4.18.10 Pork tenderloin tacos & baking with the Joneses

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Braised pork tenderloin, with carmelized onion, bellpepper and mushrooms the Joneses...a family of four with two little munchkins...we love them so.  I'd decided to make something that could basically cook itself, so I wouldn't be in the kitchen (Scott either).  We bought a pork tenderloin at Market Street for the occasion and all the fixins and I braised it in the oven in our Big Red dutch oven.  Here's the recipe...which little Kayton deemed "not bad"...high praise for a picky 1st grader! 
Lyssy's Braised Pork Tenderloin
Around 2 lbs pork tenderloin (one package of tenderloin from a regular grocery store)
2 oz pancetta
1 lb baby bella 'shrooms, sliced in thick slices
1 roasted, skinned and peeled red bell pepper
2 med yellow onions (next time I'd add more onions and peppers...hatch or poblanos too)
olive oil
S&P and ground Cumin to taste (to season the pork)
2-5 Cups water or low sodium stock (or chix base)
4 cloves garlic, smashed
Preheat oven to 350.  Brown diced pancetta in oil and set aside.  Carmelize onion.  Set onion aside.  Brown mushrooms, seasoning all along.  Remove, add more oil.  Remove silverskin from tenderloin, season with S&P and ground cumin on both sides and sear several min in hot pan.  ...drop in the garlic cloves and let brown for a few seconds....Add vegies back in, with the pancetta and diced bell pepper.  Cover about half way with broth/water...this was kid friendly, but I would add some Hatch chilies to this or poblanos.
Cover and let braise for 2-4 hrs, checking regularly to make sure it doesn't need more liquid to keep from burning or drying out....I like it when the meat shreds. 
Serve with my favorite bean, pilaf, cilantro, fresh tortillas, sourcream, cheese...whatever you want!  We also served "Scoops" tortilla chips and our favorite Guacamole...avocados, nice and ripe, lemon (or lime), salt and a bit of Frank's hot sauce.
We also make my favorite cookies...me and the kids...I'd asked Kayton, when they arrived if maybe she wanted to make cookies later...and she didn't forget...sidling up to me after dinner..."Hey, can we get to making those cookies now?"...Absolutely!  It was so fun...the three of us working together...me, Kayton and her little bro Brayden, age 5.  It's hard to beat the fun of baking with little ones who love to help and find it all so fascinating...I'm right there with them...I mean really, what thrill beats freshly baked, homemade chocolate chip cookies with mini M&M's in them?!  Not much frankly.  BTW, while we were rolling the cookies into balls to put on the pan, "Uncle Scott" was discussing some television commentation about people who don't love America, or America not being a great country...something along those lines....and Brayden in his five year old wisdom said "What????!!!!!!"...actually he shrieked it, thinking Scott was actually saying that as a statement...just a little patriot in a five year old body...so funny and so smart.  We had to immediately explain the Scott didn't think that, but was stateing someone elses view...whew...thought he was gonna take Scott out back and have a talk with him!
rolling the cookies they made...(already posted the recipe)
It was so hard to wait for them to bake...but worth it
Can't forget the beans and rice!  Pilaf and my favorite pinto beans.

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