Sunday Dinner Pork Tenderloin

I have made this pork recipe several times in the past year. Each time it has turned out perfectly moist and tender with a lovely spicy-sweet flavor. The original recipe was titled Oven-Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Brown Sugar Garlic Glaze from food.com. Try it for your next Sunday dinner!

Be sure to keep checking in this week as I share some exciting changes for the blog and of course updated kid pictures!

Sunday Dinner Pork Tenderloin

printable recipe

serves 6-8

1 cup brown sugar

2 Tbsp finely chopped garlic

1 tsp Tabasco sauce

2 pork tenderloins

2 tsp salt

1/4-1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp cinnamon

2-3 Tbsp olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl combine brown sugar, garlic, and Tabasco. Set aside. In another bowl stir together the salt, black pepper, cumin, chili powder, and cinnamon. This is going to be your rub. Use your fingers to rub this mixture all over the tenderloins. 

Heat a large heavy oven-proof skillet with oil over medium-high heat until very hot. Add in tenderloins (we cut each in half to fit our skillet) and brown them on all sides. 

Leaving pork in skillet, pat the brown sugar mixture onto the top of the pork. Place in the middle of the oven and roast for about 20-22 minutes, until a thermometer registers 140 degrees. Remove from oven and let sit in skillet for 10 minutes (the temperature of the pork will rise to about 155 degrees while sitting in the hot skillet).

Remove from skillet, slice and serve!

Slow Cooker San Francisco Chops

After seeing this recipe recommended on Grandma Honey's blog, I decided to give it a try. It is the perfect recipe: easy, delicious, with common, inexpensive ingredients! We loved it.

Grandma Honey got this recipe from Mel's Kitchen Cafe, who adapted from a recipe from Jane Deere, both great blogs!

printable recipe

Slow Cooker San Francisco Chops

Serves 4-6

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 pork chops, about 1-inch thick
Salt and pepper for seasoning
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/4 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon cold water
Hot Cooked Rice, for serving

In a large 12-inch skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat until it is simmering and hot. Season the pork chops on both sides with salt and pepper and place 1 or 2 at a time in the skillet.

Brown the pork chops for 1-2 minutes on each side in the hot oil until golden.

Transfer the chops to the slow cooker.

Add the garlic to the drippings in the skillet and stir constantly over medium heat until the garlic is aromatic and golden (but not burned or it will turn bitter!). Stir in the soy sauce, broth, brown sugar and red pepper flakes; cook and stir until sugar is dissolved.

Pour over chops.

Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for 7 to 8 hours until the meat is tender.

If using bone-in pork chops, fish out the bones from the slow cooker. Remove the chops from the slow cooker to a shallow pan or plate – they will most likely be falling apart in tenderness at this point.

In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch and cold water until smooth.

Whisk the cornstarch slurry into the sauce in the slow cooker.

Return the chops to the slow cooker. Turn the slow cooker heat to high and cook for 30 minutes to an hour longer, until the sauce is slightly thickened.

Serve the tender chops over rice and garnish with green onions, if desired.

Glazed Pork Chops

Have I converted you to the diversity and deliciousness that is the bone-in pork chop yet? If not, then click here to view all of my pork chop recipes. They can be prepared many different ways and are cheap! My tip for getting the best deal on bone-in pork chops (and pretty much any meat): buy the large packages when they are on-sale. Around here we can get the big packages (about 8-10 pork chops) for as low as a dollar per pound. That doesn't mean you need to be eating pork for a week straight. Freeze each chop in individual plastic bags and just pull them out of the freezer to thaw in the fridge a day or two before you want use them.

 

This is one of my favorite ways to prepare pork chops, it is so flavorful and easy! Serve it with butter rolls or your favorite potato dish. This recipe is slightly adapted from one on the Taste of Home website.

printable recipe

Glazed Pork Chops

1/3 cup barbecue sauce
1/2 cup apricot or peach preserves
1 Tbsp corn syrup
1 tsp prepared mustard
1/4 tsp ground cloves
bone-in pork chops, 1 per person, double the first five ingredients if you are preparing more than 6 pork chops
salt and pepper

Measure out the first five ingredients into a medium sized bowl.

Stir until well blended.

Place the pork chops on a plate and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Grill over medium heat for 6-8 minutes per side or until a meat thermometer reads 160F, basting frequently with sauce mixture.

Remove pork chops from heat and serve.

Crock Pot Ribs

I have come to the conclusion that I never need to go out to eat for good ribs ever again. These ribs are just as good as any I have had in a restaurant. They start out in the crock pot then finish on the grill for a great texture and flavor. Give them a try next time you want to make your loved one a special meal!

printable recipe

Crock Pot Ribs

1 rack baby back ribs
1 bottle barbecue sauce (we like Sweet Baby Ray's)
1 can Dr. Pepper (not diet)

Cut the rack into 2-3 pieces and place in your crock pot.

Pour the can of soda and bottle of barbecue sauce over the ribs (reserving 1/2 cup barbecue sauce for basting later).

Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours. You don't want to overcook these, they should be tender but not quite falling off the bone. You can serve them like this, but we prefer to finish cooking them on the grill.

Heat your grill to high, place ribs on grill then turn heat to low and cook 15-20 minutes. The initial high heat will add a nice crust.

Don't these look great?! Serve with mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli or asparagus.

This recipe is featured in Menu Plan 11.

Grilled Pork Chops with Shallot Butter

This is a delightful take on bone-in pork chops from myrecipes.com. I loved the blending of the herbs and the fact that, other than a little butter, this recipe was quite healthy!

You can use fresh herbs if you have them, but I just used the dry herbs I had on hand and it turned out great.

printable recipes

Grilled Pork Chops with Shallot Butter

serves 4

4 bone-in pork chops

salt and pepper

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 tsp chives

1/2 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp rosemary

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 Tbsp butter, softened

1 1/4 tsp minced shallots

1/8 tsp grated lemon rind

Turn on grill to medium-high heat. Sprinkle both sides of pork with salt and pepper.

Combine oil, chives, thyme, rosemary, and garlic, stirring well.

Rub oil mixture evenly over both sides of pork.

Place pork on grill rack; grill 6-7 minutes or until a thermometer inserted in the thickest part of pork registers 155F. Remove pork from grill; let stand 5 minutes.

Combine butter, shallots, and lemon rind, stirring well.

Spread about 1 tsp butter mixture over each pork chop; let the pork stand an additional 5 minutes.

Cafe Río-style Sweet Pork Salad

For all you Cafe Río fans out there, here is a copycat recipe for their ever-popular Sweet Pork Barbacoa Salad. We thought this meal was excellent, so flavorful and satisfying. It can be adjusted to suit your tastes, but below is the basic recipe.

Some elements of this meal have been adapted from a recipe found on Favorite Family Recipes and the pork recipe I got from my sister-in-law Katie.

I was just asked how many servings this makes and I would say 4-6. There is enough pork and salad dressing for 6 generous salads, but if you like a lot of rice and beans, you may want to double the rice recipe and use two cans of black beans. Just go by how your family usually eats. Have fun!

Cafe Río-style Sweet Pork Salad

printable recipe 

The first step is to make the pork, start it about 5-6 hours before you would like to serve dinner.

Crockpot Sweet Pork

 3-4 lbs pork (I use 4 bone-in pork chops)

garlic salt

1 can Coke or Dr. Pepper (not diet) 

16 oz. salsa

4 oz can green chilies

1 Tbsp taco seasoning

1 Tbsp cumin

1 cup brown sugar

Sprinkle pork with garlic salt (if using a pork roast, cut into fist sized chunks, pork chops can be left whole) and place in crock pot.

Pour in 1 cup of water and can of soda. Cover and cook on high for 5 hours or until it can be shredded easily.

Remove bones and shred pork.

Add the rest of the ingredients. Cook for another hour.

Cilantro-Lime Rice

1 cup uncooked rice

1 tsp butter

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups chicken stock

1 Tbsp lime juice

2 tsp sugar

2 Tbsp fresh chopped cilantro

In a saucepan combine rice, butter, garlic, and chicken stock. Bring to a boil, cover and cook on low 15-20 minutes, until rice is tender. Remove from heat. In a small bowl combine lime juice, sugar and cilantro. Pour over hot cooked rice and mix into rice.

As the rice cooks, prepare dressing:

Cilantro Ranch

1 packet Traditional Hidden Valley Ranch mix (not buttermilk)

1 cup mayo

1 cup buttermilk

2 tomatillos, remove husk, diced

1/2 bunch of fresh cilantro

1 clove garlic

juice of 1 lime

1 jalapeño, seeded

Mix all ingredients together in the blender.

Heat tortillas (1 tortilla per salad) with monterey jack and cheddar sprinkled on them in oven at 350F for about 5 minutes, until cheese melts.

Top with warmed black beans then Cilantro-Lime Rice.

Add pork (use a slotted spoon to remove from crock pot).

Add lettuce, salsa or pico de gallo, sour cream and/or guacamole, dressing and (optional) garnish: crushed tortilla chips, a shake of Parmesan cheese, and cilantro. We had to add our new favorite condiment: Chipotle Tabasco sauce. This stuff is seriously addicting! 

Enjoy your salad, Cafe Río in the comfort of your own home!

This recipe is featured in Meal Plan: December 6-12.