Salubrious Sunday the 8th on a Saturday

Yep...this week, I had to alter the norm. We were invited to a 25th Wedding Anniversary party on Sunday and rather than give up my Salubriousness, I decided to hold it a day early.

Btw...we had an awesome time at the party. They served margs out of a water dispenser, so how could I not totally enjoy that, right?

This week I chose another recipe out of my new Pillsbury Fast & Healthy Cookbook titled Pork and Pineapple Stir-Fry. It was the perfect choice. My youngest child refuses to eat pork (even bacon.....whats up with that???) and since she's out of town I think the family should just pork up while we can.

Hamming it up would probably be a lot more fun, but the ole husband is anything but a ham.

1 1/2 cups uncooked instant rice (fast wasn't an issue so I just used regular rice.)

4 tablespoons packed brown sugar, divided

1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (I ground mine...not into choking and gasping on super hot pepper seeds)

3 tablespoons soy sauce

1/2 cup water

1 20 oz can pineapple chunks, drained, 2 tablespoons liquid reserved

3/4 lb boneless, lean pork, cut into think bite size strips

1 16 oz bag shredded cabbage w/carrots (coleslaw mix)

Cook the rice according to the package directions.

In a small bowl mix 3 tablespoons of the brown sugar, the cornstarch, ginger, pepper flakes, water, soy sauce and reserved pineapple liquid. Set aside.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. (I don't own a non stick skillet. Therefore I added a small amount of olive oil to the pan.) Add pineapple chunks and sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon of brown sugar.

Cook 5 minutes, turning chunks occasionally.

Turning all those chunks of pineapple was giving my hand a cramp. I recommend buying the pineapple rings, browning them and then cut those up into chunks. It would be sooo much easier.

But either way....YUM!!! I think this is the first time I've ever had browned pineapple.

Remove pineapple from your skillet and set aside.

In the same skillet, cook and stir pork over medium - high heat for 2 minutes

I think I made a tiny mistake. I cut the pork into chunks instead of the "requested" thin strips and it took a little longer to cook. O'well, live and learn.

Add coleslaw mix.......ooooh, ya it's a lot....

But don't worry, it will cook down. Cook and stir 3 - 6 minutes or until pork is no longer pink in the center and the cabbage is tender....(crisp tender would be best so cook the least amount of time as you safely can while making sure the pork is cooked).

Add the pineapple to the mix

Stir the cornstarch mix really really well (all that starch likes to settle in the bottom of the bowl) and then add it to the mix...

Cook and stir for about 3 minutes or until pork is glaze and sauce is slightly thickened. (it never thickens as much as you think it should so just give up before everything is over cooked...trust me.) If you want it thicker, you should adjust the cornstarch in the recipe...which might not be a bad idea.

Serve over rice.

Now...I wish I hadn't cooked it so much because the cabbage wasn't as crispy as I'd have liked it. Hell, from this pic, you can't even tell the cabbage is there. It is...I swear!! It just absorbed some of that sauce or something.

Anyways, I think bean sprouts would've been a great addition, without jeopardizing the healthiness or calories. I would've love to have added a little sesame oil. That would've added some GREAT flavor, which this dish was lacking, but I don't know how much it would affect the nutritional value. It did have some heat to it. That helped. But I've had and made enough sweet and sour stir-fry dishes to know that this dish needs some help.

It was fast. It was easy. And it was healthy. So I can't complain too much.

Here are the stats:

Makes 4 servings

Calories; 440

Calories from Fat; 70

Total Fat; 7 g

Saturated Fat; 2.5 g

Trans Fat; 0 g

Cholesterol; 55 mg

Sodium; 750 mg (is it me or does that seem a little high? yikes...didnt notice that one until just now. Maybe some of that lite soy sauce would be a better choice next time)

Total Carbs; 69 g