Teriyaki-Glazed Roasted Pork Tenderloin

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving spend with friends and family, surrounded by love. At our house, we are enjoying that brief lull between Thanksgiving and the madness of Christmas – a tree to trim, presents to wrap and with a little luck, cookies to bake. In keeping with a new Holiday Tradition, we took an evening off to attend Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s Christmas Concert. This was our second year to enjoy our newly established family tradition, and the concert did not disappoint. If you have never attended a TSO show, I highly recommend it. Especially in this day and age, when so many scary, tragic stories dominate the media, it’s nice to escape from reality and be reminded of the wonderful magic and true meaning of Christmas.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve had enough of Thanksgiving left-overs. Don’t get me wrong, the family loves my Stuffing Stuffed Meatloaf following turkey day. However; there’s only so much stuffing-stuffed dishes and turkey soup one can handle. It’s time to move on to other things, however brief, that have no connection to the holiday season.

This delightful Pork Tenderloin recipe is actually a simplified adaptation of a recipe I had created last summer for the grill, I just never got around to snapping a few photos and writing the post. Shame on me – but I promise to share it with you just as soon as it’s warm enough to cook outdoors again. Here the in central valley of California, we went from an unusually warm summer to a brief warm fall, and then plunged head-long into a chilly cold winter. And rain – thank God, because we sure can use the water. Keep your fingers crossed that we are finally coming out of a long drought. Lord knows, the farmers could use a break.

Teriyaki-Glazed Roasted Pork Tenderloin
Teriyaki Marinade
¼ Cup Garlic, crushed
¼ Cup Ginger, diced
1 Cup Soy Sauce
1 Cup Sugar
¼ Cup Sesame Oil
1 tablespoon Cornstarch
2 tablespoons water

Dice ginger, set aside.

Crush garlic with the blade of a knife. Set aside.

Place Soy Sauce, Sugar and Sesame Oil into a sauce pan. Gently warm over low heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves. Add ginger and garlic, give a quick swirl and remove from heat. Prepare pork for marinade.

Roasted Pork Tenderloin
1 1/2-2 Lb Pork Tenderloin
1 Recipe Teriyaki Marinade (above)

Poke a few small openings into the pork to allow marinate to seep into meat.  (The tip of a sharp knife will do, you don’t want to openings to be so large that the natural juices of the pork can escape. Just a few tiny slits on the top and bottom will do the trick). Place tenderloin in a resealable plastic bag. Pour marinade into the bag, seal closed and turn bag several times to coat the meat in the marinade. Refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Line a rimmed baking pan with foil. This will make clean up easier as the teriyaki glaze can make a big mess. Center a V-shaped rack the foil-lined baking pan.

Dissolve cornstarch in water to create a thickening agent to transform the marinade into a glaze, set aside.

Remove tenderloin from marinate. Place tenderloin on roasting rack and let roast rest on counter for about 15 minutes to create a more evenly tempered meat for better roasting.

In the meantime, pour the marinade into a sauce pan, add cornstarch mixture and bring to a boil. Lower heat and allow to simmer until marinade reduces to a thicker “glaze”.

Ladle some of the thickened glaze over tenderloin, reserving about half of the glaze for serving. A basting brush is great for spreading the glaze all around the roast. Keep the remaining glaze warm until ready to serve. It will continue to thicken as it simmers, which is perfect. Just give it a quick stir every now and again.

Roast teriyaki-glazed tenderloin for approximately 30 minutes. Remove from oven, add about 1/4 cup of water to pan, cover with foil and let “steam” in juices for about 10 minutes longer.

Remove roast from oven, leave covered and let rest for 5 minutes prior to slicing.

Transfer to serving platter, slice into medallions and pour on the remaining teriyaki glaze for added yummy flavor. Serve and enjoy.

Teriyaki-Glazed Pork Tenderloin goes well with your favorite Rice Pilaf and steamed green beans. A wonderful delight for any night of the week.

Vegetable Beef Burgundy over Mashed Potatoes

Let me start off with an apology – there are no step by step photos for today’s blog. The intentions were good. This awesome, hardy and oh so delicious supper cooked in the my slow cooker all day and the aroma that greeted us as the end of the day had our mouths watering. I really really wanted to document each step of preparation process for you. Wouldn’t you know it, I overslept this morning.  (Actually, I woke up at about 4 am, checked the clock and thought about getting up, taking my time to document every step, but 4 am was way too early. So I snuggled down and went back to sleep. The next thing I know, I had over slept. OMG!) I was a mad woman in the kitchen, with a cup of coffee in one hand and a knife in the other – no time to spare setting the stage and getting those wonderful pictures this morning. It was all I could do to get my morning coffee and a quick shower. The clean as you go queen left the sink with a few dirty pans as we rushed out the door. Only the finished dish, my plate-full of scrumptious Beef Burgundy and tender vegetables over a mountain of creamy mashed potatoes, was captured for prosperity in a photo. I promise, next time I make this crockpot supper, I’ll update this post with pictures – cross my heart and everything.

That said, this is similar to French Beef and Red Wine Stew on Garlic Mashed Potatoes, but with a lot more vegetable and a lot less wine. It’s a great meal to serve on a cold winter’s night – filling and oh so satisfying! The smoky bacon, the tender beef, the wine, all those colorful carrots, peas, mushrooms and pearl onions came together beautifully. (I truly wish I had thought to snap a picture of the carrots – found the most awesome bag of baby carrots in the produce section – purple, orange and white!) The up-front prep work is a little labor intense, but on the back side, the finishing work is quick and easy. While the Beef Burgundy is in the final stages, simply make up a big pot of creamy-dreamy mashed potatoes. (FYI – potatoes can be peeled, sliced and covered with about an inch of water in the morning. When you get home, all you need to do is drain, cover with fresh water and turn on the stove. If you cut the potatoes into smaller pieces, they should cook up in about 10 minutes once the water comes to a boil).

Beef Burgundy over Mashed Potatoes
6 Bacon slices, cooked and crumbling
2 lbs Chuck roast, cut into large chunks
1 (10.75 oz) can beef consommé
1 Bag (16 oz) Pearl Onions, blanched and peeled
1 bag (16 oz) Baby Carrots (less a few you just had to taste because they were purple!)
3 celery ribs, sliced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 garlic cloves, minced
¾ teaspoon dried ground thyme
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
3 bay leaf
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
8 oz fresh small mushrooms, quartered
2 cups frozen peas
½ cup burgundy wine
3 lbs Hot cooked mashed potatoes

Fry bacon until crisp. Once bacon is cooked, remove from skillet, let drain on paper towels. Leave bacon drippings in skillet.

While bacon is frying, blanch pearl onions, trim ends and remove peel. Set aside until ready to use.

Cut roast into large chunks, about 2 inches thick. In skillet that bacon was fried in over medium-high heat, brown roast on each side, about 5-6 minutes per side. Transfer meat to large slow cooker.

Add the bacon, beef consommé, onion, carrots, celery, tomato paste, garlic, thyme, salt, pepper, bay leaf, and Worcestershire sauce to slow cooker.

Cover and cook on LOW for about 6-8 hours, or until beef is extremely tender. (Falling apart).

Add in the mushrooms, peas and wine.  Turn cooker to HIGH and let cook for about 15-20 minutes or until peas and mushrooms are nicely warmed.

To serve, discard bay leaves, taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Place mashed potatoes on individual rimmed plates or bowls and top with Beef Burgundy. (This can also be served over Egg Noodles if desired).

Enjoy!

Super Moist Breaded Ranch Chicken

The inspiration for this chicken dish came from love pomegranate house, a self-proclaimed die-hard DIY-er with lots of recipes, tips and projects. Those of you who are familiar with me know that I love to tweak and play around with recipes. This recipe was no exception. The original recipe included Parmesan Cheese and garlic power mixed into the bread crumbs along with a package of Ranch Dressing Mix (the dry stuff). The breasts are dipped into melted butter, then rolled in the breadcrumb mixture before being fried. (Sound delicious, doesn’t it?)

I skipped the garlic powder and Parmesan Cheese (Hubby isn’t a fan of cheese). Rather than dip the chicken in butter to moisten before breading, and to get that same wonderful Ranch flavor, I brushed the breasts with bottled Ranch Dressing first.

When Kiddo (my harshest and most vocal food critic) took one bite and said “How did you get the chicken so moist?” I explained that brushing the chicken breasts with the Ranch Dressing and rolling in breadcrumbs created a tasty “thermal” blanket, keeping the natural juices of the chicken IN the chicken. The wine at the end added moisture as well.

All he knew was that the chicken was “yummy” and that’s what counts, right? Add to the fact that you can have dinner on the table in under 30 minutes, and you’ve got the makings for a great weeknight meal.

I served my chicken with Rice-A-Roni (haven’t made that in years!) and cut green beans. The chicken finished a little ahead of the rice, so I held it in a warm oven (about 300 degrees), and poured the pan-drippings over the breast to help hold it the moisture. That was perfect – the chicken held and stayed super moist while the rice cooked another 10 minutes. It’s always nice to know if a recipe will hold in the oven when your timing is a little off.

Breaded Ranch Chicken
1/2 Cup Ranch Dressing
1 cup Italian Bread Crumbs
2 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
4 boneless chicken breasts
2-3 Tablespoons White Wine

Filet chicken breast lengthwise to create 2 thin breasts from each larger breast. (Or use thin sliced breasts from the market).

Pat breasts dry with paper towels.

Brush breast with Ranch Dressing, then roll in bread crumbs.

Melt butter with olive oil in a large frying pan over medium high heat. Once melted, lower heat to medium, place breaded chicken into pan.

Cook for about 5-8  minutes or until golden brown. Turn and cook for an additional 3-5 minutes.

 

Add wine to the skillet, cover and “steam” for a few minutes longer or until chicken is cooked through.

Transfer to a warm platter, drizzle with pan drippings and serve with favorite sides.

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Cut chicken into thin breasts (or as I did, buy the thin-cut breasts), pat dry and brush with Ranch Dressing. Roll coated breasts in breadcrumbs while the skillet warms.

Place breaded breasts into the skillet with melted butter-olive oil for frying. Cook breasts for about 5 minutes or so until golden and cooked mid-way through.

Turn chicken and continue to cook another 5 minutes or so until golden and cooked through.

Add a little wine to the skillet, allow chicken to “steam” for a few minutes. The wine will impart additional flavor and moisture to the meat while deglazing the pan. Transfer chicken to a serving platter, drizzle with pan drippings.

Serve up these super-moist Breaded Ranch Chicken Breasts with your favorite sides and enjoy!

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