Chipotle Pork Tenderloin with Apple Chutney

Ohh this pork.  A friend made this for us when they had us over for dinner a couple months back, and it was so delicious I stole the recipe.  I had never made a dry rub for pork before, but it is so easy and so flavorful!  I made this when my parents visited several weekends ago, and dinner ended up being a group effort:  the guys grilled the meat while we women put together the chutney and the side dishes.  This has definitely risen to the top of our favorite dinners list!  

Chipotle Pork Tenderloin with Apple Chutney

Apple Chutney

1 Tbsp butter

3 apples, peeled, cored, and sliced into chunks

1/4 cup dried cranberries

3 Tbsp brown sugar

3 Tbsp cider vinegar

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp dried mustard

Melt butter over medium-high heat in a nonstick skillet.  Add the apples and sauté for about 5 minutes, or until the apples are lightly browned.  Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and cook until the liquid is gone and the apples are tender.

Grilled Chile Pork Tenderloin

2 pork tenderloins (I got them in a package of 2 at the store)

1 1/2 tsp ground chipotle chile pepper

1 tsp salt

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

cooking spray

Turn the grill to medium-high heat.  Rinse the pork loins and pat dry with paper towels.  Set aside.

In a small bowl, mix together all of the spices.  Spray the pork with the cooking spray and rub the spice mixture all over the pork loins.

Grill, flipping once, until a meat thermometer reads 160 degrees in the center (or whatever you're comfortable with). Remove pork from the grill and rest for 10 minutes, covered with foil to keep warm.

Cut the pork into rounds and serve covered with chutney.

source: recipe slightly adapted from Come Sit In My Kitchen

Summer Dinners

When it's warm summer weather outside, the last thing I feel like doing is spending a lot of time in a hot kitchen making dinner.  In the summer I want quick and easy recipes, and it's a bonus if there's fresh fruit or veggies on the side. When I saw this pulled pork recipe, I knew I had found a winner.  It takes 10-12 hours to cook, so I had everything in the crockpot by 8 that morning.  Then I chopped up some veggies to toss together a pasta salad and squeezed some lemons to make some strawberry lemonade (here).  Delicious summer dinner, hardly any prep, and the rest of my day to get other things done!

Crockpot Pulled Pork

1 large onion, sliced thin 

2 Tbsp packed brown sugar

1 Tbsp paprika

2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 (4-6 lb) boneless pork butt, shoulder, or loin (I used loin)

3/4 cup apple cider vinegar 

4 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1 1/2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp dry mustard

1/2 tsp garlic powder 

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Place onions in crockpot.  Rinse pork under cold water and pat dry with paper towels.  Place on top of the onions.  In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, paprika, salt and pepper; mix thoroughly.  Rub mixture all over the top side of the pork; then flip, and rub remaining mixture on the other side until it is well-covered.  

In a medium bowl, combine vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, red pepper flakes, sugar, mustard, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper; whisk to combine.  Drizzle half of the vinegar mixture over the pork.  Cover and refrigerate remaning vinegar mixture.  Cover crockpot; cook on low for 10-12 hours.  

In the last 1/2 hour of cooking, pull the meat apart with two forks (this should be very easy to do).  Drizzle remaining vinegar mixture over pork, and re-cover for last 30 minutes of cooking.  Serve with your favorite BBQ sauce (Jack Daniels in this house!)  Serves 6-8.

Note:  This also freezes well.  Allow to defrost in fridge for 24-48 hours before heating and serving.

source:  recipe slightly altered from my baking addiction

Lessons in the Kitchen

Having spent so much time in the kitchen these last seven and a half months of married life, I have learned some valuable lessons.  Higher up on that list are the following:

1. Caleb loves pork.
2. Crock pot recipes are my best friend.

So, logically,

3. A crock pot pork recipe will be a winner.  Every time.

I think this recipe is my favorite pork recipe so far.  It takes about 3 minutes prep time.  Score.  And because it smells so delicious while cooking, when Caleb walks in the house after work it smells like I've been slaving in the kitchen all day. Score again.

Cranberry-Dijon Pork Roast
1 boneless pork loin roast (1.5 - 2 lbs)
2 Tbsp butter, melted
1 envelope Lipton onion soup mix
1 can (14 oz) whole-berry cranberry sauce
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard

Place slow cooker liner in your crock pot.  If you haven't used these before, please do!  I like Reynolds. It makes cleanup so easy.  Place pork loin in crock pot.  In small mixing bowl, combine butter, soup mix, cranberry sauce, and mustard.  Stir to break up the cranberry sauce and make sure all ingredients combine well.  Pour on top of pork loin.  I try to keep most of it on the roast to give it the most flavor.  It eventually will slide off and cook in the juices, but initially start with it on top.  Put your crock pot to the 6-hour setting.  (On mine, it's the high/6 hour setting.  If yours only has high/low options, put it at low.  If after four(ish) hours it doesn't seem to be cooking, kick it up to high.)  Let cook for six hours.  I wasn't even able to slice this when it was done cooking; it fell apart into pieces because it was so tender.  Transfer meat to plate.  Ladle the juice into a bowl and serve to top the pork.  In our house this serves 2-4.  If you need more meat, just adjust sauce ingredients and cooking time accordingly.

Source:  recipe altered from Taste of Home Simple & Delicious, December/January 2011