Why this blog??

Why this blog?? I often find myself stressing over what to make for my family for dinner. We live a busy life and some meals need time to prep, cook and let's not forget shopping for everything you need. I love cookbooks and websites, but there are so many recipe's at times it is overwhelming. The recipe's I will be posting are things I actually made. I will tell you if they are easy or more time consuming. I will also tell you if they are good. Most of these are recipe's I have made for years and continue to make because they are easy or quick and my family loves them and i know yours will too! I will also try to at least once in a whlie try a new recipe I've found on line or in a book and honestly rate it. I always encourage others to send me their favorite recipe's as well! I am a mom... not a chef. But I am a mom who enjoys cooking for her family and making a somewhat healthy meal (some days more healthy than others:) ) In each recipe I will share how I recommend serving it, any substitutions I can think of that are also good, or ways to prepare ahead of time to make the cooking part seem quicker! I am not a photographer, as you can see... most of these pictures are taken from my phone camera, so may not be the best! I love to hear from others who have made these recipes and what they have done to change the recipe... please post comments! Thank you! To "like" me on facebook, go to this link... It's What's Cookin

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Pork Tenderloin with Pan Sauce

Ok, I'm not a huge pork fan. I think it's a texture thing. But I'm trying to eat healthier and there is only so much chicken and ground turkey you can eat and I really don't like cooking fish at home. I found this recipe on pintrest from Chef Mommy blog. I copied recipe as is and it was seriously SO good!! I got excited for it as soon as I mixed the marinade together. It smelt amazing!! You have to marinate it for at LEAST 4 hours. I marinated mine overnight and it was perfect! I reserved a little more than it called for (around 1/4 cup) and I'm glad I did because I put that sauce over my smashed fingerling potatoes as well. I also made roasted asparagus and acorn squash. The kids, my husband and I ate it all!!

Ingredients:
1⁄2 cups olive oil
1⁄3 cup soy sauce
1⁄4 cup red wine vinegar
Juice of 1 lemon
1-2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1-2 tbsp fresh flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
2 tsp dry mustard
Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 lb. pork tenderloin (silver skin removed)

Directions:
1. Combine all marinade ingredients and reserve 2-3 Tbsp. (I did a little more). Place the pork tenderloin and marinade in a Ziplock bag and let marinate for at least 3-4 hours. (I marinated around 20 hours).
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a hot skillet over medium-high heat, sear each side of tenderloin for 2-3 minutes. Place in the oven and cook for 30-40 minutes or until the meat has reached 160 degrees. Let rest for at least 5 minutes before slicing. (I used one pan for everything... my dutch oven. I seared roast over stove top in the dutch oven (discard all of the marinade). Then place dutch oven into oven till the pork reaches 150-155 (It will continue to cook while resting so don't over cook.)

Pan Sauce:
Pan scrapings from pork tenderloin
1/2 cup of chicken broth
2-3 tbsp of reserved marinade (thoroughly mixed)
1-2 tsp butter

Meanwhile, place the skillet back on the stove over medium heat. Add the chicken broth and scrape up all the browned pieces from the bottom of the pan. Add the marinade and let it boil down for 2-3 minutes. Add the butter and remove from heat stirring until butter has melted. Pour over the pork tenderloin.


Pork resting after cooked

Making the Pan sauce in same dutch oven I cooked pork in

ready to slice... 

Slice and put back into pan sauce. Spoon sauce over top and serve with extra sauce on top. ENJOY!