Month: June 2017

You know those recipes that when you think of them, your saliva glands just go crazy?  Well, this one is definitely one of those and anything that has balsamic vinegar in is an A+ in my book. This recipe is probably my very favorite–it has the sweet but also the savory. 

Slow Cooker Brown Sugar and Balsamic Glazed Pork Loin 

(2 pound) boneless pork tenderloin (or regular pork loin)  
1 1/2 teaspoons ground sage  

1 teaspoon salt  

1⁄2 teaspoon pepper  

3 cloves garlic crushed

1⁄2 cup water  

First, trim that nasty silver-skin off the pork tenderloin. Ewwww.  Combine sage, salt, pepper and garlic. Rub over tenderloin. 

Place in slow cooker with 1/2 cup water. Cook on low for 6 hours.

GLAZE (put on the last hour of cooking)

1 cup brown sugar  

2 tablespoon cornstarch  

1⁄2 cup balsamic vinegar  

1 cup water  

4 tablespoons soy sauce  



About 1 hour before pork is done, combine ingredients for glaze in a glass bowl. 

Put in the microwave on high for 2 1/2 min, stir it, and then 2 1/2 more min until it’s thickened.  

Shred meat and pour on glaze the last hour of cooking. 

YUMMMMMMMM!

Enjoy!  

You know the yummy Asian Pork Tenderloin recipe that I shared yesterday? I had the leftover meat from that and also the peanut sauce. I created a delicious stir fry with some fried rice. 

Here’s the scoop:

Ingredients:

4 — 5 C. broccoli

1/3 small bag of slivered carrots

2 eggs

Left over peanut sauce

Leftover pork Tenderloin 

A little butter

Peanuts

Okay, let’s get real here……… I love Diet Coke but I didn’t put it in this recipe. LOL. Maybe someday I will. Oh, and if you don’t own this glass snapwear that Costco sells,  you’re missing out. It’s seriously my favorite for storing leftovers. 

Cut the leftover pork into chunks. I like them kind of bigger, but you can cut them however you please. 

First, I steamed my broccoli for 5 min and threw the carrots in after about 3 min. You can either do it this way or you can add olive oil to the pan and stir fry the broccoli and carrots. I steamed them to make it a bit faster. I was HUNGRY!!

Add the veggies to the pork and heat. Thin the peanut sauce with a few tablespoons of water, stir, and add to broccoli stir fry and heat on medium high until hot. 

Put the rice in a nonstick pan and push it to one side. Put a dab of butter in the pan and add two whisked eggs in pan. I like to let the eggs set on medium high heat until they kind of look a bit solid, but don’t burn them. Turn them and break into chunks. It’s okay if a bit of rice gets in the raw egg mixture, just cook it in with the eggs. 

Yum!! Now let’s put it together. 

Top with peanuts. Enjoy!! 

When asking my husband what dinner he wanted for Father’s Day, his answer was “pork tenderloin with the peanut sauce,” and I have to be honest–I was pretty excited for this meal myself. I hadn’t made this for a long time, and I was once again reminded that it’s definitely in my book of favs.  Here’s the recipe:

Grilled Asian Pork Tenderloin with Peanut Sauce (adapted from Fine Cooking Magazine)

For the marinade:

1 cup light coconut milk  

1⁄2 cup smooth peanut butter preferably a natural variety

1⁄4 cup soy sauce  

3 Tbs. fresh lime juice  

3 Tbs. dark brown sugar  

2 large cloves garlic minced 2-1/2 tsp.

2 tsp. ground coriander  

1 Tbs. chili garlic sauce 

2 small pork tenderloins (about 2 lb. total), cut silver skin from tenderloin 

Vegetable oil for the grill  

In a large bowl, whisk the coconut milk, peanut butter, soy sauce, lime juice, brown sugar, garlic, chili garlic and coriander to make a smooth sauce.

Trim the pork of excess fat and silverskin. Butterfly the tenderloins by splitting each one lengthwise almost but not quite all the way through, so the halves remain attached.

Open each tenderloin like a book, cover with plastic wrap, and pound to an even 1/2-inch thickness with a meat mallet or the bottom of a small skillet. Put the pork tenderloins in the bowl with the marinade and turn to coat. Let marinate for 10 to 20 minutes (or up to several hours in the refrigerator).

While the pork marinates, heat a gas grill with all burners on high. Clean and oil the grate. Remove the tenderloins from the marinade, letting excess marinade drip back into the bowl (don’t discard the marinade). Grill the tenderloins, covered, turning once, until just cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes total (cut into one to check). Transfer to a carving board and let rest for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, pour the marinade into a small saucepan and add 2 Tbs. water; bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat. If the sauce seems too thick, thin it with 1 or 2 tsp. water. Slice the pork and serve with the sauce on the side.

When my kids were living at home and had a birthday, I would let them choose the menu for the Sunday after their birthday since that was the day that the family would definitely all be there for the meal. Pork Medallions in Marsala sauce has always been a fav around here so I thought I would share :).

FOR THE POTATOES (recipe adapted from the Harmon’s Cooking School):

Yukon Gold Potatoes, washed throughly –one for each person eating plus one extra just in case. These are GOOD!

1/4 c. Butter, melted

1/4 C. Olive oil

I always do an equal ratio of butter to olive oil so if you want to scale this down, you know.

1-2 T. Kosher salt and pepper

Mix together in one bowl.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Poke potatoes with a fork (we don’t want these babies exploding on us 🙂

Rub each potato throughly with the butter mixture in the bowl. Put in oven and bake for 40-45 min. You’ll know when it’s done if you poke it with a fork and it slides in easy.

When potatoes are almost done cooking melt:

1/2 c. butter

1 tea. Kosher salt

1 clove of garlic

1 T. Parsley

When potatoes are done cooking, let them set for about 10 min and then smash them with a flat bottomed glass cup.

After smashing them drizzle each potato with hot butter mixture that has melted.

Return potatoes to oven and cook for approximately 20 min or until potatoes look nice and crisp.

I like to prepare ingredients for the pork BEFORE cooking the potatoes.

For the Pork (a tried and true recipe from Fine Cooking Magazine)

PORK INGREDIENTS:

2 lb. pork tenderloin, about 2 tenderloins

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil

3 Tbs. unsalted butter

2 medium shallots, finely diced

1 package baby Bella mushrooms

1 package of shiitake mushrooms

1 cup dry Marsala (real Marsala, from the liqueur store if you’re in Utah :). haha

2 cups homemade or low-salt chicken broth

3 Tbs. heavy cream

1⁄4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Trim the tenderloins of silverskin and any excess fat. Cut the tenderloins into 1 1/2 -inch-thick medallions.

Flip each medallion onto a cut side and press down with the palm of your hand to flatten slightly.

Season the meat with 3/4 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. black pepper.

Heat the olive oil and 1 Tbs. of the butter in a large sauté pan over high heat. When the butter is melted and foaming, add half of the meat and sear until nicely browned, 2 to 3 min. Flip and cook the other side until the meat is well browned and slightly firm to the touch, about another 2 min.

Transfer to a plate and repeat with the remaining pork.

Melt the remaining 2 Tbs. butter in the pan. Add the shallots and a pinch of salt and sauté for about 30 seconds, using a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.

Add the mushrooms and sauté until all of the mushroom liquid has evaporated and the mushrooms are golden, about 3 min. Season with 1/2 tsp. salt, sprinkle with the flour, and add the Marsala.

Once the Marsala has almost completely evaporated, add the chicken broth and reduce by half, about 3 min. Stir in the cream and parsley.

Return the pork and any accumulated juices to the pan, and cook, flipping the pork once, until its firm to the touch and still a little pink in the middle (cut into a piece to check), 2 to 4 min. Taste for salt and pepper and serve.

Enjoy!!  My mouth is watering just thinking about this meal :).  Please email me at itsapegslife@gmail.com when you make the delicious meal and let me know what you think :).