First up, Cuban roast pork. Pork shoulder is a less expensive, higher fat cut of meat that benefits from a long cooking time. Once prepped and placed in the oven, you can head out to the playground for a while and let it cook. I served the pork, sliced, with brown rice and black beans cooked with bacon and garlic. If you can’t find a blood orange, a regular one will do.

Recipe: Cuban Roast Pork

Ingredients:

• 3 to 4-pound pork shoulder (also called Boston butt)
• 1 yellow onion, sliced
• 1 blood orange, cut into eighths
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• kosher salt
• pepper
• smoked paprika
• 2 bay leaves
• 8 ounces salsa verde
• 1 bottle Mexican beer

Instructions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Season pork generously with salt, pepper and a touch of smoked paprika and set aside. Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium high heat. Sear pork until browned, 4-5 minutes on each side. Spread onions around and under pork, and arrange orange slices around pan. Add bay leaves, salsa and the beer. Cover and cook in oven for 2 hours. Remove lid and cook 1 hour more, until pork falls apart when prodded with a fork.

Remove from oven and let rest 10 minutes. Cut out excess fat, and slice a portion for the first night. Serve with rice, black beans, fresh cilantro and additional orange slices.

Prep for Night 2: Shred remaining pork, using two forks, and removing excess fat. Refrigerate shredded pork. Check back Thursday for the second recipe: carnitas!

It also helps to have a ready list of fall-back recipes, as the last thing I want to do on a Monday evening is scramble to come up with something new to cook. So I scanned through the FoodieTots archive for a list of meatless — or easily adapted — recipes:

• Baked Macaroni and Cheese with Roasted Red Peppers
• Baked Ziti with Carrots and Kale (omit the sausage)
• Organic Carrot Risotto (use vegetable stock instead of chicken)
• Sweet Cherry Coconut Kugel
• Roasted Tomato Pappardelle
• Zucchini Tagliatelle Alfredo
• Asparagus Chive Quiche
• Curried Squash Stew
• Creamy Lima Beans
• Apricot and Pepita Quinoa

What meatless recipe have you enjoyed lately?

Visit Meatless Monday’s website for more menu suggestions, and to take the Meatless Monday pledge!