Rosemary Tenderloin With Warm Asparagus Salad

Haven't made tenderloin in a while so trying it again. It's actually pretty easy to cook. Yes it would be better if I cooked part of it in the oven, but who has time to remember it's in there when I've got things on the stove top and a baby to watch. Right? 

Pork Tenderloin
Cornstarch - seals in the juices
Soy sauce
Rosemary
Cumin
Garlic

Warm salad:
Asparagus
Butter
Salt
Costco kale salad (minus fixings)

Marinate the tenderloin and then pan sear...I think 5 min per side? You want it to be medium in the middle. Yes, contrary to what I've been taught all my life, good quality pork can be eaten medium! So much juicier and softer!

The salad is prepared by sauteing the asparagus in butter. As it's getting soft I add the Costco kale salad. And when everything is warmed, but not wilted, it goes onto the plate. The seasoning is kept simple because of time...but let me know what seasoning you find works!

Enjoy!

Cumin wings on sweet potato spinach salad

 

I love chicken wings...and so I bought some. I was too lazy to mince garlic for some honey garlic wings (plus I can't really eat the honey right now) so I went with my next favorite flavor which is curry/cumin wings. There was a random sweet potato in my fridge so this got worked in as well.

Chicken Wings

Cumin

Soy sauce

Coconut sugar (or any sugar you want....I just used a slight pinch though normally I'd probably use a tbsp or two)

Salad:

Gouda cheese

Sweet potato - cubed and pan seared in butter

Spinach

Dressing:

Grainy mustard

Olive oil

Cider vinegar

a couple drops of Stevia (plant based, zero glycemic index, sweetener)

It was a nice hearty salad. The sweet potato was filling when paired with some meat. Yum.

Warm Israeli couscous salad

 

Another meal where I didn't have enough of anything to make as a main....but the bits and pieces could come together in one of my favorite catch-alls : a salad. Other great catch-alls...stir fry. Stew. Soup. Fried rice. Pita pockets. Lots. =)

Pork cubes

Soy sauce
Israeli Couscous
Cumin
Yams
Gailan
Pine nuts
Butter
Green Onions
Garlic  

S&P

Basically...cook everything separately and then toss together. The only exception are the green onions. That I tossed in at the end when assembling. That way it won't brown and get mushy.

Sweet Potato Pork Pasta

Alliteration! I'm referring to the "potato pork pasta" bit. Anyways....I had bits of everything in the pantry and fridge and none of it was enough by itself to make a meal for two. So I mixed it all together into a pasta dish. Kinda like how you mix in bits of everything into fried rice.

Butter
Yam
Sweet potatoes
Paprika
Cumin
Garlic salt
S&P
Pork
Pasta
Chipotle mayo


The yam and sweet potato was cubed and pan fried in a bit of butter and seasoning to start things off while the pasta was cooking. I sliced up the leftover chipotle mayo port chop and warmed it with the yam/potatoes, then added the pasta at the end. I added more chipotle mayo as seasoning (because I love chipotle mayo with yam fries) and the end result was tasty and filling.

Broccoli Mushroom Quinoa Salad

Another Meatless Monday and I was toying with the idea of a warm salad. The broccoli, yellow heirloom tomatoes and mushrooms in my fridge was asking to be used but it wasn't quite enough to make three meal-size servings. (I like to have enough to pack my Husband lunch the next day.) I was tired of pasta so the next carb-type substance I thought of was quinoa. It cooks quickly, has great protein, is low in gluten and has a low glycemic index. I love the stuff.

I cooked the broccoli, 'shrooms and quinoa separately then tossed it together with the tomato and dallops of ricotta in a casserole dish before putting it in the oven for 15 min to meld the flavors together. I guess you could call this a casserole too...but I'm sticking with the warm salad description.

Broccoli - tossed in grapeseed oil, S&P and roasted
King oyster mushroom - sautéed with onion in cumin, paprika, salt, garlic salt in butter
Ricotta
Yellow Tomato
Quinoa

Super yummy...it will be going into rotation...when I next have these ingredients in my fridge at the same time. =)

Mushroom Swiss Chard penne

And then it was Vegetarian Vednesday and I thought I'd try a pasta. I still had mushrooms and some extra swiss chard in the fridge so I decided that was going to be the "sauce" for the pasta. The result was actually quite delicious and this will definitely make it into the vegetarian rotation.

Onion
Mushrooms
Swiss Chard
Paprika
Garlic
Basil
Oregano
Butter
Penne pasta



My husband recently commented that though he hasn't gotten back into working out, he's noticing more muscle definition and finding himself using a tighter belt notch. I'd like to suggest it's because we've cut our fatty meat intake. =) Hurray!

Bacon grilled cheese

This is one of those indulgent snacks that I will only allow myself once a year. Or so I say right now. We had defrosted a pack of bacon for some holiday cooking and had a few strips leftover that we couldn't re-freeze....so it went into a grilled cheese!

Bacon
Squirrely bread
Smoked Gouda
White cheddar
Cranberry sauce
Butter



It was DELISH!!


The cranberry sauce added a really nice touch of sweetness and tartness that cuts through the richness of all the cheese. Bacon...bacon speaks for itself.

Mom if you're reading this, please note the bowl of veggies in the background. =)

Turkey Grilled Cheese

Did I mention grilled cheese sandwiches were my latest love? It was turkey season and I was looking for yummy ways to incorporate the bird leftovers into various meals other than the staple turkey soup. I saw the bread and cheese....and the turkey....and **lightbulb**!

Bread
Turkey
Hot pepper jelly
Frulani Cheese
Butter

So yum!