Meatloaf – makes 2

Crème fraîche and mustard pork steaks

Honey and mustard pork chops and vegetables traybake

Slow cooker Barbecued pork with pineapple

Slow cooker barbecued pork with pineapple

Slow cooker pork and orange casserole

Slow cooker pork and orange casserole

Pork and parsley burgers

Pork and parsley burgers

Pork mince can be a very versatile ingredient however it can often be bland and dry. It lacks the meaty juiciness that beef or lamb mince naturally has. I have a couple of recipes I use regularly for pork mince but this one I had completely forgotten about because I wrote it out and it ended up being trapped on my old laptop. It wasn't until I needed something else off of it did I find it again.

The reason this recipe needs 50g of breadcrumbs is simple – any scraps of bread I have left over that look past their best I blitz with a hand blender and then bag up in 50g quantities and then freeze them until required. No waste and breadcrumbs always available when required. I gave up buying the little bags of grated Parmesan some time ago. They are very expensive - check the price per kilo compared to a block – and inevitably you end up with some left in the bag which need isn't used. The pre-grated hard cheese is also very bland in taste. I now buy a block of hard cheese and have it in my fridge at also times. Once covered it lasts for ages so don't worry about it going mouldy. It's very useful for just adding a flavour kick when grated on top of dishes. A little goes a long way.

As this contains fresh parsley I am putting it forward for this month's Cooking with Herbs hosted by Karen at Lavender and Lovage. Karen has requested a special citrus hit this month and this is provided by the lemon.

This is also going to Elizabeth at Elizabeth's Kitchen Diary for the No Waste Food Challenge for using up breadcrumbs and not wasting any Parmesan!

Makes 4 burgers
 
Ingredients

2oz (50g) Breadcrumbs

Zest and juice of 1 lemon

1lb 2oz (500g) Pork mince

1oz (25g) Italian hard cheese, such as Parmesan, finely grated

2 tbsp (30ml) Flat-leaf parsley, chopped

1 Garlic clove, crushed

Black pepper to season

1 tbsp Olive oil, for frying

Method

1. In a bowl put the breadcrumbs and squeeze over the lemon juice. Stir together.

2. Add the rest of the ingredients except for the olive oil. Mix well until all the ingredients are combined.

3. Once it has come together divide into four equal portions and shape into burgers. Flatten them to ensure they cook all the way through.

4. Put on a plate and cover with cling film and chill for 30 minutes.

5. Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry until they are browned on both sides and cooked through.

We served ours in foccaccia. They also go well in normal burger buns.

Roasted Pork Tenderloin Fillet with Root Vegetables

Roasted Pork Tenderloin Fillet with Root Vegetables

I've mentioned on his blog several how we like to have a roast dinner every Sunday. This can be a variety of meats but the stipulation is that the meal must include a decent slab of meat and a selection of vegetables to go with. Usually the meat is roasted in a large tray and the potatoes are cooked in the juices around it. This is fine if the meat has its own fat but sometimes this isn't possible as in the case of a pork tenderloin fillet (fear not Thrifters, it was reduced).

To combat this and to keep the pork moist I find the best way to cook it is by roasting it in stock with all the vegetables around it. This also very handily saves on the washing up as well! The addition of the herb and lemon zest crust is an easy way to give the dish a bit more flavour.

Serves 4 

 

Equipment: Large oven-proof dish or roasting tin.

Ingredients

1 Large potato, peeled and cut into wedges

2 Onions, cut into wedges

Half a celeriac, diced

3 Carrots, cut into batons

1 tbsp (15ml) Olive oil

2 tsp (10ml) Dried mixed herbs

Zest 1 lemon

1 Pork tenderloin fillet about 450g

1 Apple, peeled, cored and cut into large slices

13½ fl oz (400ml) Chicken stock

Method

1. Pre-heat oven to 200°C/Gas mark 6.

2. Put all the vegetables in a large oven-proof dish or roasting tin. Pour over the olive oil over and mix together to make sure they are all coated.

3. In a small bowl mix together the lemon zest and herbs. Spread onto a plate and then roll the pork in it so it covers the pork.

4. Put the pork on top of the vegetables and cook for 40 minutes.

5. Spread the apple evenly over the pork and vegetables.

6. Pour the stock over the vegetables – not the pork or the herbs will wash off.

7. Cook for a further 15 minutes.

8. Slice the pork and serve with the roasted vegetables and stock. If you want just before serving you could thicken the stock mixture with cornflour.

Serve with some extra green veg and Batters aka Yorkshire Puddings

Slow Cooker Pork Creole

 Easy Pork Creole in the slow cooker

I'm not claiming this to be an authentic Louisiana Creole dish but it is a family friendly way of injecting a bit of spice into a meal. The amount of chilli in this dish shouldn't blow the heads off the kids but should make it taste a bit more interesting than just tomato sauce. The vegetables I used in this dish was what I had available in me in my fridge and freezer at the time. Feel free to substitute or add what you have to hand. For example instead of the sweetcorn use peas or frozen mixed vegetables. Strips of pepper would work as well but add them towards the end of cooking (when I add the sweetcorn) otherwise it may end up as mush.

As this recipe uses pork, tomatoes and sweetcorn I will be putting it forward for this month's Recipes for Life challenge which is hosted by Vanesther at Bangers and Mash. Vanesther is helping to compile a recipe book in aid of her local charity Swallow.

This recipe uses an inexpensive cut of pork I have used before in my Pork, leek and apple casserole dish and I was able to get a second pack reduced.

This is quite a different taste but still uses cheap and store cupboard ingredients. As such I will be entering it for another Credit Crunch Munch, which is jointed hosted by Helen at Fuss Free Flavours and this month's host, Camilla, at Fab Food 4 All.

Serves 4

Ingredients

450g-500g Pork shoulder, diced

1 Large onion or 2 small onions, chopped

4 Carrots, chopped

1 Tin chopped tomatoes

1 tbsp (15ml) Tomato purée

¼-½ tsp (1.25ml-2.5ml) Chilli powder

1 Garlic clove, crushed

100g Frozen sweetcorn

To serve: boiled rice

Method

1. Pre-heat the slow cooker to High.

2. Prepare the vegetables.

3. Put all the ingredients except the sweetcorn into the slow cooker. Stir well

4. Cook on High for 4-6 hours or 6-8 hours on Low.

5. While you prepare the rice add the sweetcorn to the slow cooker mixture. You can turn off the slow cooker at this point but keep the lid on.

6. Serve once the rice is cooked.

Pork, leek & apple casserole

Pork, leek & apple casserole in the slow cooker

Everything has a perfect combination and with pork it has to be leeks or apple or indeed an amalgamation of all of them. The best herb? Of course it's sage. So gather together these ingredients, throw them in the slow cooker and in a couple of hours you'll have a delicious and warming dinner with minimum effort.

As ever this is one of my family thrifty meals. I used diced pork shoulder which I found reduced and here's the maths for the other ingredients. I haven't included the sage as it's part of my stock cupboard ingredients and I can't remember how much I paid for it. Also, life is too short to be weighing out dried herbs. 

Pork £1.29, carrots 9p (200g at 65p for 1.5kg, Sainsbury's), leeks 50p (2 out of a 4 pack at £1, Sainsbury's), apple juice carton 28p (1 out of 6 for £1.69, Sainsbury's), Oxo stock cube 4p (1 out of 24 for £1, Poundland), apple 17p (1 out of 6 for £1, Sainsbury's). Total: £2.37 or 59p per portion for 4.

With the above thrift notes I will be putting this forward to this month's Credit Crunch Munch which is a monthly challenge hosted by Camilla at Fab Food 4 All and Helen at Fuss Free Flavours.

Serves 4

Ingredients

Approximately 450g pork shoulder, diced or 8 pork cheeks or 4 pork loin chops

4 Carrots, chopped

2 Leeks, chopped

200ml Apple juice or 1 individual carton

300ml Chicken stock

1 tsp Dried sage

Salt & pepper to taste

1 Apple (any will do – whatever is lurking in your fruit bowl)

To serve: your choice of potatoes or rice

Method

1. Pre-heat the slow cooker to high while preparing the vegetables and measuring out the juice and stock.

2. Add all the ingredients except the apple to the slow cooker.

3. Cook on High for 4-6 hours or Low for 6-8 hours.

4. Before preparing the potatoes or rice cut the apple into wedges and add to the mixture.

5. If you think the liquor needs thickening add 1tbsp (15ml) cornflour to 1tbsp (15ml) water and pour into the casserole.

6. Serve when the potatoes or rice are ready.