5:30 Challenge
5 ingredients/30 minutes
Tonight’s solution
Cuban Pork Stew
To make the meal
Sliced tomatoes
Yellow rice
This recipe from Liz Coyle, an Atlanta Journal-Constitution reader in Virginia-Highland and frequent contributor to the 5:30 Challenge, is another delicious meal that makes smart use of convenience products to get a meal on the table quickly. It’s the kind of dinner that works perfectly for a working mom who’s spent years juggling a heavy schedule of volunteer activities while still serving delicious dinners for her two teenage boys.
Coyle buys everything she needs for this dish from Trader Joe’s. One of the great features is that you can keep the components on hand so you can put it together at a moment’s notice. The pork carnitas are a fully cooked pork product that can sit in your refrigerator for up to three weeks, or in your freezer for up to two months. Keep the beans and salsa in the pantry, and you’re ready to make this stew whenever the mood hits.
Start your dinner preparations by getting the yellow rice under way, then warm up the pork with its flavorings. In 15 minutes, dinner is ready. Garnish everything with cilantro if your household likes the flavor.
Take the 5:30 Challenge. If you have a great-tasting main-dish recipe that uses no more than five ingredients and can be made in 30 minutes or less, tell us. (Salt, pepper, water and oil for greasing a pan don’t need to be included in the ingredient count.) You can also suggest a side dish if it can be made within the same time. Send recipes with your name, address and phone number to fivethirty@ajc.com.
Cuban Pork Stew
Hands on: 5 minutes
Total time: 15 minutes
Serves: 4
1 (15.5-ounce) can Cuban-style seasoned black beans
1 (12-ounce) package pork carnitas (Mexican-style oven-roasted pork)
1 (12-ounce) jar salsa verde
1/2 (half) (12-ounce) bottle beer
Lime wedges
In a large saucepan, combine the beans, pork, salsa verde and beer. Warm over medium heat for 10 minutes or until everything is heated through. Break up pork into serving-size pieces as it warms. Serve hot garnished with lime.
Per serving: 242 calories (percent of calories from fat, 16), 24 grams protein, 22 grams carbohydrates, 6 grams fiber, 4 grams fat (1 gram saturated), 55 milligrams cholesterol, 661 milligrams sodium.
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