Pork with Garlic Cream Sauce

Once in a while, I run into a recipe that seems incomplete. Like the timing is either off, or they left out a step. This is one of those. It comes from a new (to me) I site that I've been checking out called Diabetic Connect. We'll see how things go with it. I'm definitely going to have to tweak some things, I can already see that.

Without the tweaks, it was still really yummy and husband really loved it, too. We had the same ideas for the changes, too. A couple of things that were mentioned in the comments on the original recipe were about the cooking time on the meat. Since this is pork, you know that you want to make sure that it is really done. Not overlooked, of course, but done. It can get tricky with this kind of cooking because you don't want to keep taking it out of the oven with the broiler on, at the risk of losing some of the heat. And the meat is too thin to use a thermometer. The only thing I can suggest would be using your best judgement and experience with your broiler. In the recipe itself, it says to cook the meat under the broiler for 4 to 6 minutes. What it does not say is, do you flip the meat and if so, is that per side? Again, I suggest using your judgement. I did it on one side and found that I would probably fare better if I did it on both sides for the full 4 to 6 minutes on both sides. Otherwise, I ended up putting it back in the oven over and over.

As far as tweaking the recipe goes, we found a few things. I think I would salt the meat just little  and let it sit there for a few minutes to make it less tough in the cooking. See how you feel about it, but we both agreed a tiny bit of salt and more garlic would fare well in the cream sauce. We served this with quinoa cooked in chicken broth with peas. Super simple and quite tasty. The quinoa tasted a little off, but I think that's because it was cooked with the peas. those probably should have been cooked separately. 

And as usual - please tell me what you think or anything different you did.

Pork with Garlic Sauce

Ingredients:
1# pork tenderloin
2 tsp canola oil
2 tsp sesame seeds, toasted, divided
1 to 2 garlic cloves, minced
1 TBSP butter or stick margarine
1/3 C 1% milk
3 oz reduced fat cream cheese , cubed
1 TBSP minced chives

Directions:
Cut pork into 1" slices, flatten to 1/2" thickness

Place in a 15"x10"x1" baking dish, coated in non-stick cooking spray. Brush oil all over sides of pork, then sprinkle with half of the sesame seeds. 

Broil 4-6" from the heat for 3-5 minutes longer ir until meat juices run clear.

Meanwhile, in a saucepan, saute garlic in butter for one minute. 

Stir in milk and cream cheese. Reduce heat, cook and stir until blended and smooth. Stir in chives.

Serve with pork.

Per Serving (3 oz cooked pork with 2 TBSP sauce):

Calories: 255, Fat: 13 g (6 sat), Chol,: 88mg, Sodium: 151 mg, Carb: 3 g, Fiber: Trace, Protein: 27 g

Diabetic Exchanges:
1 Fat

New Years Good Luck Pork and Sauerkraut

This year for New Years, I decided to do things up right. I am part German, and I read all the superstitions and things that different cultures do to insure a good New Year. I found this little ditty on Shine:

"The custom of eating pork on New Year's is based on the idea that pigs symbolize progress. The animal pushes forward, rooting itself in the ground before moving. Roast suckling pig is served for New Year's in Cuba, Spain, Portugal, Hungary, and Austria—Austrians are also known to decorate the table with miniature pigs made of marzipan. Different pork dishes such as pig's feet are enjoyed in Sweden while Germans feast on roast pork and sausages. Pork is also consumed in Italy and the United States, where thanks to its rich fat content, it signifies wealth and prosperity."

and

"Cooked greens, including cabbage, collards, kale, and chard, are consumed at New Year's in different countries for a simple reason — their green leaves look like folded money, and are thus symbolic of economic fortune. The Danish eat stewed kale sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon, the Germans consume sauerkraut (cabbage) while in the southern United States, collards are the green of choice. It's widely believed that the more greens one eats the larger one's fortune next year."

So, I got to work looking for recipes that would have something along these lines. I found a few and decided to kind of mix and match. What I ended up making was glorious. At least it made the husband happy, and he hates sauerkraut. I will say this... the flavor was excellent, but the keilbasa ended up not cooking very nicely. It was kind of a mealy texture and over salty. But it added a really great flavor to everything else.

Good Luck Pork and Sauerkraut for New Years Day

2-3 # Pork Roast
2 Tablespoons olive oil
Fresh Thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
1 # Keilbasa, cut in 2-3 inch slices
32 oz. Sauerkraut
1 bottle of beer - a sweeter beer is better, we used an apricot ale.

Turn on broiler.
Cover roast in olive oil and sprinkle the thyme, salt and pepper on it.
Put roast in over for about ten minutes, until it starts showing some brown edges.

While that is cooking, get the crock pot ready: spray it non-stick spray, put the sauerkraut along the bottom, and then lay the keilbasa around the edges.

When the roast is done, Put it right in the middle.
Pour the beer over the whole thing.

Cook on low for about 8-9 hours.

We tried to eat the keilbasa, but it just had that weird texture, and I could feel my ankles swelling as I ate, so I threw it away.

The thing I love about meat that gets cooked in the crock pot is that it just falls apart. No knives needed, just forks. The flavor on this was really good. I may make it another time, not just for New Years.