April 26, 2008
Every once in awhile we will get uninvited to a Sunday dinner. I am then faced with the dilemma of trying to figure out what to make. For some reason I feel that we have to have a really nice Sunday meal. One of the things I love to make is a Pork Roast. The only thing I hate about it is eating it for the next week. By Friday I am begging Greg to go out to eat so that I don't have to eat roast again. A couple of weeks ago I stumbled across these recipes in Family Circle I was excited to try them. Last Sunday we were once again uninvited from my in-laws house so I decided to give them a try. I first started with a 4 1/2 lb roast. I covered it with Olive oil, Salt and peppered it. I popped it into the oven at 400 degrees for 1 hour 20 minutes. Forty-five minutes before it was to come out I popped in some potatoes too. 
Everything tasted wonderful. For my next meal I made Pork Fried Rice. In the recipe it calls for eggs and water chestnuts. I left out the eggs because Greg doesn't like them and I left out the water chestnuts because the vegetables I bought already had them. 
Pork Fried Rice
Ingredients
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 box (5.2 ounces) Asian-flavored rice mix
- 1 pound pork roast, cut into 3/4-inch cubes (about 21/2 cups)
- 1 bag (16 ounces) frozen Asian stir-fry vegetables, thawed
- 1 can (8 ounces) sliced water chestnuts
- 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
- 1 tablespoons hoisin sauce (or ketchup)
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 2 scallions, chopped
Directions
1. Add eggs to a large nonstick skillet. Cook until set and remove to a plate. Cut into strips. Wipe out skillet; prepare rice mix in it following package directions.
2. During last 7 minutes, add pork, vegetables, water chestnuts, soy and hoisin. Stir in egg and cook, covered, for remaining 7 minutes.
3. Remove from heat and stir in sesame oil. Let stand, covered, for 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with scallions.
We really enjoyed this. It had a great taste to it and the leftovers were also really good.
The last meal was sandwiches. I was a little scared to try them, but man they were really good. If you don't have a grill I think you could bake them in the oven and have a very similar affect.
Cuban Sandwiches
Ingredients
- 1 loaf (12 ounces) crusty Italian bread
- 4 dill pickles, thinly sliced lengthwise
- 1/2 pound roast pork, sliced (about 8-1/4-inch-thick slices)
- 4 slices Swiss cheese (about 1 ounce each)
- 8 teaspoons yellow mustard
Directions
1. Heat grill or grill pan. Cut bread in half lengthwise, then crosswise into four equal pieces. Layer each bottom piece with a sliced pickle, 2 slices of the pork and 1 slice of cheese. Spread the cut-side of each top piece with 2 teaspoons mustard.
2. Stack tops onto bottom pieces, and flatten to 1/3 original thickness. Place sandwiches on heated grill and weigh down with a heavy pot. Grill for 2 to 3 minutes per side, until nicely grilled and cheese melts. Cut in half on the diagonal and serve.
So next time you make up a roast and are wondering what to do with the leftovers try one of these. They were excellent.
The train was about to leave, but we decided to wait so that we could get a seat up on top.
While waiting we had fun trying to keep Eliza from falling on to the tracks. After about 15 minutes of waiting the next train showed up. We were able to score seats up top. These seem to be the most prized seats. The kids spent the first 10 minutes of the ride just looking outside enjoying the scenery.
Once we hit Layton we got off and caught the train coming back.
By this time Eliza was getting a little bored so she spent her time whipping her hair around and trying to pull the emergency lever. Everyone had a great trip and we hope to go on it again. 
