Maple Gravy Pork Chops

We have been buying a HUGE loin at Costco about once a month, which keeps us in pork for at least a meal a week.  As awesome as pulled pork is, I have been trying to cut some into chops and broaden our horizons a bit.

This was my inspiration:  http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/vermont_maple_syrup_pork_chops/

My chops were fairly thin, so I just did a stove-top method, but I am sure the oven-method for a thicker chop would be fab as well.  I doubled the sauce, because I had a haunch it would be delish and I would want some for our rice side dish.  I WAS RIGHT.  It was a little bit sour, a little bit sweet, a little bit spicy and a lot amazing.

Ingredients:

• 4-6 pork chops
• Olive oil
• 1/2 onion, minced
• 1/2 c. maple syrup
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 c. water
• 1 tsp chili powder
• salt & pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Whisk together the sauce ingredients in a bowl  (maple syrup to s&p).
2. Heat oil in a large skillet or dutch oven.  Sear the pork chops on each side.  Set aside.
3. Saute the onion in the skillet until browned and translucent.
4. Add the sauce and bring to a boil.
5. Add the pork chops back in to the pan.  If they are thick and your pan is oven proof, stick it in a 350 F pre-heated oven and bake for 20 mins.  If they are thinner, just keep the chops cooking in the bubbling sauce for about 10-15 mins on the stove top.
6. Serve with rice or mashed potatoes, so you have something to dump the yummy extra sauce on :)

Skinny Taste: Slow Cooked Sweet Barbacoa Pork

Run, don't walk, to Skinny Taste and try this recipe out.

I never make recipes exactly as they are written, but in this case I did.  It was the right decision.

Slow Cooker Sweet Barbacoa Pork

Last night, I had it in a tortilla with shredded lettuce, red onion, red pepper, cilantro, salsa and sour cream.  Today for lunch, I am having it over salad.  I am soooo excited for lunch.

Pork Tenderloin with a Balsamic Brown Sugar Glaze

I have a tonne of recipes posted to my Pinterest boards. I think around 100 between the "Recipes" and "Food Porn" additions. I have vowed to start cooking at least of these recipes a week. Otherwise, I fear pinterest will turn into a "stuff I like but am too lazy to ever do" compilation.

It's Sunday, so thought I would make something a bit special. But, it turns out this is easy enough for a week night! I served it with roasted potatoes and broccoli. The glaze was
yummy on both.

Inspired by: www.candcmarriagefactory.com/2011/01/brown-sugar-and-balsamic-glazed-pork.html

Ingredients:

• Pork tenderloin
• Prosciutto (around 6 slices)
• Rub: salt, pepper, sage, garlic
• Water

Glaze

• 1/2 c. water
• 1/4 c. balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 c. brown sugar
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp corn starch

Directions:

1. Rub the tenderloin with the, you guessed it, RUB.
2. Wrap in prosciutto. The prosciutto is optional and was something I added from the original recipe, but totally worth it!
3. Put a little water in the crockpot and cook the tenderloin on low for 6-8 hours.
4. About an hour before the tenderloin is done, make the glaze. Mix up the glaze ingredients in a small sauce pan and heat, stirring constantly until thickened.
5. Glaze the tenderloin a few times through the last hour of cooking.
6. Slice the tenderloin and drizzle with remaining glaze. (Save a little for your sides, it is delish!!)

Chicken "Fried" Rice

CHICKEN FRIED RICE
Servings: 4
Source: Me, melding together a variety of recipes from the internet

Ingredients:

• 2 c. cooked brown rice
• 4 oz cooked chicken, diced
• 4 oz cooked pork, diced (you can use all chicken, if you like)
• 1 egg
• 1/2 c. egg whites
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 red pepper, finely chopped
• 1/2 green pepper, finely chopped
• 1 small/medium carrot, finely chopped
• 1 c. mushrooms, finely chopped
• 1 c. frozen peas
• 2 tbsp soy sauce (or to taste)
• Garnish: Chopped green onion, sweet chili sauce or plain :)

Instructions:

1. I used leftover chicken and pork that I had at home already. If you don't have leftover's, grab a rotisserie chicken and use 8 oz off of that. You can use any combination of chicken or pork.
2. Cook the brown rice. You can complete most of the steps with the vegetables while the rice is cooking.
3. In a large skillet, heat the sesame oil. Add the veggies (except the peas) and sautée until they are soft.
4. Beat the egg and egg whites together. Move the veggies to the side of the skillet and scramble the egg and egg white.
5. Add the peas and meat. Mix everything together, cook until the peas and meat are heated.
6. Add the brown rice and soy sauce. Mix everything together and sautée until all of the rice is covered in soy sauce and heated through.
7. Serve, garnished with green onion. I topped mine with some Taste of Thai sweet chili sauce too!

Comments:

This was so simple and a great way to use up some leftovers! It tasted just as good, if not better, then the restaurant version. I really think the key to getting the right flavour is the sesame oil! The portion size for a meal is very large, or you can have a smaller portion and enjoy it as a side.

Chili Coconut Pork

Source: Company's Coming: 30-Minute Weekday Meals

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp water
• 2 tsp cornstartch
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 lb pork tenderloin, sliced against the grain
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 2-3 peppers, julienned
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 tsp finely grated ginger root (or 1/2 tsp ground)
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp dried crushed chilies
• 1-14 oz (398mL) can of light coconut milk
• 1/2 c. mango chutney
• 1 c. frozen peas

Instructions:

1. Stir water into cornstartch in a small cup/bowl and set aside.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet. Cook the pork until slightly pink. Set aside.
3. Add more oil, vegetables and spices. Cook for a couple of mins, until the spices are fragrant and the veggies are starting to soften.
4. Add the coconut milk and the chutney. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 mins.
5. Add the pork, peas and cornstartch mixture. Bring to a boil and simmer for a couple of mins, until the sauce thickens and the peas are cooked.
6. Garnish with sliced green onion, serve and enjoy!

Comments:

I served this over brown rice with a side of broccoli. It would be delicious over basmati or jasmine rice. The broccoli side wasn't really necessary, as there were enough veggies in the dish, but I needed to use it up :) The flavour was very nice and light. I might use spicier chutney instead of mild next time or some red pepper flakes, because I did find it a teensy bit bland. Over all, this was very good and a quick weeknight meal.

Orange Ginger Pork

ORANGE GINGER PORK, JASMINE RICE AND ASIAN SLAW

Orange Ginger Pork

Ingredients:

• 4 large pork chops or 8 small
• 1 c. orange juice
• 1 c. chicken broth
• 2 tbsp corn startch
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 can of mandarin oranges, drained, juice reserved
• 2 tbsp pickled ginger, chopped
• 1/4 c. green onion, chopped

Directions:

1. Put a little oil in a large skillet. Cook pork on each side for two minutes, to brown. Set aside.

2. Whisk together orange juice, chicken broth, corn starch and brown sugar. Bring to a boil in the skillet. Add mandarin orange and pickled ginger. Stir gentle.

3. Add pork chops and cook in the sauce, turning every couple of minutes until pork chops are cooked and the sauce thickens.

4. Serve garnished with chopped green onion.

Jasmine Rice:

While the pork is cooking, prepare jasmine rice. Use the leftover mandarin orange juice, chicken broth and water to make up the liquid. Once rice is ready, mix in some chopped green onion, fresh or dried cilantro and a little chopped pickled ginger.

Asian Slaw

Mix shredded cabbage, shredded carrot, chopped red onion, chopped green onion, garlic, cumin, pickled ginger, sesame oil, rice vinegar and a couple of squirts of lime. Or, mix up the veggies with Newman's Asian Ginger Vinegrette.

Comments:

This was a super fast, delicious and healthy supper. It was ready in under thirty minutes. If I had done the chopping the night before, I think it could have been ready in about 15 minutes! The flavours were all really fresh and the orange sauce from the pork was delicious poured over the pork. I cut up my pork and mixed it all together for my lunch today and can't wait to eat the leftovers.

Thanksgiving!

We have our Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday evening. This way, everyone can go to their in-laws on Sunday. The last couple of years, we have gotten the best turnout doing it this way. With 16 adults and a toddler, this year was no exception! We did the meat, potatoes and a carrot cake. Everyone else brought the sides. We had pork, hot potato salad, turnip casserole, sweet potato casserole, green been casserole, salad and homemade rolls. For dessert, there was apple pie, pumpkin pie and carrot cake. Thanks for the pies Barb!

I think everyone enjoyed the meal, considering we were all sacked out on couches and on the floor in the family room for about 2 hrs after!

The pork was a new recipe and didn't disappoint! The carrot cake was too, but not quite as risky as a new main course recipe for a crowd!

Apple-Cranberry Stuffed and Glazed Pork Roast
Source: The internet! Link in the post below.


I doubled this recipe to make it for a crowd of 16 adults. One pork roast will feed around 8-10 people quite nicely. This was really good! The glaze was delicious and the stuffing had a strong, sweet and savoury flavour.





Ingredients:

• 1 2.5lbs pork roast (double butterflied)
• 1 c. apple cider
• 1/2 c. apple cider vinegar
• 1 1/2 c. dried apples
• 1/2 c. dried cranberries
• 1 large shallot, minced
• 1 tbsp mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp allspice
• 1 tsp ginger
• Salt and pepper

Directions:

1. When you buy your pork roast, get them to double butterfly it for you at the meat counter. It is so much easier then trying to do it yourself! Basically, you want it to be 1.5 inches thick the whole way across. When you get it home, before you stuff it, unroll it and pound it out so it will roll up easily. The website below has really good pictures of the pork prep.
2. Combine all the ingredients in a sauce pan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 20 mins. The apples should be soft.
3. Drain the mixture using a fine mesh stainer. Set the liquid aside, you will use this for a glaze. When you strain it, use a spatula to push the mixture down really well getting as much liquid out as possible.
4. Put the strained apple/cran mixture in the food processor and puree. This is the stuffing for the pork.
5. Spread out the pork, pound it and season both sides with salt and pepper. Cover it in the filling. You want an edge with no filling about an inch all the way around. Roll it up and tie it with twine.
6. Bake at 350 F for 45-60 mins in a roast pan on a rack. You want the internal temp at around 135-140 F.
7. Glaze the pork with about 1/3 c. of the liquid. Put back in the oven on around 400 for 5 mins or so. This will brown the exterior.
8. Remove from the oven and put it on the cutting board. Cover it in foil for around 15 mins.
9. During this time, put the remaining liquid back on the stove. Bring to a boil then turn down to low and simmer it until it reduces a bit and thickens. Mine didn't thicken a lot.
10. Slice the pork in 1/2 inch thick slices. Pour remaining glaze over the pork and serve!

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Source: Better Homes and Gardens, Best New Baking Book

Ingredients:

• 4 eggs, beaten
• 3/4 c. oil
• 3 c. finely shredded carrots
• 2 c. flour
• 2 c. sugar
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 3/4 c. coconut

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, combine dry ingredients.
2. Beat eggs. Mix in oil and carrots.
3. Add flour mixture and stir in.
4. Bake in 2 layer cake pans at 350 F for 30-35 mins. Take out of oven and cool in pan for 10 mins. Remove from pan and cool for an hour, then frost.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

Ingredients:

• 6 oz block of cream cheese
• 1/2 c. butter
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 4 1/2 c. icing sugar

Directions:

1. Beat cream cheese, butter and vanilla until light and fluffy.
2. Add 2 c. icing sugar and beat. Continue adding icing sugar 1/2 c. at a time until icing is a good consistency.
3. Ice the cake!

Pulled Pork

I just realized that I have made this a number of times, but never posted the recipe. It is probably my favorite thing to make in the crock-pot. It goes very well on buns, over rice on on a salad. It is a great (and cheap!) way to feed a crowd!

BBQ PULLED PORK
Source: Me!

Ingredients:

• 1 shoulder, butt (picnic) of pork
• 2 onions, chopped and divided
• 4 cloves of garlic, finely diced
• 1 tbsp worchestire sauce
• 1 bottle of beer (add a little water too, depending on the size of the meat)
• salt and pepper
• 1-2 bottles of your favorite BBQ sauce (We like bullseye chicken and rib sauce)

Directions:

1. Rub pork with salt and pepper. Cook on low with 1 onion, garlic, worchestire and beer for 7-8hrs.
2. Drain liquid. Shred pork, removing any bone and fat. Stir in BBQ sauce and extra onion. Let cook on high for about 15-20 mins, so BBQ sauce soaks in and onion softens.
3. Serve on buns, over rice or salad.

Comfort Food :)

I didn't make Sunday night supper this week, my cousin Joanna put it all together. She did use some favorite family recipes though, so I will share them! I think my sister would describe this as her favorite meal.

Here is a pic of the lovely spread, which included hashbrown casserole, pork tenderloin, broccoli salad, grilled asparagus and slaw:



HASHBROWN CASSEROLE
Source: Barb Frame

Ingredients:

• 2lbs frozen hashbrown potatoes
• 1 c. sour cream
• 1 c. milk
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1 med. onion, chopped
• 2 c. grated cheddar cheese
• Salt and pepper

Directions:
1. Mix it all together. Bake at 375 F until heated through and onion is soft. Top with some extra cheese at the end.

Comments:
This is one of my all time favorite comfort food recipes. I could eat pounds of this stuff. We almost always double, if not triple this recipe when making it for a crowd!

PORK TENDERLOIN
Source: Barb Frame

Ingredients:

• 1/3 c. soy sauce
• 1/4 c. oil
• 1/4 c. sherry
• 1/4 c. ketchup
• 2 tsp white wine vinegar
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tsp ginger
• salt and pepper
• 2 pork tenderloins

Directions:
1. Combine marinade ingredients. Marinate pork all day.
2. Remove pork from marinade and grill.
3. Simmer leftover marinade over low heat.
4. Slice grilled pork and pour marinade over the sliced pork.

Comments:
This pork is AMAZING! It is my favorite way to do tenderloin. The reduced leftover marinade is so tangy and flavourful. With the right sides, you can defnitely fancy it up enough to serve to guests.

BROCCOLI SALAD
Source: Mary Lou Price

Ingredients:

• 2 heads of broccoli
• 1 red onion, sliced
• 1/2 c. raisins
• 1 c. shredded cheese
• 1 c. mayo
• 1/4 c. white sugar
• 2 tbsp vinegar

Directions:
1. Chop broccoli, onions, raisins and cheese. Combine.
2. Combine mayo, sugar and vinegar. Pour over salad and mix.
3. Let sit for 2 hrs and serve.

Comments:
Another oldie but a goodie! This broccoli salad is always a hit. My old rommate used to add maderine oranges, which was pretty good too.