This ain't no 'Pork'n Beans'

After sitting in a class at church last night and listening to stories about the increasing number of Jesus followers in the Middle East and learning that MBB stands for Muslim Background Beliefs and being enlightened about the etymology of the words God and Allah, I found it only fitting to come home and feast on this dish.

I know my food photography skills are lacking people, but work with me here.

Know what that is? That is the tasty goodness of the other white meat, folks. Yep...it's a pork tenderloin in all it's delighful glory. Just simmering away in a mushroom sauce getting ready to be devoured.

You thought I was going to get all serious here, didn't you?

Well, this is serious. Seriously good stuff.

So, listen up.

Pork Tenderloin with Mushroom Sauce

1-2 lb pork tenderloin
1-2 (or three) cloves of garlic

paprika

2 Tbsp butter

2 tsp. marjoram

1/4 cup lemon juice or white wine (you know my choice, right?)

1-2 cups sliced mushrooms

salt and pepper

2 Tbsp flour

1/4 cup cold water



Rub pork tenderloin with garlic and paprika. Heat butter in skillet and brown tenderloin on all sides. I had to remove my tenderloin here because I don't have a large enough pan, but it does not hurt to leave it in the cooking dish. Add in mushrooms and saute until browned. De-glaze the pan by adding the white wine or lemon juice to a relatively high heat and scraping on the browned, crispy goodness from the pan to create a tasty liquid. Stir in the marjoram and then add the tenderloin back to the pan, if you removed it. Let the pork simmer in the liquids for about 25-45 minutes or until done. Be sure to turn the meat regularly to coat with all sides with the liquid and seasonings while cooking. The cook time will vary depending on the size of the tenderloin.





Mix the flour with the cold water. When the tenderloin is done, remove it from the pan and add the four mixture to the liquid to create a gravy. Simmer for about 2 minutes until the liquid is thickened. Pour mushroom gravy over the tenderloin and serve.





Served up this evening with a side of mashed, skin on, red potatoes and a side salad.





Those potatoes made a great pairing. Not just because they were simple and quick, but the flavors really played well together. I just love it when flavors play well together, don't you?





How to potatoes: Boil the potatoes and when soft, drain and add milk and butter to taste. Mash with fork to desired consistency. Salt and pepper to taste.





P.S. No offense should be taken by an of my non-pork eating friends. I love you all. I really do.


P.S.S. I would imagine that a beef tenderloin could be substituted in this recipe to capture an almost as delightful experience.

A few of my favorite things...

My new favorite place to hang out is here.

Check it out.

Register.

Cook.

Enjoy.

Chicken and Dumplings Cure All

About three weeks ago, Griffin came home from Beach Retreat with a blazing 103 degree temperature and a killer case of strep throat. My dad's wife was out of town that week too, which means that he pops in to check on us around dinner time each night. Get my drift? He had a case of feeling under the weather himself, so what better to help ease the pain of these two ailing fellows than a big bowl of steaming chicken and dumplings.

I strapped on the apron and went to work.

Here are the basic ingredients.

Chicken (You can use everything from an oven-roasted to boneless, skinless chicken breast to a whole fryer- just whatever you have lying around)

Chicken broth

Can of cream of chicken

Can of cream of celery

Can of flaky biscuits

Flour

Salt and Pepper

If you do not have a pre-cooked chicken, boil your chicken in the chicken broth until done (about 20 minutes). Remove the chicken and add your two cans of creamed soup. Let the liquid simmer for about 15-20 minutes while you debone or shred your chicken and prepare your dumplings.

To prepare the dumplings, remove your biscuits from the package and tear each apart using the three layers that are already present on the flaky biscuits. Prepare a flour, salt and pepper mixture to dredge your biscuits in before cooking.

Finishing up, dredge your biscuits in the flour on both sides and drop into the rolling liquid one at a time. Do not stir your mixture during this time. Just push the dumplings down to ensure they get cooked thoroughly. Stirring the mixture before the dumplings have a chance to cook will cause them to dissolve and you will end up with some tasty but creamy chicken soup.

After the dumplings cook for about 15-20 minutes, add your chicken back in to the mix. Serve up a piping hot bowl to ease your ailments or just to warm your soul.

Enjoy!

Purple Hull Pea Wonder

A couple of weeks ago I stopped in at Dilorio's Farmer's Market in Hempstead and couldn't help but buy more than one of nearly everything home grown they had. Including a big bag of fresh purple hull peas.

So, how did they turn out? Delicious!

Take a peek...


First, rinse the peas well under cold water.
Chop up 3-4 pieces of bacon per pound.
Cook the bacon on low-medium heat until brown.
Add the peas and cold water to cover.
Salt to taste.
Simmer for about 20-30 minutes until done.

Simple enough. Serve them up with a fantastic cornbread and you're taste buds will love you.

Dinner at Casa Amy

Last nights dinner was fantastic! Thanks to HEB, I can create a quick and delicious meal full of flavor and rather healthy. It can be a challenge to pull this off every night, but with practice and all of the tips from other bloggers I am getting the hang of this thing.

Chicken Fajita skillet and Mexican Rice shared with good friends and family filled our bellies last night.

Chicken Fajita Skillet

HEB chicken fajita meat (I only used half of the package and fed four people easy)
1/2 sliced onion
1/2 package of sliced mushrooms
sliced bell pepper
1 jar of HEB Salsa Verde
Shredded Cheese

In skillet, heat some olive oil and saute veggies until onions are clear. Add chicken and cook about 10-12 minutes on each side. Top chicken and veggies with Half jar of salsa Verde and shredded cheese. (I used about half a package of the Colby jack and half package of the Monterrey.) Cover and simmer together until chicken is cooked through and cheese is melted.

Everything was on those sale with those oh so handy HEB yellow coupons. Delish!

Served with Mexican Rice

1 cup rice
1/2-1 chopped onion
1 chopped bell pepper
2 cloves garlic
1 can tomato sauce
1-2 chopped tomatoes
olive oil
Water or stock (chicken or beef)
Garlic salt, as needed

In skillet heat oil and add rice, garlic, onion and bell peppers. Saute veggies and brown rice until nice and golden. Stir continuously or it will stick and burn. As soon as the rice is golden brown add the tomato sauce. (This is where the red color of Spanish rice comes from, so don't miss this step) Add the chopped tomatoes and 2 1/4 cup of water or stock. Bring to a boil and then cover and lower to a simmer for about 20 minutes. Add garlic salt if needed.

The Best Green Beans Ever

I have something coming here soon. I promise.

UPDATE: Finally, a few more minutes to get this updated.

So, I am not sure if I have mentioned before, my affection for food. If so, then let me tell you again. I. LOVE. FOOD. Now, I am not jsut talking about eating, but really savoring the flavors of fantastic food. And even better, is getting to prepare something that taste extraordinary!

This weekend, I did just that. According to G, my green beans were the best ever. I prepare fresh green beans often because up until just a month ago, it was the only green thing I could get my child to eat. But, since then he has branched out a bit. Kuddo's to the maturing appetite of a pre-teen boy!

Back to the task at hand...I am going to share for you the exquisite green bean recipe and hopefully, jotting this down will help me remember exactly how it was done so we can enjoy this precious little gem of a recipe again.

Wash and trim your fresh green beans. Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. I used the Bonsecco Oil from the Oil and Vinegar store. When the oil is hot, add in some slivered almonds, garlic and mushrooms. Saute these until golden brown. Add the green beans and more oil, as needed, sea salt and fresh ground pepper. After sauteeing the green beans, add some sherry and cook down over medium heat. I do think if I had not just finished off the bottle of dry, white wine the night before I would have used that instead of cooking sherry.

Keep in mind that they really are best when they are a little on the crunchy side.

Voila! The best green beans ever according to G.

I do know the picture would have been much more appetizing had it been a full pan, but it wasn't until after we ate half of them that we decided the concoction was worthy of recording.