Fig and Blue Cheese-Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

Yield:  4 servings (serving size: 3 slices)

1 (1-pound) pork tenderloin, trimmed
1/2 cup dried figs, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Cooking spray
1 tablespoon apple jelly, melted


CALORIES 274 (30% from fat); FAT 9.2g (sat 4.6g,mono 3g,poly 0.6g); IRON 1.8mg; CHOLESTEROL 80mg; CALCIUM 135mg; CARBOHYDRATE 19.7g; SODIUM 581mg; PROTEIN 28.4g; FIBER 2.5g

Cooking Light, JANUARY 2007





An apple glaze and sweet dried figs complement the savory blue cheese in this simple yet refined dish. Serve with wild rice and steamed green beans.

Preheat oven to 450°.

Slice the pork in half lengthwise, cutting to, but not through, other side. Open the halves, laying pork flat. Place pork between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; pound to 1/2-inch thickness using a meat mallet or small heavy skillet. Sprinkle figs and blue cheese over pork, leaving a 1/2-inch margin around outside edges. Roll up the pork, jelly-roll fashion, starting with long side. Secure at 2-inch intervals with twine. Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper, and place on a foil-lined jelly-roll pan coated with cooking spray.

Bake at 450° for 20 minutes. Brush jelly over the pork. Bake an additional 5 minutes or until a thermometer registers 160° (slightly pink). Let stand for 10 minutes. Discard twine; cut pork into 12 (1-inch-thick) slices.

Week of January 16 - 22

This was pretty much a Cooking Light week!

Sunday -  Fettucine with Mushrooms and Hazelnuts  This doesn't sound good, but it was fantastic.
Monday - Pork Tenderloin with Red and Yellow Peppers  Also very good.
Tuesday - Had a meeting, so Walter was on his own
Wednesday - Honestly cannot remember what we ate...I just know I didn't fix what was on my list!
Thursday - Mexican Casserole with Charred Tomato Salsa
Friday - International Date Night - went to Huey's
Saturday - our favorite Memphis Pizza Cafe pizza

Pork Tenderloin with Red and Yellow Peppers

Anchovies melt into the pepper mixture, adding a savory, salty quality. If you don't like anchovies, omit them and add 3 tablespoons minced olives. Serve with mashed potatoes.

(I substituted kalamata olives for the anchovies.)

Yield:  4 servings (serving size: 3 ounces pork and about 1/2 cup bell pepper mixture)


1 (1-pound) pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut crosswise into 1-inch-thick medallions
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary, divided
4 canned anchovy fillets, drained and mashed
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1 1/2-inch strips
1 yellow bell pepper, cut into 1 1/2-inch strips
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar


Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add pork to pan; cook for 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium; turn pork over. Add 1 teaspoon rosemary, anchovies, garlic, and bell peppers; cook 7 minutes or until peppers are tender and pork is done. Drizzle with vinegar. Top with remaining 1/2 teaspoon rosemary.


CALORIES 215 ; FAT 10.1g (sat 2.7g,mono 5.4g,poly 1.2g); CHOLESTEROL 78mg; CALCIUM 26mg; CARBOHYDRATE 5g; SODIUM 441mg; PROTEIN 25.2g; FIBER 1.4g; IRON 2mg

Cooking Light, JANUARY 2011

Chicken Fried Rice with Leeks and Dried Cranberries

I substituted pork tenderloin for the chicken and it was delicious.  Next time I'll put in only half the cranberries, though, cause it was a little sweet.

Other Time: 26 minutes minutes
Yield:  4 servings (serving size: about 1 1/3 cups)


2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1/2 pound skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3 cups thinly sliced leek (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 1/2 cups cooked, chilled long-grain brown rice
1 cup dried cranberries
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
1/4 cup dry white wine


CALORIES 452 ; FAT 11.1g (sat 1.9g,mono 6.2g,poly 2.1g); CHOLESTEROL 47.1mg; CALCIUM 70mg; CARBOHYDRATE 74g; SODIUM 433mg; PROTEIN 16.6g; FIBER 6g; IRON 3mg

Cooking Light, JANUARY 2011

1. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to pan, swirling to coat. Sprinkle 1/8 teaspoon salt over chicken. Add chicken to pan, and sauté for 3 minutes or until browned, stirring occasionally. Remove the chicken from pan. Add leek, black pepper, and remaining 5/8 teaspoon salt to pan; sauté for 4 minutes or until leek is tender and golden. Add leek mixture to chicken.

2. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil to pan, swirling to coat. Add rice, stirring well to coat rice with oil; cook, without stirring, 2 minutes or until edges begin to brown. Stir rice mixture; cook, without stirring, 2 minutes or until edges begin to brown. Stir in chicken mixture, cranberries, and sage. Add wine; cook for 2 minutes or until mixture is dry, stirring constantly.

Tex-Mex Pork

	Photo: John Autry; Styling: Cindy Barr

Tex-Mex Pork



Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add pork to pan; sprinkle with 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt and 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. Sauté for 8 minutes or until lightly browned. Add salsa and 1/4 cup water to pan; bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes or until slightly thickened. Serve pork mixture over rice; top with sour cream and avocado.Yield:  4 servings (serving size: 3/4 cup pork mixture, 1/2 cup rice, 1 tablespoon sour cream, and 3 tablespoons avocado)


1 pound pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut into 3/4-inch cubes (I cut into bite-sized pieces)3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups refrigerated fresh salsa (Didn't have, so used 1 cup Pace's mild plus 1 can diced tomatoes, drained)1/4 cup water
2 cups hot cooked long-grain rice (I used Israeli couscous)1/4 cup light sour cream
3/4 cup cubed avocado

CALORIES 322 ; FAT 8.3g (sat 2.4g,mono 4.2g,poly 1g); CHOLESTEROL 79mg; CALCIUM 38mg; CARBOHYDRATE 28.9g; SODIUM 658mg; PROTEIN 27g; FIBER 2.3g; IRON 2.3mg

Cooking Light, DECEMBER 2010

Oct 3-9 2010

I went to Blowing Rock on Tuesday, Sep 28 and got ready for some good friends to join me for the weekend.  On Thursday they arrived:  (from left to right below) Patty Lynn Ellis from Los Angeles, Marcia (Mar'-cee-ah) Stone from San Francisco, Donna Amundson from Minneapolis/St. Paul,  and Chris Wright from Cincinnati.  We had a fantastic time in BR!  I love you all!

I drove back home on Monday the 4th and Walter was supposed to return from his meeting in Las Vegas that evening.  Alas, his flight was cancelled so I was on my own for dinner that night.  That means I had crackers and ice cream!  The rest of the week was business as usual.

Tuesday 10/5/10
  
Cider-Glazed Chicken with Browned Butter-Pecan Rice
   from Oct '10 Cooking Light
Sauteed Portobello Mushrooms
Salad of Iceberg Lettuce, Argula, Baby Bellas, Shallots

     This was a big hit with Walter.  I used walnuts instead of pecans 'cause that's what I had.  The mushrooms, shallots, and iceberg lettuce were leftovers from the girls' weekend.  I took a plate to my neightbor, John Glass.  I'm doing dinner for him this week as his wife, my friend Dotsie, is at the beach on her own girls' getaway!  He liked it, too.

Wednesday 10/5/10

Spiced Pork Tenderloin with Sauteed Apples
    from Oct '10 Cooking Light
Spinach Salad
  
     Fantastic flavor for these pork medallions and the sauteed apples were yummy.  This is a keeper.  For the spinach salad I just used a container of Organic Girl and added some Herbs de Provence goat cheese from Ripshin Goat Dairy in Lenoir, NC (but any good goat cheese will do), chopped shallots and crumbled bacon.  I splashed in a bit of white balsamic vinegar.  Pretty good.

Thursday 10/6/10

Loaded Potato Soup
   from Oct '10 Cooking Light
Bread - at least I meant to have bread, but got busy and forgot to go to Panera :(
 
     I put the soup together on Thursday morning because I planned to be away from home most of the day and because I think soup is better if it can meld for a little while.  It came together very quickly, went into the fridge and I was off!  The soup that evening was good, even if the weather did become unseasonably warm, not quite soup weather.  The salt and pepper in the ingredients weren't enough for us, and I don't like a lot of salt (Walter does!)  I have another recipe for Potato Soup that is almost identical except it uses leeks instead of onions.  I'll have to make it soon and do a taste comparison.

Spiced Pork Tenderloin with Sauteed Apples

Cooking Light, OCTOBER 2010

Sweet spices coat lean pork tenderloin, while apples get a

savory treatment with shallots and thyme. Serve with a

spinach salad.

Time: 20 minutes

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 3 pork medallions and about

1/2 cup apple mixture)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground coriander

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 pound pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut crosswise into 12 pieces

Cooking spray

2 tablespoons butter

2 cups thinly sliced unpeeled Braeburn or Gala apple  I used Honeycrisp

1/3 cup thinly sliced shallots

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup apple cider

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

1. Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Combine first 5 ingredients; sprinkle spice

mixture evenly over pork. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add pork to pan; cook 3 minutes on each

side or until desired degree of doneness. Remove pork from pan; keep warm.

2. Melt butter in pan; swirl to coat. Add apple slices, 1/3 cup shallots, and 1/8 teaspoon salt; sauté

4 minutes or until apple starts to brown. Add apple cider to pan, and cook for 2 minutes or until

apple is crisp-tender. Stir in thyme leaves. Serve apple mixture with the pork.

CALORIES 234 ; FAT 9.7g (sat 5g,mono 3.2g,poly 0.7g); CHOLESTEROL 89mg; CALCIUM

18mg; CARBOHYDRATE 12.3g; SODIUM 468mg; PROTEIN 24.4g; FIBER 1.5g; IRON 1.7mg