This recipe is very easy, totally delicious and we rate it as pure comfort food. Fork tender pork tenderloin with pinto beans in a delicious gravy AND it all goes together in the crockpot!!

I like to serve this over rice, but it is also tasty stuffed into warm flour tortillas, or over a bed of toasted tortilla chips and smothered with cheese, avocado and sour cream. The possibilities are ENDLESS which is a (very) good thing at our house. 

I like to use a 2 pound pork tenderloin for this recipe because it is nice and lean, but any LEAN 2-3 pound pork roast will work.

My crockpot is a big oval one and it tends to run a little hot, so the pinto beans in this recipe are soft and the pork is "fall apart tender" in 5 hours on the LOW setting.

Depending on YOUR crockpot, it could take as many as 7 hours on LOW, but that is unlikely, just start checking for meat tenderness after 

5 hours.

2 pounds pork tenderloin (thawed)
1 1/2 cups DRY pinto beans (rinsed, but DO NOT soak)
1 (4 ounce) can of MILD green chilies (I use Ortega)
3 teaspoons chili powder (2 if you are serving children)
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon dry oregano
1 clove garlic minced
1 cup chopped sweet onion

Brown the pork well and put it in the crockpot. Saute the onions and garlic in the same pan and then put it in the crockpot, a long with the DRY beans, spices and canned chilies.

Pour some water over the meat and beans (just enough water to MOSTLY cover everything) it should look like this:

Make sure the liquid gets 

under the meat too!!

After cooking everything on LOW for a few hours, check the liquid level in the crockpot and add a little more water if necessary,  but not TOO much. 

Cook on LOW for 4-6 hours (or until the pork gets fork tender), take the meat (only) out of the crockpot and set it aside while you thicken the gravy. If you are using a pork roast, remove any fatty sections and bones. Pull the meat apart just a little.

Turn the crockpot to HIGH and thicken the broth and beans with a slurry of cornstarch and water, then put the meat back in the thickened gravy (to heat it back up)

THIS IS THE BEST-BEST-BEST GRAVY!!!

IT's DINNER TIME !!!

NOTE: A word about the heat or spice level in this recipe. My hubby does not like a lot of (hates) "heat" in his food. He likes strong flavors, but he just doesn't like "fire" as he calls it. If you like a little "heat", just add 1/4+ teaspoon of cayenne to the cooking liquid.

NOTE: If you have any beans left over after dinner, they make DELICIOUS refried beans. Just mash them in a hot/greased cast iron frying pan with a little of the "gravy", and fry them for a few minutes. You will never buy refried beans in a can again!!

ENJOY !!!

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November 09, 2021

So, you don't want to heat up your kitchen? Try this
super easy slow cooker recipe, it is excellent for any busy day. Pork seasoned with fresh apples and cinnamon and cooked on low for 4 hours, it is moist, delicious and super tender.

There isn't much of a strict recipe here, just a few simple steps.

Using a pork loin roast(about 2-3 pounds) **Not a tenderloin**
1 large apple  (any kind you like)
honey
1/2 cup chopped onion (more if you like)
1/2 cup chopped celery(more if you like)
1 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Slice the pork loin into  nice thick slices but not all the way

through the meat....cut about 75% of the way through. Sprinkle the salt and pepper in between each slice

Put a nice thick slice (or two) of apple into each cut.

Drizzle with honey

Saute the onions and celery in a little butter until they are almost tender, then lay them on top of the pork and apples and sprinkle everything with just a little more salt and pepper and the cinnamon.

Using a long spatula, lift everything into a greased slow cooker.

Cook it on low for 4 hours. 

Pour a little bit of the broth (that will have formed under the roast) over the meat on your plate and serve.

ENJOY !!!

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December 17, 2017

It doesn't get any easier than this one folks. Four ingredients thrown into a Crockpot and six hours later, dinner is ready.

2 to 3 pound boneless pork loin (see note below)
1  16 ounce bottle of your favorite flavored barbecue sauce
8  ounce can crushed pineapple (juice and all)
1/2  teaspoon liquid smoke

Stir the barbecue sauce, undrained pineapple and liquid smoke together and pour it over the raw pork loin (in the Crockpot).

Cook on LOW for five to six hours (I cook it for 6 hours). Turning the meat over once or twice during that time.

Just before you are ready to eat. Remove the meat and thicken the sauce (I use a cornstarch slurry), then put the pork back in the sauce to keep it hot till it's time to eat.

This sauce is absolutely delicious. Even my picky-picky husband gave it a thumbs up (twice!!) and it could NOT be easier.

NOTE: I'm sure this would work with a pork tenderloin, but I haven't tried it so I can't recommend a cooking time.

ENJOY !!!

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June 04, 2016

If you are looking for a quick, easy and delicious pork chop recipe, this is it!! It is so simple.....and a DELICIOUS change for your weeknight menu.

1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil
4 3/4" thick boneless pork loin chops*
1 cup chopped onion
8 ounce tomato sauce
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon dry oregano
1 teaspoon Worcestershire
1/2 teaspoon sugar

Brown the pork (I do this in an electric skillet) in the vegetable oil, then remove and set on a plate (it will cook the rest of the way later).

In the same pan, saute the chopped onion until it is soft and the cut edges turn just slightly golden. Add everything else and stir until well mixed.

Put the pork chops back in the sauce and simmer, slowly, for 30 minutes (turn the pork chops over a couple times within that 30 minutes).

After 30 minutes, top with shredded Monterrey Jack cheese and put the lid back on for a few minutes (no heat) until cheese melts.

 

Sauce will be nice and thick. Serve with rice or noodles and make sure you include a nice big spoon of sauce with each pork chop

 

*Note: I buy a small 1 1/2 pound pork loin roast (NOT pork tenderloin), and then slice it into nice thick slices for this recipe.

 

 

ENJOY !!!

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July 23, 2015

We love sweet and sour pork and chicken (this recipe would work for either), but once you bread and DEEP FRY the meat, you are talking about A TON OF CALORIES. Well, this quick and easy little recipe does away with all of that breading AND all of that DEEP FRYING and it is STILL delicious !!!

MARINADE
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1/8 teaspoon sugar
3 teaspoons corn starch
1 teaspoon sesame oil
black pepper to taste

Mix the above ingredients in a large bowl.  Cut  1 1/2 pounds of pork (or chicken) tenderloin into bite size pieces and put in the marinade. Stir to coat all of the pieces, then let sit for 20 minutes.

SAUCE
1 cup chicken broth (not bullion,it's too salty)
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup ketchup
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 SLIGHTLY rounded teaspoons of corn starch
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
pinch of black pepper

Cook all of the sauce ingredients together until it thickens, then turn the heat down to a VERY LOW SIMMER and let it barely bubble while you brown the meat.

In a large skillet (I use my electric fry pan), heat up a tablespoon of vegetable oil and a tablespoon of butter until HOT (I turn my electric skillet all the way up). Add the marinated meat and spread it out so that none of the pieces are on top of each other. Let the meat brown (about 3-4 minutes?), then stir and put a lid on the pan so that everything gets cooked through (you want to get some nice brown crusty color on the edges of the pieces).

Once the meat is 99% done (keep lifting the lid to check for doneness), add the cooked sauce to the meat and keep stirring until everything is well coated. Reduce the heat and cook it all together for about 2 more minutes (watch carefully so the sauce doesn't burn).

Serve over hot rice.  Couldn't be easier!!  

Picky-picky husband is VERY SHY of spicy food, so 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne is just perfect for him. If you like extra heat, just add a little more cayenne when you cook the sauce.

ENJOY !!! 

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January 11, 2015