Pork, the Other (delicious) White Meat

First, my apologies -- I forgot to take pictures of tonight's feast. So you'll just have to use your imagination. The funny part is, as we were sitting down to eat, Bryan said, "You should take a picture." And somehow I still forgot.

Tonight we had pork tenderloin, and it was simply delectable. I adapted a recipe I found online, cooked it in the crock pot, and it worked out deliciously.

Pork Tenderloin for the Slow Cooker
2 pounds of pork tenderloin (each tenderloin is usually about a pound)
2 1/2 - 3 cups water (depending on the size of your crock pot)
2 envelopes of Lipton Onion Soup Mix
3 Tbsp minced fresh garlic (it's better if you don't use the dried stuff)
3 Tbsp soy sauce
Fresh ground pepper, to taste

Sear the tenderloin in a frying pan sprayed with Pam, just long enough to lightly brown all sides. It should only take a couple of minutes -- it helps lock in the juices and gives the tenderloin a more appetizing color.

Mix the water, soup mix, garlic, soy sauce, and pepper. Place the tenderloin in the crock pot, then pour the liquid over it. Cook on low for four hours.

The tenderloin was tender, flavorful, and just fell apart. Bryan is looking forward to some pork sandwiches from the leftovers. The pork will be delicious shredded and served on a hoagie bun. One one-pound tenderloin would have been just about right for two people, but they come in packages of two, so we just cooked it all so we'd have plenty of leftovers.

As one of our sides, we had mashed red potatoes with the skins on. This recipe is for two people, so scale it up for however many people you're serving.

Mashed Red Potatoes
1/2 pound small red potatoes, quartered
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon sour cream
salt and pepper to taste

Bring a pot of lightly salted water to a boil (enough water to cover the potatoes). Add potatoes, and cook until tender but still firm, about 10 minutes. Drain water. Combine potatoes with butter, milk, sour cream, salt, and pepper. Mash together until smooth and creamy.

Keeping the skins on adds flavor and texture -- you won't regret it. Add some rolls, a green salad or some fruit, and you've got yourself one tasty meal. My one regret is that I didn't make gravy out of the juice in the crock pot. That would have been the proverbial icing on the cake. Next time.