Grilled Pork Tenderloin

Lately, The Hubs & I have been enjoying the nice weather by pulling out the grill. I think we've grilled at least 4 times in the past week!

This recipe for Grilled Pork Tenderloin is adapted from the latest edition of Southern Living. It's pretty similar an earlier recipe for Honey Marinated Pork Chops, but uses tenderloin instead. It was SIMPLE to make & tasted great.

I served it with some grilled veggies and it made for a quick, tasty & healthy meal.

Ingredients:

* 1 (1- lb.) pork tenderloin
* salt & pepper
* 2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
* 3/4 tsp. tried thyme or 1 Tbsp. fresh thyme, chopped
* 1 Tbsp EVOO
* 1 Tbsp honey
* 1 clove garlic, minced



Directions:

1. Remove silver skin from tenderloin. Sprinkle generously with salt & pepper.

2. In a small bowl, combine mustard, thyme, evoo, honey & garlic.

Side note: Unless you'd like your hands to smell like mustard & garlic for the next week, I'd recommend putting on a rubber glove (or a sandwich bag will do) before proceeding with the next step.

3. Rub the mustard mixture all over the tenderloin. Cover & allow to sit for at least 10 minutes.


4. Grill the tenderloin for 10 to 12 minutes on each side or until it is done to your liking. (Recommended: 155 degree internal temperature).


5. Remove from grill, cover with foil & let rest for 5-10 minutes. Place on cutting board and cut into slices.

6. Serve with grilled mixed veggies!

Thai Laab

Recently, The Hubs and I paid a visit to my sister and her family in the beautiful Hill Country of Texas. The weather was gorgeous and we had a great time playing with my nephews & hunting.

While we were there, my sister made this super tasty Coconut Milk Soup. Even The Hubs really like it. (Side Note: My sister cooks just as much, if not more, than I do. However, she's a bit more adventurous with the fare that she prepares. It is AMAZING what her kids will eat. When my nephew was a toddler, he declared his favorite food to be Pad Thai). I asked her to share the soup recipe with me, along with several others she had talked about.

While I haven't made the soup yet, I did make the Thai Laab last week. If was fairly quick to make and turned out great. So, here is my recipe for Laab...adapted from my sister...who adapted it from ThaiTable.com.


Ingredients:

* 1 tablespoon toasted rice, ground
* 1/4 shallot, thinly slicked
* 1/4 red onion, thinly sliced in half moons
* 1 or 2 limes
* 1/2 lbs stir fry beef
* 1/4 tsp ground chili pepper (cayenne)
* 3 tablespoons fish sauce
* hand full of cilantro, chopped
* 2 green onions, sliced
* 3 sprigs mint, sliced (optional)



Directions:

1. Chop stir fry beef into small pieces until it resembles ground meat. Squeeze juice from 1/3 of the lime and 1 tbs of fish sauce on the beef. Mix well and let it marinade for 30 minutes until you are ready to cook it.

2. Heat a pan on high until it is very hot. Add two tablespoons of water and then immediately add your marinated meat and stir. The meat will stick to the pan at first, but then the juice will come out and the meat will loosen from the bottom. Keep stirring until the meat is well done.

3. Put the meat in a bowl that will hold all the ingredients. Add fish sauce, green onion, red onion, shallot, cilantro, the rest of the juice from the lime, ground chili pepper and toasted rice into the bowl. Mix well and taste.

It should be a little bit hot. You should be able to taste tartness from the lime juice and the fish sauce. If you need to add more fish sauce or lime juice, don't be afraid. Getting the flavor balance right is a trial and error process.


4. Garnish with mint and sprinkle the rest of toasted rice on top. Serve over rice or with vegetables like cabbage, green beans, lettuce and Thai basil.


My Tid-Bits:

* To make toasted rice, heat a pan or wok until very hot. Add 1 to 2 Tbsp uncooked rice and reduce heat to medium. Stir constantly to prevent burning. When it is golden brown, it is done.

Now grind up the rice using a mortar & pestle or food processor. (Or put it in a baggie and pound the crud out of it with the flat side of a meat tenderizer).

* Laab is commonly made with pork. Feel free to use ground pork or pork tenderloin chopped up very finely.

*The original recipe calls for 1/4 tbsp ground dried chili pepper. I subbed cayenne and only used 1/4 tsp because I don't like super spicy. Feel free to put as much or little spice to suite your taste.

* Later on this week I'll share with you one of the most addictive sweet treats. I'm cursing my sister for sending me the recipe because I can't stop eating it!!!

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Monday Morsel from Mom - Bean Soup

Last weekend, The Hubs & I traveled to the DFW area with some friends to go to the Cotton Bowl. We'll skip talking about the game. Ugh!

As we headed home on Sunday, it started to snow...HARD! It was so crazy! It snowed all the way from south Fort Worth to Hillsboro. Along the way, we made a pit stop at my parents house where my mom had just finished making a fresh pot of bean soup and some homemade cornbread. Lucky for me, she dished some of both into to-go containers for us to take home. (YEAH for not having to make dinner after traveling all weekend).

The soup was delicious and perfect for the cold weather! I asked her to share the recipe so that I could pass it along to you all.



Ingredients:

* 1 pkg 15-bean soup mix (found with the dried beans)
* 10 cups water
* 1 meaty left-over ham bone or 1 lb ham (or more) cut in pieces
* 1 large onion, chopped
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 1/2 to 3/4 t. salt
* 1 16 oz can diced tomatoes
* 1 10 oz can original Ro-Tel tomatoes with green chilis
* 1 4 oz can chopped green chilis

Directions:

1. Wash beans. Put in dutch oven & cover with water 2 inches above beans; soak overnight.

2. Drain beans; add water and next 4 ingredients. Cover & bring to boil; reduce heat & simmer 1 1/2 hours or until beans are tender.

3. Add remaining ingredients & simmer about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4. Adjust the seasonings. It may need more salt - depends on how salty your ham is.

5. Serve with warm cornbread.


Mom's Tid-Bits:

* I actually save some of the ham back & add it with the final ingredients. Boiling the meat leeches the flavor, so adding part of it at the end gives you some bits with full flavor.

* If you don't have a bone, buy a ham steak with the little round bone. If using the ham steak, be sure to use the bone & don't remove the fat.

* This is actually better made the day before. It also freezes well.

* If you want to make your own bean mix- combine & divide into 2 cups pkgs:

1 lb barley pearls
1 lb black beans
1 lb red kidney beans
1 lb pinto beans
1 lb navy beans
1 lb Great Northern beans
1 lb dried lentils
1 lb split peas
1 lb dried black-eyed pea

Tacos Al Pastor

There's a relatively new restaurant in College Station called Fuego Tortilla Grill. Our friends John & Lindsay introduced us to their Tacos al Pastor during football season and OH MY...they were amazing!

In case you aren't familiar, Tacos al Pastor combine pork & pineapple, which make a yummy combination of spicy and sweet. Marinating the pork in the pineapple causes the meat to break down leaving you with an ultra-tender meat.

And even better? This is one of the most simple recipes. You basically dump all of the ingredients in a Ziploc bag and let time & pineapple (acid) do the work. I recommend mixing the ingredients together the night before and letting them marinate overnight. The Hubs gave this one two thumbs up!

Ingredients

• 1 pound pork tenderloin, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 (8-oz.) can pineapple tidbits in juice, drained (I used 1.5 cups fresh pineapple)
  
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 tablespoon Mexican-style chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 6 (8-inch) soft taco-size corn or flour tortillas, warmed
• Toppings: extra pineapple, chopped radishes, fresh cilantro leaves, crumbled queso fresco, chopped onions, chopped jalapeño

Preparation

1. Cut the pork into 1" cubes.

2. Combine pork and next 9 ingredients in a large zip-top plastic freezer bag. Mix it all up. Seal and chill 4 to 24 hours.

3. Cook pork mixture in hot oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, stirring often, 10 minutes or until pork is done.

4. Serve mixture with warm tortillas and desired toppings.

My Tid-Bits:

* I highly recommend using fresh pineapple for this, if you can. If you're lucky, like me, your HEB sells fresh chopped pineapple in the produce section! Be sure to add a little extra pineapple as a topping!

* Know what I love even more than tasty food? Tasty food that is low in calories! This recipe makes enough for 6 (very full) tacos. With a corn tortilla, each taco has 185 calories! I ate 2 for dinner and was STUFFED!

And finally...

Who else is excited for tomorrow night when the Aggies Beat The Hell Outta LSU at the Cotton Bowl??

Gig'em!

Slow-Cooker Green Chili (aka Carne Guisada)

Last Friday, The Hubs & I took the day off from work & headed to the lake house for a long weekend of rest & relaxation. And aside from the 4 very intense hours while watching our beloved Ags look sloppy while getting beat by Arkansas, we had a very relaxing 3 days.

Before we left, I had to put together a menu & make sure that I had all the food items necessary for our meals because, as I have said before, there is nowhere to buy groceries within 25 minutes of our house. So, I flipped through my latest magazines looking for easy recipes that could be thrown together without much effort.

I found a recipe from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food called "Slow-Cooker Green Chili." I thought the name sounded a bit odd, but I kept reading & found that it was basically a recipe for stewed meat, peppers, potatoes & carrots in broth. Ummm... in Texas we call that Carne Guisada. It looked easy & sounded tasty, so I purchased the necessary ingredients.

After lunch on Friday, I tossed everything in the Crock Pot & let it simmer all afternoon. It smelled amazing and tasted just as good! We had plenty for dinner that night & leftovers for lunch the next day.

Below is Martha's recipe. Below that are my changes, as always.

Ingredients:

* 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
* 3 lbs. boneless pork shoulder, cut into 1.5-inch cubes
* salt & pepper
* 1 3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
* 1 medium yellow onion, diced medium
* 2 garlic cloves, chopped
* 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
* 5 carrots, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
* 3 poblano chiles, stemmed, seeded & cut into 1-inch pieces
* 1 1/2 lbs. small red potatoes
* fresh cilantro, chopped
* flour tortillas
* lime wedges



Directions:

1. In a large skillet, heat 1 Tbsp. oil over high heat. Season pork with salt & pepper. In three batches, cook pork until browned on all sides, about 15 minutes total (add up to 1 Tbsp oil as needed). Transfer pork to a 6-quart slow cooker.


2. Add broth to skillet, stirring and scraping up browned bits with a wooden spoon. Pour broth into slow cooker, then add the onion, garlic & cumin...


Add the carrots, chiles & potatoes.


3. Cover & cook on high until meat is fork-tender, 6 hours.

4. Skim excess fat from top of chili. Serve chili with cilantro, warmed flour tortillas & lime wedges.


My Tid-Bits:

* For the meat, I used "Pork for Carnitas" from HEB. That is literally how it was labeled. 3 lbs of it cost me a whopping $5.45. I trimmed off the excess fat as a cubed the meat.

* As you can tell, I also used baby carrots instead of whole ones. It was easier & I already had some in the refrigerator.

* I double the amount of cumin & used 1 heaping teaspoon.

* I bought larger red potatoes & cut them into pieces, but next time I'll just buy the small ones & keep them whole. The pieces fell apart too much.

* By the time the "chili" had stewed for 4.5 hours, the meat was already falling apart it was SO tender. Six hours would have been too much. Just keep an eye on it and when the meat falls apart easily, turn the Crock Pot down to the warm setting until you're ready to serve.

* We started off eating these like fajitas by wrapping the meat & veggies in a tortilla and topping with lime juice and cilantro. By the end of dinner we were eating straight out of the serving dish with a fork. Sometimes manners don't matter.

Honey Marinated Pork Chops (or Chicken)

The Hubs loves pork chops. Me? Not so much. It's a texture thing. So I don't make them very often. And by not often, I mean never. (I also don't make two of his other favorites - meatloaf & fried chicken. If he wants them that badly, he can go visit his mother).

However, the October issue to Martha Stewart Everyday Food, featured a recipe for a honey marinade that sounded really good. Only one problem...Martha used the marinade to make grilled pork chops. Now, she did say you could use it on chicken instead, but I decided to be a big girl & try the pork chops. If nothing else, my husband would be happy.

So I tried it...

I ate half of my pork chop...

It was okay...

But next time I'm having chicken.

The marinade, however, was delicious!

Ingredients:

* 2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
* 1/4 cup honey
* 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
* 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
* ground pepper
* 2 or 3 pork chops (or chicken breasts)



Directions:

1. In a bowl, whisk together all ingredients.



2. Place the pork chops in a Ziploc bag and pour 1/2 of the marinade over them, reserving the other half for another use (see below).


3. Refrigerate for at least one hour (up to 3 hours) before grilling, baking or pan frying. (We grilled ours).


My Tid-Bits:

* The marinade can be used for other things as well. Martha suggests: Adding it to shredded cabbage to make a sweet-and-sour slaw; Tossing it with steamed cauliflower or broccoli; Marinating firm tofu and baking or grilling (I guess that would be good, if you like that kind of thing); OR using it as a salad dressing. That's what I did and it was tasty!



* The Hubs actually used some of the left over marinade as a sauce & poured it on his pork chop.

* If you do grill the pork chops, be sure not to over cook them. They dry out & get tough very easily. (Although, next time I'm sticking with chicken).

* When I made my grocery list, I forgot to check & see if I already had Red Wine Vinegar in the pantry, so I just grabbed a bottle at the store. Apparently that's not the first time I've done that....

Oops!!

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Tomato Minestrone Soup

I'm still hoping that if I make soups for dinner, fall will come sooner. So far, it hasn't worked. It's still hotter than Hades in Houston. Ugh! At least the soup is tasty!

This Tomato Minestrone Soup is yet another recipe from Rachel Ray.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• 1/4 pound pancetta or thick-cut prosciutto, finely chopped (optional)
• 1 or 2 medium zucchini, quartered & sliced
  
• 2 ribs celery with leafy tops, chopped
• 2 small carrots, chopped
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 cup shredded cabbage (optional)
  
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• Salt and pepper
• One 32-ounce container (4 cups) chicken or vegetable stock
• One 15-ounce can cannellini beans, rinsed
• One 15-ounce can crushed tomatoes
• 1/4 pound whole wheat penne or other short-cut pasta
• A handful basil, torn into pieces
• French Bread
  

Directions:

1. In a soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the pancetta or prosciutto and cook until browned (about 2 minutes).


2. Add the zucchini, celery, carrots, onion, bay leaf and garlic. Season with salt & pepper. Cook until veggies are tender, 7-8 minutes.


3. Stir in cabbage (if using - I just had some left over so I threw it in).


4. Stir in chicken stock, beans and tomatoes and bring to a boil.


5. Add the pasta and cook until al dente. Stir in the basil.


6. Serve with slices of French bread for dipping!


My Tid-Bits:

* It says the prosciutto is optional, but I say use it. It adds a lot of flavor. Prosciutto can be found in the deli section of the grocery store. And if your grocery store doesn't have it? Start shopping somewhere else.

* You can add any veggies that you like. The more the merrier. I tossed in the cabbage because I had some in the refrigerator that needed to be used up.

* This soup is VERY filling. I was stuffed after one bowl & one piece of bread. And the best part is that one bowl only has 290 calories and is full of healthy veggies!

* Lastly, if you have any other ideas for making the cooler weather arrive sooner, please share them. I'm over 95 degrees and 90% humidity.

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Grilled Chicken Sandwich with Red Pepper Pesto

I wanted to make something simple, but tasty for dinner the other night. I had chicken breasts & left over hamburger buns on hand, so I decided to make Grilled Chicken Sandwiches. I was trying to think of something to put on them to make them "special" and had an "AHA" moment when I spotted a jar of roasted red peppers. I made the Red Pepper Pesto from a previous recipe & used it as a spread on the sandwich and it was OH SO TASTY!!

Ingredients:

* Chicken Breast
* Light Italian Dressing
* Caramelized Onions
* Red Pepper Pesto from Shrimp Pizza Recipe (Red Peppers, Mozzarella Cheese, Basil, EVOO & lemon juice)
* Lettuce
* Tomatoes, sliced
* Hamburger Buns (or other bread)


Directions:

1. Marinate chicken breasts in Italian dressing for at least 30 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, make Red Pepper Pesto and caramelize the onions (see below).


3. Remove chicken from marinade & grill on medium-high heat (about 6 min. per side).

4. If desired, butter & toast buns or bread.

5. Spread pesto on both halves of the bun. Be generous.


Then layer with chicken, lettuce, caramelized onions & tomatoes.

6. Enjoy!

My Tid-Bits:

* For the pesto, I only made a half recipe. It was PLENTY.

* To caramelize onions, thinly slice an onion & saute on medium-low heat with 2 Tbsp. butter until golden brown. This usually takes about 25 minutes.

* I also marinated a pork chop & made it into a sandwich for The Hubs. He said it was good, too!

Pork Tenderloin with Seasoned Rub

While cleaning out my freezer last week, I discovered a pork tenderloin I had purchased at HEB some time ago, tossed in the freezer & forgot about. For some reason, Pork Tenderloin isn't something I make very often. I'm not sure why...it's relatively easy to make & The Hubs loves it! So when I discovered the tenderloin (and looked at the date), I thought " I'd better cook this."

I looked online for a recipe & this Pork Tenderloin with Seasoned Rub from Ellie Krieger on Foodnetwork.com had great reviews. I did as many reviewers suggested & made a sauce to go with it.

The final result was YUMMY! And I'm not even a huge pork fan.


Tenderloin Ingredients

* 1 teaspoon garlic powder
* 1 teaspoon dried oregano
* 1 teaspoon ground cumin
* 1 teaspoon ground coriander (I didn't have this, so I used rosemary)
* 1 teaspoon dried thyme
* Salt
* 1 1/4 pounds pork tenderloin
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 2 cloves garlic, peeled & cut into thirds



Sauce Ingredients

* 2 to 3 Tbps. flour
* 1/2 cup white wine
* 1/2 cup water
* 2/3 tsp. chicken bouillon




Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

2. In separate bowl mix dry ingredients such as garlic powder, oregano, cumin, coriander, thyme and salt. Stir mixture with a fork until all the ingredients are well combined and they form a seasoning. This will be used as a rub to ensure the pork is well seasoned throughout.



3. Sprinkle the rub over the tenderloin with a dry hand, then rub the pork with the seasoning over both sides of the meat, pressing gently so the seasoning adheres well to the tenderloin.



4. Transfer to a plate, cover with plastic wrap & let sit for 30 min.



5. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add the olive oil and heat. Add the minced garlic and saute, stirring, for 1 minute. If garlic starts to burn, remove from pan.



6. Put tenderloin in the pan and cook for about 10 minutes, searing each side using tongs to turn the meat.



7. Transfer meat to a roasting pan and bake for 20 minutes.



8. Remove from oven, cover with foil & let rest for 5-10 minutes.

9. While the tenderloin is baking, make your sauce. Add 2 to 3 Tbsp. flour to the pan drippings & stir with a whisk to create a roux.



10. Add white wine, water & chicken bouillon. Stir well. Let simmer for 5-7 minutes. Lower heat under pan to the lowest setting & let sit until ready to serve, stirring occasionally. If sauce gets too thick, add a bit more water.



11. To serve, slice tenderloin at a diagonal and drizzle with sauce.



My Tid-Bits:

* I didn't have coriander, so I subbed some rosemary. It was a good choice, although next time I'll only use 1/2 tsp. of rosemary.

* Meat thermometers are for the birds! Everything I read online said to cook the tenderloin until internal temp was 140. Mine never read above 128, but somehow my tenderloin was a bit dry. Just stick to cooking it for 20 minutes (or a bit less if you like it more rare).

* The sauce was DARN GOOD! You must make the sauce. If you don't have any oil left in your pan after you're done searing the tenderloin, add a tsp. or a pat of butter before adding the flour for the roux.

Now I'm off to get ready for our dinner out tonight. IT'S THE HUBS BIRTHDAY!!! Happy Birthday, honey! Love you.

And yes, I made carrot cake. :) It's not a birthday without a cake.

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