Stuffed Pork Tenderloin Dinner (3 Recipes!)

Since this Friday was a holiday, I thought we could up the ante and do a fancier dinner. Sort of our own Easter dinner to ourselves. We've had a pork tenderloin in our freezer for a month or so and I decided this would be a great time to use that. Stuffed pork tenderloin is usually my go to, and today was no different. I wasn't feeling quite ambitious enough to make stuffing from scratch so we bought a "Stovetop" box. Totally ok! We had an abundance of carrots in our fridge from my random decision to start Juicing this week and roasted Cauliflower is always a good side and goes with pretty much everything. I like to use one or two spices that are the same in each dish to tie it all together. The bonus with this dish is that you can cook everything together in the oven at one temperature for the same length of time.

Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

1 pound Pork Tenderloin, (1 or 2 pieces)
2 Cups (one box) prepared stuffing
1 Tbsp butter - Melted
1 Tbsp olive oil
Fresh or dried Thyme Leaves
Dried Onion Flakes
Salt
Pepper
Garlic clove - Grated
1 Tbsp Roasted Red Pepper (I used Epicures dried)

Roasted Carrots

10 - 14 carrots peeled and cut into 2 inch pieces
1 Tbsp butter - Melted
1 Tbsp oil
Fresh or dried Thyme Leaves
Dried Onion Flakes
Salt
Pepper
Garlic clove - Grated

Roasted Cauliflower

See Recipe here

I left out the cheese and chickpeas this time.

Directions:

Pork - Preheat oven to 425 º

First, you have to open your pork up to pound it out a bit thinner. Do do this you slice it length wise down the middle until almost through, about 1/4 inch left. Then, slice each half length wise down the middle leaving the same amount of space till the bottom. Cover with saran and pound out with a meat mallet until about 1/4 inch thick. If you have two pieces, do this to both. Having 2 makes it a little easier to wrap up because its more of a sandwich than a jelly roll.

Mix last 8 ingredients under pork together. Brush onto inside of the pork. Leave a bit for the top.

Season inside of pork with salt and pepper if desired on top of butter mixture.

Spoon stuffing onto one side of pork spreading to about 1/2 inch away from edge of meat, you can pile it up.

Layer other piece of pork, inside down, on top of the stuffing. Tie together with kitchen twine or use toothpicks. If you have one piece of pork you will roll up like a jelly roll and secure together.

Place in roasting dish, (wait to put in oven with vegetables) cook in preheated on bottom rack for 15-20 minutes and place on top rack for last 5-10 minutes of cooking. Temperature should register 160º.

Let sit for about 10 minutes before slicing. Serves 2-6 depending on loin size.

Carrots

Mix all ingredients together in a dish, coating carrots. Spread on baking sheet with cauliflower and roast on top rack of oven for 20 minutes, switching with pork for last 10 minutes.

Bacon Jalapeno Deviled Eggs

This was my very first pin on my "Appies" board on Pinterest, it's been a long time coming! I finally got the chance to make these for our Easter dinner appetizer. I have to say I'm pretty impressed with how they turned out. I changed the recipe a bit to fit what I had around the kitchen, but not too much. The hardest part about these is peeling those eggs. Any tips would be much appreciated. If you want to pipe the filling in with a star tip (like I tried to do) you're going to want to really crumble that bacon or it will get stuck in your star tip and you will have to jab it out dangerously with a knife. Otherwise a zip-lock bag will work just fine (I switched). I put this recipe into a calorie counter (just to see!) and they're about 75 Calories/half. You can certainly knock that down with less bacon, but why? Its Easter!

Bacon Jalapeno Deviled Eggs
(Adapted from here)

Ingredients:

12 eggs, hard boiled and peeled
1 dash rice vinegar
3/4 cup light Miracle Whip
1 Tbsp Bacon Mustard (Or Dijon)
2 jalapenos, seeded and chopped fine
6 pieces bacon, crispy and chopped or crumbled
paprika for topping

Directions:

Cut the peeled eggs in half, lengthwise

Scoop out the yolks and place in mixing bowl

Mash the egg yolks till crumbly with a fork

Add the miracle whip, vinegar and mustard to the mashed egg yolks and stir until well combined, add more mustard if the mixture needs to be looser.

Mix in 3/4 of the jalapenos and bacon, setting aside 1/4 of each for topping.

Put the mixture in a zip-lock bag and cut a small part of the corner off of the bag

Fill each egg hole with the mixture

Sprinkle with paprika and remaining bacon and jalapenos

Chill until ready to serve

Bacon and Potato Frittata

My mom bought me a new piece of Le Crueset to add to my collection for Easter, a tarte pan! I wanted to try it out with a baked frittata for Easter Brunch. This was a recipe I pinned pretty recently, it has a lot of good for you ingredients to fill you up first thing in the morning or into the afternoon. It was a bit heavy in preparation though, so I would recommend precooking the bacon and potatoes or at least having everything cut up and ready to go if you want it early. It took a little over an hour from start to finish. It turned out great, especially for the first frittata I've ever made. It served 4 nicely but could probably be stretched to 6.

Bacon & Potato Frittata
(Adapted slightly from here)

Ingredients:

8 large eggs
4-5 leaves chopped fresh basil
3+ Tbsp grated Parmesan
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 slices bacon, chopped
4 medium potatoes peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 small shallot, chopped fine
3 garlic cloves, chopped fine
1 - 2 handfuls chopped Spinach
1/4 cup Roasted Red peppers (if desired)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350º

Whisk together first 3 ingredients in  large bowl, salt and pepper to your taste levels. I would say a heavy pinch or two.

Cook bacon over medium heat, stirring, until crisp. Transfer bacon to a separate dish and pour off most, leaving 1 Tbsp or so of fat in the pan.

Add potatoes to hot pan and fry over medium-high heat until golden, about 5-7 minutes, stirring. In last 3 minutes, add the chopped onion and garlic to the pan stirring in. In last minute, add the spinach to wilt slightly.

Place all ingredients in tarte pan, covering with the egg mixture. Salt and pepper the top.

Place in preheated over for 20 - 25 minutes, depending on dish size.

Cut and serve in wedges.

Shrimp & Bacon Salad

Ok, there's a lot more ingredients in here than just those. But you cook the shrimp in the bacon grease and its pretty much amazing. I loved this salad. I didn't make the dressing from the orginal post, but I probably will next time. I may or may not have forgotten to pick up those ingredients. So we just used a bit of Renee's Dill and Cucumber Yogurt dip on the side. I find with an avocado in your salads they have a nice "built in" dressing from those, so you don't need one as much. Throw in a splash of that feta brine and you're pretty set. This salad hits every craving you might have, but I mostly found I wanted more bacon after... That could just be me though!

Shrimp & Bacon Salad
(Adapted from Here)

Ingredients

1/2 cup corn kernels frozen or shaved off a cob.
3 strips of bacon, diced
10 large shrimp, peeled with tails on or off
4 cups chopped Romaine lettuce
1 avocado, peeled, pitted and diced
1/4 cup crumbled goats feta (whatever kind you have is fine!)

Directions:

1. Heat a pan over medium high heat. Add the corn kernels and let cook until they start to get a little toasty around the edges, around 6 minutes, stirring off the bottom to help prevent sticking. Transfer the corn to a dish and set aside.

2. In the same pan, add the bacon. Fry for about 5-6 minutes, stirring until crispy or to your liking. Remove the bacon, leaving the grease in the skillet. My bacon didn't have a lot of fat so you may want to drain a bit off if you don't want to drown your shrimp in it. (Here comes the best part!)

3. Add the shrimp and cook for about 3 minutes per side (depending on size). Remove shrimp and prepare your salad.

4. Assemble your salad by tossing together the lettuce, toasted corn, bacon, shrimp and avocado.

5. Top with crumbled cheese and dressing if desired.

Tomato Basil Soup

This is a recipe I've been making for quite a while, I finally decided to take some pictures and add some ingredients. You may have seen it back on my Italian Evening post a year or so ago. Its a decent tomato soup recipe and filling enough to accompany just a salad or a nice grilled cheese. I also really like that it can be done in under an hour, less if you're in a crunch. You can add more layers of flavour to the soup just by buying some more intense ingredients. I used a Tomato basil tomato paste and I used a whole can and I bought tomatoes with basil already in there and mashed them myself. That way you can really get the basil freshness, even if your basil isn't that fresh (mine was not). 

Tomato Basil Soup
(Adapted slightly from Here)

Ingredients

2 tablespoons Grapeseed or olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

4 large cloves garlic, grated

1 carrot, finely diced
Salt and pepper
2 tsp dried thyme leaves or 2 Tbsp Fresh (Chopped)
1 large fresh bay leaf
3 tbsp - 1 small can tomato paste
1 box (946 mL) low sodium chicken stock
32 ounce can whole or crushed tomatoes (I Bought Eden Whole Roma tomatoes with Basil)
A few leaves basil

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 cups 1% milk (or whatever you have)

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat.

2. Once the pot and oil are warm, add onions, garlic, carrot, salt, pepper, thyme, bay and cook partially covered to soften 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. You will really be able to smell the thyme and onion, such a great kitchen smell.

3. Add tomato paste and stir 2 minutes to let it caramelize a bit, it was in a can. Add the stock, tomatoes and tear in basil leaves. Simmer partially covered for 30 minutes, *Remove and discard bay leaf.

4. Purée soup with an immersion blender, or transfer to a blender and back to the pot when smooth.

5. To make the béchamel sauce to thicken the soup, melt butter in a sauce pot over medium heat, whisk in flour and cook 1 minute. Whisk in milk, season with salt and pepper, and let thicken to coat a spoon. Stir béchamel into soup to combine. **Don't tell the real chefs, but you can do this in the microwave! Melt butter in the microwave, add flour and stir, microwave the paste another 10 seconds, add milk and microwave in 30 second bursts on medium high, whisking in between until thick. It takes a couple minutes.

6. Let soup simmer another 10 minutes or so to thicken and serve with your favourite salad or sandwich (or both!). I served mine with a basic Kale Salad topped with sunflower oil, lemon juice and a few crumbles of goat feta.

M&M Cookies

My absolute favourite candy or chocolate treat is m&m's. I honestly don't eat anything else chocolate wise at all. You put them in a cookie and I am so in! I love this recipe because it bakes up light and cakey very fast. Around 15 minutes from fridge to belly, you do have to let them set up in the fridge for a couple hours before baking. Which is always a problem for me, I would have got 30 cookies out of this recipe but the dough is just so good! I only got 29. I used a small cookie scoop for them, about an inch across. If you use a larger one, you'll probably get around 15-18.

They're also great because you can do the recipe, make the cookie balls and put them in the fridge and bake them anywhere from 2 hours to 2 days later, or up to a month or two if you freeze them. I like to take the un-baked cookie balls to parties to bake right after the meal so that they are fresh for my friends and family and that way, no one will ask you where you bought them. I recommend buying m&m's in bulk (In Canada anyways) as they're quite expensive in larger amounts otherwise. I always get Sean to bring them back from Houston for me. 2 kg for $8! That's less then half of here, case closed for buying in bulk.

These particular ones made it into a Birthday Cookie Basket for one of my best friends, Jason. He loves cookies, and I hope you do too! In case you're wondering the other treats that made the box were; Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirls, Ginger Snaps and Banana Bread.

M&M Cookies
(Adapted slightly from here)

Ingredients:

3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup milk chocolate M&M's, you may want 1/4 cup extra to add one here and there to the cookies.

Directions:

To a large mixing bowl, if you have an electric hand mixer or your stand mixer, combine the butter, sugars, egg, vanilla, and mix together on medium-high speed until creamed and well combined, about 2 minutes. The colour will gradually get lighter and that's key to a little bit fluffier cookies.

Add the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, salt, and mix in slighty by hand to avoid flying flour, then with the mixer on low speed until just combined, about 1 minute.

Add the chocolate chips, M&Ms, and combine by hand to avoid cracking those pretty shells.

Using a cookie scoop (Large or Small) or your hands, form equal-sized mounds of dough, roll into balls, and flatten slightly. Small scoop - 30 Cookies, Large Scoop - 15 Cookies

If you feel like you need some extra M&M's in each cookie, press them into the tops now.

Place mounds on dish or baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. If you don't chill the dough for long enough, the cookies will spread out like little pancakes. No one wants that! (But if you do, that's how)

2 Hours later!

Preheat oven to 350ºF, line a baking sheet with a Silpat or parchment. I highly recommend investing in the Silpats, parchment never covers the baking sheet well enough and eventually you'll balance out the cost.

Place dough mounds on baking sheet, spaced at least 2 inches apart, small cookies 15 per sheet, large cookies 8 per sheet and bake for 12 minutes, switching racks halfway through, or until edges have set and tops are just set, even if slightly under cooked, pale, and glossy in the center.

Cookies will firm up as they cool - allow to cool for at least 10 minutes prior to serving.

Store in an airtight container for about a week, they won't last that long! So you can also freeze them for up to 6 months.

Spicy Chicken Lettuce Wraps - Slowcooker

With my recent avoidance of bread and cheese products I was looking for a recipe I could make for my parents that wouldn't scare them off as too healthy. (Shhh, don't tell them) I had pinned this one quite a while ago and while I don't use my slow cooker very often, today was a good day to use it. There's definitely something nice about doing the prep work in the morning (when you're still feeling pretty gung ho) and then dinner just being ready when you need it to be.

I modified this recipe to my parents tastes and what I had on hand. They don't enjoy things too spicy so I used I mild roasted salsa instead of something too hot. I also cut out the chilies. I still used the hot sauce, Cholula is our houses only brand these days and added a little extra seasoning in the way of onion flakes, roasted garlic flakes and some salt and pepper. Nothing too crazy. But half way through the house smelt amazing! The chicken still maintained its structure pretty well at the end of 5 hours, but shredded easily. Since I was a couple hours early, I left it on keep warm until dinner - stirring every half hour or so. It also left me some time to make a quick dessert.

Spicy Chicken Lettuce Wraps
(Adapted from Here)

Ingredients:

Chicken:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut in half lengthwise
1 jar salsa, I used Mrs Renfro's Roasted Salsa, fairly mild
1 tsp onion flakes
1 tsp garlic flakes
2 tbsp Cholula hot sauce
1 tbsp fresh-squeezed lime juice

Avocado Salsa Ingredients:
2 large or 3 medium avocados, diced into small pieces
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1 diced tomato
1/4 cup fresh-squeezed lime juice
Salt and Pepper to taste

For Lettuce Wraps:
2 large heads iceberg lettuce for crunchy shells,
 - Butter lettuce for easy wrap shells

1. Cut chicken breasts in half lengthwise and arrange the chicken strips in the bottom of your slowcooker.

2. Season with salt, pepper, garlic and onion.

3. Shake over hot sauce of desired amount, followed by lime juice.

4.Cover with Salsa.

5. Set for 5 hours on low and walk away and enjoy your free time!

6. When the chicken is done, remove each piece into a bowl, shred apart with two forks and place back into the slow cooker. Stir to combine with the sauce.

7. Peel and chop the avocados and toss with the lime juice, red onion and tomato. Season with salt and pepper.

8. Prepare the lettuce - For iceberg cut head in half across to make two bowl shapes, pull two leaves off to make a cup. For butter lettuce, remove as close to stem and use two leaves for each shell.

9. Fill with a scoop of chicken and a scoop of salsa and feel free to top with any other desired toppings, cheese, extra salsa or tomatoes.