I suppose a lot of people think it's odd that I can't drive or play a musical instrument or hold down a steady job. I think it's odd that I'm running into a lot of women these days, my age and older (48), who admit to not being able to cook. You know, "I don't know how to turn my oven on." " I can't remember the last time I cooked." etc., and they admit it as if this lack of knowledge was something to be proud of. Personally I find this admission to be akin to not being able to wash your hair. Good Heavens, I'm a bitch.
I'm a homebody and I've always had a lot of time on my hands but here's a great meal that I was able to throw together in 50 minutes. Anybody can do it.
I had a pre-marinated boneless pork loin. It was sold that way.
I preheated the oven to 425 degrees.
While the oven was heating up I seared the pork loin in a little olive oil in a oven-proof skillet. 5 minutes. Flip, flip. I sprinkled it with the modicum of sage that I had left over from the holidays. In went half a cup of cranberry sauce left over from the holidays. Then some rosemary which looked a lot like the pine needles also left over from the holidays. Then I poured in about 3/4 cup of water and scraped the goodness of the bottom of the pan.
I put the lid on the skillet and put it in the hot oven for 35 minutes.
Now I peeled the potatoes and let them boil for 20 minutes. Drained them, then mashed them with a little milk and cream cheese.
Oven mitt time. The pork, when done, needed to sit for 10 minutes on a board. I took this time to boil some broccoli and I added a little corn starch and water to the liquid left over from the pork and made a pork-y, cranberry-y gravy over a low heat. With an oven-proof skillet, I find it very wise to put an oven mitt over the handle when done to avoid singed palms.
I sliced the meat and was done. Less than an hour, boom, boom, boom.
There was enough food for 4 and cost averaged out to 3.70 per person. We don't eat like this every night - that would break the bank, but good, quick food for relatively little can be accomplished. And you know what, out of all this the only garbage I had was the plastic wrapper the meat was sold in.
It is so important if you have children to sit down to a meal with the family as a whole. But that rant is for another time.
Image from www.bigflavor.blogspot.com
