- 4 lb. (1 3/4 kg) bone in Pork Loin, at room temperature
- 14 - 16 dried pitted prunes ( can use a mix of prunes and apricots
- 1 lemon, halved
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 1/4 cups (300ml) condensed beef broth, undiluted
- 8 medium potatoes, peeled
- 1/4 cup (60g) butter, melted
- 1/2 tsp sweet paprika
- 3 TBS all purpose plain flour
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 cup (120ml) milk
- salt and black pepper to taste
Some other recipes for roast pork that you might enjoy that I have posted on here are:
ROAST PORK WITH SAGE AND POTATOES - The pork in this recipe gets rubbed with a lovely mixture of garlic and sage prior to roasting. That same garlic and herb mixture is tossed with the potatoes that roast along side of the pork. The drippings from the pork create lovely sticky roasted potatoes that are incredibly delicious. Both the meat and the potatoes together are phenomenal!
POT ROASTED PORK WITH CABBAGE AND CARROTS - I love Pot Roasting. Especially when it means combining tender pork with fresh carrots and cabbage wedges! This Pot Roasted Pork with Cabbage and carrots is one of my favorite meals. A long slow braise results in succulent moist pork, tender roasted carrots, butter tender cabbage and a rich gravy that is to die for.
Stuffed Pork Roast with Browned Potatoes
Ingredients
- 4 lb. (1 3/4 kg) bone in Pork Loin, at room temperature
- 14 - 16 dried pitted prunes ( can use a mix of prunes and apricots
- 1 lemon, halved
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 1/4 cups (300ml) condensed beef broth, undiluted
- 8 medium potatoes, peeled
- 1/4 cup (60g) butter, melted
- 1/2 tsp sweet paprika
- 3 TBS all purpose plain flour
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 cup (120ml) milk
- salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Wash and pare the potatoes. Cut into the potatoes, making cuts 1/4 inch apart along the top edge, taking care not to cut all the way down to the bottom. (I cut the potatoes in half first, crosswise, giving them a flat side to help keep them stabilized when cutting.)
- Place into ice water to chill for about an hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4.
- Pat the roast dry with some paper towels and trim off any excess fat and or rind, discarding. Take a long narrow bladed sharp knife and make an incision/pocket through the middle of the roast, working from each end through to the center.
- Using your fingers push the prunes into the pocket to fill completely. If using apricots as well, alternate the two.
- Mix the salt, pepper and ginger together. Rub the roast on all sides with this mixture. Place into your roasting pan. The pork will rest on the bones, no need for a roasting rack.
- Pour the beef stock around the roast. Cover tightly with foil or a lid and roast in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.
- Drain and pat dry the potatoes. Mix the butter and paprika in a dish. Roll the potatoes in this mixture twice.
- Remove the roast from the oven and uncover. Place the potatoes in the roasting pan around the roast. Drizzle any remaining butter over the potatoes.
- Roast, uncovered, for a further 1 hour and 20 minutes, or until a meat thermometer registers 170*F/77*C. Remove the roast to a heated platter along with the potatoes, tent and keep warm.
- Pour the pan drippings into a two cup/1 pint measuring cup. Skim off any fat, reserving two tablespoons of the fat and adding it to a saucepan. Discard the rest. To the pan drippings add water to the equivalent of 1 1/4 cup (300ml).
- Heat the reserved fat in the sauce pan and whisk in the flour until smooth. Cook for a minute, whisking. Whisk in the pan juices/water mixture gradually along with the milk. Bring to the boil, whisking constantly until thickened. Leave to simmer for several minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning as required.
- Slice the pork into slices for serving and serve with the roasted potatoes and gravy.
Here I am again with another Meals of the Week post, this one for the first week of May. Temperatures were not overly warm this week, so I am still enjoying a bit of comfort food. A few days were absolutely frigid actually. That is what this time of year is like. Very transitional.
We will soon be complaining about the heat and eating nothing but salads, but in the meantime, I am enjoying some lovely comfort food and simple dishes that are not only simple to make, but inexpensive for the most part as well as being delicious.
I have challenged myself as a single person living on my own to eat as best as I can. I don't want to be that person who eats out of packets and cans. I want to eat good food, honest food, and food that isn't filled with salt and preservatives, so I want to cook my own meals from scratch, as long as I am competent and capable enough to do so!
Challenging myself to do so is inspiring to me and I hope it will be inspiring to you also! Maybe you will also want to cook good, economical, and tasty meals for yourself also.
This is only my suppers. I do also eat breakfast and lunch. Breakfast is usually toast or cereal, sometimes yogurt granola and fruit. Lunch is a sandwich most of the time, sometimes cheese and crackers and fruit, or sometimes a delicious salad. I do so enjoy my salads!
So here we go, my meals from the past week. Enjoy!
SUNDAY, April 30th - Pot Roast
Most Sundays I go to my sisters for Sunday Dinner. This week was no different. She had cooked a pot roast again. They have had beef roasts on special at the shops these last few weeks. Usually she does hers in the oven with potatoes, carrots, parsnips, etc. This photograph here is from Another Pot Roast recipe that I cooked at home in the UK a few years back.
For this I used a Rolled Beef Brisket, which I cooked with loads of onions to make a rich onion gravy. When it comes to pot roasting, you really don't get much better than a nice Brisket. On this occasion we enjoyed it with mashed potatoes, mashed swede (turnips) and carrots.
I had brought over some of Grandmother's Five Cup Salad for us to enjoy for dessert, and enjoy it we did!
MONDAY May 1st - Cranberry Baked Ham Steak
I had picked up a Ham Steak for a really good price at the shops, so I cut it down into four serving sized pieces and I froze three pieces. The fourth I cooked this way. Its a really simple thing to do. You just spread the steak with some mustard (I used Dijon), add a layer of cranberry sauce and bake it in the oven.
It turns out really delicious. Tender and juicy, with a bit of heat from the mustard and a bit of sweet from the cranberry sauce. I enjoyed this with some boiled potatoes and tender stem cauliflower. Delicious!
TUESDAY, May 2nd - Skillet Parmesan Chicken for two
This is one of my favorite skillet meals. This tasty Skillet Chicken Parmesan has all of the flavors and tastes of the original, but it is down sized to feed only two people and cooks all in one skillet. Yes, everything, including the pasta.
I think when pasta gets cooked in the rich tomato sauce like this does, it has even more flavor. Add to that tender pieces of chicken, cheese and crispy crumbs on top of the chicken and you are spelling, Winner, Winner Chicken Dinner! No fuss, no muss, and all in one pan. Count me in!
All you need on the side is a nice mixed salad. If you are a hearty eater or your partner is, you might want to add a crusty roll or some garlic bread.
WEDNESDAY, May 3rd - Tomato & Rice Soup (small batch)
Normally on Wednesday nights I go out for supper with my father and his friends. This week they decided to go for a Chinese meal and I didn't want to drive all the way to the next town for that, plus I am a bit short this month having paid my taxes, and so I stayed home and made myself a delicious batch of Tomato & Rice Soup.
This is one of my favorite soups. I love tomato soup. Making it from scratch is a life changer, and when you add some rice and other bits to it, it really is delicious. I enjoyed this simply with some crackers and was a very happy camper. It is very hearty and very tasty. I froze the second serving for another time.
THURSDAY, May 4th - Sheet Pan Sausage and Peppers
Sheet Pan Sausage and Peppers is another quick and easy meal that is cooked all on one baking sheet and is perfectly sized for just two people. I love the smokiness from the sausage and the way the peppers and onions caramelize. Caramelized vegetables are one of my favorite things.
Sometimes I will have this with rice, and sometimes with potatoes, but on this occasion I served it simply spooned into a crusty roll. Kind of like a sausage and pepper sandwich. Need I say it, delicious! I ate the rest of my salad from the other day on the side.
FRIDAY, May 5th - Tuna Patties for Two
Fish for Friday. Old habits die hard. I have enjoyed fish on Fridays for years and years. In the UK it we used to treat ourselves to fish and chips on Fridays. Oh my but they were some good!! Fish bars all over the UK usually have lineups out into the streets with people wanting their fish and chips fix on Friday nights!
No fish bars here in Canada. A fish bar is a fish and chips takeaway. You can't eat inside, but you can get fish and chips, wrapped in unprinted newspaper, to take home for your supper. They also have things like meat pies, sausages, Kebabs, etc.
For my fish this week I made my favorite Tuna Patties. This is a real store cupboard favorite with me. You can use tinned salmon if you prefer. Also very good. Crisp and buttery on the outside, tender inside, these went down a real treat with a dollop of Homemade Tartar Sauce on top. This week I served them with steamed brown rice and vegetables, but a favorite way I like to enjoy them is with mac and cheese.
SATURDAY, May 6th - Beans on Toast
After getting up super early Saturday morning to watch the Coronation of King Charles III, I didn't really feel like making a big deal out of supper. I was hungry however and so I fell back on an old favorite of mine, Beans on Toast. You can't get more British than good old Beans on Toast.
Beans on Toast was not something I had ever eaten prior to moving to the UK. Beans on Saturday night with hotdogs was quite common, but never on toast. I fell in love with the concept. Comfort food. Simple, easy and delicious.
Of course I make a cheeky cheese and spring onion toast to enjoy my beans on. Sometimes I will add a layer of grainy mustard beneath the cheese. Very tasty!
And those were my meals of the week, the sometimes cheeky, always tasty suppers that I enjoyed for the first week in May. Next week promises to be every bit as interesting and exciting as I try out a week of eating totally from my store cupboard.
Yes, you heard that right. I am challenging myself to eat totally from my store cupboard. I have fresh milk, eggs, butter in the fridge and I am challenging myself to not go to the shops all week and see if it can be done! Wish me luck! I do so love a good challenge!
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com
Thanks so much for visiting! Do come again!
Good Housekeeping magazine used to have a section where the readers could write in and ask them to repost a recipe from a past issue that the reader enjoyed and perhaps had misplaced. This is one of those recipes, carefully clipped from the April 1993 issue of Good Housekeeping.
The lady who had written in spoke of being a registered nurse at the time the original recipe would have been posted in the magazine (between 1949 and 1953). She spoke of working at a rehabilitation center at the time and being friendly with one of her patients who was a polio victim.
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE SUSAN'S MACARONI AND CHEESE
Very simple ingredients. Plain and simple. There is nothing fancy here. Just what you might expect from a 1940's recipe.
- 1 cup (115g) dry elbow macaroni
- 1 TBS minced onion
- 1 TBS butter
- 1/2 TBS plain all purpose flour
- pinch of salt
- pinch of dry mustard powder
- pinch ground white pepper
- 1 cup (240ml) whole milk
- 4 ounces (115g) processed cheese, grated, divided
- 1/2 cup (65g) fresh bread crumbs
- 3/4 TBS butter
Some other vintage recipes here in the English Kitchen that you might enjoy sinking your teeth into are:
HERMIT COOKIES (SMALL BATCH) - A vintage New England recipe for a delicious cookie that is lightly spiced and filled with raisins and nuts. These are the kind of cookies your grandmother might have baked! I love these! Betcha can't eat just one!
POOR MAN'S CAKE - Also known as War Cake, this is a recipe that was very popular during the War years when rationing was in place. Using no eggs, it is a lovely moist and dense cake that is richly stuffed with plenty of raisins. Another old family favorite.
Susan's Macaroni and Cheese (small batch)
Ingredients
- 1 cup (115g) dry elbow macaroni
- 1 TBS minced onion
- 1 TBS butter
- 1/2 TBS plain all purpose flour
- pinch of salt
- pinch of dry mustard powder
- pinch ground white pepper
- 1 cup (240ml) whole milk
- 4 ounces (115g) processed cheese, grated, divided
- 1/2 cup (65g) fresh bread crumbs
- 3/4 TBS butter
Instructions
- Prepare the macaroni to al dente as per the package directions. Drain and rinse under cold water and set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 400*F/200*C/ gas mark 6.
- Melt 1 TBS of butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring frequently, until just softened, but not colored. Whisk in the flour, salt, mustard powder and pepper. Cook for one minute. Slowly whisk in the milk. Cook, stirring, until smooth and bubbling around the edges.
- Add about 3/4 of the cheese. Stir to melt the cheese. The sauce will be thinner than a regular cheese sauce.
- Grease a 3 cup casserole dish. Put the macaroni into the dish. Pour the cheese sauce over top and using a fork or knife, toss the macaroni a bit to coat with the sauce. Sprinkle the remainder of the cheese over top.
- Melt the butter for the bread crumb topping and toss together with the bread crumbs. Sprinkle these over top of the cheese.
- Bake, uncovered in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, until bubbling and golden brown.
In the end I decided to throw together a quick tea party and make some tasty Coronation Chicken Salad Tarts to serve. I quite like taking afternoon tea and I have had lots of experience at putting them together as I did many, many of them when I was living in the UK.
I am somewhat limited now as I just don't have the dishes and linens to use, but I thought it would be fun to show you just how quickly you can throw together a simple afternoon tea with minimal effort. Are you in? I hope so!
Then I added a small plate of some other sweet meats I happened to have in the house. An assortment of chocolate covered cookies/biscuits and some small tarts, jam, lemon curd and butter. None of the tarts was any larger than a mouthful, which is what you want.
Some other things you could have are small bite sized sausage rolls, or deviled eggs. You can have more than one kind of finger sandwich if you wanted to. Some suggestions are egg salad and cress, sliced tomato and cheese, and cheese and pickle.
- 3/4 pound (340g) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 cup (240ml) chicken stock
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 3/4 cup (165g) mayonnaise
- 1 TBS apple cider vinegar
- 1 TBS honey
- 1 TBS good quality mango chutney
- 1 1/2 - 2 tsp mild curry powder
- salt and black pepper to taste
- The rounded cheek of 1/2 red apple, cut into 1//4 inch dice (about 1/4 cup)
- 2 TBS raisins, chopped
- 2 TBS chopped salted cashew nuts
- 2 TBS red onion, finely chopped
- 12 baked small tart shells (about 2 1/2 inches in diameter)
Some other Royal teatime treats that you might enjoy are:
VICTORIA SCONES - From the Bero Cookbook, these lovely scones have a beautiful texture and go together quickly. Said to be a favorite of Queen Victoria's, these scones are decorated with sweet candied cherries.
QUEEN CAKES - These little currant studded buttery cakes go beautifully with tea. They can be baked in heart shaped tins or in muffin tins. Flavored with lemon zest, these are lovely little cakes that everyone enjoys!
QUEEN OF HEARTS JAM TARTS - These little jam tarts with their pastry heart adornment are absolutely gorgeous. I am not surprised the Knave of Hearts wanted to steal them! They are delicious!
Coronation Chicken Salad Tarts
Ingredients
- 3/4 pound (340g) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 cup (240ml) chicken stock
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 3/4 cup (165g) mayonnaise
- 1 TBS apple cider vinegar
- 1 TBS honey
- 1 TBS good quality mango chutney
- 1 1/2 - 2 tsp mild curry powder
- salt and black pepper to taste
- The rounded cheek of 1/2 red apple, cut into 1//4 inch dice (about 1/4 cup)
- 2 TBS raisins, chopped
- 2 TBS chopped salted cashew nuts
- 2 TBS red onion, finely chopped
- 12 baked small tart shells (about 2 1/2 inches in diameter)
Instructions
- To poach your chicken, place the chicken into a saucepan along with the stock, salt and pepper. Cover and bring to a simmer over medium heat.
- Cook at a low simmer until the chicken is cooked through and no longer pink inside (about 10 to 15 minutes.) Remove the pan from the heat and leave the chicken to cool completely in the broth.
- Remove the chicken from the broth and chop finely. Place into a bowl.
- Whisk all of the dressing ingredients together until smooth, adjusting seasoning as required.
- Fold the dressing into the chicken along with the apple, raisins, nuts and onion. Taste and adjust the seasoning as required.
- Cover and chill for an hour, or as long as overnight.
- To serve spoon the chicken salad into the baked tart shells and serve immediately.
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