Pork and Mango Skewers

In the words of Neil Diamond, "Hello again, hello!" It's been weeks since I've posted, but for a great reason. I accepted a new full time position with a great local company, Priority One Financial Services. It's a great place to work. In fact it was named as one of Tampa Bays Best Places to Work by the Tampa Bay Times. I'm having a great time learning about boat and RV financing, but the hours have created a challenge for cooking dinner. It's one of my favorite things to do in the whole wide world, but I'm working until 7:00 PM. Even though Pup Daddy and I are used to eating fairly late, my usual habit of sipping a glass of wine for an hour before starting dinner would leave us eating at 9:30. This would be a real problem because we are asleep by then! Over the last several months I have gotten out of the habit of planning our meals for the week and shopping for groceries on the weekend. I've enjoyed deciding day to day what I wanted to eat, but now planning ahead is a must. I'm going to try to make more slow cooker meals. I'm also looking for recipes that I can prep in the morning and leave in the fridge for Pup Daddy to put in the oven when he gets home from work. I hope I'll have some great new recipes to post in the next few months.
 
When I made these pork and mango skewers, from FineCooking.com last night, it was Saturday, so I didn't think about prep ahead. You could definitely get them ready ahead of time so all you have to do when you come home is fire up the gas grill and cook them. You can find the prep ahead directions at the end of the recipe. The marinade for the pork is slightly spicy and very delicious. The mango adds just the right amount of sweetness and tanginess (is that word?) You could substitute just about any fruit you can think of. You could also swap out the pork for chicken or fish.
 

Start by soaking your wooden skewers in water for at least a half an hour. Next cut your pork tenderloin into 1 inch chunks and marinating it in the first eight ingredients for 1 - 8 hours. Peel and cut your mango into 1 inch pieces. Thread them onto your skewers and cook on your gas or charcoal grill.
 
 
You should try these soon.

Ingredients
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
2 Tbs. fresh lime juice
2 Tbs. canola oil; more for the grill
2 tsp. dark brown sugar
2 tsp. pure ancho chile powder
2 medium cloves garlic, minced
Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
Kosher salt
1 lb. pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
2 medium ripe mangos, peeled, pitted, and cut into 1-inch cubes
8 skewers, 10 inches or longer, soaked in water for 30 minutes if wooden
1 Tbs. chopped fresh cilantro

Directions
In a medium bowl, whisk the orange juice, lime juice, oil, sugar, ancho powder, garlic, pepper flakes, and 1/2 tsp. salt.
Add the pork, toss to coat, cover, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 4 hours.
Thread the pork and mango cubes onto the skewers, alternating them and beginning and ending with a piece of pork. Each skewer should have about 5 pieces of pork and 4 pieces of mango.
Prepare a medium gas or charcoal grill fire. Scrub the grill grate with a wire brush and then wipe clean with a paper towel dipped in oil. Cook the skewers, turning once, until the meat is browned on the outside but still slightly pink in the center, about 8 minutes. Serve garnished with the cilantro.

Prep Ahead Directions
Soak skewers for 30 minutes to overnight. Cut pork into cubes and thread onto skewers. Marinate pork on skewers for up to 8 hours. Just before cooking, peel and cut mango into cubes. Thread them onto skewers. Grill and and remove pork and mango from skewers to serve.