Lots of Cookin and Bakin Going on!

Carol's got dinner covered and I've baked dessert, let's get started!

Pork Loin with Bacon and Brown Sugar Glaze, Doctored-Up Brown Rice and Cheddar Green Beans


I'm ALWAYS on the look out for a good deal at the grocery store....aren't we all these days?
When they have boneless center cut whole pork loins at a great price, we always buy one or two of them, slice part into nice thick pork chops and cut the rest into roasts. This time we decided to tie the roasts to make them a little plumper-pork can tend to dry out so quickly (for me at least) when it's baked, so I've been dying to try a new roast pork recipe ever since the roasts landed in the freezer.
I got this roast pork recipe from a very nice lady named Star.....when I saw the ingredients in the rub...AND the bacon....THEN the glaze I knew I HAD to try it. OHHHHH is it good! I got a late start cooking it, so I had to jack up the heat to get the roast cooked and couldn't let it rest as long as I would have liked to before slicing it, therefore the juice came flowing out faster than I'd like, but no matter-the taste was still there and that's all that counts.
Along side, I doctored up a some quick-cooking brown rice...I added a couple handfuls of dried cranberries during the last 5 minutes of cooking time so they'd get nice and plump. While the rice was cooking, I toasted some slivered almonds and sliced some green onions...those got stirred into the finished rice right before serving.
I'm also including the recipe for the Cheddar Green Bean side dish...that one is a winner too!!

All of these recipes are "keepers" in my files for sure!




PORK LOIN WITH BACON AND BROWN SUGAR GLAZE

1 boneless pork loin, about 5-6 pounds
4-6 slices bacon

RUB MIXTURE:

1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. paprika
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. coarse ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground cinnamon

GLAZE:

1 c. light brown sugar, packed
2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp. cider vinegar
1/2 tsp. dry mustard

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Place pork loin in a roasting pan sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Combine the rub ingredients; rub over the pork. Cut each strip of bacon in half crosswise; lay them over the pork loin in a criss-cross pattern. Roast @ 350 degrees for about 1 1/2-2 hours, or until the pork registers about 150 degrees.

In the meantime, combine the brown sugar, flour, cider vinegar, and dry mustard in a saucepan; bring to a simmer and simmer for about 1 minute. Spoon over the pork and return to the oven. Roast for about 15-20 minutes longer, or until pork registers 160 degrees.
Serves 6-8.



From Best of Country Cooking 2000...

CHEDDAR GREEN BEANS

1 (9 oz.) pkg. frozen cut green beans (I used about 1 lb. fresh green beans, steamed until crisp-tender)
1 Tbsp. finely minced onion (I didn't measure-but I know I used more)
1 garlic clove, minced (I used 2)
1 tsp. butter or margarine (I used a little more since I had more green beans)
Salt and pepper to taste
2 Tbsp. shredded cheddar cheese (I eyeballed the amount-and used low fat shredded cheddar)

Cook beans according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a skillet. saute onion and garlic in butter until tender. Drain beans; add to onion mixture and toss to coat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Top with cheese just before serving. Makes 2 servings.
*I had 2 slices of bacon left from the package I had defrosted to use on the pork roast-I cooked the slices until crisp-tender. crumbled them and tossed them into the beans just before sprinkling with cheese-it added a nice touch.


GERMAN APPLE CAKE

I decided to make an apple cake to go with Carols delicious dinner. Ive never made a German Apple cake before, but if the recipe has apples and cinnamon in it I'm game! This cake smelled so good while it was baking that I couldn't wait till I could taste it. And taste it I did, straight from the oven. I have zero patience (hee hee). My taste buds were in heaven with the first bite...soft apple chunks, a slightly crispy top and cinnamony super moist cake , ahhhhh! I had to have more, and the cream cheese frosting wasn't even on it yet!



As far as I'm concerned , this cake is good just like this. I didn't have tart apples , what I had was yellow delicious, which I think made it sweeter and perfect without the cream cheese frosting. BUT! There is a cream cheese frosting for this little baby and that was good too! Whether you like it with or without frosting this cake needs to be made by people who adore apples and cinnamon.




GERMAN APPLE CAKE
Taste Of Home

Ingredients:

3 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 cups chopped peeled tart apples
3/4 cup chopped pecans (I didn't use these)

FROSTING:
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
2 teaspoons butter, softened
2 cups confectioners' sugar

Directions: In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, oil and vanilla. Combine the flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt; add to egg mixture and mix well. Fold in apples and nuts. Pour into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Bake at 350° for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. In a small mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and butter. Add confectioners' sugar, beating until smooth. Spread over cake. Refrigerate leftovers. Yield: 12-16 servings.




ALL-IN-ONE PORK CASSEROLE


Here's a bonus recipe for you....do you have some of that pork roast, along with rice and green beans left over, and you're wondering what to do with them? FEAR NOT! I put together this casserole-I added a few things to the odds and ends that were left from our pork loin dinner and let me tell you, it was pretty darned good!





ALL-IN-ONE PORK CASSEROLE

2 stalks celery, diced
2-3 large carrots, diced
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 can beef consomme

Leftover Roast Pork (from Pork Loin with Bacon and Brown Sugar Glaze-I'm not sure how much meat was left though...I didn't weigh it out), cubed.

Leftover Brown Rice (cooked in low sodium beef broth with dried cranberries. slivered almonds and sliced green onions added before serving) (about 4 cups)

Leftover Cheddar Green Beans (about 2 cups)
1/2 c. cold water
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
3/4 c. Panko bread crumbs
1-2 Tbsp. butter, melted

Heat olive oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven; add celery, carrot, onion and garlic. Sprinkle with salt and pepper; saute until vegetables begin to soften. Add enough water to barely cover the vegetable, cover the pan and simmer until vegetables are crisp-tender. Add beef consomme and enough water so that you can make a nice gravy; add pork cubes and simmer 10-15 minutes to allow some of the flavoring coating the pork to go into the gravy.

Stir together 1/2 c. cold water and cornstarch; bring vegetable/pork mixture to a boil. Stir in cornstarch mixture; cook and stir until thickened. Stir in leftover rice and green beans; mix well. Spread mixture in a large casserole dish sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.

Melt 1-2 Tbsp. butter in a small skillet; stir in Panko bread crumbs until crumbs are coated.* Sprinkle over top of casserole. Bake @ 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until bubbly.
*I only melted about 1 Tbsp. butter-it did need a little more, so what I did was used my Olivio spray butter and gave the crumbs a few squirts after I sprinkled them over the top of the casserole so they would brown in the oven.





Chocolate Orange Cupcakes

I think we need some cupcakes for dessert after this delightful dinner. How about Chocolate Orange Cupcakes. These cupcakes get they're orange flavor from the zest and juice of an orange. Remember the chocolate that use to look like an orange, it even had sections in it like an orange would, I can't remember the name of it but I loved those things! These cupcakes are brownie like and gooey, don't you just love gooey! They're also made with mayonnaise, that's what makes them so moist. Throw in some chocolate chips and you've got a cupcake that's (in the words of our 11 yr old daughter) AWESOME!!!! No frosting required .




CHOCOLATE ORANGE CUPCAKES
Taste Of Home

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup baking cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon grated orange peel
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Confectioners' sugar

Directions: In a bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, combine the mayonnaise, orange peel and vanilla; gradually add orange juice until blended. Stir into dry ingredients just until combined. Stir in chocolate chips (batter will be thick). Fill paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 350° for 18-23 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely. Dust with confectioners' sugar. Yield: 9 cupcakes