Dinner Success- Brown Sugar Spiced Pork Loin

Last night was one of the rare dinners around here where all six people (including four kids under 8 years old) where happily eating without complaints or having to be prodded or bribed.  It was a beautiful thing.  And it was so magical that I feel the need to document it so we can hopefully repeat it sometime.

I made Brown Sugar Spiced Pork Tenderloin from this recipe that I found and slightly adapted from Tasty Kitchen.  It is so good.  I don't make pork tenderloin very often.  Its one of those things that I just forget about sometimes.  I'm usually a beef or chicken kinda gal.  But when I remember that oh yeah, we like pork too, this is my go to recipe.

I served the pork with applesauce, carrots, a green salad and breadsticks.  Any sort of homemade bread almost always makes my family happy.  I used this recipe from Our Best Bites.  We all enjoyed them, but I think I might want to tweak them a little bit.  I didn't put any garlic or cheese on them and they seemed a little bit plain.  My husband said they needed more sugar.  Maybe.  Or I will just plan on always turning them into garlic breadsticks.  But they were super easy and rose beautifully.  And the kids, including my almost 11 month old gobbled them right up.

 
Brown Sugar Spiced Pork Loin
(any recipe that starts off with brown sugar has got to be good, right!?)

Rub:
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 1/2 pounds (about 2) pork tenderloins,
2 tbs. olive oil

Glaze:
3/4 c. packed dark brown sugar
1 scant tsp. dry garlic
3 good shakes cayenne pepper
1 tbs. water

Preheat oven to 350.

In a small bowl, stir together salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder, and cinnamon.  Coat the pork with the spice rub.

Heat oil in a cast iron pan or other oven proof skillet.  Brown the pork on all sides for a few minutes. 

Remove from heat but keep the pork in the skillet.  Mix glaze ingredients and pour half over the pork.  Bake in oven for approx. 25 minutes or until pork registers 145 on a meat thermometer.  Halfway through baking, pour more of the glaze over your pork.

Let pork rest out of the oven in the skillet 10 minutes before cutting.  The pork's temperature will continue to rise until it reaches abot 155. 

Slice on the diagonal.  Serve with applesauce and enjoy!

(I have only made this with one tenderloin and had a little extra glaze.  Not a big problem.)