Pork Tenderloin with Salsa and Lime

Like Southwestern cooking? And how about Southwestern slow-cooker (or crockpot) cooking?  Me too.

As I often say when I post a recipe, I’m not exactly queen of the kitchen. I’ve been known for some royal culinary screw-ups and once nearly poisoned my boyfriend (well, not intentionally of course) with some very undercooked chicken. But recently I’ve gotten into preparing crock pot meals, especially those with a Southwestern flair.

Here’s a recipe I recently attempted and, by george, it was good! So if I can pull it off, so can you.

This is what you’ll need:

• Pork tenderloin (I used a 3-pounder, so one of the larger, longer ones), with the fat trimmed off
• Garlic powder, 1 tsp.
• Non-stick cooking spray (or I suppose you can use a light coating of cooking oil)
• 1 onion, chopped (not too small)
• Tomato juice, 1 cup
• 8 small to medium red potatoes, cut in half
• Fresh salsa, 1 cup (I bought mine at the deli but you can make it if you’re so inclined)
• Pepper, 1/8 tsp.
• 1 Lime, sliced

And here’s what you do….

• Sprinkle the garlic powder over the tenderloin.
• Coat a skillet with non-stick cooking spray and brown the pork tenderloin, just until it’s no longer pink.
• Sprinkle pepper over the tenderloin.
• Put the tomato juice in the crockpot, then place the tenderloin in the juice.
• Now saute the chopped onions.
• Cover the tenderloin with the lime slices and the sauteed onions.
• Place the halved potatoes around the tenderloin and pour the salsa over the whole thing.
• Cook on low for 6 or 7 hours.

Note about the lime: I’m not a big fan of lime with meat, and although I didn’t mind the flavoring in this recipe, I’ll go without next time. I think I’ll like it even better without that extra “tang.”

To serve, slice the tenderloin like a loaf of bread and pour extra sauce over the meat and potatoes on the plate. I found the meat was SO tender, it was easy to shred with a fork. So that’s another option, especially for leftovers if you want to put the meat in a tortilla.