Grilled Balsamic-Garlic Crusted Pork Tenderloin

Thank you pinterest.  Here’s another one from my addiction – pinterest.  So so good.  Original recipe here.

• 4-5 garlic cloves, finely minced or crushed (I just used minced garlic from the jar)
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 pork tenderloins
• 2 tablespoons canola oil (if preparing in oven) – we grilled since we are having such a mild winter.  wonderful.

Stir together garlic, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, and olive oil in a small bowl.  Rub the paste all over pork.  If you like or have the time, marinate overnight.  If not, no worries, it’s still great!  I did this in the morning and it was awesome.

Grill preparation:

Sear the tenderloins on all sides, then grill for about 20-30 minutes, rotating every 10 minutes.  Grill until internal temp is 160.

Oven preparation:

Preheat oven to 400.  Heat canola oil in a large pan over medium-high heat.  Working in batches if necessary, add pork, and brown all over, about 4 minutes.

Transfer pan to oven.  Roast pork, turning occasionally, until internal temperature is 160, about 20 minutes.

This was so, so good.  All three kids tried it.  Only one liked it enough to eat more.  I don’t know why, but my kids aren’t huge meat eaters unless you count chicken nuggets as meat.  Or lunch meat.  Seriously, what is wrong with them?!?  🙂

Mom’s Pork BBQ

Ok, this is probably the last post you’ll see from me in a while as baby #4 is making her arrival on Monday!!!!  But, I had to get this on here.  One, it’s awesome.  Two, it makes a lot.  Three, it freezes great (I have about 5 meals worth in my freezer right now!)

2 tablespoons canola oil
3 lbs pork loin
3 medium green pepper, chopped (I don’t use quite the full 3)
2 large onion, chopped
1/4 cup chili powder
1 6oz tomato paste
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
2 tablespoons mustard
1 tablespoon worchestire sauce
2 teaspoons salt
1 cup water (may need more)

Cook the pork loin on low in crockpot all day with about 1/4 cup water

Heat oil in pan.  Cook green pepper and onion until soft and lightly browned.  Stir in chili powder, cook on low for 1 minute.  Add tomato paste, vinegar, brown sugar, and rest of ingredients.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer anywhere from 30 minutes to a couple hours.  So, you can make the sauce anytime you want 🙂

Shred the pork loin and add sauce.  It freezes GREAT.

**If you want to double this, double all ingredients except add only 1 more onion and 1 more green pepper.  So, you can make a TON for a big gathering if you want!

Pan-Fried Pork Chops with Apples

My SIL Heidi sent this to me when I requested apple recipes a while back, and I just got around to trying this last night. It was sooo good. It does take a little while to prepare (think 30-40 minutes or so) so it’s not ideal for a weeknight but doable.

2 T firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 T plus 1 tsp kosher salt (I just used sea salt from my grinder)
1 T chopped fresh rosemary (or whatever you have – I only had fresh parsley which is virtually flavor-free, so I’ll get rosemary next time)
4 thin-cut pork chops (about 1/2 inch thick each – if you don’t get the thin cut ones, pound them flat – you’ll be sorry if you don’t)
1 T bacon grease (or butter or oil)
2 small to medium red apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 1/2 cups chicken stock or canned low-sodium chicken broth
1/3 cup apricot jam, preferably fruit sweetened
1/4 cup calados or brandy (uh, we don’t have this – I used cooking sherry. White wine would also be fine.)
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Combine brown sugar, salt and rosemary in a small bowl and stir together. Coat the THIN pork chops on both sides with the mixture, gently massaging the meat with your fingers to jump-start the curing process. Let stand for 15 min. Rinse the chops and pat dry with paper towels. Season chops with pepper.

Melt the bacon grease in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat, add chops, and cook until crispy brown, about 3 minutes on each side. NOTE: mine were pretty dark and I was worried that they were going to taste burnt but it wasn’t a problem at all! Next time, when I pound them flat enough, they won’t have to cook as long.

Transfer the chops to a plate and cover with foil. Add the apples to the skillet and cook, stirring gently to brown slightly, about 30 seconds, adding a bit more bacon grease if the pan is dry. Add the stock, jam, sherry, and cinnamon and stir well. Cook until the sauce thickens and is rich brown in color, about 10 minutes.

Uncover the chops and top with the glazed apples.

SO, the sauce didn’t thicken, but that wasn’t a big problem; we just used it more like a glaze. The kids ALL ate pork without the sauce and apples, which was fine with me. We’ve got a new favorite!

Roast Pork Tenderloin

I was given this recipe from a fellow Mom’s Club Member of mine.  This is really easy, but it’s not something you can fix right at dinner time.  You have to allow a couple hours to marinate.  But, man, it’s worth it.  So good!

1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp marjoram
1/2 tsp sage
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp ground ginger
black pepper (to taste)
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 lbs pork tenderloin

Place all dry ingredients in a small bowl.  Add soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce and mix well.  Spread mixture evenly over meat and allow to marinate for 1-2 hours in the fridge.  Roast at 350 until internal temp is 170F (about 45 minutes).