Roasted Pork Loin

Roasted Pork Loin

2 pounds boneless pork loin
rub (see recipe below)
sliced Provolone
buns
creamy coleslaw (optional)


Pork Rub :
1/2 t cayenne
1/2 t cumin
1-1/3 T granulated onion powder
1-1/3 T granulated garlic powder
1 T Nature's Seasoning
3/4 t white pepper
1 t salt


Mix rub ingredients together. Shake (never touch with porky fingers) on pork loin and... gently massage in. Sprinkling a little more as needed. It's quite flavorable you don't need a ton. This amount of rub will do 3-4 loins.Couple different options for the next step. You can sear it on a grill, in an oiled pan, or not at all. I discovered that the last option was still tasty after I forgot to do it once. Place on a rack in a pan and place in 350 degree oven. Cook approximately 1 hour and 5 minutes until meat thermometer poked in the thickest region reaches 155 degrees. Remove from oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes. With sharp knife slice pork very thin.
Serve on a bun with provolone between the meat so it melts and coleslaw on the side or on the sandwich as a condiment. I love to eat this meat cold, straight from the fridge!

Creamy Coleslaw

Creamy Coleslaw

1/2 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard (I use Hy-Vee)
1/2 Tablespoon Stone Ground Mustard (I use Boetje's)
1 cup salad dressing
1/4 cup sour cream (lite is OK)
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar 
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 precut mixed bag of cabbage and carrots (if you use one with purple cabbage in it as it 'weeps' it will turn the mixture colors but not for a couple days)


Measure all the ingredients except the cabbage
Mix thoroughly.

Add cabbage and toss. Mixture will seem 'dry' but will weep and get creamier by the next day so make it ahead of when you want to serve it. If it seems a little tangy you can add a little more sour cream instead of more sugar to help mellow it out.

We eat ours as a condiment on our pork loin sandwiches.

Beef Enchiladas

Beef Enchiladas

Puffy Tortillas:
3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup yellow corn meal
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
1-3/4 cups water


Filling and Sauce:
2 pounds ground beef
3/4 cup chopped green pepper
3/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon cumin
chili powder (or a blend of cayenne, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder)
salt
pepper
flour (about 3 T for filling and around 1/4 cup for sauce)
29 ounce can tomato sauce
shredded Mexican blend cheese


Filling...


Dice onions and peppers
Cook all but flour and tomato sauce together until hamburger is done and onions and green peppers are to your liking. If it's really wet you can drain it. Add enough flour to absorb the rest of the grease, making it rather stiff. I used about 3 Tablespoons as I did not have to drain my 93-95% lean beef.

Add about 16 oz, or less, of the tomato sauce. If too stiff for the filling, I thin it some with plain water.

Finished filling, best used while warm so it's softer.

Tortillas....

Whisk egg and then add rest of ingredients

Add scant 1/4 cup (approximately 3 T) batter into hot, greased 6-8" skillet. I used a cast iron, it seems to do the best. Swirl batter around until bottom is completely covered.

Cook on low for just a little bit. It will be done when the top is dry. You can flip if you want but I never do since the tortilla is delicate and can tear. Spray about every 3 times so it doesn't stick. You will need to stir it each time with your measuring cup as the flour and corn meal sink in between use.

Makes 13-14

I make 1/2 of this for one meal and freeze rest for later. Divide the filling mixture in 1/2 (reserving 1/3 to 1/2 cup for the sauce.) Fill 5 shells evenly.

and lay seam down in baking dish. This is an 8x11. You can fill 7 (1/2 of the tortillas) if you like by using less filling in each but we prefer a lot of meat in our enchiladas. Sprinkle with some cheese.

Sauce....


Push the reserved filling to one side of the pan. The sauce is made by first pouring some of the tomato sauce to the center of the pan. Then sprinkle flour into that and stir until smooth. You will use this to thicken the remainder of the sauce, so think how much flour you would use to make a white sauce and that will help you determine how much you will need. I used 4-1/2 T (or just over 1/4 cup.

Stir the reserved filling into the thickened sauce, sprinkle in a little more cumin and chili powder to add flavor to the plain tomato sauce. I always add about as much water as I do tomato sauce, not only to make more sauce but also to make the sauce less tomato-y. Spoon over tortillas and add more cheese on top.

Bake for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees until hot and bubbly.

TO FREEZE AHEAD...make the filling and make the sauce and freeze those in separate bags. Make the tortillas and layer with wax paper pieces and freeze. When you are ready to assemble make sure everything is thawed and heat the tortillas just a little to make them pliable again. Assemble and bake! I have tried this assembled, frozen, and then baked and thought the shells came out a little mushy. I also tried this with premade flour tortillas and we like these better.