Balsamic Glazed Pork Loin

I have been meaning to post again, and it just hadn't happened. But today is a snow day for many in NE Kansas so I figured I had no excuse!

I don't make much pork, but it always seems to be delicious when I finally do. This recipe is from Mel's Kitchen Cafe, like many of my recipes. They do amazing things over there.

This pork recipe is for the crock pot and it doesn't take a whole lot of prep. Give yourself a few minutes in the morning and a few when you get home and this meal is as good as done. It's got a sweet, herby, and tangy flavor with a yummy glaze that is delicious over rice. So if you want something easy to do with pork, give this a try.

Time: 6-8 hours
Ingredients
2 lb boneless pork loin roast
1 tsp ground sage
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 clove garlic, minced (or more if you love garlic as much as we do)
1/2 cup water

Glaze ingredients
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup water
2 Tbsp soy sauce

Start off by mixing the sage, salt, pepper, and garlic in a small bowl.

Not get a little dirty and rub that mixture all over the meat. (By the way, it's totally ok to do this with frozen pork...I do it all the time.) With the seasoned pork in the crock pot, pour in the water.

Cook that yummyness on whatever time-frame you need. I normally let mine cook while I'm at school for 9ish hours on low or med-low, but that is almost too long, so use your judgement.

Once the meat is about ready, whip up that glaze. Combine all the glaze ingredients in a small saucepan over med-high heat, whisking until it comes to a boil.

 Reduce the heat and let it simmer until it thicken up.

While the glaze simmers, shred up the pork, and give it a little taste-test of course.

Delicious now...

...even better.

 You can either drizzle glaze over it now, or you can dish up the pork on top of some rice and then smother it. Either way, make sure you use that glaze! It's delicious on the pork. Some times I wish I had made a double recipe. Enjoy!

 Original post at http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2011/09/sweet-balsamic-glazed-pork-loin-slow-cooker.html

Sweet and Spicy Glazed Pork Chops

This blog post if finishing up a pretty great 3-day weekend. Friday consisted of watching Halloween movies, carving pumpkins, and getting lost in a corn maze with friends. Saturday started with hot cocoa in bed from D (that's now husband's name here...I wasn't feeling very clever) and a trip to farmer's market for apples, cider, peppers, and spices. I also enjoyed time with co-workers from one of my schools. Today was a morning of laziness and an afternoon of playing board games with some pretty great people. We played games until about 6:00 and I didn't plan dinner ahead of time. Thankfully, I had some pork chops thawed in the fridge and knew I had a couple recipes that took little time to prepare and cook.

D and I use to eat chicken for practically every meal. Thankfully we have branched out. We have much more variety in what we eat, and pork chops are among the various things I make now. Before last year I don't think I had ever cooked a pork chop. I bought some on a whim because they were on sale and now we have 1-2 per month. They are so tasty and cook so quickly. This particular recipe comes from Beth M at Budget Bytes and it is a tasty sweet heat dish. The ingredients are minimal and time is less than 30 minutes so it's a great way to whip up a yummy dinner. If you are a fan of pork and like sweet heat, try these!

Yield: 4 pork chops
Time: 25ish minutes
Ingredients
4 thick cut pork chops (bone-in or not; thin chops may also be used, you just have to watch them)
olive oil
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine brown sugar, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, paprika, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.

Rub that delicious spice mix on those pork chops. I'm lazy so coated one side of the chops while they were still in the packaging and then coated the other side once I put them in the pan. Probably not the smartest thing to do, but I did it any way. However you do it, coat both sides and use all the spice mix.

Pour enough olive oil in a oven-safe skillet to cover the bottom. (You don't have to use an oven-safe skillet, but it makes life easier.) Once the oil is hot, toss those chops in.

Let them cook about 5 minutes and then flip them. They should be a pretty golden color. Let them cook another 5 minutes or so to brown the other side. To finish up the cooking, transfer the whole skillet into the oven. If your skillet isn't oven-safe transfer the chops to a oven-safe surface and try to take the liquid/glaze too.

Let the chops cook until done, about 5 more minutes. The glaze should also have thickened with this time as well. That's it! Before you plate these suckers I would rub them around in the glaze to get as much deliciousness as possible. If you want to move the skillet after you have taken it out of the oven, please remember to use a hot pad. I don't often use my skillets in the oven and when I do, I'm prone to forget that the whole skillet is hot. I have given myself a handful of blister by attempting to pick up a oven-hot skillet by the handle. Please don't make my mistake! Also, soak this pan while it is still warm (not hot, but warm) to help clean it with a little more ease.

Enjoy!

Original post at http://budgetbytes.blogspot.com/2010/08/glazed-pork-chops-655-recipe-163.html