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I don't cook a lot of meat. But every now and then, when I worry my honey will sprout wings due to all the chicken I have been fixing, or that he will revolt against meatless Mondays that have come to span multiple days of the week, I treat him to a real meat meal. Because he is the only meat eater at our house these days, these "special" meals usually mean lots of left overs and creative ways of using them. By the time he has had every form of it, he's tired of the real meat and is happy to go back to chicken and meatless Mondays (Thursdays and Saturdays) ... or at least that's what I tell myself.
Pork has kind of a bad rap of being not-so-good-for-you. But some cuts are pretty lean. A 4 ounce serving of pork tenderloin has about 185 calories, with around 31.8 grams of protein and 5 grams of fat. Comparatively, 4 ounces of white meat chicken has about 186 calories, with around 35 grams of protein and 4 grams of fat. (using http://www.calorieking.com) Though pork tenderloin can sometimes be on the pricey side as far as price per ounce, it goes on sale fairly regularly and there is very little waste.
This is a variation of a recipe I found here. I don't have any sisters, but I figure six of them can't be wrong! I say variation because being the rebel that I am, I can never just follow a recipe the way it is. So here's my version:
What you'll need:
2 pounds (or so) pork tenderloin
1 tsp garlic and herb Mrs Dash
1 tsp dried sage
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
glaze:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1/4 cup water
What you'll do:
Mix the dry seasoning in a small bowl. Place the pork in the crock pot and sprinkle on the seasoning. Pour in 1/2 cup water around pork being careful not to "rinse" off the seasoning. Cover and cook on high for 5 hours. (My crock pot isn't the greatest and I cook everything on high. Maybe if you have a good one, high for a couple hours, then turn it down. ?? ) Remove pork from crock pot and discard cooking juices. Mix the ingredients for the glaze in small bowl and pour over pork. Cook an additional 1-2 hours.
Paired with sweet potatoes, and a spinach and strawberry salad, it made for a nice, colorful Sunday dinner.
