Stir Fried Pork and Mixed Veggies

Stir-fries are perfect for busy weeknights because they take under 15 minutes to prepare, and you can us any protein or vegetables you wish!

I chose to use lots of colorful veggies and lean pork, but you can also make this with chicken, beef, shrimp or even tofu if you wish. The stir fry sauce has a slight kick from the sriracha which I love, but if you're not a fan of spicy food, leave it out (or add more if you like it HOT!)

I ate a big bowl of this and felt completely satisfied, but if you want to serve this with brown rice, perfect! I am loving Trader Joe's frozen brown rice, it's so good and such a great time saver! If you want to keep it low carb you could make my favorite Cauliflower "Fried Rice" on the side.

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Pressure Cooker Pozole (Pork and Hominy Stew)

This stew made with pork, hominy and spices is so comforting, especially on a cold winter night. And leftovers taste even better the next day. Topped with avocado and a squeeze of lime, it's the perfect balance of flavors and textures.

This recipe is ever so slightly adapted from Martha Stewart's new cookbook, One Pot. When I say ever so slightly, all I did what reduce the amount of oil used. We all loved how it turned out, excellent dish for a chilly night. Her book has everything from slow cooker, pressure cooker, stock pot and skillet recipes that only require one pot – brilliant idea!

Believe it or not, I love my pressure cooker even more than I like my slow cooker. Why? Because it cuts the cooking time in half, especially when making stews that use tough cuts of meat and the pressure cooker makes them very tender, fast. Plus, nothing beats the flavors you get from cooking in the pressure cooker. That being said, I know a lot of people are scared of the pressure cooker. I've been using my stove top Presto for years and never had an issue. I purchased one of those fancy electric ones but have yet to use it, but either one will work.

Could you make this in a pot or Dutch oven? Sure, you will need to add a little more liquid and let it simmer, covered at least 2 hours before adding the Hominy.

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Oven "Fried" Breaded Pork Chops

Juicy, delicious, boneless pork chops coated with a seasoned crisp crust. Ready in under 30 minutes, easy and kid-friendly!

When I was a kid, my Mom's friend Debbie often had my brother and I over for dinner because, well she lived right upstairs from us. We loved this, and she was so good to us. She would make broccoli,  Rice-a-Roni and Shake-n-Bake pork chops. Growing up in a home where my mom made everything from scratch, this was totally new to us and we loved it.

As an adult, I know how processed (yes still yummy) those things are so I make them myself. One day I'll share my healthier Rice-A-Roni recipe, it's easy! These pork chops – they are amazing and better than Shake-n-Bake. Even my husband (who's not a big pork chop fan) LOVES them. I served them with yesterday's raw shredded brussels sprout salad – enjoy!

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Fig Balsamic Roasted Pork Tenderloin

This is a great, quick and easy pork tenderloin recipe topped with a sweet & tangy glaze. It's super simple to make with just a few ingredients which is perfect for weeknight cooking.

I'm pretty obsessed with Trader Joe's Fig Butter and combined it with some balsamic vinegar to create this glaze. Then I roasted it in the oven for about 25 minutes and served it with these awesome brussels sprouts. If you can't find fig butter, any fruit butter such as apple butter would work great.

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Crock Pot Sazon Pork Chops with Peppers, Olives and Potato

These pork chops are seasoned with Latin spices and slow cooked in a flavorful sauce with tomatoes, olives, peppers and potatoes. They literally fall of the bone when they come out of the slow cooker!
I love to serve them with just a little brown rice on the side, but totally optional!

My house was a little divided on this recipe. My husband thought it was good but not great, but my oldest daughter Karina thought it was AMAZING as she put it. I really liked this a lot too, and it was my first time making pork chops in the slow cooker believe it or not but won't be my last.

I weighed the pork off the bone and got 4 oz cooked, so that is how I calculated these since they are not always the same size and the bones vary in size. If you go with boneless chops, that about 5 oz raw for each one.

And since so many are asking, I have the 6 Quart Hamilton Beach Set 'n Forget Programmable Slow Cooker. I love it because you can adjust the time you want it to cook, and it automatically turns to warm when it's done. It also has a probe for meat that automatically shuts off when done. I hated my old crock pot, it burnt everything and my food had a weird taste. This crock pot is so great, I actually own two!

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Mediterranean Boneless Pork Chops

Talk about a delicious weeknight summer meal! These thin and lean thin pork chops are pan seared and served topped with julienned summer squash, roasted tomatoes, lemon juice, olives and Feta cheese. So much flavor and color in this dish!

And it's hard to believe how light this is! One serving is two thin chops with a generous amount of vegetables on top for only 230 calories (or 6 Weight Watcher Points) I had to actually double check that to see if I was wrong because it sounded too good to be true. If you have a spiralizer, you can use that instead of a mandolin to cut the zucchini and squash.

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Crock Pot Balsamic Pork Roast

I love making pork in the slow cooker, it's so easy and literally falls apart once cooked. Here it's cooked with balsamic and honey which gives it a slight tang that I thought was lovely.

Whenever I happen to see a small pork roast in the supermarket, I always pick one up because I know it's an easy dinner. I usually find myself gravitating to the Slow Cooker Kalua Pork each and every time because it's so good and easy to make, but I wanted to switch things up and came across a slow cooker recipe for this balsamic pork recipe on Add A Pinch.

I met Robin just a few months ago while I was in Oregon so I was happy to try one of her recipes. This was so easy to make, and although my husband generally isn't much of a balsamic fan, my toddler and I thought it was great! This recipe is slightly modified from her original but for the most part I followed it pretty close.

I served this with Broccoli and Cheese Twice Baked Potatoes but this would also be great with Roasted Parmesan Green Beans.

And since so many are asking, I have the 6 Quart Hamilton Beach Set 'n Forget Programmable Slow Cooker. I love it because you can adjust the time you want it to cook, and it automatically turns to warm when it's done. It also has a probe for meat that automatically shuts off when done. I hated my old crock pot, it burnt everything and my food had a weird taste. This crock pot is so great, I actually own two!

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Mexican Adobo Rubbed Grilled Pork Tenderloin

A lean pork tenderloin, rubbed with Mexican adobo and grilled or broiled to give you a great tasting, smoky, tender piece of meat.

Pork tenderloin is the leanest cut of pork, in fact it's just as lean as a skinless chicken breast, and it doesn't take long to cook, which makes it perfect for busy weeknights. If you're tired of making the same 'ole thing for dinner, this is the answer (and bonus, it's totally man-friendly).

I was really in the mood for some Cilantro Lime Rice, and I thought it was the perfect compliment; I used some lime wedges to squeeze over the pork - delish! I was craving white rice, but I often use brown rice too as a whole grain option. For an even healthier side, last week's Fiesta Bean Salad would also be fabulous!

This recipe is from the cookbook Simple Food, Big Flavor, by Aarón Sánchez (you may know him as one of the judges on Chopped). Yesterday I made a batch of Aaron's Adobo with full intentions of making this pork dish. I still have a lot of adobo left, so I'm going to use the rest to grill some pork chops this weekend. It was pretty chilly yesterday, so rather than making this on my grill, I used my broiler instead.


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Slow Cooked Jerk Pork with Caribbean Salsa

Pork roast, marinated overnight with fresh citrus juice, garlic, and jerk seasoning, then slow cooked all day while you're away. Topped with a bright, fresh Caribbean salsa of fresh mangos, avocado and cilantro. If I told you how good this dish was, would you believe me?

The kind of good that your husband tells you how much he loves you while eating it... yeah that good! This dish is officially going into my regular rotation. 

One of my friends turned me on to Walkerswood Jerk Seasoning, turns out it's the #1 Best Seller in Gourmet rubs on Amazon! It's actually made in Jamaica, so it's the real deal and only cost about $4. It comes in mild and hot, so being the wimp that I am, I went with mild. I served this over brown rice with some cucumbers on the side for a complete meal.

Since a lot of you ask, I have the Hamilton Beach Set It and Forget It Slow Cooker, I've had nothing but great results since purchasing it if you're in the market for a slow cooker. I've had really bad results with other slow cookers, so they are not all created equal!

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Spinach Prosciutto and Mozzarella Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

Pork tenderloin stuffed with prosciutto, mozzarella, baby spinach and sun dried tomatoes; a wonderful dish for the Holidays. Serve this with potato parsnip mash, skinny garlic mashed potatoes, or creamy cauliflower puree and some roasted vegetables on the side.

Are you ready for the holidays? I'm so behind but I did get around to seeing Santa this weekend. A very excited Madison didn't cry and even gave Santa a list of what she wanted (which included a pony). I just love this innocent age, I wish I could freeze time.

These next few weeks I'm going to focus on Holiday dishes, sides, appetizers and desserts. I'm still running my mile a day until the New Year (lost track of how many days it's been), it's a nice balance to some of the baking that's happening around here.

Pork tenderloin is perfect for the holidays, and it's just as lean as chicken breast. I love how the colors of the spinach and sundried tomatoes look so festive when you cut it open. You can easily double this recipe to serve eight. If you've never butterflied a tenderloin, it's not very hard. I found this video on how to cut a pork tenderloin which you may find helpful, although I cut mine a little different as described below. Either way is fine.

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Pressure Cooker Split Pea Soup with Ham

When I want a hearty bowl of split pea soup in a hurry, my pressure cooker is my best friend! Split pea soup is loaded with fiber, and it's a comforting meal on a chilly night. I usually serve this with a slice of crusty bread, toasted and rubbed with a little garlic.

This soup is also my favorite way to use up leftover ham or a ham bone. It's super easy, but not always super quick... unless you use a pressure cooker! 

Using a pressure cooker cuts the cooking time by less than half and everything always tastes better for some reason. I've been using my pressure cooker for years; in South America it is widely popular to make soups, beans, and stews because it's quick and saves on gas. I own a fancy electric one, but for some reason I still rather use my old stove top Presto.

When making soups and stews in the pressure cooker, very little  liquid evaporates, so I usually cut the liquid down a bit. I found a great Pressure Cooker Cheat Sheet on Pressure Cooker For Dummies, if you own one and are scared of it, you might find this interesting.

I used Better than Bouillon, I love the flavor it adds to soups, but you can use chicken broth in it's place if you prefer.

A few notes: Today is my 3rd day doing the Holiday Runner's Streak (run at least 1 mile everyday until the Holidays, see 2012 Holiday Running Streak from Runner's World). It was really hard to get out of bed this morning, but I am happy I got it out of the way. How are you doing, still with me?

By the way, this soup freezes well, leftovers are perfect for lunch or make a batch for once a month cooking.

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Crock Pot Kalua Pork

Kalua Pig is popular at Hawaiian luaus where a whole pig is smoked in a sand pit with sea salt, banana leaves and koa wood. This simple crock pot method mimics the smoked flavor of using natural liquid smoke and the results are an easy, mouth-watering, juicy pork recipe anyone can make at home. Perfect for your next Luau!

Dad's love pork so even if you're not having a Hawaiian themed party anytime soon, you could make this for Father's day with very little effort, and Dad will think you went all out! You can serve this over rice but I thought it would be fun to make lettuce wraps with a little white rice and hoisin sauce. My husband opted for just the rice so it's really up to you. Next time I'm thinking pineapple brown fried rice would be great with this!
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Slow Cooker Pork and Green Chile Stew

Chunks of lean pork, slow cooked in the crock pot with tomatoes, green chiles and jalapeño for a delicious weeknight meal with a little bit of heat!

Serve this with tortillas, or over brown rice with a little light sour cream and a slice of avocado if you wish and you'll have a delicious meal.

This recipe is really so versatile – you can add more broth if you want more liquid, you can also add tomatillos, cilantro, and make it your own. For speed and convenience I used canned green chiles and jalapeno, but you can certainly use fresh and roast your own. This has a little bit of kick, but you can certainly turn it up by adding more jalapeños or chile powder.

I bought a boneless loin roast and trimmed quite a bit of the fat off before cooking, so keep it in mind that you'll lose some meat.  I like to brown the meat before adding it to the crock pot for best results and add a little flour to pork as it browns before adding it to the crock pot so that it thickens a bit. If you have gluten allergies, you can skip this step. If you don't have time to brown your meat no worries, it will still work out fine. Enjoy!


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Slow Cooker Filipino Adobo Pulled Pork

We love Filipino Adobo Chicken in my home, I make it at least once a month because it's just so darn easy to make and everyone loves it.

Adobo pork is also commonly made the same way, so I decided to test it out in the crock pot with a lean pork loin which is not so exactly the traditional method, but I love making pork in my slow cooker, so why not!

I left the pork whole rather than cutting it up in small chunks to make more of a Filipino pulled pork (and because I'm a bit lazy) but cutting it into small cubes would work out fine as well.

Served it over jasmine rice topped with fresh scallions and with some garden tomatoes on the side and it was a wonderful, simple meal.  Enjoy!

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