to be slammed with work and eat whatever instead of eating real food.

We agreed that the best way to stay accountable would be to cook every Sunday (or once a week if I have Sunday plans) and do a #miacooks along with it. I don't blame you if you want to mute my twitter feed every Sunday.

Today, I got up, felt rested, then wandered over to farmer's market. When Chadd asked what I got, I said, "If it was green, I bought it," which is pretty accurate.

(not pictured: ricotta, greek yogurt, and mozzarella from Blue Ridge Dairy)

I spent the afternoon cooking, with a couple of #sportz breaks, most notably a "restorative yoga" class which was basically guided nap time. Suffice to say, I feel incredibly peaceful today.

Here are all the recipes that showed up on #miacooks this afternoon:

Bacon Brussel Sprouts

I had these at a barbecue the other weekend and they totally blew my mind. I've made them twice in the past week.

You need:

- Brussel Sprouts

- 3-4 slices Bacon

- Salt

- Cayenne Pepper

- Olive Oil

1) Cut sprouts. Take the rinsed sprouts and cut off the stem bottom, then chop the sprouts in half. 

2) Prep the sprouts. Drizzle the sprouts with a little olive oil. Add sea salt and cayenne pepper.

3) BACON. Chop uncooked bacon into small pieces and add to the brussel sprouts.

4) Bake. Pop the sprouts into the oven at 350 for 15-20 minutes (check a couple of times, they'll start browning, but be easily stabbed)

Kale Chips

Best snack food. Ever.

You need:

- Kale

- Salt

- Cayenne Pepper

- Olive oil

1) Rinse and thoroughly dry kale. Seriously - it needs to be DRY. 

2) Cut kale into chip sized pieces and toss with oil, salt and pepper.

3) Bake. Spread kale onto a baking sheet and cook in 350 oven for 15-20 minutes (check a few times, it should be totally dried out, but not totally brown)

4) Storage - I put my kale chips into ziplock bags so they don't get stale. I wouldn't throw them into fridge, either.

Pesto

I really love this pesto recipe - I put it on spaghetti squash, shrimp, chicken, or eat it with carrots. It's a very basic, but delicious recipe.

You need:

- 1 bunch cilantro

- 1/2 c. macadamia nuts

- 1/2 c. olive oil

- 2 cloves garlic

- salt and peper

1) Prep. Clean up the cilantro (rinse, take out any brown leaves)

2) Mix. Put all ingredients into food processor.

3) BLEND.

4) Enjoy over pretty much anything.

Christine's Death Metal Chili
I took Christine's Chili Recipe and made it tonight so I could have a bunch in the fridge/freezer for emergencies. Her other soup recipes have blown my mind, so I knew this would be good. Let me assure you - it's delicious. Our recipes are a little different - I used Rotel and you'll see she has tempeh in her recipe. Soy makes me sick, so I avoided it. I also added cayenne pepper (have you seen a theme in all these recipes yet?)

You Need:

1 onion
3 cloves garlic
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
2 cups kale, ripped to shreds
2 (14.5 oz) cans Italian style diced tomatoes
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1 cup water
1 (15 oz) can kidney beans
1 (15 0z) can pinto beans
2 Tbsp chili powder
1 Tbsp ground cumin
1 Tbsp sugar or honey
1/2 Tsp cayenne pepper
1 Tbsp sea salt
1 tsp ground black pepper

1) Prep. Chop up the onion and garlic, drain the beans, but keep the tomatoes in their water (also: don't mind me, I didn't see I needed two different kinds of diced tomatoes, so I used Rotel instead). Shred some kale.
2) Sautee the onions and garlic in a little olive oil until translucent (2-3 minutes).
3) Add everything else to the pot and cook on medium for 20-30 minutes.

4) Enjoy!


Chard
I love chard for getting my greens - it's a little less spicy than kale and a little faster to cook. Chard has almost a buttery taste to it. Think spinach, but a little more rich.

1) Clean chard - rinse and dry.

See why it's called "Rainbow" Chard?

2) Chop off the stems, then chop the chard into 3rds.

3) Heat up olive oil in a skillet, add a little garlic and toss in the chard.

4) Cover and cook for 2 minutes, then stir, then cook another 2, for maybe 6-8 minutes.

Tonight's dinner was a quick one, but a Chadd favorite. 

Lemon Artichoke Chicken

This is an easy easy dish, takes maybe a half hour from start to finish. 

You need:

- chicken (we used about 1.5-2 pounds of boneless, skinless breast)

- 2 shallots

- 1 can artichoke hearts

- 1/4 c. capers

- 2 tbsp butter

- 2 tsp lemon juice

1) Chop up shallots and quarter the artichoke hearts, preheat oven to 375.

2) Season chicken with a little salt and pepper, maybe garlic salt or whatever you prefer.

3) Melt butter in the pan

4) Sautee the shallots for a minute or two

5) Add ingredients - artichoke hearts, capers, and lemon juice

5) Add chicken and sear on either side quickly

6) Bake for 10-12 minutes (check to make sure it's cooked through - it'll be just slightly pink when done and finish cooking in the pan.)

I also made some sweet potatoes earlier in the day.The recipe is here. I quickly threw some asparagus into the oven with olive oil and salt and pepper. When that came out, I put some lemon juice over it.

I've got a couple more things I want to make for the week, but I'm out of steam for the afternoon and with the time change, I'm going to tuck myself into bed.

Mia Cooks: Sweet Potatoes, a Surprise Hit

I had Team RAGE over for dinner on Sunday and while we took video and I took tons of photos of the lamb, kale, couscous, etc. that I made, by far the biggest hit were the sweet potatoes! And in response to the latest spate of "healthy" frozen food delivery reviews, I'm teaching you how to make them.

It's crazy easy.

You need:
- Sweet Potatoes
- Coconut Oil
- Cayenne Pepper
- Salt

That's it. Literally. That's it.

1) Peel sweet potatoes.
2) Chop sweet potatoes into circles (about 1/2" thick)

3) Melt coconut oil

4) Toss potatoes with oil
5) Lay sweet potatoes out on baking sheet
6) Sprinkle with cayenne and salt

7) Bake at 400 for 15-18 minutes

I thought I had a photo of the finished product, but apparently not - we just ate them quickly because they're that good.

Leftovers (if you have them) make great pre-workout snacks. And good breakfast sides with eggs.

And yeah. Stop buying that frozen crap with additives.

Mia Cooks - Pork Tenderloin, Green Beans, Scalloped Potatoes, and Gravy!

Alright! I'm injured. Still injured. My ankle was swollen to the size of my biceps Saturday night (only slight exaggeration). Until my health insurance kicks in...Coach has mandated (wisely) that I am NOT allowed to run or do anything resembling impact. Blah blah blah, Coach is right, blah blah. Running resumes March 1.

In the mean time, I figured it was time to dedicate myself to some time in the kitchen! One of my goals for these two weeks with Christine has been to make a food plan at the beginning of the week and cook more of my meals. Normally, I'm really good at this, but probably one week a month, I fall totally off the wagon. We'll be out of food, I'll be too tired to go to the grocery, and face it, tomato soup from Cosi sounds SO good right now...

But this weekend, we hit up Costco and Safeway and Washington's Green Grocer delivered an abundance of beautiful produce. The freezer and fridge are PACKED, and mostly with produce!

And so, in the frustration of being off my ankle, I decided to cook! This episode of Mia Cooks focuses on how to cook a pork tenderloin. The best think about this dish is that the meat is craycray cheap. You can get a two pack at Costco for pennies.

Below, I've got my recipes and step by step for pork tenderloin, green beans, scalloped potatoes, and gravy. If you decide to make everything, here is a list of what you'll need in total:

Tenderloin:
- Pork tenderloin(s)
- soy sauce
- sherry cooking wine
- rice wine vinegar
- vegetable oil
- orange juice
- shallot
- fresh or ground ginger
- rosemary
- italian seasoning
- butter
- salt, pepper, garlic salt, seasoned salt
- garlic cloves

Green Beans:
- green beans
- onion
- powdered chicken bouillon

Scalloped Potatoes:
- 5-8 small potatoes (enough for 2-3 c. sliced)
- chives, bacon, cheese (optional)
- powdered mustard, paprika, salt
- 1 1/4 c. milk and cream

Gravy:
- broth (optional)
- flour
- left over juice from cooking tenderloins

1) Optional Trimming I thawed the tenderloin out over night and then, mid afternoon, I trimmed up the tenderloins. This is optional. I recently had the opportunity to observe an incredible chef cook - during this time, he demo'ed how to trim a tenderloin. I will admit, I am not nearly as adept at it, but here is the general gist, via video:
 (video coming shortly)

Basically, take off the fat and the tendons (anything white). You can do this with a sharp knife and some patience. If you're lazy/time crunched, don't bother...though I REALLY do recommend doing this.

2) Marinade. Then, I marinaded the meat for a couple hours. My marinade recipe is:
- 1/4 c. soy sauce
- 1/4 c. sherry
- 1/8 c. rice wine vinegar
- 1/8 c. veg oil
1 tbsp orange juice (or just a splash)
A couple dashes of rosemary
1 chopped shallot
Dash of powdered ginger (it's preferable to have about a tablespoon of chopped fresh ginger, but use what you've got.)

You can put this in a big bowl or dish, but I prefer the "no clean" option of a plastic ziplock. Easier to move the meat around the marinade this way.

3. Wait. Let it sit in the fridge for however long, but 2+ hours is preferable. Overnight is even fine.

4. Crust. (ps. now is the time to preheat your oven to 400). I like seasoning the outside of the tenderloins in addition to the marinade. Here's the "no clean" way to do it. Pull out foil and grind a good layer of salt, pepper, seasoned salt, herbs (italian blend works fine), and garlic salt. Then roll your tenderloins over it (that's what she said). Then, I have slices of garlic cloves (thin) and put small knife cuts into the tenderloins and insert the garlic slices.

5. Sear. I like to sear the outside of the tenderloin to lock in the flavor. There are more technical terms for why this is a good idea, but I don't know enough to tell you why. Go with me, here.

Just melt about 2-3 tbsp butter in a skillet that can go into the oven (which should be preheated before you sear the meat.) Make sure the butter is hot enough that when you put the meat in, you hear a sizzle, but not too hot that the butter browns before you put the meat in. On my electric stove, this is a 5-6 on a scale of 1-10. You can test the butter by dripping a tiny bit of (like, a drop or two) of water or marinade.

Cook each side of the tenderloins for 1 minute - just enough to sear the outside.

Don't worry if some of the red at the ends isn't gone. It's thinner and will cook just fine in the oven.

6. Cook. This is a tricky one. If you get the normal sized tenderloins at costco or wherever, then this is a decent cooking time: 

• 8 minutes - mostly raw
• 6 minutes more - smaller tenderloin is done
• 3 more minutes - larger tenderloin is ready

These cooking times are for a "pink" tenderloin. If you prefer yours well done (???) or have family members or small children who can only eat well done meat, I would add another 3 minutes to these times. The key, really, is to have an instant read thermometer. I've seen a range of temperatures, so I may be wrong, but 155-160 appears to be the right internal temp. 

The biggest mistake I made when I was learning to cook was taking the meat off when it was exactly where I wanted it to be. WRONG. Meat doesn't stop cooking the second it is out of the heat, so make sure you take it off a few minutes before it appears "done" (whatever that "done-ness is to you.)

Here is what "done" is for me:

7. Rest. Yes, rest. Rest, for meat, is just as important as rest is for athletes. Take the meat out of the skillet (watch the handle, it IS hot and will sear your flesh off). For the no-clean method, put each tenderloin on it's own sheet of foil and loosely wrap the foil around it. This will keep it warm and allow the meat to cool, finish cooking, and have the juices set. This will keep the juices from spilling out all over everything (and drying your meat) when you cut it. I let this happen for about 10 minutes (or while I'm finishing making dinner.)

Sides

Yes, I know we can all live on meat alone, but it's SO much better with some sides. Normally, I'd make something a lot more healthy, but I was feeling indulgent. I added scalloped potatoes, green beans, and gravy.

Scalloped Potatoes

Recipe adapted from Joy of Cooking

I tend to make these when we have some potatoes have seen better days - usually, smaller potatoes. Some of them are starting to sprout and all that. No matter. Take enough to fill two cups with slices (this will be between 5-8 smaller potatoes).

1. Peel them. You can do this with a knife a little more effectively and easily than with a peeler, but it's chef's choice.

2. Slice them. The more thinly and evenly you slice them, the prettier and more evenly cooked your dish will be. I recommend going for something around an 1/8th of an inch.

3. Prep your secondary ingredients. And preheat your oven to 350. Chop up about 1-2 tbsp butter. You want smaller pieces you can "dot" around the layers of the potatoes. Grab about a 1/3 cup of flour and have that on the side. If you want to add some new flavors, grab some chives, a half an onion, or some bacon (or all of them!) Some people also use cheese. 

4. Layer. Cover the bottom of the pan with one layer of potatoes. Dust with flour and with a few pieces of butter and whatever extras you'd like to add. Keep layering until you're out of potatoes, but don't dust the top with flour or any extras. 

5. Mix liquid. Depending on your level of decadence, heat up a mixture of 1 1/4 c. milk and cream so that it's about bathwater temperature. Sometimes, I add more milk or more water to have more liquid. No more than an extra 1/4 cup, though. 

Mix in 1/2 tsp. of paprika and another of powdered mustard. I add salt in at this point (about a teaspoon). Make sure it's really mixed up or you just get a lump of seasonings in the bottom of the pan.

6. Pour liquid over the potatoes. 

7. Bake. Cover this bad boy with foil and pop it into the oven. In about a half hour, take off the foil. Cooking it with foil for the first half hour keeps it from drying out or burning on the top. Let it bake for another 45 minutes to an hour - but check it at a half hour. I just told Chadd to take it out after an hour while I was at a meeting, so ours came out a bit more "done" than normal. 

Green Beans

I assume most people know how to make green beans, but if you don't - or you want a new twist - here's how we make them in our house.

1. Heat water. Put about an inch and a half of water into the bottom of a larger pot. Add two heaping tablespoons of chicken bouillon and half of an onion, cut into large sections.   

2. Clean the green beans. Rise, then chop off the ends of each green bean. I'm not meticulous about it, don't let yourself spend way too much time doing this.

3. Cook. With about 6-8 minutes left on the rest of your meal, throw in the green beans and just keep an eye on them. Take them out when you can pierce them with a knife, but before they turn brown. They will look vibrantly green when they're done. If you like your green beans soggy - don't come over for dinner. 

Gravy

Recipe non existant, but mad props to my dad for teaching me how to make gravy.

When you took the tenderloins out of the oven and moved them to foil, I'm sure you noticed that you had a lot of extra juice and stuff floating around in the bottom of the pan. This is good. 

1. Thicken. Toss a tablespoon or so of flour into the juice in the pan on medium low heat. If this makes paste, add some water, broth (any kind, really), or left over marinade. Your choice. If you use the left over marinade - match that 1 for 1 with water since the marinade will be very strong in flavor. Don't over do it.

2. Simmer. Bring gravy to a simmer. Too thin? Add flour a spoonful at a time to avoid lumps. Too thick? Add water, marinade, or broth. Stir continuously so you don't burn the gravy.

3. Repeat. Until you have the consistency you like. A word on using the marinade - that has raw stuff floating around in it. Make sure your gravy simmers (bubbles) for a bit if you've decided to use that as a loosening agent. 

Timing

I think timing is probably the hardest thing for people to master as they are learning to cook. Here is my cheat sheet to make everything above and have it all finish at roughly the same time.

Earlier in the day: prep tenderloins and marinade them

2 hours before dinner: prep scalloped potatoes

1.5 hours before dinner: put in scalloped potatoes

1 hour before dinner: take foil off potatoes, prep green beans

30 minutes before dinner: sear tenderloins and place in oven

15 minutes before dinner: boil water for green beans

10 minutes before dinner: put on green beans, take out tenderloin and let rest

5 minutes before dinner: make gravy

And voila:

The meat is a little pink for my taste, but Chadd likes his tenderloin more rare than I do. 

Success!

Questions? Mia Cooks requests? Soup recipes coming soon!