Healthy Crockpot Pulled Pork

 From: The Clean Eating Couple

Ingredients:

• 2.5 lbs pork tenderloin
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 Tbsp paprika
• 1 Tbsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ginger
• 1 cup chicken stock
• Barbecue sauce of your choice (I made my own)

Clean off "silver skin" from pork tenderloin to make sure it's lean.

In a bowl, whisk together olive oil and spices. Marinate pork in olive oil and spices overnight if possible, in a ziploc bag. Otherwise, place tenderloins in crockpot and cover with oil/spice marinade. Make sure all areas of the pork have some marinade on them.

Pour chicken stock on top of the marinated tenderloins.

Cook on low for 6-8 hours in the crockpot, or on high for 4-6 hours.

Use tongs or a fork to pull the tenderloins apart when they are done cooking. All the juices to soak into the pulled pork. 

Toss with barbecue sauce if you choose!

Verdict:

This was a big thumbs up for everyone in my house! We had about three small slices of tenderloin left over. To be honest, it was a little sweet for my taste buds, but considering it was a hit with everyone else in the house, I'll probably make it again.

Skillet Pork Chops

From: Taste of Home

Ingredients:
4 pork chops
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup chicken broth
2-3 Tbsp grape jelly
1/4 tsp ground ginger
4 1/2 tsp cornstarch
3 Tbsp cold water
Rice

In a skillet over medium heat, brown pork chops in oil; drain.

Add onion; cook until tender.

Pour broth around chops; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover simmer for 12-16 minutes or until the meat is tender. Remove chops and keep warm.

Stir jelly and ginger into broth. Combine cornstarch and water until smooth; add to broth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes. Serve over pork chops and rice.

Verdict:
I liked the simplicity of this recipe. I loved that I didn't have to go to the store for any ingredients! But it wasn't my favorite pork chop recipe. I think would like it to be a little sweeter. The sauce didn't have quite as much flavor as I'd hoped. I think you could add more grape jelly and ginger and solve that problem. The consistency was great and it was very good over hot rice!

Honey Grilled Tenderloins

From: Southern Living cookbook 1992

Ingredients:
2 pork tenderloins (about 3/4-lb each)
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/2 tsp ground ginger
5 cloves garlic, halved
2 Tbsp brown sugar
3 Tbsp honey
2 tsp dark sesame oil

Trim fat from tenderloins. Butterfly tenderloins by making a lengthwise cut in each, cutting to within 1/4 inch of other side. Place in a shallow container or large, heavy-duty, zip-top plastic bag. Combine soy sauce, ginger and garlic; pour over tenderloins. Cover or seal, and refrigerate at least 3 hours, turning occasionally.

Remove tenderloins from marinade. Combine sugar, honey and oil in a small saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until sugar dissolves.

Coat grill rack with cooking spray; place on grill over medium heat (about 350 degrees). Place tenderloins on rack, and brush with honey mixture. Cook 20 minutes or until the inside registers 165 degrees. Turn once while cooking and baste with honey mixture. (Note: the honey mixture will thicken as it cools, but should thin out really quickly when reheated).

What I did differently:
I didn't have time to marinate these. I thawed them yesterday but I wasn't home today with time to let them sit. So they sat for maybe 15 minutes in the garlic mixture. Honestly, it was FINE. I'm sure letting them sit in the marinade longer will also be delicious! Also, I didn't use tenderloins. We had some pork chop ends from the pig we bought last year, so I just sliced those up. I didn't grill them, either. I just popped them in the oven, on a grill rack, for about 20 minutes at 350 degrees, flipping them a couple of times and continuing to baste them.

Verdict:
Thumbs up! I liked this a lot - everyone did, actually. This is a really thick cut of ham so I was afraid it would be a little dry and bland, but it wasn't. The flavor was great. I like a sweet flavor of marinade, so I definitely wouldn't mind letting them sit longer next time before I cook them, or even having a dipping sauce made from the honey/sugar mix. I will DEFINITELY make this again because it was so easy to make and it was a hit with everyone (which is tough!)

Brown Sugar Ham Steak

From: Taste of Home

Ingredients:

1 8-oz fully cooked ham steak
5 Tbsp butter, cubed
5 Tbsp brown sugar

In a large skillet over medium heat, brown steak on both sides. Remove ham.

In the same skillet, melt the butter; stir in brown sugar. Return ham to skillet, cook until heated through, turning often.

Verdict:

Thumbs up! This glaze was very juicy and not too sweet. It added a great flavor to the ham. I actually made a little extra glaze and poured it over the top just as I served it. Really easy and fast! I'll be making this again!

Old-Fashioned Skillet Country Ham Steak

From: Montana Happy

Ingredients:

1 lb ham slice
2 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup water
2 Tbsp dijon mustard
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp paprika

Melt butter in skillet and add ham, cooking until brown on both sides approximately 3-4 minutes on each side. Remove ham steak from pan and keep warm.

Add remaining ingredients (water, dijon mustard, brown sugar and paprika) to the pan, and cook until sugar is dissolved, about five minutes.

Place ham steak back in the skillet and cook approximately five more minutes with caramelized glaze.

Verdict:
Thumbs up! It was a little dry, but not bad. The flavor was really good, particularly if you do like classic country ham. I'm a big fan of easy recipes and this is about as simple as it gets.

Crockpot Barbecue

From: Here

Ingredients:
6 lb. pork butt
1 18-oz bottle barbecue sauce
1 Tbsp. onion flakes
1/4 tsp. garlic salt
2 drops hickory liquid smoke
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1 c. Coke
2-3 tsp. brown sugar

Cook the pork butt on low in the crock pot from noon until the next morning. Shred the meat and remove fat. Mix the remaining ingredients and add it to the shredded pork. Return all of this to the crock pot and cook 3 to 4 hours on low.



What I did differently from the recipe:
I didn't do anything that differently, but here's what I did. My pork butt (that keeps making me laugh) was just about 3.5 pounds. I didn't measure anything, just dumped all the ingredients in. I cooked the roast for six hours and didn't have time to shred it before adding all the ingredients. It didn't matter in the end.

What I'll do differently next time:
Nothing.

Verdict:
Major thumbs up! Stephen said he'd eat this once a week if I'd make it. I eat it on sandwiches, he doesn't, and it's great either way. I used KC Masterpiece BBQ sauce, flavor of Smoky Bourbon. Stephen dipped his in Budweiser honey BBQ sauce some and he said that was delicious too. He commanded me to not lose this recipe. I think we can call this one a winner. Highly recommend!

Pork Fried Rice

Ingredients:
1 (5 oz) boneless pork chop diced
1/2 cup diced carrots
1/2 cup finely chopped broccoli
1/2 cup frozen tiny peas thawed
1/4 cup chopped green onions
2 Tbsp butter
3 cups cooked long grain rice
2 eggs beaten
3-4 tsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp ginger

Saute first five ingredients in butter in skillet about 3-4 minutes. Remove from skillet and set aside.

Cook rice in skillet until heated. Push rice to sides of skillet. Pour eggs into middle and cook until set, stirring.

Stir rice into eggs, add veggies and remaining ingredients. Stir.

What I did differently from the recipe:
Normally I don't change this recipe. But for tonight, I changed several things. First of all, Stephen requested that I use our remaining filet mignon for this recipe, so I used that instead of pork chops. I sliced the steak and then made a dry rub of salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, and garlic powder and rubbed it all over the slices with my hands. I had frozen peas and carrots in my freezer, so I used those as well, sauteeing just the steak, peas and carrots in the beginning. I left out the broccoli because I didn't have any handy and I left out the onion because Stephen doesn't like onions to linger on his breath. I also cook the rice and then I put it in the skillet because otherwise I would be worried that it would still be crunchy at the end.

What I'll do differently next time:
Nothing except change the meat to either pork or chicken.

Verdict:
Thumbs up! This is a classic, easy, great tasting recipe. Stephen always craves the food at Japanese steakhouses so this is a really easy way to get that taste at home. You can easily throw veggies on the grill and add them to the rice - I know those steakhouses normally do onion, zucchini and mushrooms. Those items can sometimes be found marked down in the produce section at your grocery store, so you can snag them and make a vegetarian version of this recipe as well!

Printable version:

Ingredients:
1 (5 oz) boneless pork chop diced
1/2 cup diced carrots
1/2 cup finely chopped broccoli
1/2 cup frozen tiny peas thawed
1/4 cup chopped green onions
2 Tbsp butter
3 cups cooked long grain rice
2 eggs beaten
3-4 tsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp ginger

Saute first five ingredients in butter in skillet about 3-4 minutes. Remove from skillet and set aside. Cook rice in skillet until heated. Push rice to sides of skillet. Pour eggs into middle and cook until set, stirring. Stir rice into eggs, add veggies and remaining ingredients. Stir.

Smoky BBQ Pork Sandwiches

From Pillsbury: Annual Recipes

Ingredients:
1 boneless pork shoulder roast
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 cups barbecue sauce
1 Tbsp honey
1 tsp liquid smoke

Heat 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Sprinkle pork roast with salt and pepper. Add roast to skillet; cook 8 to 10 minutes or until browned on all sides. Place roast in 4-5 quart slow cooker. Cover; cook on low heat setting 8-10 hours. About 40 minutes before serving, remove roast from slow cooker and place on cutting board; discard liquid in slow cooker.

In slow cooker, stir together all remaining ingredients. With 2 forks, shred pork roast. Return pork to slow cooker; stir gently to mix with sauce. Increase heat setting to high; cover and cook 30 minutes longer or until thoroughly heated. Serve on buns.

What I did differently from the recipe:
Everything. No, just kidding. Leila had gotten a Honeybaked Ham for Christmas (YUM!) and we wanted to make this with the leftovers. Therefore, I didn't have to go to all the hassle of cooking a shoulder roast. All I did was shred the ham that we had, add that and all the other ingredients to the slow cooker, and cook it on high for about 30-40 minutes. SIMPLE! Also, I only used about one cup of barbecue sauce.

What I'll do differently next time:
Same as above, I'm sure.

Verdict:
Thumbs up! This was really delicious! The shredding of the ham took some time but it was much easier than cooking the whole shoulder roast, I think. Plus, it only took about 45-60 minutes to make (including the shredding) instead of 11 hours.

P.S.
Yes, that is delicious cucumber salad on my plate. Unfortunately you'll have to get that recipe from Corky. Yum!

Printable version:

Ingredients:
1 boneless pork shoulder roast
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 cups barbecue sauce
1 Tbsp honey
1 tsp liquid smoke

Heat 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Sprinkle pork roast with salt and pepper. Add roast to skillet; cook 8 to 10 minutes or until browned on all sides. Place roast in 4-5 quart slow cooker. Cover; cook on low heat setting 8-10 hours. About 40 minutes before serving, remove roast from slow cooker and place on cutting board; discard liquid in slow cooker. In slow cooker, stir together all remaining ingredients. With 2 forks, shred pork roast. Return pork to slow cooker; stir gently to mix with sauce. Increase heat setting to high; cover and cook 30 minutes longer or until thoroughly heated. Serve on buns.