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Monday, July 27, 2015

Roast Pork Tenderloin with Pan Sauce

This tender and flavorful pork tenderloin 
roast is made even more delicious with a 
simple pan sauce. Just marinade and roast. 
 Add all the marinade ingredients to a
zip bag and smoosh to mix. Add the pork and
smoosh to coat it all over. Press out the air and
 close the bag. Refrigerate for a few hours.
 Remove the pork from the bag and
save the remaining marinade. Roast @400º
for about 30 minutes. I like to use my
cast iron skillet. It gives it a good sear.
 There are always 2 tenderloins in a package and
one is always bigger than the other, so if yours is
the smaller one, just roast for a little less time.
Once it's nice and browned, remove it to a warm
platter. Let it rest while you make the pan sauce.
Place the skillet on medium heat; add the broth
and whisk to scrape up all the browned pieces. 
Add the reserved marinade and bring to a 
 simmer and let reduce for 2-3 minutes.  
 Whisk in the  butter and keep warm on low.
 Slice the tenderloin and spoon on the sauce.
Be sure to spoon extra sauce on each serving.
I served this with sweet potatoes and
oven-roasted brussel sprouts.
For the sweet potatoes I just microwaved
them for 4-6 minutes until tender. Then
I topped with  butter and brown sugar.
The brussel sprouts  were tossed with a little
olive oil, salt and pepper and roasted along with
 the tenderloin for the last 20  minutes,
shake the pan halfway to toss.
I used my cast iron pans for the tenderloin and
the brussel sprouts. 

Roast Pork Tenderloin with Pan Sauce
 1-lb pork tenderloin
2 T olive oil
2 T soy sauce
1 T brown sugar
1 T red wine vinegar
1 T lemon juice
1 T Worcestershire saauce
1 t dried parsley flakes
1 t dry mustard
1 t garlic powder
1/4 t pepper
Add all the marinade ingredients to a Ziplock bag. 
Add the pork tenderloin and toss to coat. Seal 
and refrigerate for 3-4 hours. Remove the pork 
from the bag and reserve the marinade. Roast in
 a large skillet @400º oven for 25-30 minutes.
Remove and let rest 5-10 minutes while you
 make pan sauce. Slice the roast and put
 on a platter. Spoon on sauce.
Pan Sauce:
1/2 C chicken broth
reserved marinade
A pat of butter about 1/2 T
Place the skillet on medium heat; add the broth
and scrape up all the browned pieces. Add the 
reserved marinade and bring to a simmer and let 
reduce for 2-3 minutes. Whisk in the butter. 
Remove from heat. Pour over the pork 
tenderloin slices in the platter. 

Enjoy!


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Links: Between Naps On The Porch

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Blue Cheese Sauce for Steak

 Whip up this simple blue cheese sauce 
the next time you are grilling steaks. 
It's so easy and takes your steak dinner to a 
new level. It's great when you're having company. 
Also keep it in  mind for one of your
holiday family dinners. Here goes...
 Mince the garlic and add to the cream.
 Let simmer on low until reduced and thickened.
This takes about 30 minutes, stir occasionally.
 Stir in the cheese, salt, pepper, and W-sauce.
 Whisk in to allow the cheese to melt slightly.
 Add chopped fresh parsley-good if you have it. 
It's so good on steaks- rib eye and filet mignon are
my favorite. I swirl my vegetables and potatoes in
the sauce that's on my plate too. It's also great on 
burgers, grilled salmon, spicy shrimp, and of 
course, a dip for  buffalo wings.

Leftover sauce is good to have for a dinner later in
the week. It's good on almost everything.


Blue Cheese Sauce
1 C heavy cream
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
4 oz (about 1/2C) crumbled blue cheese
1/4 t salt & 1/4 t pepper
1 t Worcestershire sauce- a good dash
1-2 T chopped parsley
Combine the cream and garlic in a small saucepan
and let simmer on low until thickened, about 30
minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and whisk
to melt the cheese. Stir in the chopped parsley.
Keep warm. Serves 4-6

Enjoy!


Thursday, July 16, 2015

Sea Scallops Piccata with Caramelized Spaghetti Squash

When you want a special dinner sea scallops are
 a nice choice. In this recipe they are served on
 top of spaghetti squash. I showed  how easy it
is to make it in my previous post.
 Break the recipe down into small steps and
it's simple, easy, and done in 20 minutes.
 First, make the squash as shown HERE
and set that aside.
 Have the other ingredients ready
because it goes quickly from here.
 Blot dry the scallops with a paper towel
and season with salt and pepper.
Next make the lemon piccata sauce.
Whisk to emulsify. 
 Add the capers and chives and
 set that aside while you cook the scallops.
 Brown the scallops on both sides in olive oil
 and remove to a heated plate and keep warm
 with the other dinner plates in a low oven.
 Now, add the butter and sage to the pan .
 Saute until the butter is a golden brown.
 Add the spaghetti squash to the pan.
Toss around in the browned butter until lightly
 golden, about 5 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, 
and lemon juice
To give it a special ta-da! presentation,
 arrange the squash in a long line
 on a heated plate and top with the 
scallops. Spoon on the reserved warm 
piccata sauce and serve.

Sea Scallops Piccata with 
Caramelized Spaghetti Squash
1 spaghetti squash cooked ~ as seen HERE.
1 lb sea scallops
2 T olive oil
1 stick butter (8 T)
2 T lemon juice
2 T capers
2 T chopped chives
10 fresh sage leaves
salt and pepper

Piccata Sauce:
In a small sauce pan bring 2 T water to a  boil.
Turn off heat and add 6 T butter, cut up. 
Whisk to incorporate into an emulsified  melted
butter sauce. Add 1 T lemon juice and 
chives. Set aside.
Scallops:
Heat a large saute pan over medium-high and
add the 2 T olive oil. Season the scallops with 
salt and pepper. Add to the hot oil and brown
for about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate
in a warm oven while you finish the squash.
Squash: 
In the same saute pan add the remaining 2 T 
butter and the sage leaves. When the butter
begins to brown add the spaghetti squash and 
toss it in the browned butter until lightly golden,
about 5 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, and
the remaining 1 T lemon juice. 
To Serve:
Arrange the squash in a straight line on the heated
plates. Place the scallops on top of the squash. 
Spoon on the reserved piccata sauce. 
Serve immediately. Serves 4

Enjoy!

Friday, July 10, 2015

How To Cook Spaghetti Squash

Don't let that big yellow spaghetti squash at
 the Farmers Market intimidate you!
It's one of the easiest vegetables to make.
No peeling, no dicing, just pop it into the oven 
or microwave. When it's tender, cut and scrape
out the seeds. Then rake the inside with a fork 
into long strands. 
How can you resist that happy, 
sunshiny yellow color? 
The easiest way for me to make it is
 in the microwave. Three big reasons: 
1. It takes only 10-15 minutes.
2. It doesn't use that much oven power
or heat up the kitchen.
3. Most important; it's easier to cut when it's
 softened up a bit. Too dangerous and
 hard to cut when it's raw.
Pierce all over about 10-15 times.
 Microwave for 5 minutes to soften.
 Now it's easy to cut in half.
Cutting in half horizontally will give
you longer spaghetti-like strands.
 Scrape out only the seeds.
 Put in a dish with 1/4" water and return
 to the microwave for another 5-7 minutes.
 Start shredding with a fork.

Spaghetti Squash~ Easy Method
Pierce all over with the tip of a sharp paring
knife. Put it in the microwave for 5 minutes.
That will soften it enough so that you can cut
it in half easily. Scrape out only the seeds. 
Put cut-side down in a shallow casserole and 
add abut 1/4 inch of water to the bottom.
return to the microwave for another 5-7
minuted until tender. Remove and let cool 
so that it's easier to handle. Hold with a 
kitchen towel and use a fork to rake out
the inside into spaghetti-like strands.

Alternative: 
~ You can bake it whole for 1 hour @375º.
Then it's easy to cut and scrape out the seeds.

~ You can cut it in half, scrape out the seeds, 
drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and 
pepper and roast cut side down @425º for 
30 minutes, until fork tender, then

~ Simply season with salt, pepper, butter
~ Use in place of pasta.

~ Saute 2 minced garlic cloves in 2 T butter. 
Add 1/4 C minced fresh parsley
 and 1/4 C grated Parmesan cheese. 
Add the squash strands.
Toss to heat through. Salt and pepper.

~ Add sauteed spinach, bacon, and feta cheese.

~ Saute with butter and fresh herbs, like sage.
~ or...try the recipe I'll be posting next!

Enjoy!


Links: Facebook, Between Naps On The Porch,

Thursday, July 9, 2015

Baked Lemon, Garlic, Butter Tilapia

Here's another favorite tilapia recipe. 
It's fast, flavorful, and so easy.
A good one to add to your recipe rotation.
 Use real butter and fresh parsley. Fresh lemons
are best, but bottled will do.
If you don't have garlic cloves, just use lots 
of garlic salt in place of the regular salt.
 Add it all to the melted butter in the pan.
Bale for 15 minutes. That's It! Easy!
I served it with purple potatoes, and
fresh green beans for lots of flavor and color.
 Lemon Garlic Butter Tilapia
3 tilapia filets
3 T butter
2 T lemon juice
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 T minced fresh parsley
salt and pepper
Put the butter in a 9x13 baking dish 
and put in a 400º oven while it preheats.
Remove the pan from the oven and add
the lemon juice and garlic to the melted 
butter. Shake the pan to blend. Add the 
tilapia and turn over once to coat with butter
Season well with salt and pepper. Sprinkle
the parsley over the top. Bake for 15 minutes
until opaque. Serve and drizzle with extra
butter sauce from the pan.
serves 2-3
Enjoy!