So I am a couple weeks into trying out some new recipes, but each thing Ive cooked so far stands out in its own way with different flavor combinations. Each thing is something I will most certainly cook again and still enjoy it just as much as the first time. Just as a disclaimer though, I am not recieving any royalties for blogging about these recipes or this book. This is purely my own experiences.
Now to get into the fun stuff, the recipes! So the three I tried out that were gonna talk about is Garlic & Herb Pork Tenderloins with Mediterranean Dressing, and Mediterranean inspired Meatballs. Now, the book isnt exaggerating when it says these recipes are easy. Even though it is my first time using these recipes to cook, it doesnt take me very long to get done.
Aside from being delicious, these recipes arent expensive to put together. Now I dont know about you, but I love when I can cook a great meal on a limited budget. As a college student, I try my best to budget out everything. Meal prepping can get expensive quick if you dont pay attention. Its always best to only buy what you need at the time so food doesnt expire before you can use it. I live about five minutes away from the closest grocery store, so I have the option of waiting until I need it.
The recipe for the pork loins calls for center cut loin pork chops, and to only let the meat marinade for an hour. I gave it my own twist by using ribeye cut pork loins, and letting it marinade for at least 12 hours. In my semi-educated opinion, the longer you let something sit in a marinade the more flavor and more tender it will be.
However, the recipe for the meatballs calls for extra lean ground hamburger and I happily obliged by using the leanest I could find. The leaner the meat, the less grease you have. When Im using ground hamburger, I prefer extra lean. I dont particularly enjoy my beef sitting in a pool of grease. They also call for the zest and the juice of one lemon. If youre not a lemon fan, I would suggest dialing that amount back because you can definitely taste it.
The Mediterranean Dressing was absolutely delicious and extremely easy to mix up. It is a different style of vinagrette so if you choose to double or triple the recipe and keep it as salad dressing, make sure to shake it like you would any other. It does keep for two weeks if you intend to bottle it and use it as salad dressing. Im not sure if this is common knowledge so I will tell you anyway, but never save a marinade after it has been used with raw meat. It can make you very, very sick.
I followed the cook time the recipes called for and everything came out perfect. I made four pork loins and was able to make twenty five 1 inch meatballs out of just the one pound of ground beef. This cookbook is already becoming a staple in my kitchen because so far, so good.
Thats all for this post. Thank you for dropping by and I hope to see you back soon!