Brown Sugar and Balsamic Glazed Pork Loin

My family was slowly coming home one at a time as I finished fixing dinner. There was some talking and hanging out until I asked my husband to pull the pork out of the oven and cut it up. As soon as he took a nibble, which he is notorious, he said it was really good and told all the kids to come and eat because dinner was going to be good. That should tell you that this is worth trying.

  Brown Sugar and Balsamic Glazed Pork Loin

Ingredients:

1 (2 pound) boneless pork tenderloin (or regular pork loin)

1 teaspoon ground sage

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 clove garlic, crushed

1/2 cup water

Glaze

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup water

2 tablespoons soy sauce

Directions:

Combine sage, salt, pepper and garlic. Rub over roast. Place in slow cooker with 1/2 cup water. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. About 1 hour before roast is done, combine ingredients for glaze in small sauce pan. Heat and stir until mixture thickens. Brush roast with glaze 2 or 3 times during the last hour of cooking. Serve with remaining glaze on the side.

The changes I made, was I used a 5.5 lb pork loin from Costco. When I took it out of the package I realized that it was 2 loins tied together with string. I cut the string off and rubbed each portion with the rub. For some reason my crockpot doesn't cook real quick, so I put the loins in an oven proof pot with a lid and cooked it in my oven at 300 degrees for about 5 hours. Then the last 30 minutes before serving, I mixed up the balsamic sauce in an microwave proof bowl, microwaved it for  1 1/2 minutes, stirred and microwaved it for another 1 1/2 minutes until it was thickened. I turned on my broiler and put the pot with the loins on the bottom rack, kept glazing and turning until it was a little brown and yummy looking. My husband then removed it, cut it and served it with the rest of the glaze... which is to die for. I would make the glaze for chicken too.

Island Pork

Yes, I know you thought we had all died and no one was manning the blog.

BUT, this weekend I spent some time with my sisters and they are

COMMITTED

to putting at least one new recipe on each month. Funny thing was, my one sister kept telling us all these wonderful, delicous recipes that she had made that were definitely blog worthy. Hmmm, holding out on us?

So here is a new contribution. My mother-in-law brought this recipe back from Utah. I believe she got it from my sister-in-law who got it from someone and so on. It was delicious. It is also one of those recipes that you put in in the morning and when it is time for dinner, and life is scattered and falling apart, you have a warm yummy meal for your family.

Island Pork

2 lb Pork Tenderloin

Season with:
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cinnamon

Sear seasoned pork in 2 tablespoons of oil in a frying pan.

Mix the following together and rub over tenderloin.
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons chopped garlic
1 tablespoon tabasco sauce

Bake in covered pan at 300 degrees for 3-4 hours (or place in crockpot and cook for 6-8 hours).
Pull apart and serve with coconut rice and mango.

Coconut Rice

2 cups rice (can be white or brown, I prefer Jasmine)
1 1/2 cups water
1 can coconut milk (can be found in ethnic section)
1/3 cup of sugar (or more to your taste)

Cook for 15 minutes. Turn off stove and let sit for 10 more minutes or until done.

Serve rice with Island Pork topped with fresh mango. YUM!

I don't have a picture yet, due to the fact I haven't made it. My mother-in-law served it at our family dinner. I then requested the recipe and have it on my list of things to make the end of this week or beginning of next. So watch for it :)

Sugared Bacon

Is it good for you? No. Is it tastey... absolutely!

I heard from a wife a church that this was one of her husband's favorites. So of course we had to give it a go. It is really delicious.

Sugared Bacon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On a cookie sheet with sides, place a sheet of foil. Trust me, this will make clean up a snap. Lay each piece of bacon out on the cookie sheet, then sprinkle brown sugar over the top. Once you have done it a time or two, you will get a feel for how much brown sugar to put on the bacon. Here are a few pictures below of mine.





Place cookie sheet in the oven for approximately 30-45 minutes. Check a couple of times at the end until bacon is to your desired doneness. We like ours a little crispy.

This is cooked perfectly. It might look burnt, but that is just the brown sugar goodness carmelized on your bacon.


Remove bacon and put on a plate with a paper towel or on a brown paper bag so that the grease can drain off. Then try it... mmmmmm. You will thank me forever (even though no one ever comments, I know you are out there enjoying all the wonderful recipes on this blog and deep in your hearts is appreciation of the sincerest kind).

Sausage Dip

Another favorite in the family. In fact I shared this with a friend who had a son that went on his mission to Ireland. She figured out some way to get the ingredients to him and that is what she sent him last Christma because it was one thing he loved. They use to make it almost every other day in their house (with 2 teenage boys). This is sure to be a big hit if you take it to a party. You just need to figure out how to keep it warm. Maybe a small crockpot? I have taken it in a bowl and then microwaved it when it cooled down. Serve it with tortilla chips.

Sausage Dip

1 package sausage (like Jimmy Dean)
3 1/2 (8 oz.) packages of cream cheese
2 cans Ro-Tel tomatoes (you can find these by the stewed tomatoes

Brown sausage in pan.



Add cream cheese and heat until smooth.


Add tomatoes and mix until well blended. Serve warm with tortilla chips.



This is what the Rotel Tomato can looks like

Wayne Winter's BBQ Ribs

Have you ever watched the Food Network when they are talking about preparing ribs "just right". I feel intimidated just watching the show. Although this isn't your traditional cook on the grill ribs, it is full proof, and very yummy. If you like BBQ without the hassle, you should give this a try. Basically 4 ingredients (if you are counting salt and pepper separately) and you are done.

When you buy these ribs and are browning them, they will appear to have to much fat. Don't worry, as they cook the fat cooks off leaving mostly meat. They will be fall apart tender. You won't even need a knife to cut them up.



Wayne Winter's BBQ Ribs

INGREDIENTS:
country style spareribs (I get mine at Costco, they should be the boneless ones)
Salt and pepper
Bullseye BBQ Sauce (or whatever your favorite is)

Season spareribs with salt and pepper. Brown in a pan/dutch oven. Pour Bullseye Barbeque (or whatever you have chosen) over the top to coat spareribs (you will need to stir it a bit). Don't be stingy on the sauce. You might need more than one bottle depending on how many ribs you are doing and how big your BBQ sauce bottles are.

Bake at 280 - 300 degrees for 2 hours. Stirring half way through.

NOTES: I cut the spareribs into 3" or so pieces so they are easier to brown and when you are serving they are in more manageable size. I brown them in the same pan I do my Sunday roast, it just needs a good fitting lid and big enough to hold all your ribs. When you brown put some oil in the bottom first and add more if needed. I brown my ribs in batches. I do a batch, put them on a plate then do the next batch. When I am done I put them all back in and coat with the BBQ sauce, stir and put in the oven. How easy is that?

Ranch House Crockpot Pork Chops with Parmesan Mashed Potatoes

I saw this recipe on picky-palate.com and decided to give it a go. I must say it got two thumbs up from all who reside in my house. I guess that would actually be 8 thumbs up but whatever. Just try it. It may not be the healthiest recipe but it is worth it! ;)

I stole this picture off the Picky Palate website because my picture didn't look quite as tasty as hers. I hope that is okay and I don't get arrested or something. Ranch House Crockpot Pork Chops with Parmesan Mashed Potatoes

6 pork chops, 1/2 inch thick

1 packet dry Ranch Dressing Seasoning

10 oz can Cream of Chicken Soup

4 lbs peeled, cubed potatoes

5 Tablespoons real butter

1 Cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese

6 cloves roasted garlic (directions how to roast garlic below)

1- 1 1/2 Cups warm skim milk (any milk will do, I just happened to use skim)

1 Tablespoon salt, or to taste

1 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper, or to taste

1. Place pork chops, Ranch seasoning and soup into a medium sized crock pot over high heat for 4 hours or low heat for 6 hours.

2. Place potatoes into a large pot of cold water. Place onto stovetop over high heat and bring to a boil. Once water is boiling, cook for 10-12 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender. Drain and transfer to the work bowl of a stand or electric mixer. Mix on low until potatoes are mashed then add butter, parmesan, garlic, milk, salt and pepper. Season to taste if needed. For thinner mashed potatoes add more milk, slowly until your desired consitency.

3. Scoop mashed potatoes onto serving plates and top with pork chops and soup gravy from crock pot. Eat!

Roasted Garlic

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place bulb of garlic with skins on, wrap lightly in tin foil and bake for 1 hour. Remove from foil and let cool for 15 minutes. Remove garlic from skins, place in a bowl and mash with a fork until completely mashed.