Grilled Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches

Blogger won't let me copy/paste so here is the link from Cooking Light. This was really easy to prepare and even though I didn't have all the ingredients on hand (didn't use the jalapeno jelly/water ) it still turned out great. I had plenty of leftovers so this would do 2 meals for a family of 4 probably. We served it with these Ranch Potato Wedges and they were yummy too! A pork tenderloin can be up to 14 dollars in Kroger but you can get 2 in a package at Costco for about 12 or 13 dollars. And since I break this meal into two, it makes it more affordable for us.

Pork Medallions in Mustard Sauce

We enjoyed this last night and it was delicious. It looks fancy even though it is really quite simple. It's good if you need to feed several people and wow them too.

2 T vegetable oil
2 T coarse-grained mustard
1/2 t salt
1/2 t coarsely ground pepper
1 1/2 pounds pork tenderloin
1/4 cup dry white win or chicken broth (I didn't even use this ingreident or the step that calls for basting and it turned out awesome!)
Mustard Sauce (recipe follows)

Stir together first 4 ingredients. (I've found it best to double the marinade in order to cover the both roasts) Rub mixture over pork, and place in a large heavy-duty zip-top plastic bag. Seal bag; chill 8 hours. Place pork on a lightly greased rack in a shallow roasting pan.

Bake at 450 for 15 minutes. Reduce temp to 400; bake 15 minutes or until meat thermometer inserted into thickest portion says 160, basting with wine every ten minutes. (Basting not essential, I found). Slice and serve with mustard sauce.

(Note: you really don't want to overcook this, it should be slightly pink inside in order to be tender. Temperature reading more important/accurate than cook time.)

Mustard Sauce 1 3/4 cups whipping cream
1/4 cup coarse-grained mustard
1/4 t salt1/8 t ground white pepper (black is fine)

Cook whipping cream in a heavy saucepan over medium heat until reduced to 1 1/4 cups (about 20 minutes). Stir in remaining ingredients and cook 1 minute.

a few notes: the recipe said not to let it boil, but that was nearly impossible! simmer is okay, just don't let it scald. And I cooked for the 20 minutes and it didn't ever reduce but didn't affect the taste of the sauce. It is yummy!

Sweet and Sassy Ribs

2 pounds pork loin back ribs
1 cup carbonated cola drink
2 Tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne)
2 cans (16 ounces each) baked beans, undrained
1/4 cup water
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
sliced green onions, if desired

Directions:
1. Spray inside of 3 to 4 quart crockpot with cooking spray or use a crock pot liner. Cut ribs to fit in crockpot. Mix remaining ingredients except for water, cornstarch, and onions in medium bowl; pour over ribs.

2. Cover and cook on low heat setting 7 to 8 hours.

3. Remove ribs and beans from crockpot; keep warm. Mix water and cornstarch; stir into mixture in crockpot. Increase heat setting to high. Cover and cook about 15 minutes or until sauce is thickened. Serve sauce over ribs and beans. Garnish with onions, if desired.

My notes:
I use whatever ribs and cola I happen to have on hand. Usually, we have the ribs and I have to buy the cola so get something you like! For the beans I usually buy the bigger, more economical can. Use whatever flavor of beans is your favorite. We love Busch's Baked Beans with bacon and brown sugar but you can use any flavor you want. Cook on low. Do not try to rush the ribs by cooking on high. I did that once and never again--in my opinion they were pretty tough but Dave and my parents thought that they were good. I still think that they were just being kind. I have never used the sliced green onions and I think these ribs taste great. But if you don't like beans then this is not the recipe for you. These ribs are great served with salad, bread, and baked potato (and a bunch of other options). Benjamin would say you need to have canned peaches--lately he can't get enough of them!

Pork Chop Casserole

4 to 6 pork chops
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 Tblsp. butter or margarine
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
4 cups sliced potatoes
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 and 1/4 cups milk


Melt butter in skillet; add salt, pepper, onions, and chops. Brown lightly on both sides. Place potatoes in baking dish. Arrange chops over potatoes. Add soup and milk to skillet. Blend and pour over chops. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 30 to 40 minutes more.

I made this for the first time last night, it's a very good, basic "meat and potatoes" meal. However, I wasn't watching it, and left it in for the full 70 minutes. I don't think they need to be in that long since you brown them first, our pork turned out a little on the tough side. Although, I used small, boneless pork chops so that's why they probably didn't take as long to cook.