We had been eating a lot of chicken lately so it seemed like time for a change. Last Thursday, we tried two new recipes which did not include chicken. The first recipe was for Crock Pot Pork Tenderloin. This recipe was definitely easy, but the results weren't quite what I expected. My pork tenderloin was a only a pound so it may have cooked a little bit faster than I expected. Instead of making the rub from the recipe, I used the Salt Lick rub I had in my pantry. I cooked it in the crock pot with a 1/2 cup of water for about 5 1/2 hours. Then, I made the sauce and basted it for the last 1/2 hour. When I went to cut it, it basically fell apart like pulled pork. The sauce also didn't really carmelize as much as I had hoped either. Overall, it was decent, but not necessarily my favorite pork dish ever.

The second recipe I tried was Cheesy Broccoli Orzo. This recipe was great! I tried this one based on items I found in my pantry and freezer that I wanted to use up. First, I boiled the water in a medium sized pot. Next, I cooked the orzo for about 3 minutes. Then, I added some frozen broccoli and cooked it for about 3-5 more minutes before draining the orzo and broccoli. Finally, I stirred in some cheddar cheese, parmesan cheese, and skim milk. The orzo was yummy. We eat a lot of rice and while this was similar, it was a nice change. I was definitely pleased with the outcome of this dish and will be adding it as a side to some of my other favorite dishes.

The New Austonian