Seared Pork Tenderloin with a Pepper, Caper, Mustard Sauce

Seared Pork Tenderloin 

Pork tenderloin can sometimes be dry. This easy recipe comes out tender and moist every time. It also only takes about 15 minutes to make.

I have included a recipe for a Pepper, Caper, Mustard Sauce but you can change the recipe up by using any sauce you like. You can also use herbs and spices or a dry rub on the pork before you cook it. You can skip the cornstarch if you want.

Servings: 4-6
Time:  Prep: 5 minutes; Cook: 15 Minutes-Dinner in 20 minutes
Hardware:  a measuring spoons and cups, a cutting board and knives, a paper towel. a gallon, plastic bag, a heavy bottom skillet (I prefer a cast iron skillet), tongs, a thermometer, a bowl

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients

• 1-pound pork tenderloin
• Salt and pepper
• ¼ cup cornstarch
• Cooking spray

1. Cut the tenderloin into bite size pieces. You can cut it into medallions, but I like the look of an uneven rough chop. Pat the pieces dry.
2. Generously salt and pepper the pieces and place them and the cornstarch into the gallon, plastic bag. Seal the bag and shake like mad to coat.
3. Heat the skillet on medium high and spray generously with cooking spray.
4. Shake the cornstarch from the meat and add it to the hot skillet. Don’t crowd the pork because if you do it won’t sear. It will steam. You may have to cook in batches.
5. Allow the pork to sauté for about four minutes. Flip it with the tongs. After 4 more minutes, begin to check the smallest pieces with the thermometer. Using the tongs, remove the meat and place it into the bowl as soon as the thermometer reads 145˚. Do not overcook!

 

Pepper, Caper, Mustard Sauce

You can use any sauce that you like. In reality, this meat is so juicy and tender that you don’t need a sauce, but here you go. This is also good for pork chops.

Hardware:  a measuring spoons and cups, a whisk (I use a flat whisk), a food grinder (we have a dedicated coffee grinder to use for this), a small strainer, the pan and pan drippings that you just cooked pork 

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon whole peppercorns
• 1 tablespoon capers
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 2 tablespoons of butter
• ½ tablespoon Dijon mustard
• ¼ cup white wine

1. Rinse the capers. Place the capers, peppercorns and garlic in the food grinder. Pulse the grinder a few times until the peppercorns are broken down.
2. Don’t wipe out the skillet you cooked the pork in. Just melt the butter in it, using the whisk to scrape up any brown bits left in the pan. 
3. Add in the peppercorn mixture and the mustard while continuing to whisk. Slowly add in the white wine. Taste and adjust the salt. Allow it to simmer on low until it is thick enough to cling to the back of a spoon. 
4. You can return the pork to the pan or serve the sauce in a bowl and allow your guest to spoon on as much as they want.

Shrimp and Pineapple Stir-fry

My mom is living with us while she fights cancer. She loves pineapple and shrimp, so I made this for her. It was so good. The dish is beautiful and would be great to serve to guests.

As always, here are my suggestions for tweaking the recipe. You can buy the shrimp already cleaned. It saves you about ½ hour. You can also use fresh pineapple. If you do that substitute orange juice for the pineapple juice. That way you won’t have a jar of pineapple juice you won’t use going bad in the fridge.  I try never to ask you to purchase anything that you will only use in the specific dish we are making. Buy hoisin sauce. Once you taste it, you will find uses for it. Your favorite hot sauce will do if you don’t have sriracha.

Always read the entire recipe before you begin.

Shrimp and Pineapple Stir-fry

Servings: 6-8
Time:  Prep: 10 minutes; Cook: 20 Minutes;  Dinner in 40 minutes
Hardware:  Measuring spoons and cups, a cutting board and knives, a can opener, a whisk, 2 mixing bowls,  a deep, non-stick skillet, tongs, a paper towel lined plate, paper towels, and a large serving platter

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ pounds medium cleaned shrimp
• Enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan twice
• Salt
• 1 tablespoon of onion powder
• 1 tablespoon of garlic powder
• ¼ cup of cornstarch
• 1 cup of snow peas
• 1 large red bell pepper
• 1 tablespoon of minced fresh ginger or ¼  teaspoon powdered ginger
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1-20 ounce can of pineapple chunks or 2 cups of fresh pineapple
• 3 cups of steamed white rice
• Sesame seeds and 2 green onions for garnish

Sauce

• ½ cup pineapple juice 
• ¼ cup hoisin sauce
• ⅛ cup COLD water
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sriracha (optional)

1. Place the cornstarch into one of the mixing bowls. Generously sprinkle the shrimp with salt, garlic powder and onion powder. If you are using powdered ginger, sprinkle that on, too. Place the seasoned shrimp into the cornstarch and toss to coat. Set aside. The shrimp will get sticky, don’t worry.
2. Drain the pineapple, reserving ½ cup of the juice. Put the cold water and cornstarch into the other mixing bowl. Whisk until the cornstarch is completely dissolved. Whisk in the juice, hoisin sauce and soy sauce. Stir in as much or as little sriracha sauce as you want. Set aside.
3. Cut the bell pepper into long thin strips, removing the seed and white pith. Set aside. Mince the ginger and garlic. Roughly chop the green onions, using both the white and green parts. Set aside.
4. Cover the bottom of the skillet in a generous amount of oil and heat over medium-high. Sauté the shrimp in a single layer until they are crispy and then flip and cook through. This should take no more than 2 minutes per side. You may need to cook them in batches to keep from crowding them. Remove them to the paper towel lined plate when finished. You can keep them warm in the oven on the lowest setting.
5. Wipe out the skillet. Add enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan and heat over medium high, Add the peppers and snow peas. The peppers take longer than the peas, so I put them in a minute or two first. Sauté until they reach your desired tenderness tossing almost constantly. Push to the side and add the fresh ginger (if you are using it) and garlic. Sauté until fragrant. Add in the pineapple and the sauce, whisk until the sauce thickens and gently toss all the vegetables until everything is coated. Taste and adjust the salt.
6. To serve, make a bed of hot white rice. Top with the vegetables. Then top the vegetables with the shrimp. Sprinkle on the sesame seeds and green onions. Serve hot.

Banana Bran Muffins

I love to cook. One of my favorite aspects of cooking is the freedom to be creative. Just add a dash of this, a bit of that and keep tasting until you have something delicious. Baking is not as forgiving. Baking requires much more science than does regular cooking. And not being a patient person, I never really learned to bake.

The lockdown gave me time to teach myself to bake. I watched every baking video imaginable. I read a gazillion cookbooks. And I baked recipe after recipe after recipe. We were all gaining doughy middles when my husband decided he wanted to start eating better.

Long pause. I am not a patient person, but I am also not one to pass up a challenge. When I saw baking something healthy as a dare, it was on!

Banana Bran Muffins are my first original baked good! I am so proud of myself. Not only did these muffins rise, they were really tasty! I used Kellogg’s All Bran cereal. These look like little twigs-not flakes. Fiber One makes a twiggy bran cereal, too. I usually give ideas for making changes to my recipes so you can personalize them to your own tastes. However, I am not comfortable enough with baking to do that yet. Good things these are delicous just like they are!

Servings:  12 muffins (2 muffins have less than 400 calories)
Time:  prep time: 20 minutes, cook time: 20 minutes, muffins in 45 minutes
Hardware:  Measuring cups and spoons, two mixing bowls, a rubber spatula, a fork, a muffin tin, a cooling rack, paper muffin cups (optional)

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour 
• 1 ½ cups bran cereal
• ⅓ cup brown sugar + extra for sprinkling
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼  teaspoon salt
• 1 cup milk
• 1 large egg
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 ripe bananas
• Cooking spray

1. Pre-heat the oven to 400˚. If you are using muffin cups put them in the muffin tin. Spray the paper or the tin. Make sure that the spray is in the edges of the cups.
2. In one mixing bowl, stir together the flour, cereal, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside. In the other mixing bowl, mash the bananas with the fork. Mix in the milk, egg, oil and vanilla. Mix until everything is completely combined.
3. Gently stir the dry mixture into the wet mixture. Stir just enough to combine. Over stirring will make the muffins dense.
4. Divide the batter evenly into the muffin cups or tins. If you want, sprinkle a tiny pinch of brown sugar onto the top of each muffin.
5. Bake for 20 minutes or until the muffins are evenly a toasty brown. Serve warm with butter, apple butter, jelly or jam.

Spanish Rice

Spanish Rice

Spanish Rice, also called Mexican rice or arroz rojo, is a popular side dish in Mexico. I don’t know why it is called Spanish rice. Spanish it is not. Rice dishes in Spain are usually yellow because they have saffron in them. Mexican rice is red because it is often cooked with tomato paste. I used taco sauce instead. Taco sauce has a bolder flavor and can be used to add variety. You can use spicy sauce or chunky sauce, depending upon your preference. I usually enjoy spicy food, but I make this mild because I use it as a backdrop for other dishes. Serve Spanish Rice with tacos or burritos. You can also top this dish with black beans to make a complete meal.

You can make this vegetarian by using veggie broth as your liquid.

Servings: 3 cups of rice, serves 4-6

Hardware:  A cutting board and knives, measuring spoons and cups, a strainer (sieve,) a pot with a lid, a wooden spoon, and a fork

Time:  Active time 15 minutes; Cook: 25 minutes, rice in about 40 minutes

Ingredients

• 4+1 tablespoons butter
• 1 small onion (4 ounces)
• 1 medium tomato (8 ounces)
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 cup of your favorite taco sauce
• ¾ cups liquid (water, chicken broth or veggie broth)
• ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 bay leaves
• Long grain white rice
• 1 tablespoon of chopped cilantro (optional)
• Salt

1. Rinse the rice in the sieve until the water runs clear.
2. Dice the onion. Seed and chop the tomato, mince the garlic. Set aside.
3. In the pot with the lid, melt four tablespoons butter over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and cumin. Sauté until the aromatics become translucent. Watch them and stir often because you don’t want them to burn.
4. Add the rice to the butter and stir until the rice begins to toast and the edges begin to turn brown (about two minutes.)
5. Stir in the tomato, liquid, taco sauce and bay leaves. Bring to a boil.
6. Stir. Turn the rice down to simmer and cover with the lid. Simmer for exactly 18 minutes. Remove from the heat, but do not remove the lid. Allow the rice to rest for 10 minutes. It is still cooking so it is important to leave it alone.
7. Remove the bay leaves. Using a fork, fluff the rice with the extra butter. Add the cilantro if you are using it. Taste and adjust the salt. Serve warm.