Pork Tenderloin and Bacon

Ease: 3.5/5     Kid-friendliness: 4/5     Taste: 5/5     Time: 4/5

Prep: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 8 minutes

I recently discovered tenderloin and think it might very well be my favorite meat right now. It's so, well, tender! And quite lean, too. This recipe was a crowd pleaser. I will definitely be making this one again.

For tips and tricks on selecting and preparing pork, see here.

What you'll need:

• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 2 pork tenderloins, about 1 pound each
• 12 slices thinly sliced bacon, about 3/4 pound

Trim any excess fat and silver skin from the tenderloins (see here to find out how).

Cut the tenderloin into 1 1/2 inch pieces (about the same width as a piece of bacon). Season with salt and pepper.

Wrap a piece of bacon around each piece of pork and secure with a toothpick. The bacon should overlap at the ends by no more than 1 inch.

Grill the pork over direct medium heat until the pork is barely pink in the center and the bacon is fully cooked (~12 - 15 minutes), turning once. If flare-ups occur, move the pork temporarily to indirect medium heat.

For another great tenderloin recipe idea, check out pork and apple pitas. 

Tips and Tricks for Grilling Pork

I recently discovered pork tenderloin. I have no idea why it took me so long, but it is quite possibly my most favorite meat to cook and enjoy. You really can't go wrong - it will nearly always come out juicy and tender!

I looked up some tips and tricks when it comes to selecting, preparing, and cooking pork since besides frying bacon and roasting the occasional ham, I previously didn't do much with pork.

What to look for:

• Meat should be light to redish pink. Avoid anything pale or grayish. 
• The fat should be creamy white and smooth. 
• The meat should feel firm to the touch, with a fine, smooth grain. 
• If the pork is packaged, there should not be much moisture in the package, and what there is should be clear. 

To prepare pork:

• Remove the sinewy layer on the surface (silver skin) by slipping the tip of a sharp, thin knife under one end of the silver skin. Grab the loosened end with your fingers and slide the knife away just under the skin at a slightly upward angle. 
• Spareribs and baby back ribs have a thin, tough membrane attached to the bone. Use a blunt tool such as a flathead screwdriver to get under the membrane and remove it so that seasonings and sauces can penetrate. Once under the membrane, slide the tool around under the membrane to loosen it. Using the tool, stretch the membrane up to open up a flap. Using a paper towel, get a good grip and peel the membrane off the ribs (sounds yummy, no?)
• Pork is done when it reaches an internal temperature of 170 degrees F, however many believe this is overdone (I cook mine to 170 because I'm meat-paranoid), so many cook pork to an internal temperature of 150 to 160 degrees F (when there is still a light shade of pink on the inside).

Tender cuts for grilling include rib chop, loin chop, center-cut chop and tenderloin. 

For a fresh and quick tenderloin recipe, click here.

Reference: Weber's Real Grilling by Jamie Purviance

Chicken & Capocollo

Ease: 3/5     Kid-friendliness: 3/5     Taste: 4/5     Time: 5/5

Prep: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 7 minutes

Isn't capocollo a fun word? (According to Wikipedia, capocollo is cured ham from the neck or shoulder of a pig, by the way).

This is a recipe that attempts to jazz up chicken breasts. I have a tentative relationship with chicken. I have a tendency to cook the life out of it leaving me with a dry cardboard-like substance resembling a former chicken breast. During both pregnancies, I developed strong aversions to chicken that has only improved with time. I still get cold-pricklies when handling raw chicken. I thus usually eat chicken in stir-frys or casseroles but find it is so time-consuming to chop it up. So I've been trying recipes that will hopefully add some life to chicken breasts served in this household. Baked parmesan chicken was another good recipe.

What you'll need:

• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut in half length-wise (effectively making 8 pieces)
• salt and pepper
• Mrs. Dash
• 3 Tbsp margarine
• 8 thin slices swiss cheese
• 8 slices extra-lean capocollo

Preheat the broiler. Season the chicken pieces with salt, pepper and Mrs. Dash.

In a large frying pan, heat the margarine over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook until brown (~3 minutes). Turn and cook until opaque (~3 minutes). Transfer chicken to a greased baking sheet. Top each chicken piece with 1 cheese slice and 1 capocollo piece. Cook under the broiler until cheese is melted (~1 minute). Rice and green beans made for nice sides. Serve and enjoy!

This recipe was inspired by the Chicken Saltimbocca recipe found in Williams-Sonoma The Weeknight Cook: Fresh & Simple Recipes for Good Food Everyday

Meatballs on a stick

Ease: 3/5     Kid-friendliness: 5/5     Taste: 4/5     Time: 3.5/5

Prep: 10 minutes (45 if you chill your meatballs, which I did not do)
Cooking time: 8 minutes

HAPPY CANADA DAY!

Any recipe with "on a stick"in the title, has got to be good in my books. Especially in the summer. And doesn't meatballs on a stick just spell "festive" to you, on this, my country's birthday? (For my American friends, today celebrates the July 1, 1867 enactment of the British North American Act (today called the Constitution Act, 1867), which united two British colonies and a province of the British Empire into a single country called Canada - our equivalent of the fourth of July). Must be some throw back to a childhood memory of corndogs at a fair or something. Speaking of which, the Calgary Stampede (the self-proclaimed "greatest outdoor show on earth") gets underway July 9th, so really, meatballs on a stick could not be more appropriate. And for no other reason, these meatballs are just plain fun and make a great appetizer.

What you'll need:

• 3/4 lb ground beef
• 1/2 lb ground pork
• 1/3 C bread crumbs 
• 3 Tbsp whole milk 
• 3 Tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 tsp dijon mustard (I didn't have any, so substituted 1 tsp of mustard powder)
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt (I just used sea salt - maybe it's the same thing?)
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 tsp tabasco sauce
• extra virgin olive oil

Sauce:

• 1/3 C ketchup
• 2 Tbsp mayonnaise
• 1/2 tsp red wine vinegar
• 1/8 tsp kosher salt (or sea salt if you're me)

In a medium bowl, combine the meatball ingredients. Using your hands (yay!), gently mix until the ingredients are evenly distributed. 

Wet your hands with cold water and shape the meat into balls, ~1 inch in diameter. Try not to overwork the meat. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 45 minutes or until very cold (anyone know why? I didn't do this step since I pick recipes last minute and they cooked fine and tasted great to me). 

To make the sauce, whisk together in a small bowl the sauce ingredients.

Lightly brush or spray the meatballs with oil. Grill over direct high heat until the meat is cooked but not dry (6 to 8 minutes), gently turning occasionally with tongs. Arrange the meatballs on a platter with toothpicks. Serve warm with the sauce. Makes 25 - 30 small meatballs.

Recipe from Weber's Real Grilling: Over 200 Original Recipes

Sausage and Chickpea Casserole

Ease: 3.5/5     Kid-friendliness: 4/5     Taste: 3/5     Time: 3/5

Since we were just out camping over the long weekend, I had some left over smokies and wanted to make something a little more sophisticated than KD with chopped up smokies (although, that dish does have it's time and place...). I ended up with this. It's very filling. My nearly ten-month old LOVED the chickpeas.

What you'll need:

• 4 sausages (I used our left over Mitchell's mesquite garlic smoked sausage)
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 1 red bell pepper (which I've learned are also called, capsicums!), seeded and chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 can chickpeas (14 oz) (which I've learned are also called, garbanzo beans!), rinsed
• 1 can diced tomatoes (14 oz)
• 1 1/2 tsp sugar
• salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 C bread crumbs
• 2 Tbsp margarine

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Slit each sausage diagonally several times on both sides. In a frying pan over medium heat, cook the sausages, turning once, until browned on the outside and heated through (~10 minutes)

In another large frying pan over medium high heat, heat the oil. Stir in the chickpeas, tomatoes, onion, garlic, red pepper, and sugar.  Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring frequently, until the chick peas are heated through (~ 5 minutes). Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Cut the sausages into bite-size pieces. Spray a 3-qt casserole dish and distribute the sausages in the pan. Spoon the chick pea sauce over the sausages. Spread the bread crumbs on top and drizzle with melted butter. 

Bake until bubbly and the crumb topping is golden brown (~ 20 minutes). Let cool slightly and serve!

Pork & Apple Pita's

Ease: 4/5     Taste: 3/5     Kids: 2/5     Time: 4/5


I love meat/fruit combinations!

Inspired by my "Mac Mishap", I thought this quick and fresh sounding recipe fit the bill. I enjoyed them, but they were difficult for my daughter to eat. Small hands just do not possess the finesse necessary to eat a pita (rolling it up works better!)

My husband isn't a fan of a strong dill flavour (or any strong flavour for that matter), but if you are, you can double the sauce recipe.

The recipe also called for alfalfa sprouts, but since I couldn't find any (yes, I only went to one store but with two kids, would you go to a second?), I used a packaged "broccoli slaw" that I found. It gave a similar crunch and texture, and was probably more nutrient packed than sprouts anyway. Broccoli slaw is my new favourite salad topper!

What you'll need:

• 1 pound boneless pork tenderloin, trimmed of fat and cut into 1/4 inch slices 
• 3 Tbsp nonfat plain yogurt
• 1/2 tsp dill seeds
• 1/2 medium cucumber, chopped
• 1 apple, cut into thin slices
• 2 large lettuce leaves (I had green leaf that needed to be used up)
• alfalfa sprouts (or broccoli slaw!)
• red onion (optional)
• whole wheat pitas, cut crosswise

Trim the pork of visible fat. Cut the meat crosswise into 1/4 inch thick slices. Then cut each slice into 1 inch strips. Let the pork finish thawing if you cut it slightly frozen.

In a small bowl, mix together the cucumber, yogurt and dill. Chill until pork is ready.

Lightly spray a medium-sized nonstick skillet and preheat over medium-high heat. Place the pork in the skillet and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until completely cooked.

Line each pita half with yogurt sauce, apple slices and lettuce. Fill with pork strips, broccoli slaw and top with onion if desired (no raw onion lovers in this household).

I got about 5 stuffed pitas out of this recipe.

Recipe inspired by Karen Bellerson's Pork & Apple Pita recipe in Low Fat, No Fat Cooking