Tonight's Menu

Pork Loin Roast
Sweet Potatoes
Kale
Butterbeans
Cornbread Muffins
Apple Crisp

This week HEB had their pork loin roasts on sale for $1 per pound so I just could not pass that up. I have really been wanting some butterbeans so I thought that would go well with the roast. Sweet potatoes always goes great with pork and of course you've got to have cornbread when you have any kind of beans. I added in the Kale so our plates would be nice and colorful. A lot of people turn their nose up at kale without even giving it a try, mainly because they are not exactly sure what it is. Kale is in the broccoli family but tastes somewhat like spinich or greens. I just love its savory taste. Below are the recipes for this menu.

Pork Loin Roast

Cut off as much fat as you can. Make a paste from either fresh or dried rosemary (fresh is best) with minced garlic, salt and pepper. Cut slits into your roast and stuff it with the paste. then rub the roast with olive oil and smear the remaining paste all over the outside of the roast. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Place roast in pan and cover with foil. Cook time is about an hour per pound. The last 30 minutes or so take the foil off and finish cooking.

Sweet Potatoes

I usually use the canned sweet potatoes. I drain the juice from the can into my pan reserving the potatoes until later. I add 1 stick of real butter and 1 cup of brown sugar to the liquid and boil together to make a syrup. I then add the potatoes back in and simmer for about 15 minutes, then serve. This is for 1 of the 40 oz cans.

Kale

Wash the kale in a sink full of cold water. Slosh around so any dirt or sand will fall to the bottom. Drain water and rinse the leaves again. Fold in half and tear away from stem. Chop into bite size pieces. I usually stack the leaves and roll up and then slice into strips. You will want to blanch the kale before you saute it. Heat a pot of water to boil, add the kale, leave for a few minutes and then put into cold water, you will want to dry the kale before placing in the skillet of oil. Heat a skillet with olive oil and saute one onion until the onion is almost carmalized, add minced garlic and cook just a little longer. Remove from pan. Sometimes I also brown up pieces of bacon with the onions and garlic. I then add the chopped kale to the skillet with the olive oil or bacon fat and cook until tender. Add the onion and garlic back once the kale is completely cooked. It takes a while for the kale to become tender so just continue to turn it and stir. I use a non-stick skillet for this.

Butterbeans

Butterbeans are very easy to cook. Sort and wash your beans and put them into a large pot full of water and about 5 slices of bacon. Cook on medium to medium high heat for about two or three hours adding water as needed. Turn down to low and continue to cook until tender. Turn the burner off and let set so that the juice will thicken. Add salt and pepper to taste. Heat through when ready to serve.

Cornbread Muffins

The best cornbread recipe that I've found was in an old 1930's cookbook that I got from an antique store. The recipe is called "Johnnie Cake", which is what Southerners used to call cornbread.
1 1/4 cups sifted flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking soda
2 tbsp sugar
1 cup yellow cornmeal
2 eggs, well beaten
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
3 tbsp melted shortening

Combine flour baking powder, salt, soda and sugar and sift. Add cornmeal. Combine eggs, buttermilk and shortening. Add to dry ingredients, mixing well. Bake in greased pan or muffin tins in hot oven (400 degrees) for about 40 minutes or until done.

Apple Crisp

4 cups sliced apples
2/3 to 3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup oatmeal
1 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup butter

Place apples in baking dish. mix remaining ingredients and sprinkle over apples. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 to 45 minutes. Apples should be tender and topping should be a golden brown.