Monday, October 24, 2011

WHAT TO DO WITH A PORK LOIN

Last week Kroger had pork loins on sale and I bought two, one for the freezer and then I cooked the other.  There is only my husband and me at home so I wanted to do things a little different and see what I could do with the loin to make different dinners all at once.  Our favorite way is to cook it double wrapped in foil after browning and seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic, fresh thyme and rosemary.  This way it cooks in it's own juices which makes a great au jus.  The first night we had sliced pork loin with the au jus and oven roasted root veggies.  The next day I sliced about half of the leftover loin in very thin slices that can be frozen for another meal and also used for sandwiches.  The final part I pulled and soaked overnight with a can of Old El Paso green enchilada sauce.  With the pulled pork I made the BEST enchiladas ever...the meat was so tender.  I filled a corn tortilla with the pulled pork, wrapped it well and placed it seam side down in a baking dish, after filling the baking dish I sprinkled 4 oz of grated Monterrey Jack cheese over the enchiladas and then poured a can of Hatch's Green Enchilada Sauce over the top, covered and placed in 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes, then topping with another 4 oz of grated Monterrey Jack.  These dinners were so simple and delicious.  I still had leftover pulled pork that I froze and will use for soft tacos at another time.  It was well worth the $8.00 I spent on that loin.  I apologize for not taking any pictures....we were hungry and I forgot.  I'll try to do a better job next time....With our economy not being stable and prices continually increasing, I am striving to find inexpensive ways to make the most of my dollars and still maintain eating a good nourshing delicious meal.  Also if I can cook all in one day for the week, that's even better...so convienent to use the microwave instead of dragging everything out to heat up...less dishes to wash also...so an energy saver and time saver.....hope you have a great week and hopefully you will try these recipes and enjoy them as much as we do.  Also all comments are welcomed and any additional ideas are also welcomed.