Home Alone Again

Let's see: it's Friday night, so the daughter is managing at her old high school's football game and the husband is at a bean supper up in Indianapolis (can I tell you how glad I am that the wives are not invited to that particular meal?). So that means that I have once again been left home alone. Who knows what sorts of trouble I can get into? Luckily for my family - and you - I decided to confine my mischief to the culinary arena.

Hmm, leftovers and imagination just might make for an interesting dinner.

I have some left over mustard glazed pork loin, some veggies from the fridge, a snack-size container of pineapple in juice, some pecans, a package of Udon noodles and some rice vinegar and sweet chili sauce. I think I'm sensing a sweet and sour pork dish here.

I chopped up all of my ingredients before heating some canola oil in a skillet. This is a quick-cooking meal so all the prep work should be done beforehand.

I added a chopped clove of garlic and some red pepper flakes to the line-up.

The onion, carrot and celery go in to the skillet first.

Now the cauliflower and broccoli join in the fun.

Both the pineapple chunks and the juice are added to the pan. At this point I also threw in a pinch of red pepper flakes.

The Udon noodles are soft so I didn't bother with boiling them first. I did set aside the seasoning packet, though. I have no need of mystery seasonings.

At this point the pork loin was also added.

I then tossed in about half a teaspoon of brown sugar, a splash of Aji-Mirin, a splash of rice vinegar and a glop of sweet chili sauce.

This is now ready for service. And can I tell you? This was good. The chili gave a nice bit of heat while the small amount of sugar and Aji-Mirin added just a hint of sweetness. There was no heavy, gloppy sauce to overwhelm the dish and the palate.

Maybe my family should leave me alone at home more often.