Tag: pork

Pork Loin Roast with Apple and Peach Chutney

I’ve never made a pork loin roast – well, not until now. But, I’ve always wanted to. I’m still on a big apple kick and I think that apples pair well with pork, so that was a no brainer. Then I remembered that I had some peach jam in the pantry, so I decided to mix the two with this roast.

I started by putting pepper and spicy brown mustard all over the pork. I let it rest while I started the other prep.

In a dutch oven, I heated some olive oil – and then browned all sides of the pork.

I sliced an onion pretty thinly. I also sliced some apples (I had a mixture of honey crisp and whatever ‘baking apples’ that Walmart had in a big bag this week).

After all sides of the pork were brownish – I removed it from the pan – adding a tiny bit more oil and added in the onions. And let them soften a bit.

I then added in some stock (I had to get all the yumminess off the bottom of the pan!) and stirred to pull the browned bits from the bottom of the pan.

I added in the thinly sliced apples and brought the stock to a boil.

I added the roast back into the dutch oven, spooning some of the apple and onion mixture on top of the roast and sprinkling with the thyme. Then it went into a 400 degree oven, for about an hour (this roast was pretty thick – and it took an hour to bring the internal temperature up to 145 degrees). Don’t over cook – check it, and take it out when the thickest part is 145 degrees (145 is considered medium rare – but, it is so much more flavorful and juicy at this temperature).

While the pork was in the oven, I put together somewhat of a chutney – using apples, lemon juice, brown sugar, butter and some delicious peach jam.

I just added the items to a small sauce pan, letting everything melt – then allowed it to simmer for about 30 minutes.

When the pork was almost done (around 45 minutes in), I poured the chutney over the pork and let it cook the remainder of the time.

Once I took the pork out of the oven, I let it rest for about 10 or 15 minutes, prior to removing it and cutting.

This pork was deliciously tender and so flavorful!

I served it with rice and the pan roasted brussel sprouts that I talked about on another blog post.

Pork Loin Roast with Apple and Peach Chutney

4 – 4 1/2 pound pork loin roast
1 onion, sliced
2 apples sliced thin
1 cup stock (I used chicken stock)
1 tsp thyme
1-2 tbsp Gulden’s Spicy Brown Mustard
Pepper
2 tsp olive oil

Chutney
2 apples, chopped
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp brown sugar
juice of 1/2 lemon
3 tbsp peach preserves / jam

  • Season pork with pepper and slather with mustard, on all sides
  • In an oven safe hot pan or dutch oven, add olive oil – and brown the roast on all sides – remove from pan
  • Add in onions and let them soften
  • Then add in the stock and apples, bring to a boil
  • Add roast back into dutch oven, spooning some of the apples and onion mixture on top of roast
  • Sprinkle Thyme on top of roast an put in 400 degree oven, for 1 hour (or until center is at 145 degrees)

For Chutney

  • After slicing apples, toss in lemon juice
  • In small sauce pan, add in the butter and apples – let butter melt
  • Then add in the brown sugar and let it melt
  • Finally add in the peach jam and mix well
  • Simmer for 30 minute, stirring occasionally
by Michelle

Brunswick Stew

One of my favorite things growing up in South Georgia was Brunswick Stew. Despite that – until this week, I’d never made it. As I normally do when I develop a recipe that is inspired by something I’ve had before, I thought about all the things that I like about the dishes I’ve had. For Brunswick stew – I like corn, potatoes and lima beans. I like both shredded chicken and pork. And, I like a little bit of a ‘bite’ or acidity. These are some of the items I included (in addition to the meat, potatoes and onion).

This recipe started with cooking the meats. I did the chicken thighs in the instant pot. I used the same method as I mentioned, when I made Chicken Noodle Soup/Stew the other day. Both in cooking and in shredding the chicken. Again – I will never do it another way again, ever!

The pork was a whole other thing. I started by trying to cook the boston butt roast in the crock pot, but despite the fact that I cooked it on low for 8 hours – and then turned it up to high for another 2 hours, I simply could not get it up to 190 degrees, internally, which is needed to get it to shred. Ultimately, I moved it to the instant pot and finished it off there. For the most part, I shredded it the same as the chicken – using a hand held mixer.

I kind of made this dish in stages: I did the pork the day before, I did the chicken in the AM, I prepped the onions and potatoes in the afternoon (Then I went to see Downton Abbey!) and, finally, made the Brunswick stew in the evening. I mention that to say that you have the option to do all the prep work ahead of time – and then ‘throw it together’ for a pretty amazing (and relatively quick) dinner!

Once I was home from seeing Downton Abbey (If you haven’t seen it, and you’re a fan of the show, you should!!), I started putting it all together. Starting with browning the onion and garlic in my dutch oven. The rest was pretty much dumping things in and letting it all come together in the pot – so not a lot of pictures.

Despite this being the first time that I’ve made Brunswick stew – it will definitely not be my last. I’m not even sure what has kept me from making it! The flavors that I pulled together in this one are EXACTLY all the things that I love about Brunswick stew!

** Note: you can add more chicken stock if it is too thick, but remember that Brunswick Stew should be thick.

Brunswick Stew

Total cook time: 20 min prep, 90 min cook

1 onion, chopped
1 tbsp garlic
5 cups chicken stock
1 large (28 oz) can diced tomatoes, with juice
2 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
2-3 chicken thighs, shredded
3 cups pulled pork
1/2 cup Sweet Baby Ray’s Regular BBQ sauce
3/4 cup Sweet Baby Ray’s Mustard BBQ sauce
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
12 oz package of frozen lima beans
12 oz package of frozen whole kernel corn
6 potatoes, diced
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
Avocado oil spray

  • In large dutch oven, brown onions and garlic in avocado oil
  • Add worchestershire sauce, apple cider vinegar, Worcestershire Sauce, tomatoes and chicken stock to dutch oven and bring to a boil
  • Add in the vegetables, BBQ sauces, chicken, pork, salt and pepper – reduce heat to simmer.
  • Cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours, for best blending of flavors – you can actually eat it anytime after your vegetables are done – it just gets more depth of flavor the longer it simmers.

*** If needed to thicken, create a slurry with a small amount of cold water and cornstarch and add to pot, allowing it to thicken.

by Michelle

Pork Chop Skillet

I thawed out some pork chops in the fridge for dinner tonight. Originally, I was planning to do something with pesto that I need to use up, but that didn’t sound appealing to everyone – so, I put my thinking cap on and tried to come up with something different.

It’s been a bit of a trying day – you know – the kind of day that you want some good old comfort food. For me, that usually means something creamy, starchy and that reminds me of meals I loved as a kid (casseroles or one pot meals!). But, I had to use the pork chops, since I’d already thawed them out – enter Pork Chop Skillet!

For creamy, I decided to use some cream of chicken soup and heavy cream. For starchy, I decided to use some jasmine rice. Add in the pork chops, some veggies and spices and I think we’re on our way.

I chopped my veggies so that they would be ready to go when I needed them.

To help the pork chops brown (and to give a little extra flavor), I lightly coated the chops in a mixture of flour and umami seasoning. I always like to do this in a gallon size storage bag (easy clean up!).

I started by browning off the pork chops in the skillet, with a little bit of avocado oil and butter, shaking off any excess flour before putting them in the pan. I didn’t need to cook the pork chops through, but I did want to ensure that they were nicely browned on both sides – when they were, I removed them from the pan.

I had 1/4 of an onion in the fridge, so I knew I would use that. I also had a few stalks of celery and some carrots (from the chicken noodle stew I made the other day), so these were the veggies I chose. I added the chopped veggies with some garlic and seasonings and let it cook in the skillet until the vegetables were starting to soften.

Then I added in the rice, mushroom soup, chicken stock and heavy cream and brought the skillet up to a boil.

Then, I reduced to a simmer – added the pork chops back in, covered and allowed the it to cook for 30 minutes.

Once done, I added some chopped green onions and we were ready to eat!

We ate the pork chops and rice/veggies with some roasted brussel sprouts (I’ll share my recipe for that in another post – couldn’t be easier!).

Pork Chop Skillet

4-6 boneless pork chops
1 tbsp Umami seasoning
3 tbsp all purpose flour
1 can cream of mushroom soup
2 stalks of celery, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1/4 of a medium sized onion, chopped
1 tbsp garlic
2 cups rice (I used Jasmine, as that is what I had on hand)
3 cups of chicken stock
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tsp salt
1 tsp paprika
Avocado oil spray (or other cooking spray)
2 tbsp butter
green onions to garnish

  • Add flour and Umami seasoning to plastic bag and lightly coat pork chops
  • Add avocado oil spray and butter to pan – heat until butter is melted
  • Brown the pork chops (on both sides) and remove from pan
  • Add onion, garlic, celery, carrots, salt, pepper and paprika to pan – cook until vegetables start to get tender.
  • Add rice and stir for 3-5 minutes, coating the rice
  • Add stock, heavy cream and can of cream of mushroom soup and stir and bring to a boil
  • Return pork chops to pan, reduce heat, cover and cook for 30 minutes
by Michelle