You're not doomed to the Wiggles!

At least I think that's what they're called. You need to start your kid off right, and if after listening to awesomeness they still wander over to crap music, you can love them anyway.

I've been working on giving Lola a musical education. It started with many in utero dance parties to old school gangsta rap. My craving for gangsta rap was almost as potent as my craving for Claussens pickles and olives. Recently, we've danced around the office to The Passenger by Iggy Pop which has had a nice little revival due to its use in the 'Up in the Air' trailer. I highly encourage an office dance party with or without a child. It is much more fun than those boring office stretches that you should be doing!

A lucky gift that made it to me was a compilation of various alternative rockers doing children's music called "Mary had a little Amp"  It supports a good cause, won't make you want to gouge out your eardrums, and it even has Lou Reed! It has a few great dance-y tunes, but I've found it really helps in the car. Lola and I do a lot of commuting and when she's wide awake and not ready to sleep she needs to have a toy and music on and this is one of our favorites. 

May's Angelfood is ready to order!

(EDITED: Angel Food Ministries is no longer in operation, if I find another service like this I will update!) 
 Don't forget your Angelfood this month! May's menu is open for orders now and my location has a deadline of May 13 for online ordering with a pick-up date of May 22nd. Not all locations have the same dates, but they are generally only a week apart so go to the website and find your location. The full menu is at the link above, but the signature box is below and is pretty exciting. The frozen lasagna is actually incredibly tasty and The Daddy's favorite, country fried steak, is on the list! As usual, I'll be posting a couple recipes a month based on the menu so check back frequently.

**Wondering how Angelfood works? Click here to read my explanation and please remember if you order Angelfood to list me in the referral box as oopsamommy@gmail.com. Working on a free box, which will really help the negative bank balance!

Apple and Onion Pork Tenderloins

 (EDITED: Angel Food Ministries is no longer in operation, if I find another service like this I will update!) 

 Last month’s Angelfood came with a plethora of apples and boneless pork chops.  Well, I thought, apples and pork go together like peas and carrots! In anticipation I put the frozen pork in the fridge and spent all day browsing recipes online and rejecting them. I decided to make up my own based on a few different recipes and an optimistic attitude but while at work on the big day I realized that I had started by forgetting the marinade!

Luckily, The Daddy gets home much earlier than I do on nights he isn’t working his 2^nd job so I called home to give him explicit instructions:

“Umm… can I get you to start the pork chop marinade?”

“I don’t know how.”

“Well, I can tell you how! That’s why I’m calling.”

Sigh “I guess so. What do you need me to do?”

“Grab the pork chops in the plastic bag in the fridge.”

“Ok.”

“Now I want you to mix up a marinade with a couple tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, brown sugar, salt, pepper, and some water.”

“Wait, where is the brown sugar?”

“Behind the macaroni and cheese” He lives on mac and cheese when I don’t cook.

“and the balsamic vinegar?”

“In the bottom cabinet on the right of the stove, now mix all that up and put it all in the bag with the pork and put it back in the fridge!”

“Hold on, I need to write this down. Now what do I need to do?”

…

An hour and a half later, after a delayed train ride and a late bus, which resulted in me asking The Daddy to pick me up at the train station I arrived home, ravenous and ready to cook. I handed off Lola to the care of The Daddy and good friend Heather who came along for the food.

I preheated the oven to 350 while Lola screeched. So Heather and The Daddy alternated bouncing her in the doorway of the kitchen so she could see me work. I chopped up some onions and got them ready for a long caramelization in the skillet with some olive oil and a tiny sliver of butter.

While the onions were working I got the apples ready. I washed them, sliced them, cut out the cores and tossed them in with the onions, the rest of the marinade and a little bit of chicken broth. I let the apples simmer for a minute or two and tossed them on top of the pork chops in a casserole dish and let it bake for 50 minutes. When the pork chops were done, I let them rest and poured out some of the juice from the dish back into the skillet. I warmed it to simmering and added a big pinch of corn starch and stirred till it was well blended and thickened up a bit. I poured most of the sauce into a serving cup and the rest back onto the chops and it was ready to serve. I set out a bowl of mixed greens, with some croutons and a quickly made dressing of olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

The result: Mouth watering, yummy yummyness. The apples still had some of their shape with just a touch of firmness left, the onions were sweet and savory and the pork was perfectly done. Can’t wait to make it again!

Apple and Pork Tenderloins
serves 4

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/2 cup water
4 pork tenderloins
1 large onion, sliced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp butter
4 crisp apples, cored, sliced
1/2 cup stock
big pinch of cornstarch

Prepare the marinade in advance! Must soak at least 1 hour to overnight. Pour the balsamic vinegar, brown sugar, salt, pepper and water in a gallon freezer bag. Close and shake till mixed. Open and place the pork in the bag. Carefully squeeze the air out of the bag and close. Put in the fridge on a plate to marinate.

Preheat the oven to 350. Put a pan on med heat. Pour in the olive oil and butter. Toss in the onions. You want them to caramelize so make sure the heat is not too high and leave them sit stirring every couple minutes. Once the onions have begun to brown toss in the apples, the remaining marinade and 1/2 cup of stock. Let the apples simmer for 2-3 minutes while you salt and pepper the pork and place in a casserole dish. Pour the apples and sauce over the pork and place in the oven. Bake for 50 minutes.

When pork chops are done strain the sauce back into the saucepan. Warm to a simmer and add cornstarch. Stir till thickened. Pour the sauce over the chops and apples and reserve some in a serving dish.



 

Snot-nosed Disease Carriers

Beware: those cute little cousins may have made my 6 month old giggle and smile, but they have brought a pox upon my house! Lola, The Daddy, and I have all come down with a burning throat, low grade fever, crusty eyes, and stuffy nose.  I think I have managed to not completely fail at motherhood in the past week but I definitely failed at laundry and general order and cleanliness (not to mention bloggerness.) Luckily for us, I picked up this sweet little gadget at the store a couple weeks ago. Turns out it was a wise impulse buy! This thermometer is a pacifier! It only cost about $10, and prevents me from having to stick something up my darlings bum when I'm just being paranoid.  I'll keep the rectal thermometer around to confirm but really glad I don't have to deal with snaps and diapers as frequently.

Your Easter Moment of Adorableness

Turkey Filet Mignon?

(EDITED: Angel Food Ministries is no longer in operation, if I find another service like this I will update!) 
 This month Angelfood featured Turkey Filet Mignon...what? So for all you steak purists, lets put the name aside and we'll call them bacon wrapped turkey medallions. I pulled them out to thaw last night- they seemed fancy enough for a small, Easter dinner (I couldn't bring myself to spend the money to get a ham at the grocery store when my freezer was stuffed to the brim.)

So, I pulled out the trusty grill pan (love this pan!) and put some hand cut fries in the oven (sprinkled with Old Bay of course.) I rubbed a little olive oil on the grill pan while it heated and salt, peppered, and garlic powdered the turkey medallions, always remember the garlic! Gave them a nice sear on both sides (about 8 minutes) and then poured in a little water and a bouillon cube, a little red wine vinegar, mustard and red pepper flake. Transfered the pan to the oven (I use a meat thermometer because I'm anal like that.) and brought it to an internal temperature of 170. The oven was on 400 for the fries so it only took about another 8 minutes.

I pulled the pan out of the oven and transferred the turkey medallions to a plate. Tasted the sauce, adjusted seasoning and added a little cornstarch to thicken it up. Then I brought it to a boil while stirring. I drizzled the sauce over the turkey medallions, put the rest aside in a gravy dish, and made a mixed green salad to round out the meal. Topped with a quick dressing made of oil and red wine vinegar it complemented the tang in the sauce.

Hard to calculate the cost of this meal as the turkey medallions came in the angelfood box, but I'd estimate the four of them at most might account for about $5.00, add another $5.00 for both the greens which I got on sale at the local grocery and the hand cut fries, also compliments of Angelfood, and we had a lovely, low-key Easter dinner.

Hope you enjoy!

Bacon-Wrapped Turkey Medallions

4 bacon wrapped turkey medallions.
1 tsp olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 cup water & bouillon cube (or stock)
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tsp red pepper flake
1/2 of water

1 tsp cornstarch

Preheat oven to 400. Heat an oven safe pan with the olive oil.  Sprinkle salt, pepper, and garlic powder on both sides of turkey. When hot place the turkey in the pan and do not move for at least 4 minutes while searing. Flip to the other side about an additional 4 minutes. Whisk the the water and bouillon, red wine vinegar, dijon mustard and red pepper flake and pour over the turkey medallions. Insert a meat thermometer into one of the medallions. Put it in the oven for another 8 minutes or until the meat thermometer reads 170.

Remove turkey to serving platter. Taste sauce, adjust seasoning, add remaining 1/3 cup of water and cornstarch. Bring to boil while whisking. Pour half of the sauce over the turkey before serving and the other half in a gravy boat. (Do people still have gravy boats?)

March Angelfood

(EDITED: Angel Food Ministries is no longer in operation, if I find another service like this I will update!) 

Yum! Stay tuned for recipes featuring March's standard box.