Tastes of Summer: Crock Pot Dr. Pepper Pork

The Crock Pot has been a lifesaver the last few weeks. On days when I want a home cooked meal, but I just can't fit in the cook time, I turn to my Crock Pot.

While researching recipes I came across one for Dr. Pepper pork. It's similar to my pulled pork recipes... and you can realistically mix these leftovers (minus the carrots) with you favorite barbecue sauce and have pulled pork sandwiches the next day. That's a win-win situation in my book.

So, I set out to make this recipe. The prep time is a very short 5 minutes. You simply place the spices, carrots and meat in the Crock Pot and turn it on. The result is a very tender, pull apart meat dish with carrots that are infused with a slightly sweet and spicy flavor from the soda and spice mix. I highly recommend this recipe.

To make this dish you'll need:

• 3-4 lbs of pork tenderloin
• 14 oz. of Dr. Pepper soda
• 1 small bag of baby carrots
• 1 tsp. creole seasoning
• 1 tsp. onion salt
• 1 tsp. garlic salt
• 1 tsp. Italian seasoning
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 1/4 tsp. red cayenne pepper

*Spices note: For the spices in this recipe you can follow my measurements, or season to taste. I, personally, am not too fond of spicy foods so I omitted the red pepper and was light on the creole seasoning and pepper.

To start, rinse the pork tenderloin and place in Crock Pot. Next, place baby carrots around the pork and pour the Dr. Pepper over top. Sprinkle the seasonings (to your taste) on top. Cover and cook on high for 4-6 hours, or cook on low for up to 8 hours. You can serve the pork and carrots with mashed potatoes, roasted potatoes or rice. Enjoy!