Hey yall.  Been busy.  Here’s an easy little dinner that’s always super delicious to get you over the hump.  Sorry about slacking on the picture taking.  I promise to do better in weeks to come.

The ingredients:

• 1 small pork loin
• 8oz dry white wine
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 cup diced celery
• 1 cup diced white onion
• 1 handful baby carrots
• 1 head of garlic
• 1 handful cremini mushrooms
• 2 bay leaves
• salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

I buy these Hormel brand 1lb pork loins from the grocery and keep them in the freezer for a quick dinner every couple of weeks.  You can get them pre-seasoned (as pictured here) or plain.  I prefer the plain so I can season it myself.  They’re not tenderloins, so they need to be cooked correctly to get a tender end result.  Braising is the best way to do that, in my opinion.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Chop celery and onion.

In a covered pot that can go from stove-top to oven, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil.  Season pork liberally with your preference of seasonings.  I just used salt and pepper for this particular roast, but get as crazy as you like.  Rosemary-garlic.  Lemon and herb.  The possibilities are endless.  Sear the meat on all sides.

Once the meat is browned on all sides, remove the pork from the pot and add the diced celery and onion.  Season and stir a couple minutes or until translucent.  Now, add a big ass glass of wine and a cup of chicken stock.  Let that come to simmer and stir, scraping the bottom of the pan.

Now it’s fool proof from this point on.  Put the pork back in, nestled in the wine reduction.  Dump in a handful of carrots.  Slice horizontally through an entire head of garlic and place that in the pot.  Toss in the bay leaves.  Your pot will look a little something like this before you put the lid on and slide it into the oven:

With the lid on, put it in the oven for a low and slow 2-2.5 hours.  When you pull it out, it’s gonna look like this and your house is going to smell like heaven.

At this point, I add a handful of cremini mushrooms and pop it back in the oven with the lid on for about 20 minutes.  You’ll be able to slice it like butter and I like to serve it over brown rice or mashed potatoes.

Enjoy!