Hello fellow CSA members,

Another month, another opportunity to make some tasty meals! This month’s share had a lot of possibilities.

I am using it this month to get us moving towards more summer cooking. Cleaning up the grill is on this months to do list. In addition, I am using a few of the cuts to help keep my kid’s lunches enticing as we enter the final stretch before summer break.

Let’s take a peek at my 20#/month share:

May 2024 CSA Share

• Ground Beef (5)

• Tri-tip: My Choice

• Asada: My Choice

• Whole Chicken

• Chuck Roast

• Sweet Italian Sausage (1)

• Pork Tenderloin (1)

Ground Beef

Recently when a protein I was preparing got ruined (I wasn’t paying attention), I was able to just take some ground beef out of the freezer, use warm water to thaw off the wrapping, and pop it in the pan to make crispy chickpeas and beef. I already had the rice and veggies! Dinner still got on the table! I love having this cut in the freezer!

I chose some versatile dishes this month to use my ground beef. I can easily add in cans of black beans or lentils to bulk it up. I can also make some of these ahead of time, so I just have to pull everything out of the fridge when I get home. I plan to make the following dishes:

• Beef and quinoa enchilada skillet x1

• Bibimbap bowl x1

• Spiced ground beef skewers x2

• Mini taco hand pies for my kids’ lunches x1

Tri-tip

This was one of our My Choice selections this month. I really love this cut….a lot! I really enjoy the texture and flavor. I find that it is fairly easy to prep and cook. I also rarely overcook it, which is a huge win for me. I plan to grill it and serve it with baked potatoes and some of the first sugar snap peas of the season.

Asada

My son has started adding more spice to his food in an attempt to increase his heat tolerance. This would make my life a lot easier as I often times need to leave out certain ingredients or make substitutions to make a dish not as spicy.

I am going to make carne asada tacos with some added heat that I hope we will all enjoy.

Whole Chicken

I will cook the whole chicken in the instant pot and then shred the meat when it is cool. I want to use it for an easy dinner and lunch. I will make chicken nachos with the bulk of the meat.

For the remaining amount I will use it to make chicken and kimchi wraps. This wrap is about as easy as they come and requires little brain power. One of the reasons why I love tossing food into a wrap!

If I am in a pinch, I can also use some of the remaining chicken instead for chicken quesadillas for kid lunches.

Chuck Roast

As summer approaches I try and cook some larger cuts and freeze them for quick dinners on the really hot summer days.

I have decided to take this chuck roast and put it in the slow cooker to make a Cuban shredded beef. Once it has cooled, I will parcel it out into two freezer bags and freeze. It can go on a salad, a bowl, quesadilla, or wrap.

Sweet Italian Sausage

I will use this cut for weeknight spaghetti. I put it in the pan, cook and crumble the meat and add in a jar of sauce. I often times get a tub of spinach and toss some in as well. Super handy for a low-effort and quick dinner.

Pork Tenderloin

I will use this cut to make kebabs. I will make sure to prep ahead of time so it can sit in the marinade. I prefer to use stainless-steel skewers over bamboo.

Extras

I bought some extras to help out with kid’s lunches and our upcoming camping trips. I like getting the pepper sausage as my kids love it on sandwiches.

I purchased more hot dogs for camping. I got Polish sausage so we can make campfire foil packets for one of our camp meals. The sausages and ground meats really come in handy when camping.

Hawaiian Pork Kebabs

Serves 8

Ingredients

• 2 pounds pork loin

• 1 cup crushed pineapple with juice (Do not use fresh pineapple)

• ½ cup soy sauce

• ½ cup honey

• ¼ cup vegetable oil

• ¼ cup chili sauce

• 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

• 2 tablespoons minced garlic

• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

• 1 teaspoon ground ginger

• ½ teaspoon black pepper

• 1 large white onion

• 1 red bell pepper

• 1 yellow bell pepper

Steps

1. Cut pork loin into even sized cubes, about 1 - ½ inch sized.

2. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together pineapple with juice, soy sauce, honey, oil, chili sauce, vinegar, garlic and seasonings. Stir until well blended.

3. Pour over the pork chunks, seal, and refrigerate for 1 hour - overnight.

4. Peel and chop the onion into 1 inch sized pieces. Seed and trim the bell peppers and cut into similar sized pieces.

5. Carefully skewer the marinated pork with the vegetables onto metal or bamboo skewers. Alternate pepper, pork, onion and repeat until you have used all.

6. On a grill heated to about 400 degrees, grill the skewers on 3-4 minutes on each side. Rotate until all sides are cooked evenly and the pork is done and no longer pink. Do not overcook.