Do y'all remember Beanie Weenies in a can?! I'm about to gross y'all out, but when I was a kid, I was obsessed with them. I mean seriously, I could probably go pick some up right now and kill like three cans. Ok, now you're really grossed out, but what's true is true! Anyhow, this recipe is quite different but made me think of that canned goodness. There was a pork tenderloin I bought that we never ate, so I froze it before we left town for the holidays. Like the rest of the world, we have been on a health kick since we got home, so the pork tenderloin was ideal to put in our food plan this week. I wanted a stew because I knew snow was coming our way so I came up with this recipe. The only thing "unhealthy" is the bacon, and like momma always says, a little doesn't hurt!
Grocery list:
1 tbsp olive oil
4 slices thick bacon - cut into pieces
2 lbs pork tenderloin - trimmed, cut into bite sized pieces, about 1/2 inch
Kosher salt
Pepper
1 large onion - roughly chopped
2 sweet bell peppers - roughly chopped
4 garlic cloves - minced
1 tbsp smoked paprika
2 tsp oregano
2 bay leaves
1 cup apple cider
1 ( 28 oz) can whole fire roasted tomatoes
2 (4 oz) cans green chilies
2 cups (low sodium) beef broth
2 (14 oz) cans black beans - drained and rinsed
Directions:
1. In a dutch oven or large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Fry bacon until crisp and set aside on a plate. Turn the heat to medium high, liberally salt and pepper the pork tenderloin pieces, and brown the meat in the bacon fat until cooked on all sides. Set aside on another plate.
2. Turn the heat down to medium and saute the onion and bell pepper until translucent, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic, paprika, oregano, and bay leaves and saute one more minute. Pour in the apple cider and scrape up all the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Let the cider reduce by half.
3. Add the tomatoes, green chilies, beef broth, beans, all the pork with its juices, and bacon. Bring to a slight boil then let simmer until ready to eat. All soups taste best simmered at least one hour, but it's ready to eat when you are!
CHEERS TO HAPPY EATING!!!