Tax season is over. I am hoping life will now settle down. The problem is all the appointment that I have been putting off for the last two months have to be done now so there are doctors appointments, dentist appointments, eye appointments, hearing appointments and hair appointments all within the next two to three weeks. It happens every year. I keep saying I will stay on top of things and try to keep them spread out but then something happens to throw one appointment off and it is like a chain of dominos.

But, my parents will be arriving today for a month. I am going to make time for them. I will be gone during part of their stay to a conference in Walt Disney World for Social Media Moms but other than that I am trying to keep things open.

That means I need to plan meals a bit more than I have been lately. I usually have at least a month scheduled but the last month it has been day by day and it really is tough to get things together than way. Even a weekly schedule is better than no schedule. You know what you have to work with for the next day and can plan your time better than just opening the refrigerator after work and praying you have all the ingredients to make something your family will eat or, ordering food or going out to eat.

I love dishes such as this pork loin because it means dinner for tonight is already to go. My family likes to take leftovers for lunch so we rarely have enough leftovers for a second dinner. This was a planned second dinner meal. When I make roasts, pork loins, whole chickens I try to plan and save enough to easily make a second meal by adding a few ingredients.  If I think we won’t eat a similar meat two nights in a row I have been known to pack up the leftovers in a freezer bag and stash it away for the next week. Makes meal planning simpler.

I plan on using the leftover meal for Asian Tacos with a slaw made of red cabbage, onions, vinegar and sugar. The best part is it won’t even seem like the same meat to the kids.

Verdict:

This roast had a nice light gingery taste with the delicious sticky glaze.  My family asked me to double the sauce next time (reflected in the recipe below) to have extra to drizzle over everything.

I served this dish with garlic roasted potatoes, brown bean and a spinach side salad.

My son loved this dish because using gluten-free soy sauce it was gluten-free! No substitutions for him.

Ingredients:

• 3-4 boneless pork loin
• _{1 1/3} cup soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 5 teaspoons garlic, minced
• ^{1/2 cup brown sugar}
• ^{2/3 cup honey}
• ₃ tablespoons dark sesame oil
• vegetable oil cooking spray

Directions:

1. Trim roast of visible fat and butterfly so that it lies open with about 1/2″ left attaching the two pieces.
2. Place the roast in a Zip-loc bag with soy sauce, ginger and garlic. Place the bag in the refrigerator at least 3 hours turning a few times if possible.
3. Combine brown sugar, honey and sesame oil in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir occasionally until sugar is dissolved and mixture is well combined.
4. Remove roast from marinade and discard marinade.
5. Spray grill well with cooking spray.
6. Place roast over medium heat and brush with brown sugar glaze.
7. Allow to cook 20-25 minutes until temperature reaches 165 degrees.
8. Baste pork each time you turn it.
9. Use leftover brown sugar glaze to drizzle over pork when serving.