Pot Stickers & Vegetable Stir Fry

$12.50 total / $2.05 per serving
($7.67 for Pot Stickers @ $0.85 per serving, $4.83 for Stir Fry @ $1.20 per serving)

This is one of those recipes that I love to make in large batches and freeze the extras for quick meals during the month. I love pot stickers, so it is only appropriate that I have them on hand at all times in my freezer. :) These little babies require a little time to put together but are oh so worth it! Don't even get me started on the dipping sauce......seriously. If I could, I would put it on top of everything! Oh wait, I do...

I typically make a double batch of the sauce and then freeze it in an extra ice cube tray so I have little individual sized servings ready to go! The pot stickers freeze beautifully as well and make weekday dinners effortless. I hope you enjoy these as much as I do!

Nutritional Highlight: Ground Turkey Breast. Turkey is an obvious substitution for ground beef when you are looking for something a little less fatty with the same functionality as beef. You can substitute ground turkey in any recipe that ground beef is called for, just make sure to read the label. You want to make sure you are buying ground turkey breast, not a mixture of light and dark meat. If you aren't careful, you can end up with just about as much fat as lean ground sirloin. Ground turkey also contains more calcium than ground beef but does contain less iron. 

Pot Stickers & Vegetable Stir Fry  (Pot Stickers: serves 9, Stir Fry: serves 4)
adapted from Everyday Food

• For The Dipping Sauce

  • 1 cup soy sauce
  • 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons white vinegar
  • 2-3 Tbsp Sriracha sauce
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoon grated peeled fresh ginger
  • 2 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
  • Scallion greens (optional), for garnish

• For The Pot Stickers

  • 2 scallions, cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 1 medium carrot, diced medium
  • 1 large egg white
  • 1 pound ground turkey (or ground pork**very tasty!)
  • 1/4 cup dipping sauce
  • 36 wonton wrappers
  • Nonstick cooking spray
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  For The Stir Fry

  • 2 scallions, cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 3 medium carrots, sliced into strips
  • 1 large head of baby bok choy, washed and large stems discarded
  • 1 medium onion, sliced
  • 1 cup mushrooms, sliced
  • 1/4 cup dipping sauce
  • vegetable oil
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  • In a medium bowl, whisk together soy sauce, vinegar, Sriracha, sugar, ginger, and sesame oil; set dipping sauce aside.
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  • Make pot stickers: In a food processor, process scallions, carrot, egg white, and half the turkey until a paste forms. Transfer to a medium bowl. Mix in the remaining turkey. Stir in dipping sauce.
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  • Working with one wonton wrapper at a time, place 1 scant tablespoon meat mixture in center. With a wet finger, moisten edge of wrapper, then fold over filling and press to seal. Cover filled dumplings with a kitchen towel while you work.
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  • Lightly coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat over high. In batches, cook dumplings until golden brown on both sides, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Carefully add 1/2 cup water to skillet, cover, and cook until water has almost evaporated and dumplings are tender, 3 minutes. Uncover and cook until remaining water evaporates (reduce heat to medium if dumplings are overbrowning). Transfer pot stickers to a plate. Wipe skillet clean between batches. Add scallion greens to dipping sauce if desired and serve alongside pot stickers.
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  • Meanwhile, heat up a couple tbsp of vegetable oil in a stir fry pan. When the oil starts to smoke, add the carrots and onion. Cook the vegetables until tender, stirring almost constantly, about 5 minutes. Add in the rest of the vegetables except the bok choy. Once the mushrooms are cooked, reduce heat to low add in the bok choy. Let the pan cool a bit before adding the dipping sauce so you don't get a splatter of sauce everywhere. Mix in the dipping sauce and serve. 
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  • **Lay the extra uncooked pot stickers on a cookie sheet and place in the freezer until frozen - 30 minutes to an hour. Once they are frozen, you can transfer them to a big ziplock freezer bag to enjoy at your convenience! Just heat them up in the skillet with the same method although adding 2-3 minutes per side. Typically takes about 10 minutes to cook when frozen.**
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  Nutritional Analysis:

  
  

  Per serving (4 potstickers and 1 cup stir fry): 243 calories, 1.5g fat, 33.2g carbohydrates, 20.1g protein and high in Calcium, Vitamin A, Vitamin B-6, Vitamin C, Fiber, Iron, Manganese, Magnesium, Niacin, Phosphorus, Potassium, Riboflavin, Selenium and Thiamin

Fancy Roasted Pork Loin

$6.39 total / $0.64 per serving

This Christmas, my husband's family came to visit and I decided to make Christmas dinner. So of course, I racked my brain to think of what to serve as the main course. Last year I made a prime rib roast so I knew I had some big shoes to fill! I finally decided to make roasted pork loin stuffed with all sorts of yummy things like garlic, rosemary and parsley.

This roast is spiral cut and stuffed so the presentation is beautiful. Spiral cutting takes a bit of patience and a good sharp knife. My knives aren't the best so I got frustrated half way through; if you are like me, it's ok. Just take your time and go slowly. Eventually it will come together. There are a bunch of tutorials on youtube for the specific process if you are unfamiliar as well.

Nutritional Highlight: Parsley. I always thought parsley was a little useless and honestly didn't bother buying it if it was called for in a recipe. However, I've learned a few things. Parsley, along with other micro-greens, are really good for you! It adds a light, fresh flavor to your foods while providing Vitamin K, chlorophyll and a ton of antioxidants like Vitamins A & C for your body. 

Fancy Roasted Pork Loin  (serves 8-10)

2.5 lbs Pork Tenderloin
1/2 bunch Parsley
12 unpeeled Garlic Cloves
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 1/2 tsp fresh Rosemary, chopped
1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
1/4 tsp Sugar
2 Tbsp Butter
Kitchen Twine

Bring roast to room temperature for more even cooking. Preheat the oven to 325º and heat a medium skillet over medium heat. Toast the unpeeled garlic for about 6-8 minutes or until the outsides are browned and the garlic is fragrant - be careful not to burn them. Keep in mind, smaller cloves will need to be removed first. Cool the garlic and then reserve 2 cloves for later use. Peel the remaining 10 cloves.

In a food processor, add peeled garlic, red pepper flakes, parsley, olive oil and salt. Pulse until combined. This is going to be your filling for the pork.

Starting at about 1 inch above the base, slice into the pork with a sharp knife. Continue to slice the pork while rolling it away from the knife. You should be able to keep rolling the pork away from the knife until you have cut the pork all the way open. Generously spread the filling all ove the inside of the pork. Starting from the end, roll the pork loin back up gently as to not displace the filling. Secure the pork with a couple knots from the kitchen twine.

Place in roasting pan and cook in a 325º oven for 1 hour - 1 hour 20 minutes. The pork should register at 145º internally. Meanwhile, peel the remaining two garlic cloves and mince them. Combine the butter, sugar and garlic in a small microwave safe bowl. Melt the butter mixture in the microwave for about 30 seconds.

Once the pork is removed from the oven, brush the garlic butter over the top of the roast. Tent the roast with foil and let rest 15 minutes.

Slice and Enjoy!

Nutritional Analysis:

Per 4oz serving: 196 calories, 7.6g fat, 2g carbohydrates, 33.5g protein and over 15% daily value of Vitamin A, Vitamin B-6, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Magnesium, Niacin, Phosphorus, Riboflavin, Selenium, Thiamin and Zinc

White Chili with Carnitas

$4.24 total / $0.53 per serving

As promised, I'm going to show you what to do with all of that leftover Carnitas from the Mission Style Carnitas Burritos recipe I gave you a couple days ago. This chili is amazing and I have already had requests to make it again! I got this recipe from my Grandmother and it is just perfectly spicy, hearty and delicious. The original recipe uses shredded chicken so this chili can be adapted to your taste preference or meat availability. (If you didn't make the full recipe for Carnitas already, the cost for this recipe in its entirety is $7.84 total / $0.98 per serving.)

Nutritional Highlight: Green Chili. You can find many vital nutrients in this little chili. It has an abundance of Vitamin A, which is important for healthy eyes as well as your skin and bone health. Vitamin C is also found in green chilies giving them the opportunity to help your body heal and repair itself. This vitamin also acts as an antioxidant fighting the affects of free radicals on your body. 

White Chili with Carnitas  (Serves 6-8)

1.5 lbs Carnitas, cooked and shredded
2 cans Great Northern Beans
6 cups Chicken Stock
2 Garlic Cloves, minced
2 Medium Onions, chopped
2 4oz cans Green Chilies, chopped
1/4 cup Sliced Jalapeños, chopped
3 tsp Cumin
1 1/2 tsp Oregano
1 tsp Coriander
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
Sour cream for serving

You can make this in a crockpot or in a large pot on the stove. Add all ingredients, except beans and sour cream, in your pot. Cook on low for an hour on the stove if you want a faster version, adding the beans in the last 15 minutes. I let mine cook all day in the crockpot and then I added the beans about 30 minutes before dinner.

To serve, fill your bowl with chili and top with one Tbsp of sour cream. Now eat!

Nutritional Analysis:

Per serving: 265 calories, 5.3g fat, 23.7g carbohydrates, 29.3g protein and over 15% daily value of Vitamin B-6, Vitamin C, Folate, Iron, Magnesium, Manganese, Niacin, Phosphorus, Riboflavin, Selenium, Thiamin and Zinc

Mission Style Carnitas Burrito

$2.28 per burrito

Cafe Rio. Chipotle. Barbacoa. Just typing those restaurant names made my mouth water! Everyone loves a burrito every once in a while, especially mission style burritos. They are huge, they are delicious, they are one of my favorite guilty pleasures. Since my husband and I have cut down our budget, we rarely get to eat out. Which is devastating to my husband's love for Cafe Rio. No joke, he once ate (actually this has probably happened more than once) Cafe Rio for lunch AND dinner. No, he didn't go eat there for lunch and have leftovers for dinner. He went TWICE in one day! He's told me that he would eat there every day and never get tired of it. I believe him.

Today I'm going to share with you my recipes for Carnitas and Cilantro Rice with Lime. I'm still working on the homemade tortillas, mine came out a little thicker than I would have preferred. So I will share those with you another time. There are several recipes out there for Cafe Rio copycats but I decided to go my own way and make something new. I hope you enjoy!

Nutritional Highlight: Pork Tenderloin. I use a pork tenderloin in this recipe because it is extremely low in fat. I'm sure you have heard this before as pork tenderloin has less fat, pound per pound, than chicken breast. This cut of pork is also full of vitamins like thiamin and niacin as well as lean protein all of which can help your body burn fat more efficiently. 

Slow Cooker Carnitas (serves 8-10)
$6.05 total / .60 per serving

2.5lbs Pork Tenderloin
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
2 Garlic Cloves, cut in half
1 tsp Cumin
1/2 tsp Oregano
1/2 tsp Coriander
1/4 tsp Cinnamon

Cilantro Rice with Lime (serves 4)
$1.67 total / .41 per serving

1 cup Long Grain White Rice
2 cups Water
1/2 cup Cilantro, packed
1 Garlic Clove
1 tsp Salt
Lime Juice to taste

In a small bowl, combine all spices. Trim any excess fat from the pork, leaving only a little bit. Rub the spice mixture into the pork tenderloin and then place in the crockpot fat side up. Pour chicken stock around the pork being careful not to wash away spice rub. Place some of the garlic clove halves in the stock and some on top of the pork. Cover and cook on low until the pork is tender and shreds easily with a fork, about 6 hours.

While the pork is almost finished, blend together the water, cilantro and garlic in a blender. Transfer mixture to a small saucepan, then add the rice and salt. Cook over medium high heat until it begins to simmer. Reduce heat, cover and cook for about 20 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed. Remove from the heat and let rest, covered, for 5-10 minutes. Add lime juice to taste and fluff with a fork.

While the rice is resting, start shredding the pork. I like to take the pork out of the crockpot and shred in a separate bowl, adding juices as necessary to moisten the meat. Your finished product should be moist but not swimming in juices.

Now the fun starts! You can assemble your burrito however you wish. My husband and I both like salsa verde so I whipped up some Creamy Salsa Verde. I also made a side of black beans. Toppings are limitless: pico de gallo, sour cream, fajita vegetables, cheese, guacamole, beans, lettuce, etc. Make it your own!

***This recipe makes extra Carnitas that I will show you what to do with next!*** 
Click here: White Chili with Carnitas

**Based cost per burrito on my recipes for carnitas, cilantro rice with lime, black beans, avocado salsa verde, sour cream and Trader Joe's $2.99 tortillas.

Nutritional Analysis:

Carnitas per 4oz serving: 186 calories, 3.8g fat, 0.4g carbohydrates, 33.5g protein and over 15% daily value of Vitamin B-6, Magnesium, Niacin, Phosphorus, Riboflavin, Selenium, Thiamin and Zinc

Cilantro Rice per 1/2c serving: 54 calories, 0.1g fat, 12.1g carbohydrates, 1.2g protein