Crock Pot Pulled Pork

If you remember last week's recipe, it was a delicious Brown Butter Cheese Sauce that would knock your socks off, and in the post I talked about some amazing Crock Pot Pulled Pork that pairs perfectly with said cheese sauce. Well, today, is your lucky day... The pork recipe is finally yours. 

Over the years my hubby and I have tried so many pulled pork recipes and we were never truly satisfied with any of them. That is, until we discovered a little secret. Do you want to know what that secret is? I don't know if you can handle it. It's a pretty big deal...

Okay, I'll tell you... But, only because I know that you can handle it. The secret to truly perfect pulled pork is pork ribs. Have you tried it? If you're sitting there saying to yourself "Duh! I've done that for years..." Then, you, sir or madam are inspiring and I tip my hat to you. If you're sitting there thinking "What madness is this?? You're crazy!" then I strongly urge you to try it immediately. The difference between using pork roasts and pork ribs is one that can only be described as monumental. The flavor is richer, porkier and so much more satisfying than anything you've tried before. 

Also, it goes perfectly over baked potatoes. With brown butter cheese sauce. And extra cheese. And BACON. And some chives or green onions to finish it off. {Don't forget the sour cream!}

So, instead of taking up more of your precious time talking about how your life will never be the same after you try this recipe and how you'll wish you could turn back the clock and get back all those precious years where you didn't have this delicious pork in your life... I'll just hand over the recipe ;)

Crock Pot Pulled Pork:

{Print Recipe}

Ingredients:

• 3 pounds country pork ribs (it's perfectly fine if they have bones -- you can remove them after they cook!)
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup beef broth
• 1/2 cup cola soda
• 1 cup sweet barbecue sauce (we use Sweet Baby Ray's original)

Directions:

Place pork in slow cooker and season with salt, pepper and cayenne. Pour in cola and beef broth. Cook on low setting for 7 hours, or until meat is tender and shreds easily. Remove meat, discard bones and excess liquid, shred meat and return to slow cooker. Add in your barbecue sauce, mix well and allow it to cook on low for an additional hour.

Serve it on rolls, over a baked potato, in a casserole, or whatever you choose! It's good no matter what you do with it! Enjoy!

Orange Glazed Pork Tenderloin

Fall is so close I can almost touch it. I've been spending this last week mostly indoors, with the a/c on, pretending it's already here. The skies have been grey this week and one day we even got a slight drizzle of rain. It may have only lasted for a minute or two, but it was something. 

My daughter and hubby spent last night talking about all the wonderful times we have ahead of us in the coming months. The beginning of October is truly a special time for us, as it's the beginning of our favorite time of the year! Fall festivals, leaf piles, apple cider... quickly followed by Christmas songs, cookie decorating, and the smell of wood burning filling the air. It's a magical time.

One of our favorite parts of Fall is all the delicious, comforting Fall recipes. I notice in the colder months we tend to cook mostly with pork, and most of our dishes include a sweet & savory combination. We make constant jokes about having "pork chops with a nice thweet thauth" for dinner because the truth is, that's mostly what we eat. 

Which brings us to today's recipe... That worked out perfectly, didn't it?

Today's recipe is an amazingly tender, moist, savory & sweet Orange Glazed Pork Tenderloin. Did I mention that there are only 5 ingredients?? It's the perfect dish for cooler months, once the leaves start changing and things feel okay in the world again. Once the Summer is gone for good and there is no fear of another 100 degree day rearing it's ugly head. Ahhh yes... those days are the days when you want to make a recipe like this.

Basically you're going to take your pork tenderloin, rub it with salt and pepper and roast it. Roast it until just before it hits the perfect internal temperature... once it hits about 130 degrees.

Then, you slather on a perfectly sweet (with just a hint of spice!) orange glaze and let that roast for about another 5 or 6 minutes.

Then, you serve it up with a little rice, some veggies and love. Lots of love. You can't serve comfort food without love, can you?

This dish is great for busy weeknights because it's so easy to prepare! It would be wonderful to serve at a Fall dinner party or even just for some close friends due to the sheer deliciousness and ease of preparation! It just tastes fancy.

I hope you enjoy it as much as we did! 

---------------------------------------------------------

Orange Glazed Pork Tenderloin:

{Print Recipe}

Ingredients:

• 2 pound pork tenderloin
• 1 cup orange marmalade
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon chili flakes
• Salt & pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Season tenderloin with 1/3 teaspoon pepper and 1/2 teaspoon salt and place on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. 

In a small bowl, combine marmalade, soy sauce, vinegar and chili flakes, then set aside.

Roast tenderloin until internal temperature reaches about 130 degrees, then spoon orange glaze all over the top of the tenderloin. Return to oven and roast until internal temperature reaches 145 degrees.

Remove from oven and allow tenderloin to rest for 5 minutes before slicing.

Serve sliced tenderloin on top of rice, alongside your favorite veggie!

Herb & Peppercorn Crusted Pork Tenderloin

A new year means a new start for everyone. For us, it means a chance to get rid of some of those holiday pounds we packed on, oh, and of course my extra baby weight... from my first child... I have  been meaning  to get to that...but, uh... life happened... and this blog happened! It's not easy making bacon-wrapped this and cheese-stuffed that all week! You can imagine the difficulty I face...

Well, this year hubby and I decided that we were really going to take this seriously and cut a lot of carbs from our diet. Personally, I'm a carb-lover through and through, so I thought this would be pure torture for me. Give me a huge plate of fettuccine alfredo or a giant slice of german chocolate cake and I'll be a happy girl... take that away from me and I will be a sad, sad girl. To my surprise, it hasn't actually been as bad as I'd imagined it would be. We have been spending the week eating leaner meats along with a variety of yummy veggies and so far everything is fabulous. No complaints!

The recipe I have for you today is one of our new, favorite ways to cook pork tenderloin. It's an herb and peppercorn crusted pork tenderloin that's rubbed with a mixture of crushed peppercorns and fresh rosemary and thyme! The fresh herbs really do make a difference, in my opinion (and hubby's too!) Not only is this a delicious hunk o' meat, but it's also kind of pretty, don't you think? I love the way the colorful peppercorns look!

After rubbing my pork tenderloins with my special herby rub, I seared them in my cast iron skillet in a little bit of olive oil to give them a nice little crust.

See the pretty color? It's deep, it's rich and it's flavorful! Color = flavor. Love!

Basically, you should make this wonderful little tenderloin for your family because it's the right thing to do. It's easy, delicious and perfect if you're watching your carb intake! ;) Enjoy!

Herb & Peppercorn Crusted Pork Tenderloin: {Print Recipe}

Ingredients:

• 2 (1lb) pork tenderloins
• 1-1/2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, chopped finely (I used a coffee grinder to get my herbs just right!)
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, chopped finely
• 1 tablespoon tri-color peppercorns, crushed (also used coffee grinder!)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine rosemary, thyme, peppercorns and salt and rub mixture on tenderloins. In a cast iron skillet, over medium-high heat, place 1 tablespoon olive oil and heat. Place tenderloins in skillet and sear on each side for 1 minute. Place skillet in oven and cook for 20-30 minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 140 degrees. 

Remove from oven and allow meat to rest for 5-10 minutes.

Slice tenderloin and serve with a salad and veggies (you know, healthy stuff!)

Serves 4

Ginger Sage Pork Stew in the Wonderbag

 This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group™ and WonderBag, but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #WonderBag http://cmp.ly/3/8vNxcO 

Today I'm here to share a wonderful recipe for a hearty Ginger Sage Pork Stew that's the perfect fall comfort food, and also to talk to you about an awesome little product called the Wonderbag. When I was asked to test out the Wonderbag I was extremely excited and also extremely curious as to how exactly it worked! You see, the Wonderbag is a portable slow cooker that requires no electricity. Weird, right? When I told my husband he thought I was joking. You can't cook food in a bag! Or can you?! Well, I'm here to tell you that you can, indeed, cook food in a bag and it comes out wonderfully! One of the major perks about this bag it is that, unlike a crock-pot, you can't burn anything! I am guilty of burning things in my crock-pot. I'm so ashamed.

Another great thing about the Wonderbag is that it started out as a way of helping women in Africa to cook their meals without having to spend countless hours gathering firewood, tending to a fire and taking away precious time that could be spent with their families. For each Wonderbag purchased through Amazon, a family in Africa also receives one! Using the Wonderbag helps save power, water and reduces your carbon footprint. It's a great way to help the environment and also bring delicious food with you wherever you go! 

The first time I used my Wonderbag I decided I wanted to bring it with us on a fun little road trip! I thought I would make some yummy food for my mom and surprise her! Plus, I knew she would get a big kick out of the Wonderbag! 

The whole process of the Wonderbag begins by bringing all of your ingredients to a boil. For my Ginger Sage Pork Stew, I browned my pork and my veggies, then brought everything to a boil and simmered it for 15 minutes. Once the time was up, I pulled my dutch oven off the stove and loaded it in the Wonderbag...

To load your Wonderbag, you just have to open the bag up, put in your pot, place the little cushion on the top and pull the drawstring shut. So easy and painless... I love it! Plus, I don't have to worry about leaving a crock-pot plugged in and cooking all day! Hooray!

Then I just threw it in my car and went on my merry way. It looks so cute sitting on the front seat, wouldn't you say?

I love my Wonderbag and I'm definitely going to be taking it with me whenever we go on family picnics, or to potlucks, parties and holidays! Plus, I'll look super stylish while doing so... which is an added bonus! So, make sure to go purchase yours here today and make some Ginger Sage Pork Stew while you're at it! 

To find out more about Wonderbag and helping women and families all over the world create delicious, environmentally-friendly food, visit them on Facebook, Twitter  and Instagram.

Ginger Sage Pork Stew Recipe: {Print Recipe}

----------------------------------------------

Ingredients:

• 3 pounds pork loin roast, cut into 1" pieces
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1 butternut squash, cut into 1" chunks
• 1 large yellow onion, roughly chopped
• 5 carrots, cut into 1/2" thick pieces
• 1-1/2 pounds red potatoes, quartered
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 3 cups Knorr Homestyle Chicken Stock
• 2 tablespoons dried sage
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• Olive oil

Instructions:

In a large pot or dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Coat pork pieces in flour, add to pan and brown on all sides (about 5 minutes). Remove from pot and add in garlic and onions. Cook for 4 minutes, then add squash, carrots and potatoes. Cook for additional 5 minutes, add pork, then add tomato paste, chicken stock, sage, ginger, salt and pepper. Stir well to combine. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Place lid on dutch oven and immediately put into Wonderbag and cook for 4 hours. (If you aren't using a Wonderbag, continue to cook stew for 1 - 1-1/2 hours, or until pork is tender and juicy and vegetables are fork-tender.)

Easy Slow Cooker Carnitas

So, last week was full of disappointments and sadness. The biggest of all was that my dad passed away on the 6th. He had been sick for a very long time and we were all expecting it, so it wasn't a huge surprise. He went peacefully and my mom was there comforting him the whole time. His funeral was on Thursday and it was just perfect for him -- full of music, funny stories, jokes and love. It couldn't have been better and more him.

Between all the funeral planning, family coming from out of town and just an overall busy week, I finally was able to get back in the kitchen yesterday and cook something for my family. I know they were pleased that dinner didn't come from a fast food bag and had ingredients that they could actually pronounce. I had like 3 pork loin roasts up in my freezer just begging me to use them... So, I did.  In order to cleanse our bodies from the greasy, overly-processed food we had to consume last week, I thought I would make something a little lighter and more "fresh," because fresh is good. Carnitas tacos with avocado and fresh pico de gallo! My stomach wasn't even sure how to react to this dinner because it was almost too fresh. 

As I'm typing this blog post, my 5-month-old son is currently "playing" on his play mat next to me. By "playing," I really mean that he is crying and screaming at me because I dared to put him down for 2 minutes. Yeah, he's in that phase right now. The phase where nothing, no matter what it is, will please him. Just mom. That's it. Not dad, not sister, not Sophie the squeaky giraffe -- just mom. So, because I can't possibly stand to listen to the saddest cry known to man, and because I can't hold him and type at the same time (he likes to grab the mouse, smack the keyboard and pull the cords) I must bid you adieu. Please enjoy this deliciously easy recipe for Carnitas that you can cook right in your CrockPot. Put it in there in the morning, forget about it, then remember it later, just in time to enjoy a tender, flavorful meat-filled taco, burrito or whatever you please.

Easy Slow Cooker Carnitas Recipe: 

{Print Recipe}

Ingredients:

• 2.5 pound pork loin roast
• 3/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander 
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Pinch of cinnamon
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 cup beef broth
• 1 cup water

Instructions:

Combine spices and seasonings in a small bowl and rub mixture on pork roast. Place roast in slow cooker along with bay leaves, 1 cup beef broth and 1 cup water. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours, or until roast is tender and shreds easily. Remove bay leaves, shred and serve.