A Wonderful, Busy Work Week!

As with many people, my work has slowed down some.  March in particular was a very slow month but April has been busier.  I am very thankful to be able to have a busy work week!

I cooked for 2 new clients this week and will be calling to make sure their menu instructions make sense.  I like to give them time to try at least one meal before I call.  I love how different my days are.  Even when I cook for new customers the only similarity is that they are new.

The Wednesday customer is single, self-employed, works at home frequently, has Shadow the dog, does not cook but wants to eat better and eat at home.  The Thursday customer is married, grown children, semi-retired with own business, loves to cook but loves to garden and wants more time to garden.  At the end of the day, when they have been working, they want to eat and spend precious time in the yard.  They have a big garden and hopefully we'll be using it to plan menus in the future. 

I also have had a couple of meetings at church with Valorie to design a new ministry that we think might help people spend less money on cooking, reduce some stress in their lives and be able to spend more time with friends and family.  We're starting with a 3 week, evening class to work on menu planning, seasonal foods and eating at home.  The class is planned for June.

I didn't make any new recipes this week.  I don't think I even cooked for us!  I had leftover shrimp pasta on Monday, leftover beef stroganoff on Tuesday, I took Greek pasta out of the freezer for Wednesday with salad, we had beef enchiladas from the freezer last night with zucchini boats.  As my husband points out when I say I didn't cook all week "you did cook, you made all the meals, you just didn't make them the night we ate them"  I was my own personal chef!

I think I'll cook something tonight, maybe some pork tenderloin.  There is a good recipe from Cooking Light that I use frequently.  I think I have some potatoes and I know there is applesauce in the freezer.

Pork au Poivre from Cooking Light June 2001

• 1  pound  pork tenderloin, trimmed
• 1  tablespoon  coarsely ground black pepper
• 2  teaspoons  olive oil
• Cooking spray
• 1/2  cup  fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1/2  cup  dry red wine
• 1  teaspoon  Dijon mustard
• 1  teaspoon  tomato paste
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt

1. Preheat oven to 425°.
2. Slice the pork lengthwise, cutting to, but not through, the other side. Open halves, laying pork flat. Sprinkle each side of pork with 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper. Heat oil a large ovenproof skillet coated with cooking spray. Add pork; cook for 2 minutes on each side. Place the pan in oven, and bake at 425° for 12 minutes or until meat thermometer registers 160° (slightly pink). Remove pork from pan; keep warm.
3. Add broth and remaining ingredients to pan; stir well with a whisk. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook until reduced to 1/2 cup (for about 3 minutes).

I'm meeting my friends Ahmed and Wendy at the Cobb Galleria to look at our teaching space for this weekend at the cooking show.  I taught last year and am familar with the space but this is the first time they are teaching and I know I felt more comfortable looking at the space beforehand.  We'll all be in the Just for Kids area,  I have ages 7 to 9, Ahmed has ages 10 to 12 and Wendy ages 4 to 6.  More fun this weekend!