Burrito Bowls

Burrito Bowls

Recipe courtesy of Melissa d'Arabian photos are my own. 

This recipe is so good that I made it two weeks in a row. Once for our family and once when friends came for dinner. This is so easy because you throw it in a crock pot, make your pico de gallo and you cook your rice and then set out toppings. My kids love this as well because then they can build their bowls with what they want. So what do you need? 

Ingredients: 

For the crock pot pork

1 boston butt roast - around 2 lbs. 

1/2 tsp Oregano

1 tsp cumin

salt and pepper

1 medium onion chopped

1 jalapeno diced (the seeds and white ribs inside of the jalapeno are where the spiciness comes from, so if you want flavor and very little spice just remove them, or add a little for a bit of spice) 

1 medium orange, cut in half. 

olive oil

5 cloves of garlic (cut in half) 

For the Pico de Gallo

2 medium tomatoes

1 jalapeno (again remove as much spiciness as you want) 

1 small onion

1/3 cup cilantro

1 avocado

1 lime

olive oil

salt

pinch of sugar

For the Rice

1 cup brown rice cooked in a rice cooker or on the stove (cook 1 cup of rice for 4 people) 

1/3 cup cilantro

lime

1 can of black beans rinsed 

Toppings: 

green onioins

plain greek yogurt in place of sour cream

cheddar or montery jack cheese

lime slices if wanted

The first thing you want to do is get your pork into the crock pot. Rub 1 teaspoon of olive oil on all sides of the boston butt. Next use 1/2 tsp of oregano and 1 tsp of cumin and rub into the meat on all sides. Lightly salt and pepper and place into the crock pot. 

Next you are going to chop the onion, jalapeno and garlic and place them over the meat. 

Slice the orange and squeeze the juice over everything. Throw the pieces of orange into the crock pot, put the lid on it and let it cook on low for 8-10 hours. If on high cook 4-6 hours depending on the size of the meat. Your house is going to smell SO GOOD!

About 1 hour before you are ready to eat, you can get your rice cooking (I used a rice cooker) 

Then you will want to make your Pico de Gallo- 

finely dice your onion and place into a bowl. 

next slice your tomatoes and remove the seeds, then dice the tomato and place into the bowl

Dice the jalapeno as well and add to the bowl. Add a pinch of sugar (it helps bring out the sweetness of the tomatoes) and season with salt and pepper. Add 1 teaspoon of olive oil. 

Dice the avocado and add it to the rest of the mixture in the bowl. 

Add in the cilantro and then squeeze the juice of 1/2 a lime over it and give it all a good mix. Put it in the fridge until ready to eat. 

Once the meat is done it is going to pull apart really easily. Put it onto a plate, leaving the juice and shred it with a fork so it is all broken apart. 

 Place 1 Tablespoon of oil into a pan and let it get hot. Medium high is a good temperature.

 Add the shredded meat to the pan and spread it out. You are not going to stir it. You want it to get nice and crispy brown on one side. 

 You can see here how it is nice and crisp on one side. This is typically called carnitas.

 Once it is nice and crispy, you are ready to start building your burrito bowl. 

Add cilantro into your rice (you can also add in the black beans if you want to) 

Now lets build our bowl. 

 Place 1 yellow container of rice and beans into a bowl. 

 Add 1 blue container of cheese

 Fill 1 green container with Pico de Gallo and put half of it over the cheese. 

 Top with 1 red container of meat

 add the rest of the green container of pico de gallo then top with a spoonful of greek yogurt. 

This meal is really filling, and seriously DELICIOUS!!

 So what containers do you count this as:

 1 Yellow,1 Blue, 1 Green, 1 Red  1 Tsp

Pork Tenderloin Medallions with Shallot Mushroom Gravy, Couscous salad and fresh fruit

Pork Tenderloin Medallions with Shallot Mushroom Gravy

Recipe courtesy of Cooking Light fresh food fast weeknight meals cookbook

Couscous Recipe courtesy of myself Lauren Buczkowski

Ingredients:

1. Pork tenderloin (approximately 1lb)

2. 8oz presliced mushrooms (I used portabello)

2-3 Tablespoons crumbled feta cheese

1 medium tomato, or 1/2 cup quartered cherry tomatoes

1 3/4 cup Israeli couscous 

2 teaspoons corn starch

1 Tablespoon sherry

salt

pepper

4 cloves of garlic (use a garlic press)

8oz beef stock

1/3 cup shallot sliced 1/2 lemon and zest

parsley or cilantro (1/3 cup) 

2 cups boiling water

 Start by putting the couscous into a pan and let it toast (about 5 minutes) don't let it burn. This is going to brown it and it brings out a slightly nutty flavor in the pasta. It just enhances the flavor. Just like toasting pecans or any type of nut is going to bring out the flavor of the nut, same thing is happening here.

Once it toasts, add in a little salt and then add in the 2 cups of water. Let it simmer on low for 12-15 minutes.

 While the couscous is cooking, slice the tenderloin diagonally into medallions. Lightly salt and pepper the medallions and rub each one with a little of the minced garlic. Coat pan with cooking spray and cook medallions 2 minutes on each side. Once they are done, put them on a plate and cover with foil to keep them warm. (don't worry if they are not completely cooked, you will cook them more in a bit.)

 Place pan back on the burner and spray once more with cooking spray. Add in the mushrooms and shallots and let them cook down. Approximately 5 minutes.

 While the mushrooms are cooking mix beef broth, corn starch, and sherry into a bowl and use a wisk to make sure there are no lumps and the cornstarch is mixed in really well. Pour the liquid over the mushroom mixture and bring to a boil over medium heat.

 Once it comes to a boil, add the pork back in and let it cook an additional 2-3 minutes.

 While the pork finishes cooking, put the couscous into a bowl and add in the zest of 1/2 a lemon. Then squeeze the juice of 1/2 a lemon. (if you are not a huge citrus fan add less lemon juice)

 Next add in the tomato, parsley, and feta cheese. Add approximately 1 Tablespoon of olive oil.  Lightly salt and pepper as well.

 Mix it together and serve at room temperature or chilled. 

Enjoy! This was a delicious meal and well balanced. You could add a side salad  or some sauteed green beans if you wanted to add in a Green container. 

21 Day Fix: 1 Red, 1 Yellow, 1/2 Blue, 2 Tsp. and 1 Purple

For this meal, you dont get enough of the sauce to count the cornstarch or sherry as anything. If you felt like you needed to count it as an orange for the sauce, you could do that as well. The couscous doesn't have enough veggies to count it as a green.

Pork Tostadas

Pork Tostadas

Picture and recipe courtesy of Lauren Buczkowski

Sometimes you just feel like something easy and quick for dinner that doesn't take a lot of prep time. Tostadas are something that can be very versatile. You can make them with fish, you can make them with pork, you can make them with turkey or chicken. This is one I made with pork. It is such a simple recipe and a good, filling meal. It is also something that you get to cook all day in a crock pot and forget about. 

Pork loin is something that you can buy really inexpensively. It usually comes in large portions as well, allowing you to freeze part of it for another meal. Buy them when they are on sale. 

Ingredients: 

·       6” corn tortillas (I like to use white corn tortillas) 

·       1 lb pork loin roast

·       ¾ cup apple cider vinegar

·       2 Tablespoons honey

·       ½ cup water

·       Salt

·       Pepper

·       Garlic 2 cloves minced

·       Tomatoes

·       Avocado

·       Plain nonfat greek yogurt 1 cup

·       Cilantro 1/4 cup

·       Chives 1 tablespoon

·       Cheddar cheese

·       Limes

Place the pork loin into a crock pot. Lightly salt and pepper the pork loin. Add in apple cider vinegar, honey, 1 clove of garlic and water into the crock pot. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours. 

When the meat is done, use two forks to shred it and then let it sit in the liquid until you are ready to serve. 

Get your toppings ready: Cheddar Cheese, chop tomatoes, dice avocado, Slice limes. 

To make the sauce to go on top of the tostadas, mix yogurt, remaining garlic clove, Chopped cilantro, chives, salt to taste and the juice of 1/2 a lime. 

Heat broiler and place tortillas onto a baking pan. Spray with cooking spray. Place under the broiler and watch them because they can burn quickly. Usually only cook for a minute or two. Flip them over and toast the other side. 

To put them together use 2 tortillas, 1 red container of meat, 1/2 blue of cheese split between the two, 1/2 blue of avocado, top with tomatoes and 2 tablespoons of sauce (one for each tostada) Sprinkle with cilantro if wanted and a squeeze of lime. 

Here is how I would count this meal: 

1 Red  (for the meat and sauce) 1 Blue, 1 Yellow

You don't use enough tomatoes to count it as a full green container.  

Spice Rubbed Pork Tenderloin With Peach Salsa

SPICE RUBBED PORK TENDERLOIN WITH PEACH SALSA

This recipe is from Clean Eating Magazine

This recipe could not be any easier. Unfotunately I didn't take any pictures until it was on the plates. 

You will need: 

allspice

salt

pepper

olive oil

pork tenderloin (mine was about 1 lb)

For the peach salsa:
1 large peach ( I used 5 small peaches- I wanted extra for the morning)
1/4 cup fresh mint chopped fine
1 Tablespoon fresh minced ginger

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Salt and pepper all sides of the tenderloin. Then pat the outside with allspice. Drizzle oil in a pan and heat over medium- high heat. 

Place tenderloin in the hot pan and let it brown on both sides. Transfer to a pan and put in the oven for 20 minutes per pound. 

Take it out and let it sit a few minutes before slicing.

To Make the salsa:
Peel and dice peaches into small chunks
mix ginger and mint with the peaches and stir. Let it sit for a little while to bring out the flavors.

Top your pork tenderloin with the peach salsa or eat it on the side. 

The meat counts as 1 RED for 21 Day Fix and I used 1 full container for the peach salsa. I ate some on top of my tenderloin and the rest I ate as a side. (1 PURPLE)