Double take Pork loin #instantpot #pressurecooking #pork #awriterslife

Can you believe it’s already April? Though spring is sprung Easter brought many a surprise of snow. We missed that but Saturday we got a little. I hope it doesn’t harm my fruit trees and keep me from having a good harvest.

Outside my office window      Front porch…Iris checking it out     Shade garden

It is almost time for graduation or school to let out. There are many activities like band concerts, choir, plays, baseball practice and more to add to our already busy schedules. I thought this month I would run some Double Take recipes to help put a good meal on the table without breaking the bank or taking a lot of time. I am using my instant pot to speed things up but if you don’t have one you can cook your pork roast in the oven on Sunday for the Sunday comfort meal and let it roast while you do other things or use your crock pot. As you will see from my posts an Instant Pot is a great tool and you can replace a few of our old appliances with just this one making more room in your kitchen too.

This week I made a Pork Roast for Sunday dinner with the best gravy I ever had. It has a hint of Dijon mustard and added so much flavor to it.  I cooked two 3 to 3/12 pound pieces. Another trick to save money is to buy a whole pork loin. (not the little tenders)I find mine at Sam’s club and get one as long as my arm for around 20 bucks and cut into three to 4  portions and freeze.  I got out 2 since my grandkids and son was supposed to eat but they didn’t, leaving me with one whole piece.

So meal one is pork roast with gravy, mashed potatoes, biscuits or rolls you want something to sop up this yummy gravy)Glazed carrots and green bean make plenty of mashed potatoes for another dish later in the week.

This is the pork loin recipe I used. Instant Pot Perfect Pork Loin

Don’t skip the browning. It adds color and seals in juices.

I cooked two of the chunks I had frozen. So about 4-5 pounds to get more meals.

It calls for a Nappa Valley Seasoning that I didn’t have. At the end of the recipe, it tells you how you can make your own. I didn’t have all the ingredients so here is mine.

Pepper, Parsley, oregano Fennel Seed, Salt, Garlic and paprika I mixed up about a good teaspoon of each then used on the roast and rest in the broth.

I let rest a few minutes while I made the potatoes ( about 7 minutes in the instant pot)

This sliced so perfectly and was so tender it would melt in your mouth.  We had two slices left so my daughter and I had sandwiches with gravy over them for lunch the next day.

Meal two. I shredded the second piece and put into the instant pot with some ‘ BBQ sauce ( a thin vinegary type and half a bottle of Sweet Baby Rays a smoky sweet and spicy sauce. You can use any sauce you like. I cooked for about 5 minutes on the sauté setting you can heat in the microwave or on the stove.) With this you can make sandwiches, Pig salad or BBQ baked potatoes.We had sandwiches one night and had enough for Salads for lunch later in the week. ( this was for three of us. If you are feeding more you may only get one more meal)

To make a pig salad  I used Romaine hearts chopped, kale, cucumber, colored sweet peppers, diced onion, Tossed in a bowl. I put mine on a plate then top with a portion of the BBQ. It was really good! You can add a dressing before topping with the meat if you want.

To make the potato bake it spit open with a spoon scoop and loosen the potato then top with the meat.

If you have potatoes left there are two options. Instead of the BBQ you could make a shepherd’s pie.

#1 Shred leftover meat, mix it and gravy with any leftover veggies you have like green beans corn, peas or use a package of mixed veggies.  Top with potatoes and bake for 20 minutes or so until it is heated through. Optional top with cheese and put back in oven till melted.

#2 make the BBQ as above add your choice of veggie or leave out spread potatoes and bake until heated.

Or you can make potato cakes.

This is a great recipe for Potato Pancakes from leftover mashed potatoes. These go great with Salisbury steak, grilled or baked chicken, pork chops, you name it!

I hope you found a recipe you may like to try and you love it as much as I do. Do you have a favorite recipe you use for Pork loin?