Artichoke Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

Recipe 42.
*recipe from Canadian Living, April 2011 issue
Happy Easter all! I had the honor of hosting Easter dinner for my parents & the bf's parents. On top of the fact that it was my first time hosting a holiday, it was also the first meet & greet for our parents! Talk about stressful- but very successful! We all had a great time and the meal came out perfectly! I took the safe route by sticking to ham & pork tenderloin (my chicken luck has been coming up short lately). Everyone raved about this pork tenderloin, enjoy!

2- 1lb               pork tenderloins, butterflied (you can google ways to do this but if you bat your eyelashes and smile                        ever so sweetly, your butcher will do this for you!)
1 pkg               baby spinach
3 T                  extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves            garlic, minced
1 leek                thinly sliced, white and light green parts only
1 can                 artichokes, drained, pressed & sliced
1 cup                shredded Gouda cheese (Tip: Freeze the gouda for 30 minutes prior to shredding. It'll be much easier)
3/4 cup             fresh bread crumbs
1/2 cup             parmesan cheese
1/3 cup             chopped fresh italian parsley

In a dutch oven, cover and cook spinach with 2 T of water over medium-high heat for about 2 minutes until wilted. Remove from heat and drain well. Set aside in a large bowl to cool.
In the same pan, add olive oil, leeks and garlic. Saute until softened, about 6 minutes. Add to bowl with spinach.
Stir in artichokes,cheeses, parsley and bread crumbs. Season with salt & pepper. I made this stuffing ahead and put it in the fridge until I was ready to put the tenderloin in the oven. It's safe to do this for up to 24 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lay the butterflied tenderloins onto a clean cutting board and mound a heaping portion of the stuffing mixture in the centre of each. Pressing the stuffing helps you get more of it in there! Roll the sides of the tenderloin tightly together and tie with string. Season the outside of the pork with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper. Transfer to a roasting pan and bake until the juices run clear and the temperature reaches 160 F. Yup, I got my hands on a meat thermometer the time. About an hour cooking time. Let rest on a cutting board loosely tented with aluminum foil. Slice into 6 pieces and serve!

day 40, recipe 41: Cuban Pork Roast with Mojo Crillo

This was way different then any pork roast I've ever done, but in a good way. It was definitely a nice change & that's what this challenge is all about. The fact that we had already eaten our side dishes more then 20 minutes before this roast was done was a little disappointing, but hey- that's urban cooking for ya. Live and learn, or buy a meat thermometer. Recipe from Canadian Living.

1             boneless pork rib roast, 3-4 pounds
2             garlic cloves, slivered
1/2 C       orange juice
1/4 C       lime juice (i used concentrated)
1/4 C       lemon juice (ditto)
2 T          extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp        each cumin, pepper, and dried oregano
3/4 C       chicken broth

Cut slits around pork & insert garlic slivers. Whisk together all other ingredients except chicken stock, pour over pork & place into a large resealable bag. Place in the fridge for 4-24 hours (the longer, the better), turning occasionally.
Place roast & marinade in a roasting pan and cover, roasting at 325 degrees F for 1 hour. Uncover, baste & continue cooking for another hour. Broil until golden brown, about 3 minutes.
Remove from pan and place on to a cutting board. Loosely tent with aluminum foil and let rest for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile skim fat from pan juices and add enough chicken broth to make 1 1/4 cups of sauce. More broth if you want it less tangy.

Well, typing out this recipe I know now where I went wrong. Before I started in on it, I knew it was going to take 2 hours but for some reason I pulled it out and tented it after an hour and a half. Paying attention is the key to success. I don't have a picture of the cooked roast because I was pretty much over it by time I served it- BUT! I went to metro yesterday and just about fell over when I saw the price of them! We bought two roasts and froze them a few weeks ago when they were on sale. I paid $4.57 for the same exact roast (weight, type). Check out the price this week.

yay for being a smart shopper! I would have been royally pissed if I paid $20 and my roast didn't take center stage about dinner time!

day 30, recipe 30: Stuffed Pork chops

Mehhhhhh....this was alright. It's basically what you'd expect from the ingredients. Easy enough to make, but I'd reserve my chops for more original ideas next time.

1 box                Stovetop stuffing, prepared as per instructions

4                      boneless pork loin chops, with a pocket cut into each
1 can                cream of mushroom soup
6                      white mushrooms, sliced
1 C                   milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Season chops with salt and pepper, and cut pocket into each.
Spoon 1/2 stuffing into pockets.
Sprinkle tops with mushrooms & then pour mushroom soup and milk overtop; allow to settle to bottom of pan. Spoon remaining stuffing mix on top of each pork chop. Bake uncovered for about an hour. Serve with rice & veggies.

day 17, recipe 14: Asian Inspired Peanut Porkchops

A girl I know sent me a link to a blog of similar goals- hers happened to be 365 days of slow cooking. I had pulled out boneless pork tenderloin chops yesterday and was eager to use them up in an unconventional way. My mom was quick to point out that we all tend to fall into ruts of cooking- using our favorite ingredients to flavor dishes. I agree- a meal prepared with garlic and onion to me usually just won't make the cut. And on the opposite end of the spectrum, anything containing cilentro gets a quick nay-nay.
This contains both of my staples, but also threw me for a curb. I made it almost 100% to the recipe- my only substitution was the pork chops for pork tenderloin. Granted, that definitely affected my overall cooking time, but the results were still fabulous! It doesn't sound like much, but it yielded amazing results.

4               boneless pork chops, trimmed of all fat
1/4 C         soya sauce
1/4 C         brown sugar
3 T            white wine vinegar
3 T            water
2               garlic cloves, mined
1 med        onion, cut into rings
1/2 C         all natural smooth peanut butter

Arrange onion rings along the bottom of the slow cooker to completely cover. Lay chops over top. Pour soya sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, water, garlic and peanut butter overtop- don't worry about stirring, the peanut butter needs to melt. Turn slow cooker on to low setting and cook for 4-5 hours. Serve over rice with my indian inspired steamed broccoli!

Normally, the low setting is reserved for cooking times of 8-10 hours. I'd imagine if one were to use a 4 pound pork tenderloin, a longer cooking time would be needed. My chops were still moderately juicy and bursting with a nutty flavor, but I would decrease the cooking time to 4 hours maximum for those chops on the thinner side. Sauce base would also be delicious on top of chicken!

Day 5, Recipe 5; Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Let me start off my saying- I LOVE slow cookers. Today was my first experience using one that my mama gave me, and I can honestly say I now understand why it's such a staple in households. Turn it on, put some stuff into it and leave it be. Fan-friggen-tastic. I told my boyfriend that during this challenge I would take on pulled pork- I've never had it & he's a big fan, so I figured why not. Well- I plugged my slow cooker in to the outlet on my stove. Went back in two hours to find it was still cold. Naturally, I hopped onto google to find out how long it takes a slow cooker to heat up and was horrified to find out that it only takes about 15 minutes on high to feel noticeable heat. Oops. Blonde moment. Note to self; don't use the outlet on the stove.

1           3-4 lb pork butt or shoulder
1 1/2 C   root beer
             salt & pepper
1/4 C     onion, chopped.
1 bottle  Budweiser BBQ sauce

Season the pork with salt and pepper and place into slow cooker over the onions. Pour root beer over top. Turn the slow cooker on high and cover for one hour.
Reduce heat to low and cook for 7 hours.
Remove pork from slow cooker and trim of all fat. Pull apart with a fork and set aside.
Drain liquid from slow cooker.
Return pork to slow cooker and pour the bbq sauce over and mix. Cook for an additional hour. Serve with toasted buns & assorted garnishes of your choice.

* After discovering I had wasted two hours of precious cooking time, I went for a shortcut on cooked the pork on high for 4 hours and then added the bbq sauce, cooking on low for an additional hour. The pork was tasty, and melted in my mouth.Having nothing to compare it to, I'd say this was a success from both a slow cooker and recipe standpoint.

★★★★.5/☆☆☆☆☆
4.5 out of 5 for yum factor!