Crockpot: Pork Tenderloin

One would think being my mother's daughter that cooking would be second nature to me. Ha quite the opposite. The kitchen was like a foreign country to me with recipes a language I could not comprehend.  My mother is the woman that cooks ALL holiday dinners for both sides of the family and I grew up with a home cooked meal on the table every night.  I guess I became accustomed to simply sitting down at the table when the meal was piping hot and ready to be consumed.  In addition, I was never the child that wanted to pull up a chair and "help mom" unless she was making cookies or brownies to which I could lick the bowl and beaters clean. You could say I was SPOILED ROTTEN.  My sisters always joked about who would take over the coveted Thanksgiving dinner when mom passed down the reigns, and with little faith they hoped I would simply remember to pick up a pre-made dessert from the food store.

 

Fast forward a few years and I've really grown to love cooking all thanks to the increasingly popular Crockpot. Thanks to Pinterest, I came across a recipe titled "Best Pork Ever" and thought I would give it a whirl.  Thanks to Monica's recipe, I fed the family with the most moist pork I have ever eaten, no exaggeration. 

  

4 garlic cloves

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 T. country dijon mustard

4 T. honey

2 T. fresh orange juice

1 T. finely chopped fresh rosemary

freshly ground pepper to taste

3 T. olive oil

pork tenderloins (2-3.5 lbs.)

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Take tenderloins out of package. Rinse and pat dry. Place in a 9x13-inch Pyrex sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.

Take a paring knife and poke holes in the tenderloins (on the top side only) about an inch deep. Peel garlic cloves and quarter each clove of garlic-lengthwise. If they're really big, cut them a bit smaller- about the size of slivered almonds. Place the garlic slivers in each pocket. Set aside while making marinade.

 

 

In a measuring cup or in a medium bowl, whisk together all the ingredients except for the olive oil. Then slowly drizzle the olive oil while still whisking.

Pour the mixture over the tenderloins and put into preheated oven. Bake, uncovered, for 45 minutes, basting once halfway through the baking process.

 

Once removed from the oven, allow the tenderloins to rest on a cutting board for about 10 minutes before slicing. Spoon the pan sauce over the tenderloin medallions and enjoy!

I served the pork with Parmesan Asparagus and Garlic Parmesan Pullapart Bread. This flavorful meal will surely please.