Pork and Beans!

We laughed when we realized we were having pork and beans tonight.  That is not what it tasted like, but it really is what we had.  I made the beans using a recipe from Cook's Illustrated New Best Recipe Cookbook, and I altered it because I don't like leaving food cooking on my stove top for hours at a time.  Here's the recipe the way I made it, and it's called White Beans with Garlic, Sage and Tomatoes.

Pork and White Beans with Garlic, Sage, and Tomatoes7 1/2 c water
1 lb great northern beans
2 small carrots, chopped in fourths
1 onion, chopped in half, not peeled
2 bay leaves
1 head garlic, top chopped off so cloves are exposed
salt
1/4 c olive oil
4 garlic cloves, sliced thinly
1/4 c sage, roughly chopped
28 oz canned tomatoes
1 lb pork tenderloin, cut into medallions

In a large crockpot, place beans, water, carrots, onion, head of garlic, and 1 t salt.  Cook on high for 4 hours, then turn to low.  Cook until 1/2 hour before ready to serve dinner.  When beans are done, reserve 1 cup of the cooking liquid, then remove the garlic head and set aside.  Drain the beans, discard the bay leaves, the onion, and the carrots.  Smoosh out the soft garlic into the beans, and set aside.
In a 12-inch skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add the sliced garlic and the sage to the oil, and shake the pan to evenly brown the garlic and sage.  Add in the tomatoes and cook for about 10 minutes.  Salt and pepper the pork to taste, then add the pork, the reserved bean water, and the bean mixture to the tomatoes.  Cook for about 20 mintues, stirring occasionally, until the beans have thickened and the pork is cooked through.  Serve.

Noah and I really enjoyed this, he gave it a 9 and I gave it an 8.  Aaron only gave it a 5, he felt it was bland, and Owen gave it a 6 but I can't tell you his reasons ;).  The calories for 1/8 of the total were 260 per serving.

Tomorrow I'm making a cake for my Dad's birthday...yummy :)  I love good excuses to make cake!