The slow cooker is not to be under rated.  Making the main dish in the slow cooker allows for time to make sides, such as a soup and dessert for a complete gourmet meal.  I have a recipe from a good friend of mine that involves baking pork chops in white wine and chicken broth, the flavor in that dish is something I really love this time of year.  I used some of the basics from that dish to make this crock pot meal.

Ingredients:

– 2 lbs of pork tenderloin

– 4 cloves of garlic, sliced thin

– 1 tsp red pepper flakes

– 1 Tbsp fresh thyme, center stem removed

– 1 Tbsp butter

– 1 sprigs fresh thyme, whole

– 3/4 cup of white wine (I used a bottle of Chardonnay, which I don’t traditionally like for drinking but it works magic in this dish)

– 1 1/2 cups chicken broth

– 1 red onion, sliced into rings

– 2-3 large sweet potatoes

– Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. In a large skillet on medium heat, melt butter.  Add garlic, thyme, and red pepper flakes  stirring until fragrant.

2. Add pork tenderloin to skillet and brown on all sides.

3. Line the bottom of the crock pot with half of the onion rings, place pork with all of the pieces of garlic, thyme, and pepper flakes on top and fill in the edges of the pot with potatoes.

4. Top with the rest of the onion and thyme sprigs and pour in the wine and broth.

5. Cook on low for 4-6 hours.

The smell of this cooking was out of this world, something about cooking with wine perhaps.  The pork did not get a chance to rest, as when I pulled it out of the pot it was falling apart, so the moisture escaped to a degree.  I also cooked it for 6 hours, I think it would have been better to stop cooking at 4 hours.  Pour the extra juice from the pot over the pork when serving, if you are feeling ambitious you can make a gravy.  It was also spectacular tossed in with the “Curry Butternut Squash Soup”, the flavors compliment each other well.

Enjoy!