Dinner for Five – Weeknight Wholesome Pork, Rice, and Veggies

The witty banter will be in short supply tonight. It’s a sad day here in Goudaland. A close buddy of my hubbyman perished in a tragic plane crash this morning. Just last night, my guy and his friend worked late together at their shared place of employment, and as of 7:30 am this morning, his good friend is no longer with us. His friend actually commuted daily to work along with another person in a small aircraft that he piloted himself, and this morning something obviously went terribly wrong. Only 49 years old, he will be tremendously missed by his family, friends, and co-workers. He was a glass-half-full type of guy, and my hubby enjoyed his wit, humor, and friendship. So, tonight, I ask you to whisper a prayer for his family and friends, and also suggest that you give a special hug or hello to the special someones in your life just to let them know you care. :-)

So, onto today’s recipe. While I enjoy cooking and consuming all types of yummy creations, my children prefer the straightforward approach. I love a plate to be colorfully presented with snipped chive or parsley garnishes; my offspring absolutely, positively do NOT like greenery sprinkled on their food. Therefore, many weeknight meals served at my table are wholesome, straightforward, no-frills attached food. Hubbyman wolfs down everything placed in front of him, plain or fancy, so there are no hang ups there. It never ceases to amaze me how much my kids like this wholesome, straight-forward meal. They all belong to the clean plate club when it is served; and I mean CLEAN plates ... not a grain of rice left.At the risk of putting off all my readers, here’s a typical, gluten free, weeknight meal from the It’s All Gouda kitchen. There. The truth is out. As you already know, I feed a family of five and I follow a different food pyramid than what is recommended in the U.S. We don’t eat a lot of whole grains (gasp!) especially since we follow a mostly gluten free existence, instead eating more veggies and fruit. I try to have a form of protein, in this case sliced pork, and some sort of gluten free starch to balance out the meal. Often, we end our meal with salad (yep, end the meal) or with fruit. Take a look at the plate, and you’ll see what I mean. Not pictured is sliced melon that we had after the meal. Even better, I can have this on the table in less than 30 minutes. Look out Rachel Ray! Seriously, though, for busy families like mine who find value in eating the evening meal together, meals such as this are important to have in your repertoire.I’m trying to cut back on our meat consumption, and in this meal, I’ve taken 3 thick pork chops and thinly sliced them to make 5 portions. Simply seasoned with seasoned salt and quickly stir fried in a little bit of canola and olive oil, this comes together in just a few minutes. Both my hubby and son would be happy to eat only a ton of meat at a meal; however, by providing lots of variety, they aren’t complaining too much about not having more meat on their plate.Mmm, broccoli ... one of my favorite veggies. My littlest veggie eater also likes cooked broccoli; the older ones barely tolerate it. It pairs great with other foods, so it makes a weekly appearance. Called little trees by my nephew, I cook my broccoli much different than many folks. I bring a pot of water that has slivered garlic in it to a boil, turn the stove off, drop the broccoli in, and let it sit for 5-10 minutes while I prepare the rest of the meal. A quick draining, a sprinkling of sea salt, and a drizzling of olive oil are all that’s needed before plating. It comes out perfect every time.Basmati rice is my all purpose go-to rice. With its flavorful, long, thin grains, it takes only 20 minutes to prepare from start to finish. Here it is simply prepared in chicken broth along with some butter or olive oil. My kids often splash on some soy sauce at the table.
I like to have at least one “raw” food with each meal. More often than not, that means carrots. All members of my family LOVE carrot sticks. I swear I can peel and slice carrots in my sleep. No matter how much I prepare, they always want more and never get sick of them. I’ll be planting these in my garden again this year.

So, there you have it. What does a typical meal look like in your household? Do you have tried and true favorites? And remember to give your special someones a special hug or hello today.

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PS: Is anyone else having blogger reader hang-ups? I subscribe to all my commenter’s blogs, and the reader keeps telling me no new posts. However, I get curious after a couple days and go visiting only to find that, yes, you’ve made several posts. So, I think I’m going to cease relying on the reader and just go visiting. Please know that I love reading your blogs and look forward to all your posts as well as your comments here!