TMK Recipe #8: Spicy Pork Tenderloin with Potatoes and Peppers

So I had no idea I even liked pork tenderloin. It’s not that I didn’t think I’d like it, but rather I just don’t hear ‘pork tenderloin’ and think ‘YAY!’ But I’m here to tell you I’m a changed woman, thanks to this recipe! Pork tenderloin is a pretty lean meat too, so there’s not a lot of sacrifice involved (that’s assurance for all you red meat-naysayers out there). The white wine in this is a really nice, light touch. The original recipe calls for jarred hot cherry peppers, however in order to keep the nutritionals down and because I prefer fresh over jarred or canned, I used plain red, sweet bell peppers. You can also use green, yellow, or any combination of the three depending on what you like. This is a great dish to serve around the holidays, because it’s hearty, delicious AND healthy!

Spicy Pork Tenderness!

Spicy Pork Tenderloin w/ Potatoes and Peppers

Real Simple, adapted by Trainer Girl!

Ease-Factor Rating: 2. The cooking of this dish is straightforward, so it’s just the chopping to prepare the potatoes, peppers, and garlic that will take a bit of time, but not much.

Ingredient Search: If you already shop at Cash ‘N Carry here in the Valley, pick up a pork tenderloin the next time you’re there – they’re cheap! Just like everything at Cash ‘N Carry, it’s awesome! If you’re just going to the average grocery store you’ll find pork tenderloin easily too in the meat department. If you want to bother with the jarred cherry peppers then go right ahead. I didn’t want to so I used fresh red peppers instead. I also used red potatoes instead of new potatoes but either will taste great. Pick up a cheap bottle of Sauvignon Blanc at the wine department too and you’re set!

Vitals: Calories per serving (makes 4) = 370; Fat = 13.9 g (only 3.5 g saturated); Protein = 34.3 (wow!!); Carbohydrates = 21 g; Fiber = 2.8 g; Chol. = 90.2 mg; Sodium = 193.4 mg

Taste: What I love most about this meal is that it’s well rounded, tastes like meal my mom would have made growing up, AND it’s packed with protein! I felt full fast, which kept my portion control down. But being the lover of potatoes and carbs that I am, that was a good thing. The white wine, garlic, and parsley flavorings were a good mix. I will definitely be having this again…in fact I believe I’ll have it tonight!

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1-pound piece pork tenderloin
• kosher salt and pepper
• 1 pound new potatoes, quartered (or red potatoes)
• 2 large garlic cloves, smashed
• 1/2 cup dry white wine (such as Sauvignon Blanc)
• 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth or water
• 1/3 cup jarred hot cherry peppers, seeded and roughly chopped (or you can substitute with red peppers or any favorite bell pepper)
• 1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves

Prepare:

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season the pork with 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Place it on one side of the skillet; place the potatoes and garlic on the other side and season with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring the potatoes and turning the pork, until the pork is browned on all sides, 6 to 8 minutes.
2. Add the wine, broth, and cherry peppers. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, covered, until the pork is cooked through and the potatoes are tender, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer the pork to a cutting board and let rest at least 5 minutes before slicing.
3. Stir the parsley into the potatoes and serve with the sliced pork.

Eat and Be Merry!

TMK Recipe #7: Potato Chips with Blue Cheese Dip

I’m not one to use my calories up on Lays potato chips and the like, but as soon as you throw the homemade quotient in there it’s fair game! Lays has nothing on the freshly baked potato chips in this recipe. And let’s face it: When it comes to cheese, there are few I’m judgmental about. Cheese is gooood, and if you like blue cheese or blue cheese dressing – this is right up your alley of delectability! Great to serve at a football party or holiday get-together.

Blue Cheeseyness!

Potato Chips w/ Blue Cheese

Cooking Light (2008)

Ease-Factor Rating: 3.5. This recipe isn’t difficult, it just takes a bit of technicality at first. You’ll want to slice the potato thin if you like your chips crunchy, but not TOO thin or they’ll burn. Or if you like your chips chewy you’ll need to figure that out too. I used a mandoline and it worked great – literally chopped the prep time in half. I also used two potatoes instead of one so it required more trips to the oven, which is reflected in the extra half a point. The dip is easy breezy!

Ingredient Search: This is a pretty straight-forward trip to the grocery store and doesn’t require much hunting through the aisles. I used an Amish crumbled blue cheese (not patient enough to buy a block and crumble it myself) and it worked just great. If you have a favorite kind then I’m sure it’ll work perfectly. Note: If you’re from Potato Country like me, you’ll feel strange and guilty for buying a potato at the store. Guess I took growing up with a nearby cellar full of ‘em for granted!

Vitals: Calories per serving (makes 6) = 117; Fat = 3.7g (1.6g sat; 0.6g mono; 0.1g poly); Protein = 4.2g; Carb = 16.8g; Fiber = 1g; Chol = 9mg; Sodium = 352mg

Taste: I’ll be honest, this recipe is dangerous! Other than the slightly lighter texture and flavor of the dip, we wouldn’t have been able to tell this was a healthy recipe if we didn’t know better. I personally enjoyed that the dip wasn’t too overpowerful, but if you need a little more blue cheese bite to it, add just a LITTLE bit more cheese but not a lot – seriously, a little goes a really long way here. By the third batch of chips I got the thickness down perfectly and I was wishing we had more people in the house because I knew I couldn’t be trusted alone with this recipe. YumYumYUM!

Ingredients:

1/3 cup finely crumbled blue cheese

1/3 cup fat-free sour cream

2 Tablespoons light mayonnaise (I used slightly less….not a mayo fan)

2 Tablespoons skim milk

1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 pound russet potato (about 1 large, but use more if you’ve got company), thinly sliced

Cooking spray

1/2 teaspoon salt

Prepare:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place baking sheet in oven. Combine first 5 ingredients in a small bowl, stirring well. Cover and chill.

Place potato slices on paper towels; pat dry. Arrange half of potato slices in a single layer on preheated baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with half the salt. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Turn potato slices over; bake an additional 5 minutes or until golden. Repeat process with remaining potatoes and remaining salt. Serve immediately with blue cheese mixture.

Note: A serving size is about 1/2 cup chips and about 2 tablespoons dip. If you have any leftover (Ha! That’s funny.), store them in an airtight container for up to a week. You’ll need to bake them for two minutes at 450 degrees to recrisp.

ENJOY!

 

TMK Recipe #6: Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

You know it’s officially Fall when you start seeing pumpkin recipes everywhere. Some turn out mushy, watery, or bland. Others turn out savory and sweet. This is one of the later! Found in a Cooking Light magazine, this recipe is a great alternative to tired zucchini breads (we all know how much! !@#$  zucchini my household saw this summer). So I saw a chance to bake and I jumped at it!

Chocolate chips rock!

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

(Cooking Light)

Ease-Factor Rating: 2. Time is really all you need with this simple beauty (it requires over an hour in the oven). Otherwise it’ll take about 10 minutes to whip up and pour in the pan. The recipe makes 2 loaves but I’m not stocking up for the End and I had no room in my freezer for an extra loaf of anything, so that’s that story. But you go right ahead and make 2 loaves – it would be perfect to take to the office without having to hear your co-worker curse you out for causing her weight gain. Hee.

Ingredient Search: Canned pumpkin, chocolate chips, and fat-free vanilla pudding mix were the only ingredients I didn’t have on hand, and they’re cheap! Ingredients, check!

Vitals: Calories per serving (each loaf serves 16) = 152; Fat = 5g (1.2g saturated); Protein = 2g; Sodium = 137mg; Carbs = 26.5g; Fiber = 1.1g

Taste: The ONLY way you’re going to like this recipe is if A: You like chocolate chips; B: You like bread, and; C: You like pumpkin. If you can say yes to all three, you’re set! I personally like this as an occasional snack substitute (I say occasional because I really like my protein and the protein content in this isn’t substantial enough to make it onto my usual snack list). It’s also good heated up a touch and enjoy as dessert. Also – something I don’t have criteria for but should perhaps consider – it makes the kitchen smell GREAT while it’s baking! It’s Scentsy-meets-Betty Crocker-meets-Nutritionist!

Ingredients:

2 cups sugar

2 cups canned pumpkin

1/2 cup canola oil

1/2 cup fat-free vanilla pudding mix

4 large egg whites (I used Egg Beaters)

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Cooking spray

Prepare:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, level with a knife. Combine flour, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda in a medium bowl and stir with a whisk. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture, stirring just until moist. stir in chocolate chips.

Spoon batter into 2 (8×4-inch) loaf pans coating with cooking spray. Bake at 350 for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan on wire rack. Then remove from pans and cool completely on rack.

Enjoy!

 

TMK Recipe #5: Rainbow Chard with Pine Nuts and Feta

If you’re wondering what chard is, it’s green and leafy and looks like a cross between romaine and a beet. It is, in fact, in the beet family and the greens are hearty and full of good-for-you vitamins K, A, and C, not to mention other awesome things (click here for more on all that). The stalks are edible (depending on your taste and finicky-ness about texture) and can be different colors, hence the “rainbow” reference in the title. I love chard because it’s a lot like spinach, only more versatile and not as salty. So when I saw this side dish in a 2008 issue of Real Simple (I plucked it over a year ago but found it in my stash of must-try’s the other day), I had to try it! After all, it has feta in it…I can’t say no to feta!

A rainbow of yum!

Rainbow Chard with Pine Nuts and Feta

(Real Simple)

Ease-Factor Rating: 2. The only challenging thing about this recipe is rinsing the chard and cutting the long stems – which is not at all difficult but it can take more time than actually cooking this side dish. Otherwise if you can slice garlic, heat oil and stir things in a skillet, you’re good to go.

Ingredient Search: I lucked out with the chard because it was growing in my garden, however the prime time for chard is actually May through August so you may need to rely on grocery stores instead of farmer’s markets for this stuff. And I’m going to let you in on a little secret: I had to pull a sub in this recipe. It’s not that pine nuts were difficult to find – found ‘em packaged as well as in the bulk section – it’s that they’re INSANELY expensive! $5.99 for a few ounces of pine nuts? *pfft!* Soooo…I used roasted, unsalted sunflower seeds instead. Now you know my secret. But it was delicious and I have no doubt pine nuts will work excellently in this dish as well. So I leave that little spenditure debate to you. Also, if you want to try cutting the fat a bit, buy reduced-fat feta instead.

Vitals: Calories per serving (Makes 4) = 172; Fat = 16g (4g saturated); Sodium = 297mg; Protein = 4.5g; Carbs = 4g; Fiber = 1g

 Taste: This is one of my personal favorite side dishes and I’m excited I came across it and can’t wait to make it often, especially when chard is back in season and I can snag it locally or grow it in the garden. The feta cheese is a nice touch…but when is feta not? I like the slightly crunchy texture of the stalks in this but if you’re someone who doesn’t care for a stemmy crunch you can simply cut the leaves away from the stalk and cook as directed. I’m curious as to how it would taste as a main dish served over brown rice…hmm!

Ingredients:

 1 bunch rainbow chard

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 cup pine nuts (or unsalted sunflower seeds)

2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

Kosher salt and pepper to season

2 1/2 ounces crumbled Feta (about 1/2 cup)

Prepare:

Cut off the chard stalks near the base of the leaves and discard. Cut any large leaves in half lengthwise.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add th epine nuts and garlic and cook, stirring, until golden, about 2 minutes.

Stir in th echard, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring, until the chard ribs are just tender, 2 to 3 minutes.

Transfer to a serving bowl or plate and sprinkle with the Feta.

Eat!!

Up Next: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

 

TMK Recipe #4: Chocolate Chocolate Zucchini Cake

All summer long I’ve been searching aimlessly for zucchini recipes due to a ginormous surplus of them growing in my garden this year. There is such thing as TOO MUCH ZUCCHINI! I’ve become one of those people – the kind that take their zucchini to their workplace and coerce others into taking it home with them just to get rid of it. I don’t know if that’s a good thing, so I figured I better come up with another way. Devin Alexander came to my rescue! This Chocolate Chocolate Zucchini Cake is decadent but light-tasting, exactly what I’m always searching for in a dessert! As you probably know, zucchini takes on the flavor of whatever you cook it with. So just imagine this recipe – with its cocoa powder, chocolate chips, cinnamon and vanilla yogurt. Yep, it’s that good! So eat it up!

My Cake!

Chocolate Chocolate Zucchini Cake

Devin Alexander

(Healthy Decadence)

Ease-Factor Rating: 3. If you know baking procedures at all, you probably understand by now that dry ingredients mix together, wet ingredients mix together, then the two are combined. Same goes here, just add in a bit of extra sifting for the dry stuff and it’s cake! Ha – sorry, couldn’t help it…

Ingredient Search: I happily realized after looking at the ingredients list that I had most of the stuff on-hand. Fat-free vanilla yogurt doesn’t last very long in my casa thanks to, well, me – but everything is found within 5 minutes at the grocery store thanks to the fantastic baking aisle!

Vitals: Per serving (Makes 24): Calories = 135; Protein = 3 g; Carbs = 28 g; Fat = 1 g saturated; Trace of cholesterol; Fiber = 1 g; Sodium = 121 mg. Note that the fiber count is only 1 gram, but consider the fact that most desserts have nilch and you’ll realize this is still a sweet deal!

Taste: Light and chocolatey, I REALLY like the sweet treat of the chocolate chips scattered on top of the cake! Some of them fall to the bottom during baking and others stay afloat, so you get that added bite of gooey chocolate when you least expect it. YUM! As I mentioned before, it has a very light texture so you don’t feel an ounce of guilt for eating it. Plus it lasted WAY longer in the fridge than I expected it to. Devin says for a couple days, but mine lasted 5 (just ate the last piece last night!).

Ingredients:

Butter-flavored cooking spray

1/2 cup fat free milk

1/2 teaspoon white vinegar

2 1/2 cups unbleached, all purpose flour

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 egg whites

1 3/4 cups sugar

1 cup fat free vanilla yogurt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups grated zucchini

3/4 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13 x 9 x 2 inch glass dish or cake pan with non-stick spray. In a medium measuring cup, stir together the milk and the vinegar. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt into a medium bowl.

In a large mixing bowl, using an electric mixer fitted with beaters, mix the egg whites with the sugar on low speed until they are well combined. Beat in the yogurt, vanilla and milk mixture until they are just thoroughly blended.

Gradually add the sifted flour mixture, stirring it in until it is blended. Then using a wooden spoon or spatula, mix in the zucchini until combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the chocolate chips evenly over the top. Bake the cake for 40-45 minutes or until a tester inserted in the center comes out dry (a few crumbs are okay). Remove the cake to a cooling rack. Allow it to cool for at least 30 minutes and cut it into 24 equal pieces. Serve immediately or store in an airtight plastic container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Makes 24 servings.