Sunday Cravings of Home

Social Sunday

Nothing makes me crave home like enjoying one of my favorite meals my mom cooked for us a kids. It brings back memories of us all gathered around the kitchen table for dinner, something that my parents made a strong effort to always do. There were a few staple meals that would frequent these family dinners because of how much everyone liked them, some simpler to prepare than others. They were all full of flavor and more times than not were very healthy as well. This dish was favorite of mine that I now prepare for Seth and I occasionally. It will never taste exactly like my mom's, but it sure comes close!

Mom's Sausage and Peppers

Ingredients

-1tbsp extra virgin olive oil

-1 medium yellow onion, divided

-2 cloves minced garlic

-3tbsp Italian herbs, divided

-1 28oz can crushed tomatoes

-2tbsp tomato paste

-20oz package fresh sausage links

-1 yellow pepper

-1 red pepper

-1 green pepper

Directions

1. Add oil to a saute pan over medium heat. Chop 1/4 cup onion and add to warm oil. Saute for 5min.

2. Add garlic and 1tbsp Italian herbs and saute for 2min.

3. Pour whole can of crushed tomatoes into saute pan and stir. Add remaining Italian herbs and tomato paste and stir until incorporated. Turn up heat to medium-high and bring to a boil.

4. Add lid and reduce heat to simmer for 30min.

5. In the meantime, chop up remaining onion and peppers into big bite-sized pieces. Slice sausage into bite sized pieces.

6. Remove lid and add sausage. Turn heat up to medium again and cook for 5min.

7. Stir in vegetables and cook for another 10min.

*Serve over rice or pasta!

*Put sausage links in freezer for 10min to make them easier to cut if needed!

*You can boil sausage first to jump-start the cooking, but I prefer to cook from start to finish in the flavor infused sauce!

The ingredients for the sauce

Chop 1/4 cup onions and saute in olive oil for 5min

Add garlic and 1tbsp herbs and saute for another 2min

Stir in crushed tomatoes

Add remaining herbs

Add tomato paste

Turn up heat to medium-high to bring to a boil

Return heat to a simmer and cook for 30min

Chop up remaining onion, peppers, and sausage into bite sized pieces

Add sausage to sauce and turn heat up to medium to cook for 5min

Stir in veggies and cook for 10min

Crockin' the Tenderloin

Healthy Hump Day Recipe

Are you a lean mean fighting machine? If you want to get lean, you have to eat lean. There are lean cuts of nearly every source of meat, so eating lean doesn't mean you are limited to chicken and fish. Pork tenderloin is the leanest cut of park containing very little fat, and the fat that it does contain can easily be trimmed off. By sticking with a healthy option for a marinade, this can easily become one of your family's easy and savory go-to meals. One of my favorite recipes has less than 10 ingredients and is done in a crock pot. Does it get any easier than that? Other than the pork tenderloin itself, the flavorings are all things you would have in your pantry already. So, get out that crock pot, and let's get cooking!

Balsamic Brown Sugar Glazed Pork Tenderloin

Ingredients
-2 cloves minced garlic
-1tsp salt
-1/2 tsp pepper
-2tsp sage
-2lbs pork tenderloin
-1 cup water, divided
-1/2 cup light brown sugar
-1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
-2tbsp soy sauce
-1tbsp cornstarch

Directions
1. Combine garlic, salt, pepper, and sage in a small bowl.
2. Rub mixture on pork tenderloin massaging the combination into the meat so that the flavor grabs on, and place the seasoned pork into a crock pot.
3. Pour 1/2 cup water over pork and set crock pot on low if cooking for 8hrs and high if cooking for 4hrs.
4. 1 hour prior to the tenderloin being done, combine remaining ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat and stir until the sauce has thickened.
5. Pour sauce over the pork tenderloin and continue to cook in the crock pot for remaining time.

The ingredients

Combine garlic, salt, pepper, and sage

Rub seasoning on pork and place into crock pot

Pour 1/2 cup water over pork

Cook low for 8hrs or high for 4hrs

Prepare sauce with remaining ingredients 1hr prior to pork being done

 Pour into crock pot for remainder of cooking time

Are We In Hawaii?

Healthy Hump Day Recipe

Seth and I are not parents of a child yet, but we are proud parents of a puppy. Our baby girl turned 1 year old in late June, and we wanted to celebrate with all of her puppy friends and their owners! Well, let's be honest, it really was just an excuse to get some friends together, but we did have about 8 dogs in our tiny townhouse during the festivities. We knew to expect a crowd, so I instantly turned to the crock pot for a tasty dinner to serve all of the puppy-party-goers. Seth and I love pulled pork and know that it is always a crowd pleaser, but I wanted to do a spin-off of the classic barbeque pulled pork and sweeten it up in a bit of a healthier way. Pineapple is the key ingredient that makes this barbecue pulled pork recipe stand out from others, and I think this is going to become a staple in our family. As with any slow cooker pulled pork recipe, the pork was so tender and really took on all of the flavors of the spice rub as well as the sweetness of the pineapple. We served it as a sandwich, over the homemade coleslaw (recipe to come!), or alone, all of which were delicious. Each bite was full of flavor and melted in your mouth that made you feel like you should have been on the beaches of Hawaii. This recipe will definitely leave you craving seconds, and since it is a healthier version of barbeque pork, that's ok! Even the puppies were interested in what we were eating, but thankfully they had their own party treats to stay distracted with (recipe to come!). There barely any leftovers, so I think it's safe to say it was a hit. Give this recipe a shot! 

Pineapple Pulled Pork

Ingredients
-5lb pork shoulder
-1 chopped sweet onion
-2 tbsp light brown sugar
-2 tsp paprika
-1 tsp salt
-1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
-1/3 cup worcestershire sauce
-2 tbsp dijon mustard
-1 tbsp minced garlic
-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
-1 20oz can pineapple chunks

Directions
1. Cut layers of fat off of pork shoulder. (You won't miss the flavor as there is a ton of flavor put into this recipe, and you'll instantly make it a healthier meal.)
2. Place onion on bottom of slow cooker.
3. Mix brown sugar, paprika, and salt together in a small bowl and massage it into all sides of the pork shoulder.
4. Drain the canned pineapple and pour chunks on top of the pork.
5. Mix vinegar, worcestershire, mustard, garlic, and cayenne pepper in a medium bowl and pour it over the pork.
6. Cook on low for 8hrs or high for 5hrs.
7. Remove pork from slow cooker and pull apart using 2 large forks. Return back to slow cooker and simmer in the sauce for 30min.

*Slow cooker recipes that use spices for a rub and wet ingredients for a liquid base are healthier choices than recipes that use pre-packaged seasoning mixes that are loaded with unnecessary sodium and bottled liquid bases that are loaded with corn syrup or other unnecessary sugars.

The ingredients

Place chopped onion on bottom of slow cooker

Place trimmed pork shoulder on top of onion

Mix brown sugar, paprika, and salt in small bowl

Massage dry rub into pork

Mix vinegar, worcestershire, mustard, garlic, and cayenne pepper in medium bowl

Drain and pour pineapple over pork, then pour sauce over pork

Cook on low for 8hrs or high for 5hrs

Remove and pull apart before returning to juices to simmer for 30min

Seasoned and Seared

Healthy Hump Day Recipe

Going out to dinner is always fun, and we love trying new things and new restaurants in town. There really is so much variety out there, and we love supporting our local economy. However, a night in can be just as fun in completely different way. We find a movie that we want to watch, change into our jammies, and the kitchen becomes my blank canvas as I whip up dinner for two. Seth is a trooper when it comes to trying new meals that I've made from scratch, and thankfully I've learned over the years ingredients that compliment each other, so there aren't really any major flops anymore like when I first started cooking years ago. I always prepare healthy food for us at home and load it up with flavor and delicious sides for a well-balanced meal that is appealing to all of the senses. We had some frozen lean pork chops that had been thawing all day, and I wanted to season them in a way that would compliment some fresh homemade applesauce made with love by hand-picked apples from a good friend's parents up in Wisconsin. Seth and I had been snacking on the applesauce all week and was in awe of the sweet, rich taste that no store-bought brand could ever duplicate, and apples are traditionally a great pairing for pork. I decided to offset the sweetness with a slightly spicy rub that Seth had used on his barbecue pork ribs, and WOW did this make for a delicious dinner. Th beauty of this recipe is that you can change it up any time by using whatever your favorite dry rub or spice selection is. The pork was served on a bed of seasoned brown rice (I always like to season the rice with the same seasoning as the main entre) alongside that delicious homemade applesauce. What a fun evening in!

Pan-Seared Seasoned Pork

Ingredients
-1.5 lbs lean pork
-5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
-6 tbsp dry rub seasoning (or enough to coat both sides), divided
-4 tbsp flour

Directions
1. Coat one side of pork with 2 tbsp olive oil, massage 2 tbsp of the seasoning into pork, and dust with 2 tbsp flour. Flip pork over and repeat.
2. Heat a large pan to medium-high heat. Add 1 tbsp olive oil to coat the pan.
3. When olive oil is shimmering hot, add the pork and cook for 5min resisting the temptation to move or flip them.
4. Flip can sear on other side for another 5min again resisting the urge to move them around.
5. Serve on bed of rice alongside delicious homemade applesauce.

*It is imperative not to move the pork when using the pan-seared technique because each movement adds additional cooking time!
*Pan-searing something creates a flavorful crust and seals in all of the juiciness of the pork!
*It is ok to have a hint of very light pink in the meat still as pork is at its best cooked to medium!

The ingredients

The naked pork

Coat with oil

Massage seasoning in

Dust with flour

Heat with oil over medium-high heat

Sear 1 side for 5min without moving

Sear other side for 5min without moving (pork was slightly too big for my selected pan, so cut each pork in half after flipping and finished searing separately)

The delicious homemade applesauce to compliment the pork as a side item

A garnish of green to top a delicious dinner