Thanksgiving with Family - now back to beans and greens

Thanksgiving family dinner in Valdosta GA. Son Justin made ham with traditional pineapple topping. Neighbor fried a turkey breast that had been injected with a marinade. Sides included whipped mashed potatoes, green beans with bacon, sauteed squash, and a sweet potato casserole. For next year, check out the recipe at About. com.
Weight Watchers says it is only one meal. Well, it was 5 days of feasting, and I helped by cooking pork chops, homemade mac and cheese and salmon patties.
Now back home and back to beans and greens, our friends the filling foods.
Monday the 30th was indeed mustard greens from the garden. No sausage, but a bit of ham base brand of Orrington Farms ( http://www.orringtonfarms.com/ ). It ain't sausage, but still tasty. I'm become a devotee of old-fashioned soup bones the last couple of months and I make a pot of clean out the frig soup every week. The soup bone gives it depth.
Add onion and garlic to the greens and a drained can of pinto beans. Cook a skillet of cornbread, and there you have it - beans and greens, with soup and cornbread.

Tues., I "splurged" on a 3 oz. chicken breast, pounded thin, with a sprinkling of flour. I tossed it in a pan with a hint of olive oil till brown on both sides and removed all the breast pieces. I chopped a package of portabello mushrooms, added a little onion and garlic and cooked till barely tender. I then added wine, turned up the heat till it mostly burned off, and sneaked in a teaspoon of white truffle butter. The sauce was served over No Yolk noodles along with the Chicken and a side of green beans.

Wed. was hearty fiber day. More soup of course, but also a NRA - New Recipe Alert. Beef and Barley Hot Dish.

Boil 2 cups of water, add 1 cup quick cooking barley. Turn heat to low, simmer till water absorbed, remove from heat, leave lid on.
Meanwhile, brown 3/4 - 1 lb. lean ground meat in a large skillet, along with chopped onion, garlic, celery, green peppers, and a few fresh mushrooms if you have them. Stir in 1 tsp. dried oregano and basil leaves. Salt and pepper to taste.
Blend barley and beef mixture, turn into casserole dish. Heat in a 375 oven for 20-minutes. Top with 1/2 cup Parmesan or Romano cheese. Keep in oven till cheese melts.
This is nice topped with mandarin oranges.

I served this with Morrocan Carrots

Heat 1 Tbl. olive oil in large saucepan over moderate heat. Reduce heat. Add 1 Tbl. brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon each cumin and cinnamon, and a dash of cayenne. Meanwhile scrape and chop 3 large carrots. Add carrots to pan, along with 1/3 cup orange juice and a handful of raisins. Bring to a quick boil, then lower heat to lowest setting. Stir frequently till carrots are of desired tenderness.

Knowing I had a busy Thurs. (breakfast mtg, work, after work mtg) I decided on pork tenderloin for Thursday's supper. Wed. night, I made of paste of parsley from my garden, olive oil, dried rosemary and dried thyme, 2 fat garlic cloves, freshly ground pepper, a little kosher salt and several sprinkles of red peppers flakes. This went in the food processor till smooth. I then smeared the paste all over the tenderloin and let it marinate overnight.
I cooked it in a 400 oven for about 25 minutes. These small tenderloins take no time at all. I pull it at 150, knowing it willl continue to cook for a couple of minutes (pork is safe at 160). It was served with a nuked sweet potato and a salad.

Hubby seems happy to be back on "the Charlaine plan"