One of my more favorite kitchen devices is the FoodSaver vacuum sealer. I can buy things on sale and/or in bulk and portion it and freeze it without freezer burn. We bought one years ago and it has repaid itself many times over.

This week’s buy was a 10-pound pork loin for $16.00.  From it I cut 12 boneless chops, a roast, and chunks for a batch of chili when the weather gets colder, again.  Last year I bought a couple of beef tenderloins – for under $25 a piece.  We had filet mignon for a couple of months. Eating rich on a poor man’s salary. Not a bad thing.

Tonight was a really simple marinade of red wine, olive oil, garlic, French herbs, and salt & pepper.  I pan-seared them and then popped them into a 375° oven for about 20 minutes.

Victor came into the kitchen and saw me reaching for another pan to cook the spinach and he said “Another pan? You know raw spinach is good, too.” I replied, “yeah, but it’s better with butter.” He came back with “In that case, it’s really better with bacon grease.”

The spinach was cooked in a bit of bacon grease, salt, and pepper.

Eating rich on a poor man’s salary, indeed.