So what was for dinner on the 28th? Jack in the Box... but I made the meal plan "dinner" for lunch =)
So what was for lunch? Honey Pork Chops
Website: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Honeyed-Pork-Chops/Detail.aspx?src=rss
Picture:
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| Honey Pork with a side of Wild Rice and Green Peas |
The differences: Ok in the recipe itself... no vegetable oil, 1 pound of boneless pork rib sliced thin instead of pork chops (but chops work too), increased the honey to 1/2 a cup, took out the water but added 1/4 cup of cider vinegar and a teaspoon of minced garlic instead of the onion (because Erik hates onions as a rule). The amount of ginger was the same but because I had so many other flavors floating around I opted out on the pepper. The reason why I didn't use any vegetable oil is because I opted to not do step one of the recipe and brown the pork before putting it into the baking dish (see verdict for why the next time I will probably try this step). I used a food processor to mix all the other ingredients together because I wanted to get a consistent mix throughout the liquid... considering that honey is a lot thicker and stickier than the other liquids this is important to note. I also cooked the pork 15 minutes longer (again see the verdict for why I will be changing this next time).
The Prep: The prep was fast... for the way that I did it it took 5 minutes to mix the ingredients and pour them over the pork and 75 minutes to bake it... so One hour twenty minutes total. The way the recipe states it... It should take about 5 minutes to brown the meat, 5 minutes to mix and pour and 60 minutes to bake... so 70 minutes or One hour and 10 minutes.
The Cost breakdown:
Cider Vinegar: $1.29
Pork: $5.06
Wild Rice: $1.29
Peas: $0.99
Cider Vinegar is a pantry item but I included it in the cost because I didn't have it on hand. Items not included are honey, ginger, garlic, and soy sauce.
Total: $8.63 or $2.16 per person for a family of four.
The Verdict: I will be completely honest... this meal did not light any fires for me but I think with some changes that can be fixed. My biggest problem with the meal was that the pork was overcooked. I think the browning with the oil would have given it a better flavor and if it had cooked for less time in the oven the pork would not have been dry and overcooked (the oil would have helped with the dryness too). The flavors were all there, the saltiness from the soy sauce, the sweetness from the honey, and the punch from the garlic, it's just none of those things could overcome the overdoneness. According to Erik (who hates pork due to a texture issue) he LIKED the pork because, and I quote, "it tasted more like chicken". Which means the texture was closer to chicken but even I have to admit as I type this I am laughing my head off. So final analysis is: I am withholding judgment until either you or I try it with the changes. Wish I could be more definite!
A note about tomorrow's post: Since tomorrow is the final day in the fourth week of this journey and I promised you all a monthly cost analysis to prove (or disprove) that saving money or groceries/eating out is a more than doable thing, I will be posting that analysis. The only other time that I plan on doing a monthly analysis is at the end of the 8th week. Here's the reason why. I want to show that there is a difference between March (where I, essentially, didn't eat at home most of the month. We either ate out or ate junk) and April (where eating out, while not completely out of the question, for at least one meal a day it was not an option). I don't expect a huge difference because with any transition there is a factor that has to be counted and that is time. Time to make the change and a willingness to go along with the change (my kids have time but the willingness isn't quite there). So the 2nd cost analysis will be between March and May in which the transition has happened and the routine has been set. I expect a bigger difference in THAT analysis. Anyways, just wanted to give you the heads up if you were curious. =)
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