Meal prep has become super popular. I don't really like the idea of preparing my whole weeks meal and storing it in plastic for days.. All you end up tasting by the end of the week is plastic and that's the last thing I want my food to taste like. But during the week, quite often I will make a big meal that will last for few days and kind of, edit it as I go. It's super easy to do if you cook a bigger amount of what will be your main part of the meal and often, that will save you few bucks as well. Think whole chicken instead of wee packet of chicken breast, nice chunk of pork instead of wee slices etc. I promise you, the money you pay and the amount of food you get out of a whole chicken is so much better than buying wee packages. So here's a great, super easy and delicious dinner idea to keep you and your family going for couple of days.
Pork roast with mash potatoes and quick marinated red onions
You will need:
Nice chunk of pork. Pick one that has some fat in the midst of meat, otherwise it will be super dry!
Mayonnaise and strong mustard
Salt, pepper and/or any other kind of pork seasoning you like.
Potatoes. Depending how many people are eating.. to make enough for 2 for 1 night you'll need about 5-6 medium size potatoes
Spoonful of butter
~150ml milk
Red onion
Red wine vinegar
Sugar & Salt
Anything you would like for a salad :)
Take your chunk of pork out of the fridge about 30 minutes before cooking it so it could settle down to room temperature. It's better for the natural juices and for the meat so you wouldn't "shock" the meat when moving between temperatures. Rub the pork with plenty of mayo and a hearty amount of mustard. Don't worry, your meal won't taste just like mustard, it will give it a lovely taste I promise! :) Add also whatever kind of seasoning you want to use. Make sure you rub it all over and toss the meat into a baking bag. Cooking meat in a baking bag will keep it super juicy + you won't need to make a sauce as there will be plenty of it, once the pork is cooked, in the bag. Cooking time will depend on the cut of the meat and size of it, check the package, it will probably tell you! :)
Once that's done make your onions. Finely slice your red onion, put it in a bowl and mix with ~2tps of red vine vinegar, wee bit of salt & about 3tps of sugar. Put it aside and give it a wee stir every now and then. Taste it before serving, you'll probably will want to add more sugar, all depends on your taste!
45 minutes before your pork is cooked, start on your potatoes. Peel them, cut them into wee chunks and boil them until they're very soft. Pour away the water but keep your potatoes in the pot. Smash them well with either a fork or a potato smasher. In a separate pot, put your butter and milk on a stove, heat up, but don't boil. Pour half of it in with the smashed up potatoes and using an electrical mixer, mix them together. Taste, you might want to add salt and keep adding wee bit of milk-butter mix and mixing the potatoes until you have a nice creamy but not liquid mash - no chunks allowed! :)
Once your pork is ready, carefully open the bag and slid the juice and meat out onto an oven dish. If you like having a crust around your meat, put it back into the oven for a moment. Let the meat rest for at least 5 minutes before cutting it up.
Make up a nice salad to go with it all - our family's to go to is always cucumber, tomato with sour cream and dill.
Enjoy!
The whole thing will keep well in the fridge for few days and is easy to heat up. If you fancy doing something else with your pork the next day here's an idea - Slice up the pork and lay down to an oven dish. Spread a wee layer of mayo on it, add wee bit of thinly sliced green onions and top it off with a slice of mild cheese. Toss the lot into an oven and cook until the pork's hot and cheese melted. Serve with the leftover potatoes or anything else you fancy!
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