Braised Balsamic Pork with a Bloomin' Onion
Braised Balsamic Pork with a Bloomin' Onion
For those readers just interested in the food and not the food facts/story, skip down to the first picture with all the ingredients and it will take you to the recipe! For those ready for the full crazy adventure....let's do this.
First and foremost, the recipes in this blog are not about counting calories. Sometimes it will be a recipe for a chocolate dessert (that may be a good follow up to this dinner recipe now that I think about it...stay tuned for next week!) But the important thing is that you will be able to pronounce everything going into your food and into your body. Every recipe has something in it that will help your body to become better and keep you healthier. To be honest, that is really what matters most. So if a little bit of butter gets you to eat those vegetables chock-full of vitamins, then have at it! No one wants to eat something they hate. So let's make it tasty AND nutritious! All that being said, this is a pretty healthy dinner and great for those days you are busy but want something delicious to end on! Just stick it in the oven earlier in the day and let it slow roast until it's time for dinner! Done and done!
The ingredients taking your dinner up a healthy, nutritious notch today are:
-Balsamic and Red Wine Vinegar. Balsamic is taking the lead today in our slow roasting dish.Vinegar has quite a few benefits. It helps to naturally dilate our arteries to ease blood flow throughout our system, protects arteries against fats in your meal, contains antioxidants which helps to destroy free radicals (bad things that damage cells) aiding in your ability to fight disease/infection, and helps to control blood sugar levels. *big breath of air* Now that is a good ingredient to add to meals! (information verified by using NutritionFacts.org)
-Date Sugar. I know what you are thinking...SUGAR in a healthy meal?! YES! Date sugar is basically pulverized dried dates. This means you are getting antioxidants, magnesium, iron, calcium, AND fiber, all in a sweet taste. Pretty awesome if you ask me. (You can view all these facts on Healwithfood.org). If you can't find date sugar at your local grocery store, you can find it online. I'm a big Amazon fan and of courseee they have it!!
-Garlic. Mincing a few cloves of garlic and adding them to your meals is definitely worth the time. Garlic helps with digestion, aids in lowering cholesterol, regulates blood sugar levels, lowers blood pressure, aids in preventing cancer, contains antioxidants, and can help fight illness or colds. (information obtained from organicfacts.net)
-Onions. There is a good reason (well several actually) to add this one to your roasting pan! Onions contain antioxidants (quite the trend we are making with this dinner), Vitamin C, fiber, have probiotic effects, aid in preventing cancer, help reduce cholesterol, and act as a natural chelator (which means it binds to toxic metals and removes them from your body). Talk about an important food item for me to eat! Go onion GO! Get rid of those toxic metals making a mess of things! (facts obtained from a research publication on onions-usa.org)
So now that we feel good about eating all of these things, let's make some food!!
Ingredients:
-Pork Tenderloin
-1 Tsp of "Better Than Bouillon" Organic Reduced Sodium Chicken Base (can substitute a bouillon cube instead)
-1 Cup of Hot Water
-1/4 Cup Balsamic Vinegar
-Splash of Red Wine Vinegar
-1 Tbsp Date Sugar (you can substitute brown sugar if you prefer)
-1 Heaping Tsp of Minced Garlic
-1 Sweet Onion
-Seasonings- I like to use Garlic Salt, Seasoned Salt, Seasoned Pepper, and Ranch Seasoning
Side pairings:
-Quinoa (or rice if you prefer)
-Green beans
Cook Time: approximately 5 hours low and slow. You can adjust the heat to slow down or speed up your pork. Factors that effect cooking time will be the size of your pork tenderloin and the efficiency of the pan you use to contain the heat.
Prepare all of your ingredients while your oven preheats to 275 degrees.
In order to obtain a heaping Tsp of garlic, I used 2 big cloves. Smash the clove against your cutting board with the side of your knife or with the bottom of a jar. This is an easy way to peel your garlic instead of using fingernails! Mince your garlic into small pieces and set aside.
Now it's onion time! Cut both ends off of your onion and peel the outside off. Make the next cuts without going all the way through (3/4 of the way or just enough for the onion to stay together at the bottom and "bloom"). Cut a "star" pattern into your onion by making a plus sign, and then an X through your onion. Your garlic and onion should look like this:
For those readers just interested in the food and not the food facts/story, skip down to the first picture with all the ingredients and it will take you to the recipe! For those ready for the full crazy adventure....let's do this.
First and foremost, the recipes in this blog are not about counting calories. Sometimes it will be a recipe for a chocolate dessert (that may be a good follow up to this dinner recipe now that I think about it...stay tuned for next week!) But the important thing is that you will be able to pronounce everything going into your food and into your body. Every recipe has something in it that will help your body to become better and keep you healthier. To be honest, that is really what matters most. So if a little bit of butter gets you to eat those vegetables chock-full of vitamins, then have at it! No one wants to eat something they hate. So let's make it tasty AND nutritious! All that being said, this is a pretty healthy dinner and great for those days you are busy but want something delicious to end on! Just stick it in the oven earlier in the day and let it slow roast until it's time for dinner! Done and done!
The ingredients taking your dinner up a healthy, nutritious notch today are:
-Balsamic and Red Wine Vinegar. Balsamic is taking the lead today in our slow roasting dish.Vinegar has quite a few benefits. It helps to naturally dilate our arteries to ease blood flow throughout our system, protects arteries against fats in your meal, contains antioxidants which helps to destroy free radicals (bad things that damage cells) aiding in your ability to fight disease/infection, and helps to control blood sugar levels. *big breath of air* Now that is a good ingredient to add to meals! (information verified by using NutritionFacts.org)
-Date Sugar. I know what you are thinking...SUGAR in a healthy meal?! YES! Date sugar is basically pulverized dried dates. This means you are getting antioxidants, magnesium, iron, calcium, AND fiber, all in a sweet taste. Pretty awesome if you ask me. (You can view all these facts on Healwithfood.org). If you can't find date sugar at your local grocery store, you can find it online. I'm a big Amazon fan and of courseee they have it!!
-Garlic. Mincing a few cloves of garlic and adding them to your meals is definitely worth the time. Garlic helps with digestion, aids in lowering cholesterol, regulates blood sugar levels, lowers blood pressure, aids in preventing cancer, contains antioxidants, and can help fight illness or colds. (information obtained from organicfacts.net)
-Onions. There is a good reason (well several actually) to add this one to your roasting pan! Onions contain antioxidants (quite the trend we are making with this dinner), Vitamin C, fiber, have probiotic effects, aid in preventing cancer, help reduce cholesterol, and act as a natural chelator (which means it binds to toxic metals and removes them from your body). Talk about an important food item for me to eat! Go onion GO! Get rid of those toxic metals making a mess of things! (facts obtained from a research publication on onions-usa.org)
So now that we feel good about eating all of these things, let's make some food!!
Ingredients:
-Pork Tenderloin
-1 Tsp of "Better Than Bouillon" Organic Reduced Sodium Chicken Base (can substitute a bouillon cube instead)
-1 Cup of Hot Water
-1/4 Cup Balsamic Vinegar
-Splash of Red Wine Vinegar
-1 Tbsp Date Sugar (you can substitute brown sugar if you prefer)
-1 Heaping Tsp of Minced Garlic
-1 Sweet Onion
-Seasonings- I like to use Garlic Salt, Seasoned Salt, Seasoned Pepper, and Ranch Seasoning
Side pairings:
-Quinoa (or rice if you prefer)
-Green beans
Cook Time: approximately 5 hours low and slow. You can adjust the heat to slow down or speed up your pork. Factors that effect cooking time will be the size of your pork tenderloin and the efficiency of the pan you use to contain the heat.
Prepare all of your ingredients while your oven preheats to 275 degrees.
In order to obtain a heaping Tsp of garlic, I used 2 big cloves. Smash the clove against your cutting board with the side of your knife or with the bottom of a jar. This is an easy way to peel your garlic instead of using fingernails! Mince your garlic into small pieces and set aside.
Now it's onion time! Cut both ends off of your onion and peel the outside off. Make the next cuts without going all the way through (3/4 of the way or just enough for the onion to stay together at the bottom and "bloom"). Cut a "star" pattern into your onion by making a plus sign, and then an X through your onion. Your garlic and onion should look like this:
Make your chicken bouillon. It is 1Tsp to 1 Cup of hot water. This is equivalent to one bouillon cube, but this paste is a healthier version as it is organic, preservative free, and contains less sodium. I actually think it tastes a lot better too! A jar lasts a long time as a little goes a long way. This will make our pork roast extra juicy, tender, and delicious.
To add even more flavor, you can sear your pork tenderloin quickly before adding all of the ingredients and placing it in the oven. This step is not necessary, but if you have the time, turn your stove on to a medium high heat. Use a little extra virgin olive oil and sear all sides of your pork roast.
Now that everything is ready, it is time to put it all together!
Place your pork tenderloin and onion into your dutch oven (or roasting pan with lid or heavy foil to trap heat).
Add your chicken bouillon, balsamic vinegar, minced garlic, splash or 2 of red wine vinegar, and date sugar into the pan. Make sure to get some on top of the pork, but a majority of it will go to the bottom where you can mix it and spoon it over the pork and onion if that is easier.
Season your pork and onion with your favorite seasonings or the ones listed here. Be a little heavy handed on the seasoning as it will make a nice crust on your pork. Right now it should look something like this:
Not one of those magazine-beautiful dishes, but it will taste delicious! Put the lid on and place into your oven which should now be properly heated to 275.
The hard part is all done!! Quick and simple! Now you can leave it roast on low while you go about and enjoy your day....and the delicious smells coming from your kitchen!
About two hours in it should start looking like this and smelling really good in the opposite end of your house:
The best way to tell when your pork is done is to stick a spoon into the corner of the meat. If it starts falling apart, dinner is right around the corner my friend!
After about 5 hours my pork was definitely ready to be eaten! While I set the table and make the side dishes, I like to take the lid off of my pork and Broil it on Low for a few minutes (not too long!) just to get a nice brown crust on top. That is a personal preference of mine, so if you like it the way that it comes out, it is definitely ready to eat! This is what it looks like with the browned crust:
I like to pair this dinner with green beans and Quinoa. The green beans give you a nice crisp vegetable for some added vitamins and minerals while the Quinoa helps to soak up all that sauce. Quinoa is also suuuuper healthy by providing all the essential amino acids! I will talk about that more in future blogs. Definitely a great item to add to any meal for a healthy boost!
Dinner time! Knives are optional!
I hope you enjoyed today's recipe and have a healthy and delicious dinner! Until next time!
Let's get to Cookin'!
~Abigail
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