Blackberry Pork Loin

We have pork loins for dinner pretty often. They are cheap (less than $8 and there is usually a $1 off coupon in Sunday's paper), easy, and super tasty. You can buy them in different flavors, but I buy the unflavored or original. And I always rinse it before adding my own seasonings. This flavor combination might sound a little strange, but trust me--it is amazing! Bubba and the girls said it was my best pork loin ever. Not a single scrap was left. I found the recipe on smuckers.com but changed it up a bit.

You will need:

1/2 cup seedless blackberry jam
3T BBQ sauce
1tsp Lawry's Seasoned Salt



Put the blackberry jam in a bowl and zap it in the microwave for about 20 seconds. You could skip this step, but I've found that the jam is easier to mix up if its not super cold from the fridge. Then add the BBQ sauce and seasoned salt...



and whisk together.



Place the washed pork loin in a Ziploc bag and pour the sauce over the top. Marinate for at least an hour. I usually prepare the pork loin in the morning, so it marinates for about 6 hours.



An hour before you are ready to eat preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line a 9x13 inch baking dish with foil. Pour the pork and sauce into the dish and bake for 45-60 minutes or until the pork reaches 160 degrees.



Let it sit for 15 minutes and then slice.





When plating, pour a little bit of sauce over each serving.



Absolutely delicious!! I served it with green peas and vegetable pasta with Parmesan. This pork is succulent and flavorful that it would be the perfect dish to impress company. Everyone will think you slaved away!


Enjoy!

Quick Blackberry Jam

(Please excuse the pictures. I am using a borrowed camera because my camera is on a business trip. It will be back Sunday, but until then I am afraid the photos on my post will suffer.)

I make this blackberry jam every Monday. It's incredibly quick, easy, fool-proof, and 100% delicious. I use it on ice cream, in greek yogurt, I steal a spoonful when I need a hit of something slightly sweet, and it's great on toast. It's also sugar free and full of fiber.

You will need:

1 12oz bag of frozen blackberries, thawed
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup Splenda
2 tsp Pectin



I thaw my blackberries on the counter for an hour. It's 80 degrees in our house, so they thaw quickly. You can always thaw them overnight in the fridge, though. When they are ready, pour them and any juice into a medium saucepan.



Mash them with a potato masher, fork, or pastry cutter. Leave some of the berries whole or partially whole. You are mashing them to make them juicy.



I add 1/4 cup of Splenda, but it is not enough to make this jam sweet. It basically just takes away most of the tart. If you want sweet jam, add 1/3 - 1/2 cup Splenda. Pour over your blackberries.



Then add the water. 1/4 cup no matter how much Splenda you add.



Stir and then sprinkle the 2tsp of Pectin over the berries.



Stir thoroughly. Turn the stove burner to medium and bring berries to a boil. Keep it boiling for one minute while stirring constantly. Remove from heat and cool.



While it is still warm I like to spoon a little over some sugar-free ice cream. Breyers makes an incredible Splenda sweetened ice cream. Tastes like the real thing!






When the jam is cool, pour it into a dish to store in the fridge. It's better if the jam is protected from air. At this point the jam will still be runny. Don't worry! It thickens up in the fridge.



My favorite breakfast is greek yogurt with a tablespoon of my blackberry jam. Big yum!!



Enjoy!