Grilled Ribs with Dry Rub

Another allrecipes.com find - I followed this one exactly and it was really good, despite the meat being slightly charred!  Oops.

3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons paprika
1 1/2 tablespoons salt
1 1/2 tablespoons ground black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder

Rub on ribs

Wrap the ribs up securely in foil -

Grill at medium/low heat for approximately an hour and a half.  We had our heat too high, hence the charring...but will definitely make this rub again and keep the heat lower :)

Mustard Herb- Crusted Pork Tenderloin

I have so many cookbooks but always default to online recipes mostly due to the ease of searchability.  But I finally decided to get into my "Cooking Light Annual Recipes of 2008" cookbook last weekend.  No, 2008 is not a typo :p
Chris actually ended up preparing this for us since I was running late and it was delish!  Posted below with our modifications.

Ingredients:
1/2 oz. unseasoned bread crumbs (or 1 slice slightly stale white bread)
2 tbsp dried parsley
3 tbsp grated cheese (parm, romano, etc.)
1 tsp dried thyme
1 - 1 lb. pork tenderloin
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2-3 tbsp dijon mustard
1 garlic clove (minced)

Preheat oven to 375 deg F.
Combine crumbs, parsley, cheese, and thyme.
Sprinkle pork w/s and p.
Combine mustard & minced garlic and rub on pork.
Rub pork in breadcrumb mixture.
Bake at 375 for approximately 45 minutes, until thermometer reads 170 deg.

Slow Baked Spare Ribs

This was a baby back rib recipe that I modified.  Chris likes spare ribs and I don't particularly, but they are all that were in stock w/our local farmer so spare ribs it is!  They are fattier than I would prefer but I couldn't deny these were SO good.  So take a smaller portion and enjoy :)

Ingredients
~1-2 lbs spare ribs
1 large onion, cut
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
3 tbsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 deg F.
Mix all ingredients in measuring cup.  Place 1/2 of the onion pieces in the bottom of a large baking dish, cover with ribs, and add the rest of the onions.  Pour sauce to cover, place glass lid on the dish, and bake at 350 for 2-3 hours.  Ribs will be falling apart!!

Pork Loin Roast with Apricot Glaze

Last time Chris went to pick up pork from our awesome local farm, The Blue Jingler Farm, he asked if they ever had tenderloins or roasts, as we usually just got the standard pork chops, sausage, and ground pork.  He bought a bone-in loin roast of approximately 3lbs.  Jack asked for Chris' email address and said he would send us a recipe that they often use and really enjoy.  It was a crockpot recipe and we set this up for a great Sunday night dinner.

We loved this - we couldn't stop saying how good it was!  The sweetness of the apricot combined with the mustard was wonderful.  The pork was delicious and just falling off the bone.
Thanks Jack & Cheryl for this great recipe!!

Ingredients:
3-5 lb. boneless pork shoulder roast or pork loin (We used the pork loin)
16 oz of Apricot Jam 15.75 oz.
¼ - 1 cup of chicken broth, depending on the size of the roast.  (We used a cup.)

2-3 tablespoons of Dijon-style mustard (We used 3 tbsp - Chris loves mustard!)
1 large onion, chopped

Trim the fat from the roast. (Chris prepared this and did not trim the fat!!  We just separated it once cooked.)
If necessary, cut roast to fit into a 3 ½ to 6-quart slow cooker. Place meat in cooker.
Combine preserves, broth, mustard, and onion; pour over meat.
As you can see, we used the big crockpot; I would use the smaller one next time so the meat is more engulfed in the sauce; but this came out great regardless!

Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 10-12 hours or on high-heat setting for 5-6.  This time we cooked it for 6 hours on high.

Transfer the meat to a serving platter and cut. Skim fat from the sauce, if need be.

Spoon some of the sauce over the meat.

We served with brown rice as recommended and broccoli.  We will most definitely be making this again; so so good!

Wasabi and Panko-Crusted Pork with Gingered Soy Sauce

We get our pork chops & eggs from a farmer right down the road from us. Bone-in pork chops are one of Chris' favorite foods, so I'm always searching for a new way to make them to break away from the ol' shake n bake! We also love asian foods, and I found this recipe on Cooking Light that looked like an interesting one to try!

You will need:

Panko breadcrumbs
1 egg white, lightly beaten
2 bone-in pork chops (about 1/2 inch thick)
Peanut oil
Salt (I always use Kosher salt)
Ground fresh or dried ginger -The recipe called for fresh but I used dried and it was fine.
1 cup chicken broth - The recipe called for 1/3 cup but we always like extra sauce!
~1/3 c tablespoons dry sherry (I don't measure, just pour!)
~2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons wasabi paste - I would use more next time; it wasn't that spicy.
1/3 cup thinly sliced scallions

Place panko in a shallow dish. Whip egg white in a small bowl. Sprinkle salt and pepper on pork, then dip pork in egg white and cover in panko. Start your rice if you are serving rice w/this.

Heat peanut oil in a large nonstick skillet coated with over medium heat; add pork. Cook for approximately 5-7 minutes on each side or until done. Remove pork from pan. Start your vegetable.

Whisk the broth, sherry, soy sauce, and wasabi in a small bowl, stirring well. (I used 2 tbsp of wasabi this time, it was not very spicy at all. I would use 3 next time...so be generous w/the wasabi if you like!) Add broth mixture to pan, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Add ginger to the mixture; simmer a few minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in green onions. Spoon sauce over pork.

I suggest serving with sugar snap peas and white rice-