Maple Pepper Pork

When we go to Missouri or Indiana, we always make a stop at the Amish stores that have the bulk spices.  They are amazing, and so much cheaper than the regular grocery store.  The prices and selection have made cooking so much fun, because we have a fairly well stocked spice cabinet that I can experiment with anytime!

One gem that we found at one of these stores was maple pepper rub.  We an only assume that it started with a base of maple powder  (dehydrated maple syrup: for purchase on Amazon) and had black pepper and other spices added.  We got an applewood smoked pork tenderloin, rubbed it all up with the seasoning, and cooked it pretty low and slow in the oven.   When it was almost done, I drizzled some of our maple syrup over the top (very unprocessed, so great strong flavor) for some additional flavor.

I cooked up some apples and sweet onions together in a pan with a little seasoning to top the pork with when it was ready.  We served it up with some mushroom risotto (frozen kind from Trader Joe's) and sweet corn for a delicious meal!