I felt like a gourmet chef

I got the itch to try a new recipe last week.  When I was planning my menu for the week, I knew I wanted to do something with the pork loin that was in the freezer from a recent sale so I started searching some of my favorite food bloggers.  I always love to try the Foodie Bride's recipes so I tried there first.  She normally doesn't steer me wrong.  I love her Enchiladas, French Dip Sandwiches, Hawaiian Chicken Sandwiches, to name a few. 

 Pork Tenderloin with Peach-de-Gallo came up in her list of pork dishes.  The peach pico de gallo sounded like something we'd like and I knew I was going to buy some peaches anyway.  The pork was delicious and we liked the concept of the peach pico de gallo but both agreed we'd like it more as a salsa.  Next time I'll puree some of the peaches/peppers and leave some chunky.

I'd planned on making potato salad as the side because I'm more of a potato-a-holic than ever these days.  My normal potato salad is very simple... potatoes, diced boiled eggs, enough mayo to hold the potatoes together, a squirt of yellow mustard and a couple of spoonfuls of pickle juice, and maybe some salt and pepper, garlic pepper, etc.  But I wanted to try something different and started looking for recipes.  Then I remembered how much I'd been craving the potato salad at Jasper's so I thought I'd Google to see if anyone had a replica recipe.  I was not expecting to find the recipe on Kent Rathbun's website. Jasper is HIS restaurant so this is THE recipe.  Talk about exited.  I had to try it and it was really good.  It wasn't AS good as when I've gotten it at Jasper's but I don't think anything is as good as when someone else is preparing it for you... and when served with a plate of amazing ribs and a nice glass of wine.  But, it was yummy. 

Jasper's Potato Salad. The only change I'd make is that I don't think all that butter is required, probably half would have been enough. And, it probably would have been best to put the cheese, sour cream and butter in the bowl, then start adding the warm, cubed potatoes on top to get it all melted before mixing. I left the cheese butter and sour cream to the end and I had to put it back in the oven to get it all melted.

The whole meal felt fancy compared to what we'd been eating.  With Ryan's "diet" where I've tried to cook a little less fatty and the pregnancy and my lack of appetite, our meals have been pretty much in a rut.  This was a nice change of pace.

What the Dr. Ordered…Pulled Pork Sandwich

 

I’m always up for trying a new pulled pork recipe.   I haven’t found one that I’m ready to commit to as my “go-to” recipe, but this one is on my short list.  Another great recipe from So Tasty, So Yummy. (I’m 2 for 2 on her recipes this week.  I also made her Cajun Chicken Pasta but didn’t take pictures.  It was delicious!)

Dr. Pepper Pulled Pork
by: So Tasty, So Yummy

1.5 to 2 pound pork roast
¼ onion, minced
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
1 twelve ounce can Dr. Pepper

Place pork roast, fat side up and onion in a slow cooker. Add the pepper, mustard, Worcestershire sauce and vinegar. Pour the can of Dr. Pepper over top of the pork. Cook on low for 8 hours, flipping over once halfway through. Shred the pork with two forks, cook for an additional 30 minutes. Serve with barbecue sauce and pickles on fresh rolls. Makes 8-10 sandwiches.

Cola Onion Pork Chops

Suzie sent me this website the other day, http://www.supercook.com/, where you can put in the ingredients you want to use and it will find meals that use them, show you what other ingredients you will need, etc. It searches other recipe sites like AllRecipes.com and gives you options. I put in Pork Loin and Onion and this recipe was one of the top results. I couldn't resist a 3 ingredient meal where one of the ingredients is Coke!

Cola Onion Pork Chops
by: User KATHERINEMICHELLE on AllRecipes.com

3 thick cut boneless pork chops (I thick sliced "chops" off a whole pork loin)
1 (12 fluid ounce) can cola-flavored carbonated beverage (I used Coke)
1 (1 ounce) envelope dry onion soup mix (I used Liption Onion Mushroom, it's all I had)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Place the pork chops in a shallow glass baking dish. Pour the cola over them, and sprinkle with onion soup mix.
Bake uncovered for 30 minutes in the preheated oven. Turn over, and continue baking for another 30 minutes, until sauce is thickened and chops are fork tender.
As I re-read this recipe, I realize that I never turned my chops. I only cooked them for 45 minutes since they were sort of small in diameter. They were cooked through and tender. Ryan and I were very pleased with this recipe and it's SO EASY. I'll definitely be making this one again.

Looking back, I should not have sacrificed a Coke for this recipe. I should have used one of the Pepsi's I bought when they were on sale. No reason to waste a perfectly good Coke when you have some far less enjoyable Pepsi laying around! :)