Rachel Ray's Building Blocks #1 and # 2 for Make Ahead Meals

Every recipe that Rachel gives for her twenty make ahead meals are made from one of five major ingredients.  They are Pulled Pork, Tomato Sauce, Roasted Veggies, Pulled Chicken, and Rice Pilaf.  Pick a day where you will have several hours to devote to cooking these ingredient building blocks for your recipes.  You will cook them all and then freeze them.  It took me about 6 hours.  If you have a friend or spouse that is willing to help, it would cut the prep time down considerably.  Next time, I will definitely be enlisting my husband Dustin for help.  And can I just say that these building blocks taste amazing!!!   You could totally use them in a variety of recipes... not just Rachel's. These recipes are straight from her September magazine... if you haven't gotten it yet  - do it!     http://www.rachaelraymag.com/

Pulled Pork

10 pounds of pork shoulder roast, cut into 2-3 inch chunks, fat trimmed
6 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
zest of 2 lemons
1/2 cup white wine
salt and pepper

Rub garlic, zest and salt and pepper into pork.  Divide into two roasting pans and cook until top side is browned in a 450 degree oven.  Turn pork over to other side and cook until browned, about 15 minutes.  Combine the all the pork into one pan.  Turn heat down to 325 degrees.  Add wine and any remaining juices from other pan to the pork.  Cover tightly with foil.  Roast for 1 hour and 45 minutes.  Let cool for at least 15 minutes.  Then take two forks and shred pork. 

Divide pork into 1 cup portions and place in freezer bags.  Makes about 15 cups.

Weight Watcher points= 16 pts per cup

Tomato Sauce

1/4 cup EVOO
8 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
6 oil packed anchovy fillets, chopped (optional) - I left them out, just added  more salt
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1 cup red wine
4 cans crushed San Marzano tomatoes (28 oz)
salt

In a dutch oven, combine the EVOO, garlic, anchovies and crushed red pepper.  Cook over medium heat till garlic is golden.  Add the wine and tomatoes.  Bring ingredients to a boil and boil for ten minutes.  Partially cover and simmer for 2 hours and 15 minutes.  Add salt to taste.

After cooled,  freeze two bags holding one cup, and the rest holding two cups.    Makes about 10 cups

Weight Watchers points= 2 pts/cup

20 Days with Rachel Ray


So, obviously, given my lack of postings... I have been way too busy!  But being too busy has brought about a wonderful discovery.  While shopping the aisles of Walmart, I noticed the September issue of EveryDay with Rachel Ray.  The cover said, 1 Month of Make Ahead Meals.  I was so intrigued that I added it to my cart.  Normally the only make ahead meals I ever find are from ancient casserole cookbooks that only use hamburger and macaroni...ewwww.   Thankfully Rachel Ray has brought make ahead meals into the twenty first century for today's busy cook with an above average palette.  If you haven't already purchased this month's issue - I implore you to do so!!!  I will be sharing some of my favorites with you over the course of time.  All I can say is that it has been a godsend for me this month.  If anything, it has taken away the stress of the age old question... "What's for dinner?"  And it has cut my cooking time for dinner in half!  So far the meals have all tasted good... and some very good.    And if there are only two of you in the house.. this food will last you much longer than 20 meals.  So what are you waiting for... go get the magazine!!!

 

Greek Salad with Chicken

Its been the basics at our house for a while.  Roasted veggies, rice, and  simple proteins have been a staple the past few weeks due to a tight budget.  But this dish did make it onto the menu to liven things up during a dry spell.     This recipe is from the Weight Watchers Momentum cookbook.   If you aren't worried about calories, I recommend adding more kalamata olives! I also used a whole regular size tub of feta instead of the 1/2 cup called for in the recipe.  I also added a healthy dose of salt and pepper to the dish.  This is super simple, but does not work for leftovers.  It gets tooooo mushy.  So make what you can eat in one sitting!

Ingredients

3/4 cup plain fat- free yogurt
3 T chopped fresh mint
3 T chopped fresh dill
zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tsp olive oil
2 cups diced roasted chicken breast
3 cups torn romaine lettuce leaves
2 large tomatoes, cut into wedges
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced
1/2 cup chopped red onion
at least 8 pitted kalamata olives, coarsely chopped
1 small carton of crumbled  feta cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions

1.  To make the dressing, whisk together the yogurt, mint, dill, lemon zest and juice, garlic, and oil in a small bowl. 

2.  Toss together the chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, and onion in a serving bowl.  Drizzle the yogurt dressing over the salad and toss to coat.  Sprinkle with the olives and feta.

WW Point = 7pts per 1.5 cups