Indonesian Pork Tenderloin

I love cooking pork tenderloin!

It is a very healthy cut of meat, with almost no fat. According to The Other White Meat, USDA studies show that pork is leaner than skinless chicken breast per serving.

It is also incredibly tender! The tenderloin is comparable to the filet mignon.

Because they turn out great, with every recipe I try, I love eating pork tenderloin (whether I am dieting or not)!

I found a wonderful recipe that I want to share with you all!

This recipe reminded me some delicious Thai Peanut dishes, so I decided to give it a try. I'm so glad I did! 

 Indonesian Pork Tenderloin, I found the recipe on Pinterest from Tide and Thyme

You'll need... 

• 1 pork tenderloin (about 1 pound)
• 1/4 cup apricot preserves
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 2 Tbsp creamy peanut butter
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1/4 cup orange juice (for thinning out the marinade, do not put in the zip lock bag)
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 Tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped

Combine preserves, garlic, coriander, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, peanut butter, lime juice, crushed red pepper and black pepper in a small bowl. Whisk well to combine, paying attention to break up the peanut butter.  Place pork tenderloin in gallon sized Ziploc bag and pour the marinade on top. Squeeze out the air, and seal, using your hands to squish bag and distribute marinade evenly. Place in refrigerator and let marinade for at least 30 minutes, or up to 8 hours. (I ended up marinading it for about 3-4 hours).


Preheat oven to 425. Heat  the vegetable oil in large oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the pork tenderloin, and sear on all sides, until it’s nicely browned – about 7 minutes or so. Place the entire skillet into the preheated oven, and cook until a meat thermometer registers 160 degrees – about 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes before slicing.
( I don't have an oven proof skillet, so I seared the meat in a skillet, and put the tenderloin on a cookie sheet. I also don't have a meat thermometer, so I just put it in for about 20-25 minutes and it was fine. It was still incredibly tender!)

While the pork is in the oven, pour the marinade into a small saucepan. If it seems too thick, add a splash or orange juice or water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Boil for 1 minute, then turn off heat (I was paranoid, so I boiled it for 5-6 minutes, stirring constantly) . Pour sauce over the sliced tenderloin and sprinkle with chopped cilantro for garnish.

We all LOVED it! It was so tender and delicious! The flavor was really permeated throughout the whole tenderloin and it was SO, SO heavenly! :)

I doubled the recipe, because my package had two 1 pound tenderloins in it. We have quite a bit of marinade left over, so I'm planning on using it as a pasta sauce for some Thai rice noodles. I will cut up some of the pork tenderloin and put it in my pasta. Yum!

Enjoy!

-Anita 

Thai Mango Curry With Chicken

This is my favorite meal to make at home. It is so good!

Many years ago, my cousin came to my house and made this curry. I have no idea where it came from, but I know it is delicious!

You have to try it!

I'm warning you now, it is not the prettiest, but it is the tastiest! :)

You'll need

• 1 Serrano pepper 
• 2 mangoes (or 2 cups of frozen mango)
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 2 tablespoons of fresh ginger
• 1/4 cup of soy sauce (La Choy and Kroger brand are gluten free)
• 1 bunch of cilantro
• 1/4 cup of flaked coconut 
• 1/4 cup of brown sugar 
• 1/4 cup of thinly sliced green onions
• 1 small package of silvered almonds (found in the baking aisle)
• 1 tablespoon of butter
• Rice noodles
• 1-1.5 pounds of cubed chicken (spiced with powered ginger, garlic, salt, and pepper)

First, season the chicken with salt, pepper, powered ginger, and powered garlic.

Cook it up on a skillet (or in the oven, or grill...or however you'd like!)

Get your blender out.  Put the garlic, ginger, Serrano pepper (with the seeds), and soy sauce inside. Give it a blend. 

Then, add the cilantro to the blender and give it another blend. 

Lastly, add the mango. I have to blend everything in many steps, because I want the liquid to help blend up the frozen mango. If it it is fresh mango, you should be able to blend all of the ingredients at once. 

I know it's not the most appetizing color, but you're going to have to trust me on this recipe! :) 

Now, head to the stove. Let one tablespoon of butter melt, and add the sliced green onions and the silvered almonds. The almonds in the recipe are my favorite part! Don't leave them out! 

Cook them until the almonds are fragrant, but  not brown. If you can't tell, just cook them for about 5 minutes. Continue to stir them around so they don't burn. 

When the almonds are done, add the cilantro mixture from the blender to the skillet. Add the flaked coconut and brown sugar to the skillet. Stir until they're completely mixed in. 

By now, your chicken should be cooled, so cut up your chicken into bite sized pieces. Add the chicken pieces to the mixture. 

It's done! Hooray! Serve with rice noodles (follow the directions on the package. It takes about 5 minutes once the water is boiled). 

Instead of eating it right there and then, I wanted to take it over to my boyfriend's house. So I got a little creative... 

And it didn't spill on the car ride over. Yay! 

When I got to Daniel's house, we cooked the rice noodles and ate. It was delicious! 

This is SO good! You will love it! It is seriously one of the tastiest foods ever! 

Enjoy!

-Anita 

Banana Oatmeal Muffins

I found these on Pinterest! They are so yummy and quick! I made them and my boyfriend and I ate about half of them! Enjoy!!!

Ingredients

·         2 /1/2 cup oats (I used old fashioned rolled oats, Bob Mills brand)

·         1 single serving cup of plain low fat Greek yogurt ( I used vanilla flavored)

·         2 eggs

·         3/4 cup sweetener of choice, I used the real stuff: sugar!

·         1 1/2 tsp baking powder

·         1/2 tsp baking soda

·         2 bananas

Important: The paper liners don't work well when baking with a base that does not include flour, they always seem to stick to the paper. I sprayed the muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray or you can use foil cupcake liners or a silicone muffin pan.

Let the Baking Begin!
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray tin with non-stick cooking spray or line 12 muffin tins with silicone or foil liners, (or just use a silicone muffin pan).
2. Place all of the ingredients, including bananas in a blender or food processor, and blend until oats are smooth.
3. Divide batter among cupcake liners, and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.
4. Most importantly: Enjoy!!!

NEW Apple Cinnamon Chex Cereal

Look what I saw at the grocery store yesterday!

I bought it, and of course I ate it for breakfast this morning.

It is DELICIOUS!

I am so exciting to have one more breakfast option! Woohoo! Thanks General Mills!

-Anita

Plain Greek Yogurt + Ranch Seasoning Packet = Healthy Ranch!!!!!

Thank you Pinterest! Thanks to you, I don't have to feel guilty about drowning my salad in ranch dressing!

Maybe I'll actually eat salad now...

All you need is

plain Greek yogurt and a ranch seasoning packet!

You just mix the two together, and that's it!
(I used about half of the ranch seasoning for a 6 oz container of Greek yogurt. This can be adjusted to taste)

How easy is that?!

It was delicious! I'm never buying real ranch again!

Enjoy!

-Anita

Oven Baked Chicken Fajitas

Last Saturday, I went to On the Border with some friends. I ordered a salad to be 100% gluten free. When I was almost done with the salad, I took a bite that had a tortilla strip in it! I freaked out and dug through the rest of the salad, and I found another tortilla strip. Even though they were very apologetic and professional about it, it does not change the fact that I was sick for FOUR DAYS (yes, that's right, a tiny tortilla strip made me sick for four days)! 

Needless to say, I am not eating out for awhile. Especially at On the Border! 

But, I do love Mexican food, especially fajitas! When I saw this recipe on pinterest, I knew I had to make it! 

I found the recipe from Six Sisters' Stuff

Here's what you need! 

(Serves 4-6)

·         1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips

·         1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes (I used garlic roasted tomatoes! It was so yummy!)

·         1 (4 oz) can diced green chilies

·         1 medium onion, sliced

·         1 large green bell pepper, seeded and sliced

·         2 tablespoons canola oil

·         2 teaspoons chili powder

·         2 teaspoons cumin

·         1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

·         1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

·         1/4 teaspoon salt (I thought it needed more, so add to taste)

·         Corn tortillas, warmed to serve

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 13×9 baking dish. Mix together chicken, tomatoes, chilies, peppers, and onions in the dish.

In a small bowl combine the oil and spices. Drizzle the spice mixture over the chicken and toss to coat.

Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender.

 

Serve with warmed tortillas and enjoy!

It was really yummy! I ended up adding quite a bit more salt. I also had some jarred queso in the fridge, so I would spread some on the tortilla, and then put the mixture inside. It was DELICIOUS! It was really quick and healthy! I could definitely do this in the middle of the week! You definitely will not be disappointed!

Enjoy!

-Anita

Stuffed Beef Tenderloin

My mom wanted steak.

So I gave her steak! 

This was SO delicious, and this is how I made it! I based it off of Paula Deen’s Stuffed Beef Tenderloin

·         1 tablespoon light blue bonnet (or butter/margarine)

·         1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

·         1/3 cup yellow onion

·         3 cloves of garlic

·         1 (1 ½) pound beef tenderloin

·         Salt and pepper

·         Soy sauce

·         butcher string or just cotton string 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a medium skillet, melt the butter/olive oil and cook the shallots or onion over low heat until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and garlic and cook over low heat about 5 minutes or until the liquid is reduced by half. Let cool.

Butterfly the beef tenderloin by cutting the beef lengthwise down the center to within 1/2-inch of the other side. Set the beef aside.

To stuff the tenderloin, open the beef and sprinkle in the inside with salt and pepper and rub with soy sauce. Spoon the mushroom mixture down the center of the tenderloin. Bring the 2 sides of the tenderloin up and around the filling to meet. Using butcher string, tie the tenderloin together at 2-inch intervals. Place the tenderloin in a roasting pan.

Roast for 40 minutes for medium rare. Let stand for 10 minutes before slicing. Slice about 1 1/2 inches thick.

WE LOVED IT!

It’s not exactly cheap. 1 ½ pounds of beef tenderloin cost me $20. But, considering 4 of us ate this, and there was leftovers, it’s still a MUCH better deal than going to a steakhouse. And we didn’t have to worry about getting glutened. 

It’s delicious! Try it! You won’t be sorry! 

-Anita