Oy Vey It's Pork Time!

This past weekend was Mother's Day.  This year my mom came up to spend the weekend.  We had a great time and went to a restaurant that serves both Hungarian and Thai food (that will be covered later in the "Battle of the Schnitzels" Post).

She also came bearing a large boneless pork tenderloin.  It was 4lbs and totaled under $6.  It was a deal too good to turn up so she bought me one.  I cut it up into 4 pieces and froze two, keeping two out to make this week.

I tired out a recipe from the GI Cookbook in my efforts to try and maintain some sense of healthiness in this crazy time.

The recipe was good, but not nearly as tasty as the recipe I made the next night (unfortunately no pics of that one).  However this recipes is decidedly easier and if you are looking for a healthy recipe to feed a crowd this could very well be it.

Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Balsamic Glaze and Gingered Peach Salsa

Gingered Peach Salsa:

3 Medium Peaches, peeled and chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 cup finely chopped red pepper 

1/4 cup finely chopped green onion

2 tbsp lime juice

1 tsp dried ginger (or 1 tbsp fresh ginger)

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

1 lb pork tenderloin

2 tsp olive oil

1/2 tsp each salt and pepper

1.  Gingered Peach Salsa:  I cheated and put all ingredients in the food processor.  Lightly blitz.  Then refrigerate.

2.  Preheat oven to 400F.

3. In saucepan, bring vinegar to simmer and allow to reduce by half of until thickened and syrupy.  Set aside.

4.  Using sharp knife, trim any excess fat and silverskin from tenderloin.  Rub pork all over with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. In ovenproof frying pan over high heat, brown tenderloin on all side.  Remove from heat and brush tenderloin with reduced vinegar.  Place frying pan in oven for about 10 to 15 minutes or until meat thermometer reaches 155 F (A word to the wise, this took more like 30 minutes in my oven), or until pork has only a hint of pink inside.  Let stand for 5 minutes before slicing.  Serve with Gingered Peach Salsa.

Serve with basmati rice, asparagus and a side salad.

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

I recently had my friend Kinnon over for dinner and I wanted to make something that would allow me to actually visit with her instead of rushing around in the kitchen.

So I thought why not break out the Slow Cooker

I decided to take a Kraft Canada Pulled Pork recipe and make it slightly healthier. It is also incredibly economical, coming out to about $2.00 a head for the sandwiches. Since it serves 12 it would be great for a crowd.

Here's the recipe, try it for yourself!

Slow Cooker Orange-BBQ Pulled Sandwiches

Prep: 10 min Total: 8 hours and 10 min

1 cup Kraft Calorie Wise BarBQ Sauce
1/4 cup Kraft Pure Orange Marmalade (I used PC 50% more fruit brand)
1 boneless pork shoulder (3lb/1.35kg)
1/2 cup low fat PC mayonnaise
12 sandwich rolls split, toasted (I used a multi-grain variety)

Mix barbecue sauce and marmalade. Place meat in slow cooker; top with barbecue sauce mixture. Cover with lid.

Cook on low for 8 to 10 hours (or on High for 4 to 6 hours). Remove meat from slow cooker; cut into small pieces or shred with fork (I did this in a big roasting pan). Return meat to slow cooker; stir until meat is evenly coated with the barbecue sauce mixture.

Spread dressing onto the sides of the rolls. Fill rolls evenly with meat mixture.

Makes 12 servings or 1 sandwich each.

If you don't use all the pulled pork in the sandwiches you can freeze it. You could also use it in other ways. I made pulled pork quesadillas!