The Best Pork Tenderloin Ever!

I love a good pork tenderloin, and this recipe is the best ever!  The tenderloin is marinated with a rub flavored with lots of spices.  The dry rub penetrates all the way through and bakes into a sticky, sweet glaze.  Start the night before and you won't be disappointed. 


Ingredients: 

2 1/2 lb pork tenderloin or boneless pork roast
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp black pepper
1 Tbsp kosher salt
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dry mustard powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp dried thyme leaves

Mix brown sugar and spices in a bowl.  Rub spice mixture over pork and place in Zip Lock bag and refrigerate overnight. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place tenderloin in 13 x 9" baking dish.  Bake in preheated oven until pork is slightly pink (about 160 degrees). -- about 1 hour.  Let rest a few minutes before slicing. 

I serve it with roasted potatoes and green beans.  Such a good meal in a short amount of time.

Grandma's Fried Chicken with Mashed Potatoes and Corn

There is simply nothing better than Grandma's fried chicken.  Add mashed potatoes with gravy and corn and this meal is wonderful for weeknights or weekends.

Ingredients:  (for 2 - 3)
4 Tbsp butter
8 oz light cream
2 green onions
4 russet potatoes
6 oz Canola oil
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 oz Miracle Whip
1/2 cup seasoned flour or chicken breading
12 oz corn kernels
2 tsp water
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper


Cut potatoes into 1/2" dice.  Place in sauce pan and add 2 tsp salt.  Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer.  Cook until fork-tender (12 - 15 minutes).

Trim and thinly slice green onions on an angle.

Pat chicken breasts dry and season both sides with a pinch of salt and pepper.

Combine Miracle Whip and 2 tsp water in a mixing bowl.  Place seasoned flour in another bowl.

Dip chicken breast in the mayo-water mixture, then in seasoned flour, coating completely.  Shake off excess and place on plate.  Repeat with additional chicken breasts.

Pour Canola oil into medium fry pan.  Lay chicken breasts in oil and cook.  Flip every 3 - 5 minutes until golden brown and chicken reaches an internal temp of 165 degrees.  (10 - 14 minutes)

Remove cooked chicken and place on a towel-lined plate.

Cook the corn in a small pot over medium heat.  Add 1 tsp  of olive oil .  Stir occasionally until   warmed through (4 - 5 minutes).  Season with salt and pepper.

Place green onions and 4 oz cream in a saute pan.  Bring to a simmer and stir until gravy thickens to coat the back of a spoon. (3 - 5 minutes)  Remove from burner and add remaining butter. Season with pepper.

Drain potatoes in a colander and return to pot.  Add 2 Tbsp butter and 2 oz of cream. Mash until potatoes reach desired consistency  season with salt.

Plate chicken, potatoes and corn.  Top chicken and potatoes with gravy.

ENJOY!

Pan-Seared Chicken with Autumn Veggies

I love fall!  My interest in food returns as the weather cools.  This recipe is perfect for an early fall night.

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (thighs would work too)
1 Granny Smith apple
4 red potatoes
1 Butternut squash
1 bunch Sage
2 Tbsp butter
1 shallot
2 Tbsp white wine vinegar

Preheat oven to 475°
Halve the squash lengthwise and scoop out and discard pulp and seeds. 
Peel and then medium dice squash.
Medium dice potatoes
Pick leaves from Sage and roughly chop (I use the Pampered Chef herb grinder -- it's perfect)
Place squash and potatoes in bowl and toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper
Cover a sheet pan with foil and spray with non-stick spray
Place squash and potatoes on sheet pan and roast for 16 - 18 minutes
Quarter and core the apple and dice in 1/4" pieces
Peel and thinly slice the shallot
Place shallot and apple in bowl and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper
Add to sheet pan of roasted vegetables - stir to combine
Roast 9 - 11 minutes

While veggies roast ...
Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper (both sides)
Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil in non-stick pan
Add chicken and cook for 5 - 7 minutes on each side until done
Transfer chicken to a plate to rest

Add butter to pan. Reduce heat to medium. Stir butter until it smells nutty - scrape any chicken bits from pan - don't burn
Add Sage, vinegar, and 2 Tbsp water
Cook for 1 minute stirring constantly

Divide the finished veggies and cooked chicken between dishes.  Top with brown butter sauce.

Orange Chicken with Broccoli

Truth is . . . I love Chinese Food.  But, I've never been able to make it.  Sure, I've tried many times using countless recipes, but none of them ever turned out to be nearly as good or look as appetizing as restaurant dishes.  A couple of weeks ago I ran across a recipe for Orange Chicken and I thought it looked pretty simple.  I made it for the second time last night, and with a few little tweaks, we had a winner.  This was really good!

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into 1" chunks
1 lb broccoli crowns cut into florets
8 cloves fresh garlic
4 Tbsp salted butter
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 cup dry coating mix for chicken or fish

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Cut your chicken into 1" chunks and place in a bowl with a lid.  Add your salt and pepper and shake well to season the chicken.  Add the coating mix and shake again to evenly coat all of the chicken chunks.  Set aside

Cut your broccoli crowns into florets and place them in a 9" x 9" baking dish and salt lightly.  Finely dice all 8 garlic cloves and divide evenly.  Place 1/2 of the garlic in a small dish with 4 Tbsp of butter.  Cover the dish and melt butter in the microwave.  Evenly spoon the butter and garlic over the broccoli.  Place in the oven for 20 minutes.

While your broccoli bakes, prepare your sauce.

Zest of 1 orange
Juice of 1 orange
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp red chili flakes
1 Tbsp white cooking wine
1 1/2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 1/2 Tbsp water
3 1/2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp corn starch mixed with 1 Tbsp water

Place oil in small saute pan with the remainder of the garlic.  Cook over medium heat until garlic begins to brown.  Add the ginger, red pepper flakes, orange zest, orange juice, cooking wine, soy sauce, water and sugar.  Let this simmer slowly for about five minutes.

When broccoli is ready, remove from the oven and let it sit while you fry your chicken chunks.

Heat about 4" of cooking oil in a frying pan or wok.  Personally, I like the wok because I can use less oil.  Drop your chicken chunks in small batches into hot oil.  Don't overcrowd your pan and your chunks will not stick together.  Remove them from the oil when they are a nice golden brown and place them on top of the broccoli.  When finished, return to your sauce.  Mix your 1 Tbsp of corn starch with 1 Tbsp of water and then add to the sauce.  Stir well until sauce thickens.

Pour the sauce over the chicken and broccoli.  Stir gently and return to the oven for five minutes.

Stuffed Mushrooms

This is one of my go-to favorites when I need a yummy appetizer or a nice side.  They are alway a hit!

For six Portabella caps

3 oz Philadelphia Cream Cheese
6 oz Johnsonville sasage patties
1/2 cup shredded cheese - I like the Kraft Italian 5-Cheese
1 Tbsp dried onion flakes
1/2 tsp Pampered Chef 3-Onion Rub or another seasoning of your choice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Wash mushroom caps and remove buttons.
Place in baking dish.  Salt both sides lightly and bake (button side down) for 15 minutes.
Crumble and cook sausage.
Combine sausage with room temp cream cheese, shredded cheese, onion flakes and seasoning.
Mix well.
Stuff mixture into partially cooked mushroom caps and return to oven for 15 minutes.

Note:  I like to use medium sized caps and really overstuff them.  They look appetizing and they taste really good!

S'mores Dip

In our house we love football. And, along with that, we love football food. I found a new recipe on Facebook last week and today we gave it a try. This one certainly didn't disappoint.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
Add 1 cup of chocolate chips and 1 cup of peanut butter chips to a cast iron skillet.
I added 2 tsp of Vanilla and stirred the chips to even them out in the skillet.
Top the chips with marshmallows.
Bake in the oven for about 8 minutes.
Marshmallows should be brown and melted.

Notes:

The original recipe said to bake at 450. I did that and the marshmallows were brown at 4 minutes and not quite gooey enough.  I turned off the heat and left it in the oven a few more minutes and this was perfection.

The vanilla was not part of the original recipe, but it was a great addition.

Pork Roast with Sweet Potatoes & Apples

I love Fall!  I get in the mood to cook again. Sunday dinner is almost always a crock pot meal when the weather is cool, and tonight will be no different.  I think this recipe may just become a new family favorite.

It began with a trip to the best grocery store ever -- Dierbergs in Des Peres. That place is awesome! It has every ingredient you could ever imagine all under one roof. If you live in the           St. Louis area, I strongly recommend a visit. This time I discovered McCormick Gourmet Recipe and Seasoning Mixes.  I bought four different flavors.  Tonight's dinner begins with the Bourbon Spiced Pork Seasoning.  There is a recipe  on the back of the package to roast this in the oven.  I adapted it just a little bit to make it work in the crock pot.

I started with a 2 lb  Pork tenderloin.  I salted it all over and let it sit on a cutting board for about 20 minutes while I peeled and sliced five medium-sized sweet potatoes and three Granny Smith apples.

I combined the seasoning packet with 1/3 cup of brown sugar.  1/4 cup of the spice mixture gets set aside to use later.  The pork tenderloin is drizzled with olive oil and then the rest of the spice mixture is rubbed into the tenderloin.  Into the crock pot it went with the cooking temp set to warm.  The sliced sweet potatoes went into the crock pot on either side of the tenderloin and the apples were placed on top of the pork and sweet potatoes.

The reserved 1/4 cup of spice mixture was combined with 1/4 cup of orange juice. That mixture was poured over the top of the apples and sweet potatoes.  The lid went on and it will cook for seven hours.

I am anticipating a yummy dinner!

Cucumber, Tomato & Onion Salad

Are you looking for a salad that's fresh and inviting?  For a hot summer's night or an early fall salad, you need to give this salad a try.

8 oz of cherry tomatoes halved
4 mini cucumbers (cut into quarters and then sliced)
1/4 of a red onion sliced thin
2 oz of zesty Italian salad dressing (or sweet Italian)
1/2 tsp salt
Pinch of cracked pepper

Slice the tomatoes, cucumbers, and onions into a glass bowl.
Toss with 1/4 cup salad dressing
Add salt and pepper and toss again.

This is so easy to make and it looks aweome.

Cocktail Sauce

One of my favorite pleasures in life is shrimp.  Oh, how I love the large shrimp!  And, I like them best with Cocktail Sauce.  Sure, you can buy the bottled kind, but I like mine homemade.

1/2 cup ketchup
1 tsp horse radish
1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 tsp lemon juice
1 dash hot  sauce

Mix all ingredients in a glass bowl and stir to combine.

Broccoli Salad

Are you looking for a signature dish to take to a potluck?  One that will wow everyone there?  This is it.  It's a winner every time I take it.

This recipe is a change from the normal Broccoli Salad recipe and will be memorable to anyone you share it with.

3 bunches of broccoli
3/4 cup shredded carrots (you can shred your own, but it's easier to buy them already shredded)
1 Granny Smith apple
1/2 cup Craisins
1 lemon
1/4 red onion (sliced very thin)
1/2 cup Miracle Whip
1/2 cup Sour Cream
2 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
1/2 tsp sea salt


Cut the Granny Smith apple into bite size pieces and place in serving bowl
Cut lemon in half and squeeze lemon juice over the apple pieces
Add shredded carrots
Add Craisins
Slice red onion and add to the bowl
Trim broccoli to bite-size pieces and add to bowl
Combine Miracle Whip, Sour Cream, sugar, red wine vinegar, and sea salt.
Stir to mix well and top salad.
Stir all together and refrigerate for at least one hour to combine flavors.