Thursday: Two Breakfast Shifts, Pork Tenderloin & Homemade Rice Pilaf

Thursday mornings are always a little chaotic around here because we have to get everybody out the door for homeschool co-op.

But today was a little different.

My teenager was taking the PSAT, so she was staying home with Chris while I took the other kids to co-op.

Which meant I was running two breakfast shifts.

First shift: 6:45 a.m.

Second shift: 7:15 a.m.

Apparently, I’m operating a small breakfast diner now.

Two Breakfast Shifts and a PSAT

I wanted my teenager to have a substantial breakfast before her test, so I made her a breakfast burrito.

She also had half of a Costco bagel.

A little carb loading before a morning of standardized testing.

Meanwhile, the other kids had our usual bagels and bacon.

Thankfully, I had cooked a fresh batch of bacon Wednesday night, so all I needed to do was reheat it.

I love having breakfast components ready to go on Thursday mornings.

We have about a 40-minute drive to co-op in Kentucky, and there’s almost always traffic.

So we really do need to get moving.

And with two different breakfast schedules happening, I was especially happy that most of the food was already prepared.

My Four-Year-Old’s Breakfast Bin for the Car

Here’s a little trick I’ve been using for my four-year-old.

She almost never wants to eat breakfast first thing in the morning.

I can put a beautiful breakfast in front of her at 7 a.m., and she’ll take approximately two bites.

But twenty minutes later, when we’re driving down the highway?

Suddenly she’s starving.

So instead of fighting that battle every Thursday morning, I started making her a little breakfast bin for the car.

I didn’t get a picture of it today, but it’s very simple.

I use a small plastic bin and pack a few things she likes.

This morning I included:

• A little bag of sliced cucumbers
• Cream cheese crackers
• A couple pieces of bacon
• Some chicken sausage

Yes, cucumbers for breakfast.

She loves cucumbers.

I’ve also discovered that cream cheese crackers work particularly well for her in the car.

Better than toast or bagels.

They don’t seem to get as messy, and she likes having little bites she can eat gradually.

Another Beautiful Co-op Day

We made it to co-op and had a full day of classes.

And the weather was absolutely beautiful.

So we got to have our picnic lunch outside.

I love when we can do that.

Especially this time of year, when you never know how many nice days we have left before the weather turns cold.

And thankfully, I’d packed everything Wednesday.

All the PlanetBoxes were ready.

The Last of Sunday’s Taco Meat

When we got home from co-op, I was hungry.

And I knew exactly what I wanted.

A taco platter.

I pulled out the very last of the taco meat I cooked on Sunday.

Remember that enormous six-pound package of ground beef?

I cooked the whole thing and seasoned it with taco seasoning.

We had taco bowls for lunch Sunday.

More taco bowls and salads during the week.

And I froze a good portion of it on Tuesday.

So today, I finished off the last of what was left in the refrigerator.

I made myself a little taco platter with the leftover meat and some toppings.

And that was my afternoon snack.

Costco Pork Tenderloin for Dinner

For dinner tonight, I decided to make pork tenderloin.

I bought a package at Costco a couple of weeks ago, and it had a really good use-by date.

But when you open it, there are actually four individual tenderloins.

Two tenderloins in each sealed pouch.

Which is a lot of pork.

And I definitely didn’t need to cook all four tonight.

So I put one unopened pouch, containing two tenderloins, into the freezer.

And I cooked the other two.

Ingredients

My Simple Roasted Pork Tenderloin

I kept the seasoning really simple tonight.

• 2 pork tenderloins
• Olive oil
• Salt
• Black pepper
• Garlic powder
• Smoked paprika
• Italian seasoning

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F.
2. Place the pork tenderloins in a roasting pan or on a sheet pan.
3. Drizzle with olive oil.
4. Season generously with salt, pepper, garlic powder, smoked paprika, and Italian seasoning.
5. Roast until the pork reaches your preferred internal temperature.
6. Remove from the oven, loosely cover with foil, and rest for at least 10 minutes before slicing.

I like to cook my pork tenderloin to about 160°F.

And I know some people are going to tell me that’s too high.

I know the USDA recommends a minimum internal temperature of 145°F followed by a three-minute rest for whole cuts of pork.

And I know that pork tenderloin can be perfectly safe and wonderfully juicy at that temperature.

But personally?

I don’t love a pink center in my pork.

It’s just a preference.

So I usually cook mine a little longer.

And then I always let it rest.

That’s important.

I take it out of the oven, cover it loosely with foil, and leave it alone for at least ten minutes.

That gives the juices time to redistribute before I slice it.

And while the pork was resting, I finished our side dishes.

Homemade Rice Pilaf From Leftover Rice

Now here’s the part of dinner I really want to talk about.

Because this is such a useful little trick.

I had leftover cooked rice in the refrigerator.

And I also had some beef broth left from earlier in the week when I made stir-fry.

So I decided to turn that rice into a quick homemade rice pilaf.

And it was delicious.

You absolutely do not need a seasoning packet or a box of Rice-A-Roni to make a flavorful rice side dish.

You can make it yourself with cooked rice, vegetables, broth, and a few seasonings.

And it only takes a few minutes.

My Easy Leftover Rice Pilaf

This is more of a method than an exact recipe. Adjust the quantities based on how much cooked rice you have and how moist it is.

Ingredients

• Leftover cooked rice
• A little cooking oil
• Diced carrots
• Diced onion
• Diced celery
• Garlic powder
• Italian seasoning
• Salt and black pepper
• Beef broth, approximately 1 to 1½ cups total, added gradually

Instructions

1. Heat a large skillet with a little oil.
2. Add the diced carrots, onions, and celery.
3. Sauté until the vegetables begin to soften.
4. Add garlic powder, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.
5. Stir for a moment to let the seasonings warm up in the oil.
6. Pour in about one cup of beef broth.
7. Add a generous amount of cooked rice and stir everything together.
8. Let the rice cook until most of the liquid has been absorbed.
9. Assess the texture. If the rice needs more moisture, add another splash of broth. I ended up adding about another half cup.
10. Continue cooking until the rice is heated through and the liquid is absorbed.

That’s it.

Homemade rice pilaf.

And it’s so good.

The Trick Is Adding the Broth Slowly

Here’s the one thing I’d emphasize.

Don’t dump in a huge amount of broth all at once.

Because leftover rice can vary so much.

Sometimes it’s really firm and dried out from being in the refrigerator.

Sometimes it’s already pretty soft.

And sometimes it can get a little gummy if you add too much liquid.

So I like to start with a smaller amount of broth and see how the rice responds.

Today I started with approximately one cup.

I let that cook into the rice.

Then I decided it needed a little more moisture, so I added about another half cup.

But you might need less.

It depends on how much rice you’re using and what its texture was like when you started.

The goal is to have rice that’s flavorful and tender, but not swimming in broth.

You want the vegetables mixed throughout, the seasonings distributed evenly, and the rice to have absorbed that delicious beef broth.

Dinner: Pork Tenderloin, Rice Pilaf and Green Beans

To finish dinner, I also made frozen green beans.

And that was our meal.

Roasted pork tenderloin.

Homemade rice pilaf.

Green beans.

Simple, delicious, and really satisfying after a long day.