Good Food Every Day

Dijon-Rubbed Pork with Rhubarb Sauce
Total Time Prep: 15 min. Bake: 1 hour + standing Makes 12 servings (1-1/2 cups sauce)

Ingredients

1 boneless pork loin roast (3 pounds)
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

SAUCE:
3 cups sliced fresh or frozen rhubarb
1/3 cup orange juice
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cider vinegar

Directions

Score the surface of the pork, making diamond shapes 1/4 in. deep. In a small bowl, combine the mustard, garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper; rub over pork.
Coat a roasting pan and rack with cooking spray; place pork on rack in pan. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 1 hour or until a thermometer reads 145°. Let stand for 10 minutes before slicing.
In a small saucepan, bring the sauce ingredients to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 8-12 minutes or until rhubarb is tender. Serve warm with pork.

Note
If using frozen rhubarb, measure rhubarb while still frozen, then thaw completely. Drain in a colander, but do not press liquid out.

Nutrition Facts
3 ounces cooked pork: 181 calories, 6g fat (2g saturated fat), 56mg cholesterol, 308mg sodium, 9g carbohydrate (7g sugars, 1g fiber), 23g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 3 lean meat, 1/2 starch.

Hash Brown Casserole
Prep Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 1 hr Total Time: 1 hr 15 mins

Ingredients

1-pound bulk breakfast sausage — or remove the casing from links
12-18 ounces frozen hash browns — thawed (about half a package)
1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese — shredded
6 large Eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground mustard

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Cook the sausage over medium heat in a large skillet until no longer brown, breaking it into bite size pieces as it cooks. Drain fat.
Place thawed hash browns in the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish that’s been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.
Sprinkle the sausage over the top of the hash browns. Sprinkle the cheese over the top of the sausage.
Whisk the eggs with the milk and spices. Pour over the casserole in the pan. Cover with foil.
Bake for 40 minutes. Remove the foil then continue baking until set in the center, about 20-30 minutes more. Serve hot.

Nutrition Information
Amount per serving (1 serving) — Calories: 234, Fat: 17g, Saturated Fat: 7g, Cholesterol: 124mg, Sodium: 564mg, Potassium: 235mg, Carbohydrates: 6g, Protein: 12g, Vitamin A: 6.1%, Vitamin C: 3.1%, Calcium: 13.2%, Iron: 6.5%

Bacon Explosion
TOTAL TIME 3hrs 15mins PREP 15 MINS COOK 3 HRS SERVINGS 8

INGREDIENTS

2 lbs thick cut bacon
2 lbs Italian sausage
3⁄4 cup barbecue sauce (your favorite)
3 tablespoons barbecue seasoning (your favorite rub)

DIRECTIONS

To kick off the construction of this pork medley you’ll need to create a 5x5 bacon weave. If the strips you’re using aren’t wide enough to span 5x5 inches, then you may need to use a few extra slices to fill out the pattern. Just make sure your weave is tight and that you end up with a nice square shape to work with.
The next step is to add some barbecue seasoning on top of your bacon weave.
Now that your pork is well seasoned, it’s time to add more pork. Take two pounds of Italian sausage and layer it directly on top of your bacon weave. Be sure to press the sausage to the outer edges of the bacon creating a patty that is the same thickness all the way across. Most grocery stores carry loose sausage, so just pick out one you like.
Next up is bacon layer number two. Take the remaining bacon slices and fry them up the same way you would for breakfast. If you like soft bacon, make it soft. If you like crunchy bacon, make it crunchy.
Since this is a barbecue recipe, we need to add another layer of barbecue flavor. Take your favorite sauce and drizzle it all over the top of the bacon pieces. Once you’ve sauced the bacon, sprinkle on some more of the barbecue seasoning you used on the bacon weave.
Very carefully separate the front edge of the sausage layer from the bacon weave and begin rolling backwards. You want to include all layers EXCEPT the bacon weave in your roll. Try and keep the sausage as tight as possible and be sure to release any air pockets that may have formed. Once the sausage is fully rolled up, pinch together the seams and ends to seal all of the bacon goodness inside.
At this point we can start to see the final shape of our Bacon Explosion, but we’re missing one key item. To complete the construction process, roll the sausage forward completely wrapping it in the bacon weave. Make sure it sits with the seam facing downward to help keep it all sealed up.
Sprinkle some barbecue seasoning on the outside of the bacon weave, and now it is ready for the smoker. Cook your Bacon Explosion at 225°F in a constant cloud of hickory smoke until your meat thermometer gives an internal temperature reading of 165°F Normally this will take about 1 hour for each inch of thickness, but that could vary depending on how well you maintain your fire and also how many times you open the smoker to take a peek. Recommend 2.5 hours, for a roll 2.5 inches in diameter.
Now that the Bacon Explosion is fully cooked, you need to add some finishing flavors. Remember that barbecue sauce you used for inner flavor? You’ll be using that same sauce to glaze the cooked bacon weave. Using a basting brush, coat the entire surface with a thin layer of sauce. Sweet sauces are loaded with sugars, so they’ll give your fatty a nice glossy finish. Spicy and vinegar based sauces don’t contain as much, so they won’t set up as well. If you’re dead set on using those sauces, just cut them with a bit of honey and you’ll get the same effect.
Slice the Bacon Explosion into quarter to half inch rounds to serve. If your roll was good and tight, you should now see a nice bacon pinwheel pattern throughout the sausage.
Obviously pork is best served by itself, but if you feel the need to make this meat monster into a sandwich, place a couple Bacon Explosion slices on a warm Pillsbury’s Grands Biscuit.

Ham and Apple Breakfast
Makes 12 servings.

What You Need
• 1 4-pound to 5-pound ham
• 5 Granny Smith apples, peeled, sliced
• 4 tablespoons butter, melted
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons dry mustard

What To Do
1. Place ham in center of crockpot.

2. Evenly surround ham with apple slices.

3. In small bowl, combine melted butter, brown sugar and mustard. Mix, then drizzle over ham and apples.

4. Cover; cook 10-12 hours on low heat.

Serving suggestion: Remove ham to serving platter and arrange apples around ham on platter. Slice and serve.

Adobo Pork Chops

2 tablespoons canola oil
1 small white onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 1/2 ounces dried guajillo chiles, stemmed, seeded and cut into 2-inch pieces
1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
Pinch of sugar
Kosher salt
Pepper
Four 1-inch-thick, bone-in pork rib chops

In a medium saucepan, heat the oil. Add the onion and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, 5 minutes. Add the garlic and chiles and cook, stirring, until well toasted and fragrant, 2 minutes. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Simmer the sauce over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the chiles are softened, 5 minutes.
Transfer the mixture to a blender, add the sugar and puree until smooth. Transfer the adobo sauce to a bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
Light a grill and oil the grate. Season the chops with salt and pepper and rub with 3/4 cup of the adobo sauce. Grill over moderate heat, turning every 5 minutes and basting with the remaining 3/4 cup of sauce, until cooked through, 20 minutes. Transfer the chops to plates and let rest for 5 minutes.

Danish Horseradish Ham Rolls

1/2 cup (125 ml) heavy cream
1 tsp (5 ml) sugar
2 Tbs (30 ml) prepared horseradish
1/2 cup cooked macaroni
6 to 8 slices cooked ham
1/4 cup (60 ml) grated Swiss cheese

Whip the cream until stiff and add the sugar and horseradish.
Gently fold in the cooked macaroni and spread the mixture
on the ham slices. Roll the ham into tubes and secure with
toothpicks if necessary. Arrange on a serving plate and sprinkle
with the grated cheese. Makes 6 to 8.