Summer break is quickly winding down for our family, so as part of my July Grocery 101 Challenge as a Hormel Extended Family Blogger, I decided a special dinner was in order for our family, as well as my parents. We rarely get to all sit down together as a family and have a meal, but this past Sunday we were all able to come together and enjoy a delicious meal prepared with Hormel products.
Our Meal Plan:
Pepperoni & Cheese Tray (Appetizer featuring Hormel Pepperoni slices)
Pineapple Glazed Pork Tenderloin (Hormel Always Tender Pork Loin)
Cajun Ranch Potatoes
Black-Eyed Peas
Pasta Salad (made with Hormel Bacon Bits)
NAVIGATING THE GROCERY STORE:
I’m a firm believer of making lists when it comes to our grocery shopping and having a meal plan in place. Not only does it make it a whole lot quicker to get in and out of the store, but it also keeps me from spending unnecessarily, thus saving our family money. A great thing about most of the Hormel products I used for this challenge was that they were all conveniently located near one another in the meat department at our local store.
MEAL PREP:
It’s hard to wait on great food that is still cooking, so naturally having an appetizer is great way to stave off the hunger pains while having wait. I became hooked on Hormel Pepperoni slices several months back when I did an earlier review for Hormel. Added with some Colby/Monterrey cheese cubes, this make a very quick and easy appetizer sure to please just about anyone.
Our family loves pork loin, but the usual ways of making it were getting a little bit boring. I decided to be adventurous and try a new recipe called Pineapple Glazed Pork Loin, which I found at Cooks.com, and used a Hormel Always Tender Pork Loin. The recipe was easy enough to follow and the end result was an amazingly juicy and tender pork loin with a sweet hint of pineapple. It instantly became a favorite and one we will cook again.
*TIP*: If you decide to try this recipe, I would recommend doubling the amount of glaze for the pork loin. While this was really good, we unanimously decided a bit more pineapple glaze would have been wonderful.
Next up on the menu was Cajun Ranch Potatoes. I normally make this recipe without the Cajun seasoning, but decided to try a little just to kick it up a notch. You could also throw in some Hormel Real Bacon Crumbles to add a little extra flavor to these. Yes, I thought of that *after* I had already made them.
For additional sides, we had fresh black-eyed peas (which can be seasoned with Hormel bacon, *hint* *hint*) and pasta salad, which I used Hormel Bacon Bits in.
END RESULTS:
It was so nice to sit down with our entire little immediate family and catch up on what’s been going on and ponder some big changes on the horizon for us. I’m so appreciative to Hormel for providing a gift card, products, and coupons to cover the expenses of this meal. For more great recipes using Hormel products, please visit www.hormelfoodsrecipes.com/
CONNECT WITH HORMEL:
Visit Hormel Food Recipes on Facebook at www./facebook.com/HFrecipes and check out their summer grilling promotion where you can enter to win a brand new grill!
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