Mojo Style Roast Pork in the Crock Pot

As y'all know, I love ballin' on a budget! Like seriously, I love seeing just how much I can decrease my expenses and still have a fabulous quality of life. This is how I can afford things like vacation, camping trips (ever notice how expensive it is to go camping!? We may "glamp" a smidge, come to think of it.) and fueling my coffee shop addiction (YES! It's almost hot mocha season y'all!).

Here is my most recent ballin' on a budget recipe. I got the inspiration from my friend Adreanna, who shared a link to her husband's version (link at the end). I totally mixed it up and it was AMAZING!! I'll do the cost breakdown, too, and you can see how I am going to feed my son and I at least two full meals, my mother one (I am southern momma's boy, I set a plate of food aside for her at least once a month.) and will freeze some leftovers for a couple weeks from now all for less than $20, or $5/meal for 2 people! !

Pork shoulder roast--on sale, $12 (I don't recall the weight)
5 cloves (not bulbs) of garlic-- (25 cents (seriously))
1/2 medium onion (50 cents)
1 teaspoon Cumin (maybe $1 because I buy my spices from Penzeys)
2 Tablespoons Oregano ($1)
1 teaspoon Chili pepper flakes (25 cents)
Juice of four limes ($2)
1/4 cup OJ (35 cents)
smidge Smoked paprika (10 cents, a little goes a long way here folks)
1-2 teaspoons Fresh cracked pepper (25 cents)
Handful of new potatoes ($1 (?) )
Olive Oil (neglible, I forgot to measure anyway)

Finely grate the garlic (I honestly could've used twice as much, but my son doesn't have the same affinity for garlic as I do), combine with all the spices, lime juice and olive oil. I like to let it sit for 30 minutes to rehydrate all the spices and let the flavors begin to really mingle.

Meanwhile, take your roast out of the package, I always rinse it off because it seems slimy (is that just me?) and place in the crock pot. Spread the thinly sliced onions on top of the roast; smear the top of roast with the mojo sauce and let it sit for another 30 minutes. Then SLOWLY pour the orange juice on top of the roast being careful not to wash the mojo mix off.

Today, I cooked on low from 7 am--3 pm, turned off and let it just sit in its own amazing juices. Turned it back on high at 430 when I added the potatoes. Everything was AMAZING by dinner at 545. I paired this with a fresh salad and water.

Tomorrow I will shred some of the pork, add some apple juice (it really pairs well) and some homemade taco seasoning, jalapenos and bell peppers to simmer for about 20 minutes to make nachos.

I will shred the rest and freeze for either soup or bbq sandwiches later in the month. This main dish, coming in at under $20, will feed my son and me three meals and my mother one. This means a total of 7 main dishes for roughly 2.85 each. Add a side to each dish (green beans, salad, tater tots, etc) and you're coming in at approx. $5/meal MAX. Oh, did you notice what's missing? Salt. Preservatives. Chemicals. Yada, yada, yada. It CAN be done.

Here is the link to the original recipe, off of which I based mine: Cuban Style Roast Pork

Meatless Mondays--Vegetable Fried Quinoa

For the past month or so I have converted my family to Meatless Monday Menus. No particular reason except I am trying to increase fiber, broaden my recipe options, encourage more vegetable consumption all for a healthier life for my son and me.

Last night I made some chicken fried quinoa (think chicken fried rice, sub quinoa for rice). Tomorrow, Meatless Monday, I am revisiting this recipe and leaving the chicken out. Here is my recipe, sorta: 

Ingredients: 

Cold Quinoa (I used 1/2 cup uncooked to make two batches)

1/2 Orange Bell Pepper

1/2 Red Bell Pepper

1/2 Green Bell Pepper

1/2 Medium Onion

1/2 can of bamboo shoots

1ish thinly sliced jalapeno

1t crushed red peppers (optional)

2 eggs

1/2 inch finger of fresh ginger, finely grated

2 cloves of garlic, finely grated

olive oil

fish sauce

low sodium soy sauce

Olive Oil

Singapore Seasoning from Penzey's Spices

Make quinoa in advance, chill for at least an hour in the fridge. 

Slice all the veggies into strips 

Add 1-2 T olive oil to a skillet on high heat

Dump ALL veggies, bamboo shoots, garlic and ginger in

Here's the trick--use a HIGH HEAT to get a nice char on the veggies, which WILL happen without burning if you stir now and then. Once the charring is just happening, push the veggies to the sides of the skillet making a small circle in the center. Into this circle (you can add meat at this point if you are using meat, let the meat cook BEFORE adding the eggs), crack your eggs. Let them fry/scramble fully before mixing with the veggies. Mix it all up once eggs are fully cooked. Everything is mixed well, add the cold quinoa (I chose quinoa over rice because it's healthier and is an excellent source of protein). Splash a tiny bit of fish sauce, about 2T low sodium soy sauce and maybe 1T of singapore seasoning (YES!!!). Mix until thoroughly heated, ensuring the soy & fish sauce is fully mixed in w/ the veggies and quinoa. 

Remove from heat, serve with garnishment of crushed peanuts and lime wedges to bring out the flavors. 

Edited to add: This served both of us a healthy dinner portion and just enough leftover for my lunch. 

Enjoy! 

Double ETA: this recipe was inspired by emilybites.com as provided to me by my fabulous office manager, Chrissy.

PS--what are YOUR favorite Meatless Monday Meals? I need some new ones!!!