The good news…all of the hastily frozen meals remained quite tasty when thawed and reheated.  We were able to thoroughly enjoy an encore meal of chicken marsala.

The new creations for the short week included a simple pasta with fresh peas that was extremely satisfying. While it is not a meal I would prepare often, it is a quick one pot meal that satisfies the pasta cravings.  I used fresh spring peas from Trader Joe’s.  A Hit.

One Pot Pea and Bacon Pasta in Mascarpone Parmesan Sauce

Wednesday Night was Family Night…Pulled Pork.  Our road trip took us through South Carolina and the ‘Ole Buckeye continually commented on how much he enjoyed good vinegar based Carolina barbecue.  Unfortunately we never did stop anywhere that had the authentic pork he kept talking about.  When we returned home I found this recipe in an email blast and was determined to make it while our trip was still fresh in our minds.  I had nothing to compare this to, so the ‘Ole Buckeye was the best critic.

World’s Best Carolina Pulled Pork

Carolina pulled pork with vinegar sauce…a huge hit with the “Ole Buckeye and the entire family, although it dried out slightly when reheated in the daughter in law’s crock pot (she needs a replacement)  When the vinegar based sauce was added it was absolutely delicious and very true to its’ South Carolina heritage.  This will be a big keeper.  I served it with a hot red cabbage recipe borrowed from Rachael Ray as well as my old standby quick preparation of cole slaw and we all loved it.  We had a choice of soft rolls for sandwiches or simply the meat.  Both ways were successful!  A definite HIT, especially with the ‘Ole Buckeye.  He loved it.

My short week of meal preparation was full of hits.  Plus I had enough pulled pork to toss into the freezer for a future meal.  Wednesday evening involved filling the freezer with leftovers.

Thursday we were off to Chicago…to home and lots of eating (and drinking) with friends.