Maple Rosemary Glazed Pork

Recipe from What’s Cookin, Chicago?

This was another recipe that J made.  He did so well this week!  And then he quit.  : /  I was starting to get spoiled! 🙂

This pork was very good – I loved the sweetness of the glaze with the delicious rosemary flavor.

Ingredients:
1/3 c pure maple syrup
1 t dried rosemary
4 slick sliced pork chops
3/4 t kosher salt
1/2 t pepper
2 t vegetable oil

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Season pork with salt and pepper.

Heat oil over medium high heat in large skillet.  Brown the pork on both sides.  Set aside on a baking sheet.

Drain fat from skillet and add the maple syrup and rosemary.  Cook until fragrant, 30 seconds to 1 minute.  Place pork back in the skillet to coat pork with the glaze.

Remove pork to baking sheet and place in oven for 15-20 minutes, until cooked through.  Allow to rest for a few minutes before serving.

 

Roast Pork Tenderloin w/ Balsamic-Maple Sauce

Recipe from Katie’s Cucina

I love maple.  I love balsamic.  So I figured this recipe had to be good! The tartness of the vinegar and the sweetness of the maple balanced each other out perfectly. 

The biggest problem, for me, was the time it took the pork to cook.  For some reason when I cook a pork roast or tenderloin in my oven, it takes another half the amount of time the recipe calls for.  I can’t quite figure it out, as I have an oven thermometer so I know the temp is correct.  Oh well, at least the food was good!

Ingredients:
1 T canola oil
1 pork tenderloin
1 clove garlic, minced
1 shallot, minced
2 T balsamic vinegar
2 T tomato paste
3/4 c beef broth
1/8 t dried thyme
1/8 t salt
1/8 t pepper
2 t maple syrup
2 c cooked egg noodles

Directions:
Heat oven to 350 and heat oil in a large skillet.  Add pork to skillet and brown all sides.  Place pork in small roasting pan, reserving oil in pan. Roast pork for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, in the skillet add garlic and shallot and cook about 3 minutes. Pour in vinegar and scrape up any browned bits, then add paste, broth, thyme, salt, pepper and syrup. Boil then reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes.

Spoon half the sauce onto the pork and return pork to the oven until fully cooked. About 10-20 minutes. Thinly slice the pork and serve over egg noodles with extra sauce.

 

Grilled Honey Soy Pork Chops

Recipe from youvegotsupper.com

This was a good recipe and very easy to make.  I skipped the rice and decided to make foil packet potatos instead.

Ingredients:
2 T honey
2 T soy sauce
1 t grated fresh ginger
2 boneless pork chops
Salt & pepper, to taste

Directions:
Preheat grill to medium heat.  Season pork with salt and pepper and place on the grill.  Grill for about 3-5 minutes per side, until just about done.

While pork grills, whisk together the honey, soy and ginger.

Once pork is about done, brush one side with the honey mixture, flip and brush the other.  Grill for about 30 seconds per side.

Remove from heat, let sit about 5 minutes, and serve.

 

Basil Brown Sugar Pork Chops w/ Caesar Pasta

Recipe from Katie’s Cucina

This is definitely a recipe where the ingredients seem a bit odd together, but, in reality, taste delicious. The mixture of brown sugar, basil and caesar dressing is unexpected.

This was a really simple recipe to throw together. And it turned out really well.  J and I both liked it.

I skipped the olives, since I hate them, and the green onions since we didn’t have any.  I added in some cherry tomatos, which I thought were a great addition.  I also slightly changed the recipe instructions.  Nothing major – the changes just made more sense to me.

Ingredients:
4 boneless pork chops
1/4 c brown sugar
2 t dried basil
1/2 t salt
1/2 t chili powder
1 T canola oil
1/2 c Caesar dressing
1/4 c onions, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 c chicken broth
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 c pasta (I used Farfelle)
1/2 c cherry tomatos, halved

Directions:
In a ziplock bag, mix the brown sugar, basil, salt, chili powder and oil.  Then add the pork chops and toss to coat.

Cook pasta according to package directions.  Drain and set aside.

In the saucepan, heat about 1 T of oil and then add the onions. Saute until tender and transluscent.  About 5 minutes.  Then add the garlic for another minute.  Mix in the chicken broth and simmer for about 2-3 minutes.  Add the Caesar dressing, salt and pepper, and tomatos.  Cook for about 1 minute then mix in the pasta.  Simmer until pork chops are done.

When you start the onions, add the pork chops to a skillet with a bit of hot oil. Cook until internal temp reaches 160 – about 5-8 minutes per side.

Serve pork chops over pasta.

 

Pork Au Poivre Panini

I decided to use our leftover Pork Au Poivre to make some very delicious paninis for dinner last night, using the panini press that I got for my birthday. 🙂

All I did was thinly slice the pork and throw it in a skillet with some of the sauce to heat it up a bit.  Then I put it on 2 slices of thick Italian bread with some provolone cheese, dijon mustard and apple slices and pressed it in my panini press.

So good and so simple – this was a great way to use up some leftovers! 🙂

 

Pork Au Poivre

Recipe from Ellie Krieger

This was a great pork recipe.  It had a nice bit of spice from the mustard and pepper, and it was very moist and tender.

I didn’t change anything about the recipe.  I would recommend pounding out the pork just slightly to try to get an even thickness, for easier, even cooking.  Overall this took about 30 minutes to make, start to finish.  It was very simple to throw together.

Ingredients:
1.25 lbs pork tenderloin
1 t Dijon mustard (I probably used a bit more than this, if you want to really taste the mustard, I’d recommend more)
1 T black peppercorns, coarsely ground or crushed
2 t olive oil
1/2 c chicken broth
1/2 c red wine
Salt to taste

Directions:
Split the tenderloin lengthwise, but do not cut all the way through, and open into one flat piece.  At this point you may want to slightly pound out the meat, to create an even thickness.

Spread mustard over both sides of the meat, and rub in the pepper.  (I just used my peppermill to sprinkle the pepper over the meat. I didn’t end up having to press it in, as it adhered well with the mustard.) Cut meat crosswise into four equal portions.

Heat oil over medium heat in a large skillet.  Cook pork for about 10 minutes, flipping once, until internal temp reaches 155 degrees.

Remove pork to a plate, and tent with foil to keep warm.

Pour the wine and chicken broth into the skillet.  Mix together, scraping up all the flavorful brown bits.  Simmer for about 8-10 minutes, until reduced by about half.  Season with salt, and serve over the pork.

 

Tex-Mex Pulled Pork

Recipe from allrecipes.com 

I realized that I haven’t been using my crockpot much lately, so it was a nice change to come home to my house smelling delicious. 🙂  Of course, I completely forgot to put the pork into the crockpot and turn it on that morning, so I had to run home during lunch.  Luckily I’m not too far away.

I made pulled pork sandwiches with this recipe.  It makes a lot, so I plan to use the leftovers for quesadillas and tacos.  My only issue with this recipe is that the sauce ended up very runny. I would’ve liked it a bit thicker.  Maybe next time I’ll use cornstarch or something at the end to thicken it up a bit.

Ingredients:
1 (8 ou) can tomato sauce
1 c bbq sauce
1 onion, chopped
2 (4 ou) cans green chilies
1/4 c chili powder
1 t ground cumin
1 t dried oregano
1/4 t ground cinnamon
2 1/2 lb pork loin roast (the original recipe called for boneless, but I had bone-in)
1/2 c chopped fresh cilantro (I used about 1/2 this.  I don’t think a whole 1/2 c is necessary)

Directions:
Mix all ingredients except pork and cilantro in a medium bowl.  Please pork in slow cooker and pour mixture over the pork.

Cook on high for about 4-6 hours or low 8-10 hours.

Remove pork and shred. Stir cilantro into sauce, and then return shredded pork to sauce.  Serve as desired.

 

New Years Day Dinner – Pork and ‘Kraut

I love the traditional New Years Day dinner of Pork and Sauerkraut.  I look forward to it every year. 🙂

We typically serve this with mashed potatos, gravy, and some type of bread or roll.  Also typically DH likes to throw in something like knatwurst, bratwurst, or keilbasa. This year he went with the knatwurst. 

It’s become a tradition over the last few years for DH and I to host this meal while football, of course, plays on the television.

It’s actually a very easy meal to make.  In past years I’ve done this in the crockpot, but this year I decided to slow roast it in the oven. 🙂  It turned out nice and tender and juicy!

I’m not posting ingredient amounts, as it depends on the size of the pork.

Ingredients:
Pork Roast (I used bone-in, but you don’t have to)
Sauerkraut
Knatwurst
Salt & Pepper
Bouquet Garni (a mix including thyme, rosemary, savory, oregano, basil, dill, marjoram, sage and tarragon)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400.

Place the sauerkraut in your roasting pan and season with a bit of salt, pepper and Bouquet Garni.

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat with about a tablespoon of oil.  Salt and pepper the pork roast and brown all sides in the skillet.

Place roast in roasting pan and season to taste with Bouquet Garni.  Place the knatwurst in the saerkraut around the roast.

Place in the oven (center rack) and bake at 400 for 20 minutes.  Reduce heat to 300 and cook for approximately 20 minutes per pound (my 7+ pound roast took about 2.5 hours), until internal temperature reaches 155-160. 

Remove from oven and let it rest for about 10 minutes before you slice into it.

 

Tuscan Pork Tenderloin

Recipe from youvegotsupper.com
  
This is my second recipe using December’s Ingredient of the Month: Cream Cheese!  It’s used as a filling for the pork in this recipe.

 

This was a pretty easy recipe to make, and I really loved the flavors!  The pork was juicy and tender and the flavors really melded together well. 🙂

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lb pork tenderloin
4 ou cream cheese, softened
1 t Italian seasoning
1/2 c baby spinach
3 slices bacon, cooked and chopped
1 roasted red pepper, chopped

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 and lightly grease a baking dish.

Butterfly the pork (cut down the center without cutting through) and open it up like a book.  Pound it down to an even thinness (I like to put it between pieces of wax paper so nothing goes flying. 🙂 )

Spread the cream cheese down the center of the pork, long ways.  Sprinkle with Italian seasoning and then top with spinach, bacon and pepper.

Roll the pork like a cylinder and secure at 2 inch intervals with kitchen string. Season pork with salt and pepper.

Place pork, seam side down, on baking dish. Bake for about 30-40 minutes, until internal temperature reaches 155.  Let stand for 10 minutes, remove string and slice to serve.

 

Tangy Slow Cooker Pork

Recipe from L2theC’s Kitchen

This was a really easy slow cooker recipe to throw together (as most are). 🙂  I thought this was really good, and had an interesting sweet and sour taste to it.  However, I don’t think J liked it quite as much, so I doubt I’ll make it again.

Ingredients:
1 large onion, sliced
2 1/2 lb pork roast, boneless
4-5 small potatos, halved
4 carrots, peeled and chopped
3 garlic cloves, peeled
1 c hot water
1/4 c white sugar
3 T red wine vinegar
2 T soy sauce
1 T ketchup
1/2 t black pepper
1/2 t salt
1/4 t garlic powder
Dash hot pepper sauce, to taste

Directions:
Place the onions in the bottom of the slow cooker.  Cut three slits (about 1 inch deep) in the top of the pork, and stuff one garlic clove into each pocket.  Add the pork to the slow cooker, followed by the carrots and potatos.

In a small bowl mix together the remaining ingredients, then pour over the pork.  Cook on Low for 6-8 hours, or High for 3-4 hours.