Raspberry Chipotle Pork Tenderloin

My sister made this over X-mas and it was AWESOME. I can't really say how much the rub affected the pork, but this one is a winner for the sauce.

Note- if dealing with someone who doesn't like tomatoes, DON'T WORRY. This sauce is juicy and sweet and isn't really "tomatoey". My dad hates tomatoes and he had two helpings of the stuff. Wog doesn't like Chipotle, and he also had two servings.

Pork Tenderlin Rub:
2, 1 pound tenderloins (prefer the longer style)
2 Tbs olive oil
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp ancho chile powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp coriander

Raspberry Chipotle Sauce
1 cup canned, diced tomatoes, drained (though I think you really should use the whole large can, drained)
1/2 c raspberry preserves (aka jam)
1/3 c diced onion
2 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbsp cilantro
2 tsp lime juice
2 tsp Tabasco chipotle sauce (or can be replaced with some of the ancho chile powder)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp chopped/minced garlic
1/4 tsp pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place pork in 9x13 pan. Combine rub mixture and rub over pork. Does not need to sit and marinade, but I guess you could if you wanted to. Place pan in oven and cook for 25 minutes.

While pork is cooking, mix the raspberry chipotle sauce. After the 25 min of cooking, pour sauce over pork and return to the oven for 20-40 min (depends on how thick the pork is) or until internal temp reaches 160 degrees. Let rest for 5-7 min.

Slice pork and enjoy. Be sure to serve it with the sauce - either on the same plate or in a separate bowl.

Wednesday Fun #22 - Share the Love

It's still February for a few days longer, and so today's Wednesday Fun is a challenge to

SHARE THE LOVE!

Go back to some or all of the recipes you've tried and leave a comment. Maybe say what you liked about it, a question you had, something different you tried, ask for clarification on a direction, applaud the author on a novel approach, tell 'em it's just like the dish your Aunt Tilly used to make - whatever. If there's a recipe you've been meaning to try, but haven't had a chance to yet, say that, too. Feel free to leave these comments anonymously, but do share the love!

Slow cooker gravy best practices question

So you know how when you make a roast in the slow cooker? And there's all this tasty extra liquid at the bottom when you're done, what with the potatoes and carrots and meat and mushrooms and tomatoes and all? And you think it'd make really yummy gravy?

What's the best way to do that?

I've heard about adding tapioca to the slow cooker, so it automatically the leftover liquid is thicker, but I'm doubtful, and don't quite know when one would add it. I've taken the liquid at the end and boiled it up with some cornstarch, but then all the rest of the food is sitting there getting cold... So, any good suggestions?

Wednesday Fun #21 - Legal for Liquor

Ok, so I had a different "Name Three" in mind, but when I saw it was Wednesday Fun #21, I changed my mind. So this week, your job is to....

Name 3 kinds of alcohol you have in your house.

(P.S. Bonus points if you can make them relate in some way - begin with the same letter, 3 versions of the same alcohol, etc.)

Wednesday Fun #20 - Romantic Meals

In honor of Valentine's Day tomorrow, here's your Wednesday Fun...

Tell us about a romantic meal you've enjoyed.

Where was it? What made it special? What did you eat? Did you ever try to recreate the meal or the experience? Was it at a restaurant, your own/your SO's home, someplace else? What made it so romantic?

Hillshire Farm lunch meat comes in Gladware

When my parents were coming to visit, I picked up some lunch meat for an easy lunch of sandwiches. Looking at the various options, I ended up choosing some Hillshire Farm ham and turkey because they came packed in reusable Gladware. I liked the idea of being able to reuse the packaging instead of just throwing it away, plus I needed some more Gladware that size anyway. The price was right in line with all the rest of the lunch meat, as well.

So I went to the Hillshire Farm/Sara Lee website and sent them an email saying how I'd chosen their product because of the reusable packaging.

And today in the mail I got some coupons from them, including one for a free Hillshire Farm product (up to $3.99)! So, if you like this reusable packing deal, and/or you like good coupons, drop 'em a line. You won't even be out the cost of a stamp.

Wednesday Fun #19 - Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate

Valentine's Day is on its way, and what better way to celebrate love... or soothe some loneliness... than chocolate?!?!? Here's what I want to know - what's your favorite form/kind/flavor of chocolate? Are you all about the dark chocolate no matter what? Love Twix bars, but only eat them by nibbling off the chocolate, then eating off the caramel, THEN crunching those cookies? (Um, not that it's my favorite way to eat them or anything...) Once had the most wonderful lavender chocolate truffle? Adore your mom's homemade chocolate caramels? Swoon over chocolate covered espresso beans?

So tell us,

What chocolate floats your boat?

Tried freezer meals

Tried these freezer meals from the website I posted:

Honey Lime Chicken - too sweet, okay with a bit of soy sauce, but bland overall and I probably won't make it again. This is my issue with many cookbooks - blah.

Pork Chops - WAY too salty, won't make them again.

Chicken Pie - just took this out of the oven and put it into tupperware for lunch, but it's simple and hard to mess up. I don't like that it takes an hour to cook after you thaw it, but it works on a weekend or making it later in the night to pack for lunches.

Because it's not all fabulous successes...

I just felt the need to vent to my Recipeeples. Ever have one of those days where nothing goes right in the kitchen because you're either not paying attention or just having a stupid day?

Tonight I thawed some frozen pumpkin puree to make this year's very last pie. It seemed a bit off, but I'd already blended the eggs and cream by that point, so I figured I had little to lose. Sure enough, the puree texture had gone grainy, and I don't have very high hopes for the pie.

Then I made a butternut squash curry for lunches for the week. The recipe called for one medium squash, about 4 lbs. (Where do these people get their squash?!? That's a big butternut in my world!) So I halved the recipe. Except then peeling and chopping up the squash and potatoes took so long that I forgot I was halving the recipe and put the full amount of liquid in. And then realized I didn't actually have curry powder, so I had to make my own version up (coriander, cumin, turmeric, chili pepper, garlic, ginger? uh...damn).

And I scratched under my eye after dicing a jalepeno.