Tag: pork tenderloin

Broth-Braised Crock Pot Pork and Noodles

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New year, new kitchen quandaries! Rather than freezing four separate containers of homemade crab stock, I used it to make a healthy Ramen/Pho-like pulled pork and soba noodles dish. We even had leftover pulled pork at the end of it.

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Pulled Pork: place all ingredients in a crock pot on low for 6 hours.

3 cups broth or stock
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup sake
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 pork tenderloin

Noodles: once pork is ready, cook noodles of choice separately in their own pot using additional broth. Add kale or other greens once noodles are near al dente.

Serve pork on top of noodles and add condiments of choice. David had his with a little Sriracha sauce.

Thai Peanut Crock-Pot Pork and Coconut Milk-Steamed Potatoes

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Tonight’s dinner was a Thai spin on slow cooked meat and potatoes, minus the caloric unknowns of takeout. Even with my simplified and somewhat clumsy hybrid of Domestic Superhero’s Crock Pot Thai Peanut Pork and Eats Well with Others’ Coconut Potato Curry, the crock pot generated heavenly smells all afternoon, and the potatoes turned out oh so tender.

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Here’s what to do:

In the crock pot, place a pork tenderloin followed by a jar or so (drained) of roasted red (bell) peppers, 1/2 cup of soy sauce and 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes. Sprinkle 2 minced garlic cloves and 1/2 cup of peanut butter around the liquid. Set the crock pot on low for 6-7 hours.

Midway through, turn loins over and distribute peppers over the top to keep meat moist.

Towards the end of the cooking time, shred meat in the pot and let it cook in its own juices until ready to serve.

Meanwhile, drizzle about 1 tbsp of olive oil in a large pan or Dutch oven over medium to low heat. Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon cumin, followed by 1/2 cup soaked and chopped cashews, and stir to coat. (Keep heat low so cashews don’t burn.) Add about 1 pound red potatoes and toss to coat. Next, add a mixture of 1/2 cup water and 2 tbsp tomato paste, followed by a can of lite coconut milk, 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper and 1/2 bag of frozen peas.

Cover and simmer until potatoes are tender; turn potatoes from time to time. (If needed, add almond milk to bring the liquid level to the mid point of the potatoes.)

Serve shredded pork in a bowl with the potatoes, peas and coconut milk broth. Enjoy the clearing of your sinuses!

Oscar Remix: Crock Pot Almond Milk Pulled Pork

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In 2009, it was raining on Oscar Sunday, so I whipped up a milk-braised pork tenderloin and mashed potatoes dinner using ingredients on hand in our tiny SF apartment. Last year, same occasion, I swapped in almond milk and added pappardelle. Today, it’s act III, but the crock pot is now playing a lead role in my kitchen.

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To the crock pot, add pork tenderloin and sprinkle with salt & pepper. Add about 1 cup of chicken broth and 2 cups of almond milk. Cook on high for 4 hours (or low for 6-8), or until pork can be easily separated with forks.

Optional mashed potatoes:

Midway through cooking the pork, place 4 peeled russet potatoes around or on top of the pork. Cook for 2 hours, and flip halfway through. Remove potatoes and mash with melted butter and almond milk. Season with salt & pepper, and stir in green onions. Keep warm in the oven at 200 degrees, as needed.

Served pulled pork over a bed of mashed potatoes; ladle juices over the top.

Easy Like Sunday Morning Crock Pot Pork & Mashed Potatoes

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2014 is the year of the crock pot, in my book. But finding recipes that use my favorite staples, like pork tenderloin, without delving into canned this or processed that, can be difficult. So this morning, I borrowed from some basic crock pot concepts and added my own healthy spin, to attempt pork tenderloin and carrot stew with mashed potatoes. Fortunately, it worked!

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You will need:
– 1 onion
– Pork tenderloin
– Baby carrots (1 package)
– Russet or Yukon Gold potatoes
– Salt & pepper
– Optional: green onions, butter for mashed potatoes; flour for gravy

Slice a whole onion and spread evenly to create a layer on the bottom of the crock pot. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Add two pork loins (from one package) on top of onions. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Pour one small package of baby carrots on top of the pork. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

For the final layer, add as many freshly peeled potatoes as you can fit on top. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

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Cook on low for 6 hours, and then keep on warm while you prepare the potatoes (or as long as needed).

For the mashed potatoes, remove the cooked potatoes one by one with a spoon from the crock pot (they will be soft). Then mash in an oven-safe casserole dish with desired ingredients. I used 1 cube of melted butter, 1 cup of almond milk, 1-2 chopped green onions, and salt & pepper to taste. Keep warm in the oven at 200 degrees until ready to serve.

For gravy, I ladled some of the juice from the crock pot into a small saucepan and whisked in about 1/8 cup of flour slowly. My gravy turned out pretty lumpy, so this part will require further refinement.

I may also add more liquid next go around, so there’s even more juicy goodness. But all in all, this was a hearty and health home style meal without a parade of dishes!

Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice Crock Pot Pulled Pork

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The Sunday crock pot chronicles continued with a pulled pork that was heavy on the cinnamon, but easy on the kitchen.

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Inspired by this pin, I combined 1-1/3 cup brown sugar, 3 tbsp olive oil, and 1 tsp cinnamon in a bowl. Meanwhile, I diced the remaining half of an onion from dinner last week. I also coated the bottom of the crock pot with a thin layer of olive oil, which turns out the aforementioned 3 tbsp was for (but you can’t really OD on olive oil, so no worries). Then I placed the two pieces of a pork tenderloin in the crockpot, sprinkled the onions around the sides and poured the mixture over the top. I cooked it on low for 6 hours, then shredded the extremely tender meat, and stirred it around to sit in its gooey goodness on the warm setting until I was ready to serve.

David not only went back for seconds, but definitely thirds and potentially even fourths. If you have a sweet tooth like he does, it’s a winner! For more savory-leaning palates like mine, I recommend serving it with plain rice to cut the sweet.

Lesson learned: beaucoup de olive oil equals ridiculously tender pulled pork.

Crock Pot Pulled Pork

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Autumn is in the air, so it was a perfect Sunday to throw a pork tenderloin in the crockpot and fill the house with heavenly smells, while we toiled away outside on home improvement projects. Inspired by this pin, I mixed together 1/4 cup maple syrup, 2 tbsp Dijon mustard, 2 tbsp olive oil and 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce. I poured the mixture over the two loins in the crockpot, and cooked on low for 6 hours. So easy!

When we were ready to eat, I pulled the meat apart with two forks and stirred it in the sauce. It was delicious served over leftover rice and pad Thai from last night’s takeout (beg, borrow and meal bonus).

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Waiter, There is Too Much Pepper in My Paprikash

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Confession: this recipe does not actually contain paprika. But When Harry Met Sally is one of my favorite movies of all time, and I did technically get the idea from a turkey paprikash recipe in the September issue of Everyday Food.

Here’s my pork (faux) paprikash recipe:

  • Pork tenderloin, halved and diced into 2-inch pieces
  • 4 tbsp butter
  • 1 onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 can crushed or diced tomatoes
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 1 cup of yogurt
  • Cooked rice for serving
  • Salt and pepper

Cut pork tenderloin into 2-inch pieces of equal thickness. Saute in 2 tbsp butter, until cooked through. Season with salt and pepper while cooking. Move to a plate and cover with foil, but leave juices in pan.

Saute onions in juices, and add tomatoes and the remaining butter. Cook on medium for a couple of minutes, then add chicken broth. Bring back to a simmer. Stir in yogurt, then add pork back in and sprinkle a bit more salt if you like.

I let the whole thing simmer for an extra 10-15 minutes on low, while my rice cooker went to work. Traditional recipes use egg noodles, but the rice really soaks up the juices. The pork was nice and tender too.

Verdict? David liked it, and it was a perfect segue into fall stews.

Crock Pot Pork Stroganoff

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So I don’t spend that much time on Pinterest – honestly – because they don’t have an iPad app yet. But… I stumbled on this gem, Pulled Pork Stroganoff, and decided to put both my slow cooker and a pork tenderloin to use.

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Here are a couple of adjustments I made:

  • Instead of garlic powder, I used two minced cloves
  • I swapped beef broth for chicken broth
  • I used goat cheese and yogurt in place of cream cheese and sour cream (low lactose and less fat to boot!)
  • For the pasta, I used spaghetti instead of tagliatelle; but if I had a choice, I would have used pappardelle

The results were much more universal than expected. After having stroganoff the first night, David proceed to make a burrito with leftovers, and on the final night I made sandwiches with sauteed bell peppers and cheddar. They were like delicious, gooey Philly cheese steaks. Yum!

Lazy Friday Night Pulled Pork

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Normally we have pizza on Friday nights, but we’ve yet to find a place that will deliver to Redwood Shores (minus Roundtable which is always a half hour late or more). So tonight, I was a lazy gourmet.

I started with one can of diced tomatoes in a large saucepan, with three cloves of garlic, brought to a boil. Next I added 3/4 bottle of old chardonnay (hey, why not it’s Friday after all).

In went the pork, and I covered and simmered it on medium for about 30 minutes. Meanwhile I cooked the rice in the rice cooker. When the pork was done. I shredded it with forks and returned it to it’s sauce.

Serving the pork in bowls over rice with plenty of broth added lots of juiciness and a decent amount of flavor. Et voila.

Zin-ful Pork Tenderloin

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We had an abundance of zinfandel following our weekend away, so I decided to put it to work in the kitchen by braising pork tenderloin in one of the leftover zins. I made sure to pull it out of the bubbling liquid while still pink, and left it to rest for a few minutes. That final move made it nice and tender, plus the purple-stained skin created an interested marble effect.

I served it over rice, but mashed potatoes would be a more decadent option if you’re feeling zin-ful. Pretty simple!