Sunday's Best with an Asian Flare

Seriously, I get tired of always having the same thing and sometimes I just want to change things up... So meet the Bok choy stirfry!

I saw these cute little bok choy in the store and thought... OK, I am gonna buy you guys and make a nice little stirfry. I placed some peanut oil in first, cut and washed the bok choy and then added in other ingredients with an Asian flare- some ginger, garlic, sesame oil and hoisin sauce. It turned out great, we just had troubles cutting the stringy leaves/stems a little.

I baked a nice pork tenderloin in the oven to go with it- with most of the same Asian flavours as a baste and served a little basmati. It was delicious!

Pulled Pork- the real easy and healthier way

I haven't shared with you too much from my recipe file. I guess I have been re-making making of our favourites.... and this is certainly one of them. The easiest and tastiest way to prepare pork in my opinion.

Serve with a soft bun and a side of homemade low fat coleslaw and you have a hit on your hands!

Thanks Kelly for this great recipe. Take 2 pork tenderloins (the leanest cut of pork) place a cup of your favourite BBQ sauce and 1/2 cup water. Slow cook on low for 8 hrs (or High for 4 hrs).

Then, while your pork is still in your slow cooker, take 2 forks and pull the pork apart, get it... pulled pork!

The pork absorbs much of the BBQ juices and it absolutely delicious.

Pork Tenderloin- Easy and Elegant

Isn't that a lovely picture. What's even lovelier is that my husband made it for me and had it ready when I came home from work. I just love his use of the tools he has available to him.... the internet! Seriously, he typed into a google search 'easy pork tenderloin' and this lovely recipe came up. It really was easy- just 2 ingredients- and it was delicious and moist. Thanks honey, it was indeed 'elegant'.

Easy and Elegant Pork Tenderloin

Courtesy of http://allrecipes.com/recipe/easy-and-elegant-pork-tenderloin/

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients:

 2 cups Italian seasoned bread crumbs

 1/2 cup olive oil

 2 pounds pork tenderloin

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Mix bread crumbs and olive oil in bowl to reach consistency that would be moist enough to stick to the meat when pressed. Place pork on a shallow cooking sheet. Press the crumb mixture onto all sides of the meat until there is no pink showing, usually 1/4 inch thick.

 Bake for at least 35 minutes until a meat thermometer reads 165 degrees F or until there is no pink when the pork is cut. Let the pork rest for 10 minutes, then cut into 1/2 inch slices.

Spicy Pineapple Pork Chops

Oh.... you need to try this delicious comination- Spicy BBQ Pork Chops with Grilled Pineapple- I just love the way the pineapple picks up those grill marks- it just tastes so sweet.

Chili- Rubbed Pork Chops w/ Grilled Pineapple Salsa

(adapted from http://www.recipegirl.com/2011/06/06/chili-rubbed-pork-chops-with-grilled-pineapple-salsa/)

Yield: 4 servings

A terrific recipe sent along to me from the National Pork Board. Our family loved this recipe big time...

Ingredients:

CHOPS:

4 (3/4-inch thick) bone-in pork center loin chops, trimmed

1 Tablespoon chili powder

1 1/2 teaspoons packed light brown sugar

3/4 teaspoon garlic powder

3/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

PINEAPPLE SALSA:

3 (1/2-inch-thick) crosswise slices fresh pineapple, trimmed

1 medium jalapeno, halved lengthwise- seeds and veins removed

1 Tablespoon fresh lime juice

salt, to taste

Directions:

1. In a shallow bowl, combine chili powder, brown sugar, garlic powder, onion powder and salt. Sprinkle both sides of the chops with the spice mixture. Let the chops sit at room temperature while you prepare the salsa.

2. Prepare a grill to medium-high hat and lightly oil the grate. Grill pineapple and jalapeno until lightly charred (2 to 3 minutes per side). Remove from the grill and dice pineapple and jalapeno. In a medium bowl, combine pineapple, jalapeno and lime juice. Season to taste with salt.

3. Grill pork until internal temperature reaches between 145 and 160 degrees F (4 to 5 minutes per side).

4. Serve chops with the grilled salsa on top.

Pork Tenderloin- A Lean BBQ Favourite

This is for my carnivore friends... One of our BBQ favourites is pork tenderloin- we buy it when it goes on sale and stock up and freeze a few of these tenders. You can marinate them overnight or just baste them with some BBQ sauce as you grill them as Brent did below.

It really is the leanest/lowest fat piece of pork you can get your hands on.

Here's the comparison for 1 ounce of meat:

Pork tenderloin: 35 calories, 1g of fat, 6g of protein

Pork loin chop: 53 calories, 4g of fat, 5g of protein

Greek Night... light

This is a real quick and simple dinner. Souvlakis on the BBQ, Greek Salad and this new PC Blue Menu Tzaziki.  I love the Blue Menu products, they are healthier alternatives to the higher calorie, fat, salt packaged items. So if you need to get packaged item, I like to fall back on items that I know are a little better for me and my family.

We made some basmati rice, grilled those MarcAngelo already skewered Pork Souvlakis (130 calories per skewer) and I made a greek salad.  I used romaine lettuce, cucumbers, tomatos, green peppers, sliced kalamata olives and light feta cheese. I made an olive oil, balsamic vinaigrette with some salt, pepper and garlic. It was delicious, healthy and fresh.

But Brent's favourite is this.... TZATZIKI, he would eat this whole container!!!! He found this Blue Menu product, which I love! And it's delicious- I have just a little bit because it's too 'garlicky' for me.  For 2 tablespoons, it's 30 calories and 2g of fat. Not bad at all!

Crockpot Pulled Pork and Coleslaw

Healthy Crockpot Pulled Pork and Coleslaw

This is the easiest and most delicious recipe. It's great when you don't have time to prepare dinner but need to eat in a hurry.

Take a pork tenderloin and place it in your crockpot. Add about half a bottle of BBQ sauce, let it cook on low for about 6-8 hours. Take if out from the crockpot, put it on a plate, take 2 forks and pull the pork apart. Put all the pulled pork back into the crockpot to soak in the BBQ sauce for a few minutes.

 

Get your whole wheat buns, toast them lightly in the toaster.

To make a quick vinegar coleslaw follow these simple steps. In a small bowl mix 1/4 cup of vinegar, 2 Tbsp of vegetable oil, 2 Tbsp of sugar, salt and pepper. In another bigger bowl, take your coleslaw mix and add the dressing, mix it all together. It's better if you refrigerate it for about 20 minutes. But you can eat it right away.

And there you have it, a delicious Healthier BBQ pork dinner. 

Nutrional Information:

317 calories

33g carbs

10g fat

23g protein

6g fibre

Sweet and Simple Catalina Pork

 Sweet and Simple Catalina Pork (kraftcanada.com)

My dear husband Brent actually followed the recipe step-by-step and this turned out to be one of the most delicious stirfry recipes we've had in a while. It's because, unlike me- who's more creative and a 'risk taker'- he followed the recipe exactly!

Ingredients:

1 Pork Tenderloin cut into 1/4 inch thick medallions

1/4 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp vegetable oil

1 each: small onion, red and green (used yellow pepper), coarsely chopped

2 tsp cornstarch

1 Tbsp soya sauce

1 14oz can of pineapple chunks undrained

1/2 cup Kraft Fat Free Catalina Dressing

Your favourtie rice

Directions:

Toss pork with garlice powder. Heat half the oil in large frypan and stir fry pan until just cooked. Set aside.

Stir fry the vegetable and the remaining oil until tender crisp. Disolve cornstarch in soya sauce and add to pan along with pineapple and dressing.

Cook on medium heat until sauce bubbles and thickens. Add pork and heat through. Serve over cooked rice.

Serves 4

Nutrional Information:

238 Calories

31g Carbs

5g fat

19g protein

2g fibre