There is nothing I like more than feeding my friends and family. Lately, I have been trying to curb my desire to make too much food. I’m getting better. You see, in the last 1.5 years, my husband and I have lost over 120 lbs (that’s together, not individually). Sometimes it is surprising to think about the quantity of food we used to eat.
Now, I make meals, not dishes. Here’s an example.
Ingredients:
- 16 oz pulled pork
- 1 Tbsp bacon grease
- 1 cup cheddar cheese (grated)
- 6-7 cloves of garlic
- 7 mushrooms (large, sliced)
- 3 jalapeno’s (2 chopped, 1 sliced)
- 1 cup beef bouillon
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- 1/4-1/2 tsp cornstarch to thicken
- 6 slices of bacon
I had some homemade pulled pork in the deep freezer. I reheated that in the sous-vide until it reached 195. While that was re-heating, I added a Tbsp of bacon grease to my large cast iron skillet. Then I added about 6 cloves of garlic and 7 large mushrooms and chopped up 2 jalapeno’s. I took the 3rd jalapeno and sliced it to add at the end, as a spicy topper/decoration. Once the mushrooms and jalapeno’s were ready, I added a cup of beef bouillon (for gravy, yum). While that was warming, I mixed the heavy cream with about 1/4 tsp cornstarch and added it that to the pan. I let the gravy continue to cook while I prepared 2 lunches and 2 dinners. Each meal was 4 oz. I topped each one with grated cheddar cheese and cooked it in the oven for about 15 minutes at 375. When it came out, I added gravy, the bacon and the raw jalapeno slices.
Oh yeah, so anyway, we had leftovers a plenty. We brought some of the food to a local shelter and went online to buy our first vacuum sealer on Amazon Prime (so we’d get it in two days). Our first vacuum sealer was the 
It was certainly fancier, had more capabilities. It was also more expensive and more complicated to use. It should have lasted longer and performed better, but it did not. Again with the just because it costs more, doesn’t mean it is better quality. You had to press HARD on the front portion of the sealer to lock it in place. We were always getting moisture into the drip tray, it never really handled the liquids well. Also, when sealing dried powdery goods, like flour, or spices, there was a little hole that would clog all the time. The most high maintenance and expensive vacuum sealer that we owned. The heat element broke within 6 months of our purchase. We called the company, they walked us through the troubleshooting and ended up replacing the unit. We did this twice in 6 months and then said, that’s enough, let’s try a different brand.
