Mental note - read the recipe in the morning if you've never made it before. I started this recipe Monday at 4:30 pm and got all the way to "marinate 1 to 4 hrs".....(Calls BGS - hey hon.....what do you want to pick up for dinner, cause unless you want to eat at 9 pm, we aren't eating the pork tonight......) Luckily, I hadn't unwrapped the pork loin from it's packaging yet. I just poured the marinade into a ziploc baggie and put it in the fridge.
Today's players: 3 cloves of garlic ( I used pre-chopped from the jar), 1/2 cup of lime juice ( I used freshly squeezed), 1/2 cup fresh grapefruit juice (again, freshly squeezed), 1/2 cup soy sauce (I used low-sodium, as always), 1/2 tsp hot sauce, 1 lb pork tenderloin, 4 cups green beans.
Mince the garlic (see previous comment about pre-minced) and mix with the grapefruit and lime juices - oh and if anyone thinks it's "easy" to juice a lime have them come talk to me. I nuked those babies for 10 seconds and then rolled them....the stubborn little things did NOT want to give up their precious juice!!! Ok, moving on - soy sauce, and hot pepper sauce. Allow the marinade to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to 1 hour so the flavors can blend. I did that, the poured the marinade into a ziploc baggie and put it in the fridge.
At 1 pm today, I put the pork loin in the baggie with the marinade and zipped it up - getting as much air out as possible and then put the baggie back in the fridge inside a pie plate in case anything leaked.
While I was down there I decided to do some prep for the couscous.
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| Citrus Pork - The Players |
Mince the garlic (see previous comment about pre-minced) and mix with the grapefruit and lime juices - oh and if anyone thinks it's "easy" to juice a lime have them come talk to me. I nuked those babies for 10 seconds and then rolled them....the stubborn little things did NOT want to give up their precious juice!!! Ok, moving on - soy sauce, and hot pepper sauce. Allow the marinade to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to 1 hour so the flavors can blend. I did that, the poured the marinade into a ziploc baggie and put it in the fridge.
At 1 pm today, I put the pork loin in the baggie with the marinade and zipped it up - getting as much air out as possible and then put the baggie back in the fridge inside a pie plate in case anything leaked.
While I was down there I decided to do some prep for the couscous.
I used my little kitchen scale to weigh out 4 oz of turkey sausage and then chopped 1/2 of an onion.
The players for today's side dish are 4 oz turkey sausage - casing removed, 1/2 medium onion - diced, 1/4 tsp ground cumin, 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/4 tsp dried coriander leaf (ok, here's where things get confusing - coriander is the seed....cilantro is the leaf - so I used dried cilantro leaf), 2 tbsp raisins, 1 cup fat-free chicken broth, 1/2 cup uncooked couscous, 1 tbsp chopped almonds, unblanched, toasted ( I used sliced almonds).
-------------------4 hours later------------------
Preheat the oven to 400ยบ. While it's heating, transfer the pork loin to a baking dish and pour the marinade into a sauce pan. Once heated put the pork loin into the oven for about 40 minutes - 20 minutes per pound - and simmer the marinade for 10-15 minutes (it was, after all, surrounded by raw meat).
Back to the couscous....put the 4 oz of turkey sausage in a saucepan over medium heat and and break the pieces up with your spoon (had trouble with this, so I took all the sausage out and broke it up with a fork...much more efficient if you ask me. After it was broken up, I added it back to the pot). Once the sausage has had a chance to brown a little, stir in the spices and onion. Cook this mixture until the onion has softened. Once the onion is soft, pour in the chicken broth and raisins and bring to a simmer. Once the broth is simmering, stir in the couscous and cover. Remove the pot from heat and let stand, covered for about 5 minutes. At this point I put my steam-bag microwave ready green beans in the microwave for 4 and 1/2 minutes. Before serving "fluff" the couscous dish with a fork. At this point you are supposed to sprinkle your toasted almonds on top, but I forgot. There's always next time.
The end result?? Very tasty. BGS like both the pork and the couscous. The pork was a little dry, so maybe i should cover it in tinfoil next time.
All in all, I am very happy about this meal and BGS is too. And as always, that's what matters most :)
