Make Stuffed Iowa Pork Loin With Us!
We got a new grill and have been trying out all kinds of new recipes and brushing up old favorites around here!
Let me tell you, Pit Boss is the ultimate grill, and we are in love!
We got the Sportsman 1230 Wood Pellet Gas Grill combo. This beauty can smoke, bake, braise, roast, grill, barbecue, char-grill and sear, all in one machine!
So, on to one of our favorite family recipes!
Stuffed Iowa Pork Loin
Ingredients
Vegetables
• 2 tablespoons olive oil (extra virgin)
• 1 small onion (or half of a large onion – chopped in small pieces)
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 4 garlic cloves (crushed)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 6 mushrooms (baby portobello – chopped small)
• 2 cups baby spinach (chopped medium/small)
Pork and layering the filling
• 3.25 pounds pork loin (blot dry with paper towels)
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
• 1/2 cup crumbled bacon or bits
• 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/4 large apple (chopped small)
• Meat seasoning or rub (we use Rufus Teague)
Instructions
• As you cook the onion, use that time to chop the other vegetables to save time.
• Heat a large sauté pan on medium heat, add olive oil, then add chopped onion and sauté for 7 minutes or until translucent. Stirring occasionally.
• Add salt, pepper, crushed garlic, stir and cook for 1 minute.
• Add mushrooms, stir and cook for 2 minutes.
• Add chopped spinach, stir and cook for 1 minute or until the spinach wilts. Set aside.
• Preheat smoker to 250 degrees.
• Butterfly the meat
• Spread the mustard evenly on the pork.
• Sprinkle on the shredded cheese, bacon and apple chunks.
• Spread on the vegetable mixture.
• Refold pork and sprinkle with grill seasoning or rub.
• Place the pork on the grill, add the meat thermometer, and smoke for roughly 3 hours or until inside temp reaches 145 degrees.
Viola!
We love ours with grilled sweat potato wedges!
Let me know what you think of the recipe!
And if you have any questions on the grill, ask away!
XO,
Jess
A Mom Must Have
Ok, so it isn’t really for mom, but it sure does help mom’s peace of mind!
That’s the Gabb Wireless watch (or phone!).
Gabb Wireless makes smart watches and phones for kids who aren’t quite ready for the scary world of unlimited tech. Or parents who aren’t ready.
They make keeping kids safe super easy. The devices don’t have internet access, for one. Boom, no unsupervised access. Secondly, they only allow calls and texts to and from approved contacts. I enter approved contact info within the parent app. Third, the devices allow tracking though the parent app. I can make sure B is where he needs to be. The devices even allow for scheduling of no usage times. Like during school, I can have it scheduled that B can only make am emergency call, nothing else.
Plans start at $10/month, and you can save $25 on any device with the code JESSIMARIE. Shop here.
So, at an age where I need to have contact with B, knowing he has sports and activities and will be without me at times or need rides, but also being too young for full access to unlimited internet, this thing is a huge help. We both love it and have been using it for over a year now.
Keep them young, keep them safe.
Xx,
Jess
Relaxing Chair Love
I would love to be sitting in this relaxing little spot right about now. I think I could de-stress a bit here!
🙂
Sneak Peak of the Outside
I am learning how to use the Blackberry wordpress app to update posts, so I thought I would test this out by giving you a little sneak peak of the outside of the new house. Now that the flowers are all planted things are starting to look bright and fresh!
Touch of Spring
Here’s a quick peek at the bit of spring I brought in today…
And just a little sneak peek into the kitchen and living room. Hope that helps brighten the day!
More Flowers
A few of the seeds we planted in the spring (which I forgot about!) have popped up now! They are tall purple flowers, and oh-so-pretty! They are in the front of our house by the mailbox. Not very exciting out here, but they do brighten the space up a bit.
When I got home last night I was surprised to find flowers and candles on the table and a spaghetti dinner waiting for me! Aw! I had this vintage table cloth (from the engagement party) on the table the other night when we had friends over, so it looks all fresh and summer-y in here!
Sweet, huh? And, don’t worry, I do have a few more (and more exciting!) things to show you all this week! I am trying to figure out how to change bitmap pictures into something I am able to upload here. Any ideas? Anyway…stay tuned! 🙂
Simple Fix and 4th of July Weekend
Sometimes the tiniest details of your home can make life so much more organized, easy, and even pretty. Well, the other day I was very annoyed by my growing collection of costume jewelry. My good jewelry is hung neatly in my jewelry box and some of my most often worn costume pieces are held in jars in my dresser and vintage medicine cabinet in the bedroom. But, the rest of it has been hanging in clumps on hangers and hooks in the closet. You couldn’t see them easily, and you definitely couldn’t grab one easily. Here is the pile that I hurriedly threw on the bed.
So, my grandma gave me some vintage hand crochetedhangers. And I picked up a package of sewing pins with bead heads.
Although the pins didn’t stick into the wood hanger underneath very well, they stuck in the ends enough to keep any slippery necklaces from falling off the hanger. And, viola! Simple, yet cute and organized. What an easy fix. Thanks grandma!
Oh, and if you were wondering why the big bandage on my hand… I burned my hand that night while cooking dinner. Yes, I think it was a sign from God to quit cooking and get some take-out menus. But, the sloppy joe’s turned out well, so Tony didn’t buy that. By the next day I had to go to the doctor for it and my hand was completely wrapped up for the whole holiday weekend.
And, as with most of my projects, the dogs helped of course!
So, on to the 4th of July celebration! We camped at our local park, and it rained here the entire day (of course). That didn’t stop us! We waded through the mud the entire weekend. It ended up clearing up just in time to have amazing fire works! Here’s the guys playing in a horseshoe tournament right through the rain!
You can see all the umbrellas out there! You can also see the river in the background. That’s the rock river, and right were we camp and also sit and watch the fireworks. Here we are playing games together.
Our softball team also won another game Sunday, so we are now 6-1! Yay!
How was your 4th of July? Hope it was a great one!
Engagement Party Decor
We are finally ready to throw the long awaited engagement party!! We have been patiently (or not so much) waiting for good weather and a finished yard in order to throw an outdoor fest. We now seem to have both (or as good as its going to get). So, bring on the party!
I have a few simple ideas swirling around in my head, but for some fun inspiration I put together a few photos I’ve spotted.
This idea is so simple and cute. Although the picture is more fall decor it could easily be summer-y with some sand or shells in the jars!
This scene is so pretty. We already picked up some red paper lanterns that are perfect to go under our trees around the fire because they are battery operated.
These vintage letters would look neat in our yard showing our initials or wedding date.
I love the colors of this space. We hope to use some random candle-light as this photo does.
Are you all in the mood for some outdoor time yet? We will keep you updated with our party pictures- the party is on the 20th of June…
Fishy Fishy
No cleaning, no housework, no projects. We went fishin’! Summer is finally here, so although this isn’t decor related, I thought I would share our fishin trip with you. I caught this pretty Sheep Head guy. And Tony caught this bity bull head. He caught two of those tiny babies, but my fish definitely won me bragging rights for the week 😉
My fish.
Tony's fish.
We packed a lunch and spent the entire day catching some sun (not many fish) and enjoying the peace of being at the canal. It was a great day. Now back to the work-week. Hope you had a great weekend, too!
Lawn Chair Project
It hasn’t stopped raining here for days, so please excuse the dark, dreary photos. But, I had to share the other garage sale day find with you. Lawn chairs! They were a steal, and they will be fixed up with some paint and cushions, so don’t be alarmed! Right now I think they kind of look like they belong next to some plastic flamingos in, well, not my yard. But, they will.
Really that shade of blue is bright and fun, and has started to grow on me. But, I think it would look out of place in our back yard. I’m not sure what color I am thinking, however. I know we always lean towards black. We are blah. But, black might bring them up to date and they could be dressed up and brightened with some bold patterned cushions. Yes? No? Ideas? Always something to work on, but I love it! 🙂
Also, I wanted to let you all know that I am going to start selling off some of our projects. I love to keep busy and remake fun things, but our house is getting full. So, I am going to keep doing what I love, but start selling the things I make or remake. Right now I have a coffee table in the works, so stay tuned. I will post befores and afters of the items I plan to sell. For now they will be listed on Craigslist, or you can contact me through the blog. But, we are thinking that in the future I might rent a booth at one of our local antique shops. Check back, and let me know if you are interested in anything, or are looking for something in particular! 🙂
Make Mine Eclectic 
