Foodie: Roasted Pork

In my quest to expand from hamburgers and steak’ums four times a week, I am trying to discover what other meats Tom enjoys. Pork is one that is on shaky ground with him.

See, the problem with pork is that it is 100% better if you eat it with applesauce. Guess who doesn’t like applesauce. Me, I enjoy a good pork chop once in a while. Him. Well, not so much.

I have seen him eat pork loin, as well as Cordon Bleu and Wienerschnitzel* made with pork cutlet**. So I have been brave enough to make Wienerschnitzel once in a while, but not often, because you’re supposed to serve it with brown gravy and spaetzle***. Guess who doesn’t like spaetzle?

So, I happened across a pork loin recipe in the Kraft Magazine. It definitely had potential, but I had to make some allowances for our specific tastes. I’m going to post both the original, and my version of it. It was liked enough to make it into my recipe book.

One-Pan Roasted Pork Supper Original.

1 lb sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 large red onion cut into thin wedges
½ cup Light Catalina Reduced Fat Dressing
1 1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves, divided
1 pkg Stove Top Stuffing Mix for Chicken
1 ½ cup water
2 small pork tenderloins (1 ½ lb)

Preheat oven to 375*F. Toss sweet potatoes and onions with dressing and ½ tsp of thyme. Arrange in a 15x10x1 baking pan sprayed with cooking spray. Bake 10 minutes

Meanwhile, combine stuffing mix and water. Cut each tenderloin diagonally into thirds. Push vegetable mix to the edge of the pan. Spoon stuffing down the center of pan; top with meat. Sprinkle remaining tsp of thyme over meat

Bake at 45 to 50 minutes or until cooked through.

Jenn’s One-Pan Roasted Pork Supper.

1 lb yukon potatoes, cubed
1 large red onion cut into thin wedges
½ cup Italian Dressing
1 1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves, divided
1 pkg Stove Top Stuffing Mix for Chicken
1 ½ cup water
1 small pork tenderloin (1 lb)

Preheat oven to 375*F. Toss potatoes and onions with dressing and ½ tsp of thyme. Arrange in a 15x10x1 baking pan sprayed with cooking spray. Bake 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine stuffing mix and water. Cut each tenderloin diagonally into quarters or single serving sizes. Push vegetable mix to the edge of the pan. Spoon stuffing down the center of pan; top with meat. Sprinkle remaining tsp of thyme over meat

Bake an additional 45 to 50 minutes or until potatoes are cooked through**** and meat is 165*F internally.

Notes:
Don’t forget your green and yellow veggies! Broccoli and green beans go great with this. You don’t need another starch with the stuffing and the potatoes.
Remember your applesauce! Nothing goes with pork better than applesauce. Just dip and enjoy!

Bon appetite!
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*Contrary to popular belief, Wienerschnitzel has nothing to do with wieners of any variety. Wiener is what something from Vienna is called. Wien is proper spelling of Vienna, therefore something at originates from Vienna is Wiener. Schnitzel is just a way of cooking, deep fried.
** Properly, Wienerschnitzel is made with veal, not pork. However, veal was and is expensive so a lot of our Germanic friends make it with pork. It’s just as good. Especially considering I don’t eat veal.
***Spaetzle are homemade noodles. They are good, but a bit of work. I guess I can post that recipe one day as well.
****Alright, look. I have a terrible time cooking potatoes. I don’t know why. I always managed to under-cook them. The pork was cooked, but the potatoes were slightly underdone. It’s an issue with me.