Easy Pork Stir-Fry

This super easy pork stir-fry is a wonderful meal for the busy weeknight!  Recently, my youngest son has taken up playing Lacrosse for his high school.  Practice is from 4:30 to 6:30pm every weeknight, and he doesn't drive yet, so I need to make arrangements for drop off and pick up.  Right now, my older son has been helping out...but trying to get dinner on the table in the midst of all that driving can be tricky.  This is one meal that makes life a little easier at dinner time.

I did use a few "cheats" in preparing this meal.  The sauce I used is House of Tsang Classic Stir-Fry Sauce with a little altering.  The pork tenderloin I used was one that was pre-marinated...but you don't need to use a pre-marinated tenderloin, a plain one will work fine too. 

 

The great thing about making stir-fry's is that they are totally customizable.  You can use any combination of vegetables you like.  Using the pork tenderloin is great because it cooks up quickly and it is low in fats. The marinated varieties impart a whole lot of flavor without you needing to do any work to them, so they are perfect for this use.  Hormel makes a line of great tasting, always tender pre-marinated pork tenderloins.  

I also used a new oil in this dish.  Rice Bran Oil. I don't know if I buy the idea that this oil can make you "skinny," but I do believe the health benefits are numerous and since I had the opportunity to shop in an Asian Market this past weekend, I picked some up.  I really like this oil.  It has virtually no flavor and it has a very high smoke point.  It is also rich in antioxidants and vitamins and claims to lower cholesterol.  If this oil does all this wonderful stuff, I am hoping to see it show up in mainstream groceries in the future.  Until now, it seems the only place to get it is online or in Asian markets...are you familiar with rice bran oil?  Maybe you have seen it elsewhere?  Let me know! 

 Now....on to the stir-fry!  When browning the meat, be sure not to crowd the pan!  I did mine in two batches!  

Next up, is the veggies....I used broccoli, carrots, red peppers, onion, and grape tomatoes.

Once the vegetables are almost tender, add back in the meat and the sauce, add in the tomatoes, and garnish with sliced green onion.

 

Easy Pork Stir-Fry

inspired by House of Tsang Classic Stir-Fry Sauce

Printable Recipe

Servings - 4   Serving size - 1/4th of stir-fry mixture over 1 cup brown rice   Points Plus per Serving - 13 Points+

Calories - 500.3,   Total Fat - 11.1g,   Carb. - 73.3g,   Protein - 28.5g,   Fiber - 7.9g

*For the stir-fry WITHOUT rice, nutrition is as follows:  Calories - 283.9,   Total Fat - 9.4g,   Carb. - 28.5g,   Protein - 23.5g,   Fiber 4.4g ( 7 Points+)

*I usually only eat a 1/2 cup of rice, which brings the total PP value down to 10+ for the entire meal.  

1 TBS rice bran oil or canola oil

1 lb. pork tenderloin, sliced into small, thin pieces

salt and pepper, to liking

2 cups fresh broccoli florets

1 large red pepper, sliced

1/2 large sweet onion, large diced

3 medium carrots, cut into matchsticks

1 tsp. minced ginger

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 cup House of Tsang Classic Stir-Fry Sauce

1/2 cup low sodium, fat free chicken broth

1 tsp. cornstarch

1 cup grape tomatoes

4 cups of cooked brown rice

2 - 3 green onions, sliced

1.  Heat oil in large non-stick skillet over high heat.  When oil begins to shimmer, add in the pork, being careful NOT to overcrowd the pan.  Work in two batches if you need to.  If you are using the flavored pork tenderloin, no need to season meat.  If you are NOT using the flavored pork tenderloin, season meat with salt and pepper before adding to hot oil.  Brown the meat on all sides and remove to bowl.  Set aside.  

2.  Once meat is browned and removed from pan, add in broccoli, red pepper, onion, carrot, ginger and garlic.  Cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables are just crisp tender.  ( it took me about 10 minutes or so)  

3.  In small bowl or glass measure, combine the House of Tsang sauce, chicken broth, and cornstarch.  Add the meat back into the skillet with the vegetables.  Pour on the sauce mixture and bring to boil.  Let it thicken for a minute or two.  Take off heat and add in tomatoes.  Cover and let tomatoes get warm.  ( they will just burst in your mouth when you eat them, but they shouldn't come apart in the skillet when you heat them this way...what can I say?  I like pretty food!)  

4.  Serve the stir-fry over brown rice and garnish with green onion. 

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I cannot believe the almost summer-like forecast we have for this week.  I will definitely be getting out to enjoy the weather!  I contemplated grilling yesterday, because it so darn nice out, but then settled on this stir-fry, because it was so quick and easy.  You could really streamline this meal by buying the frozen brown rice that you heat in a bag, and getting all the vegetables pre-chopped at the store in the produce department or salad bar.  

I really loved using the pre-marinated pork tenderloin in this dish.  It gave the dish so much flavor without much work.  

What are your easy, go to meals, when you are in a time crunch?  

Chicken Parmesan Bites w/ Cheesy Marinara and Whole Wheat Pasta

 

Yummy  pieces of golden brown chicken over a bed of whole wheat thin spaghetti topped with a jarred marinara ( keeping it simple and easy! )  

This dish is a perfect dish for the weeknight.  Pair it with a garden vegetable salad and you have a complete meal in no time.  

It's fun, because the boneless chicken breasts are cut into thirds, giving the chicken more area for the crispy breading...plus I think it looks pretty and sort of special plated up! 

The chicken pieces are coated in eggbeaters and then dipped in a mixture of panko breadcrumbs and Italian style breadcrumbs, then browned in a little olive oil in a nonstick pan...I like the mixture of the panko and the regular dried breadcrumbs, as each one plays a role in making the breading.  The panko gives them a great crisp, and the dried breadcrumbs are small, so they really adhere to the chicken.  I also really love using eggbeaters to begin with when breading things.  It's thick and really adheres to whatever you are coating...plus...it's fat free, so that's a bonus!

They finish cooking in a warm oven, while you make the pasta and the sauce.  Cheesy Marinara is simply a jarred marinara sauce with the addition of two Laughing Cow Light Herbs and Garlic cheese wedges melted in.  Simple as can be!  

Chicken Parmesan Bites w/ Cheesy Marinara and Whole Wheat Pasta

from the kitchen of MKA

Printable Recipe

Servings - 4     Serving Size - 3 chicken "bites", 1/2 cup cheesy marinara, 2 oz. (dry) whole wheat pasta     Points Plus per Serving - 13 Points+

Calories - 503.7,   Total Fat - 9.8g,   Carb. - 66.7g,   Protein - 39.5g,   Fiber - 7.9g

16 oz. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, ( 4 boneless breasts ) cut into 3 chunks each

1/2 cup eggbeaters ( you will have leftover to discard )

1/2 cup dry, Italian seasoned breadcrumbs

1/4 cup plain panko breadcrumbs

2 TBS. grated Parmesan cheese

dash of garlic powder

salt and pepper, to liking

1 tsp. dried parsley 

1 TBS olive oil

8 oz., dry, whole wheat pasta of your choice ( I used thin spaghetti ) 

2 cups marinara sauce ( such as Mids ) 

2 wedges of Light Laughing Cow Garlic and Herbs cheese

extra Parmesan and parsley for garnish ( optional )

1.  In shallow dish, combine the breadcrumbs, panko, 2 TBS Parmesan cheese, garlic powder, dried parsley, and salt and pepper.  Dredge the cut chicken pieces in eggbeaters and then coat in breadcrumb mixture.  

2.  Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.  Cover a large baking sheet with foil and put an oven safe rack on top.  Spray all with cooking spray.  Set aside.  Heat a large nonstick skillet with 1 TBS olive oil over med-high heat.  Brown the chicken pieces, being careful not to overcrowd pan, on all sides.  Chicken does not have to be done all the way.  It will finish cooking in oven while you prepare pasta and sauce.  Remove browned chicken pieces to prepared rack and place in preheated oven to cook all the way through.  

3.  Fill large pot with generously salted water.  Cook pasta according to package directions.  Meanwhile, heat marinara sauce with Laughing Cow Cheese wedges, stirring often to break apart the wedges and help them melt. ( They don't melt very easily...so you will need to tend to them a bit to help them along)  Drain pasta when done.  Check the chicken for doneness.  At this point it should be cooked all the way through. 

4.  Plate dishes with pasta, 1/2 cup sauce, and three pieces of chicken.  Garnish with extra Parmesan cheese and parsley, if desired. 

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This meal is a bit of a splurge, but paired with a vegetable salad and fat free dressing or some steamed green beans, it really is not that bad for a dinner.  I like to keep my dinner points right around 10ish or so...so this actually works out just fine.  

My son and I stopped in at Applebees yesterday for lunch.  I saw they had new menus and some new WW items on them.  I didn't try them, because they were all around 12p+ and it was lunch, and they were rather expensive items to have for lunch....point wise and money wise.   I was disappointed that they have removed some of the more "lunch friendly" menu items such as salads and sandwiches.  Why couldn't they do both lunch items and dinner items?  I settled on a plain salad and a cup of tomato basil soup.  The table next to us had an older couple, who also were having a salad/soup combo.  I don't know what soup or salad they were having, but the wait staff must have brought out three dishes of salad and at least three soups to the gentleman...who was rather large.  My son asked if they offered "unlimited soup and salad"...I was pretty sure they didn't.  I wonder what their bill was like?