Pork Medallions with Cherry Sauce

Does this sound fancy and impressive?  Good.  It's supposed to.  Believe me though when I say it is the exact opposite to make.  This is the kind of thing you make when you want to impress.  Got the in-laws dropping by after work?  Boss coming over?  Girlfriend you really want to wow?  Just want to show off for.... yourself (it's ok to pamper yourself.  It's good for you in fact!)?  This is the perfect recipe for you.  :)

I really like working with pork tenderloin.  It's low in fat.  It's generally inexpensive.  It cooks really fast.  And unless you forget about it in the oven for 4 hours, it's always tender and juicy.  And apparently when you slice it up you get to call it fancy things like "medallions."  Love it!

Pork Medallions with Cherry Sauce
Recipe from The Food You Crave


One 1 1/4 lb pork tenderloin, cut into 1/2 inch thick medallions
1/2 tsp salt, divided
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
3 tsp olive oil, divided
2 tbsp chopped shallot
3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup dried tart cherries

1.  Season the pork medallions with 1/4 tsp salt and pepper.  Heat 2 tsp oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and cook the meat until there is just a slight blush in the center, about 3 minutes per side.  Transfer meat to a plate and tent with foil.

2.  Add the remaining 1 tsp oil and the shallot to the pan and cook, stirring, until it begins to soften, about 1 minute.  Add the broth, vinegar, the remaining 1/4 tsp salt, and the cherries.  Cook until the liquid is reduced by half, about 4 minutes.  Taste for seasoning.  Pour sauce over medallions and serve.

Granola Bars

Playgroup Granola Bar

I received an interesting request based off my granola post last week.  Loose granola is great, but do I have any granola bars recipes?  Hmmm, to be honest I'd never really thought about making my own granola bars and I'm really not sure why.  I love granola bars!  They have all the goodness I love about granola but in this handy little To-Go package.  I realize that I don't very often buy granola bars because of the price, plus I don't love all the sugar that's typically in most of the bars I can afford.  What's a girl to do?

Time to research some recipes!!

I found two that looked intriguing so over the weekend I made them both, hoping to whittle it down to one that I could share with y'all.  Um...ran into a little "snag" though....we ended up liking both recipes!  The first I found on AllRecipes.com and is SUPER easy to put together and PERFECT for any little budding Food Network Stars you have running around your house.

Playgroup Granola Bars are wonderful if you need some snacks on-hand but are short on time.  There's no chopping involved; just toss everything into the bowl and mix up with your hands.  How easy is that??  And because it bakes in a 9x13 pan, you'll have quite a few bars to stack up in your pantry.  I also really like this recipe for it's flexibility.  I feel like I can play around with adding other ingredients (nuts, chocolate chips...) or making swaps (craisins for raisins?) without significantly affecting the finished bar.  One change I will definitely play with is cutting back on the sweetness.  These bars are great but almost taste like an oatmeal raisin cookie to me.  So I may dabble with cutting back the amount of brown sugar in my own variations.  Definitely try this one out though and see what you think of it!

The other bar I tried is absolutely one I'll make again, and possibly double the recipe!  It's a Walnut-Cherry bar and sooooo yummy!!  I could be biased though because walnuts are my favorite nut and who doesn't love cherries?  There is some chopping and toasting involved with this one so it's a smidge less kid-friendly than the previous recipe.  It also doesn't make as many bars so if quantity is your goal I recommend doubling this.  On the bright side, this one has way less sugar but does not sacrifice on that yummy sweet taste, thanks to the cherries.

Walnut-Cherry Bars
Recipe adapted from So Easy


1 cup quick cooking oats
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup toasted wheat germ
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup honey
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup canola oil
1 large egg, beaten to blend
1 large egg white
3/4 cup chopped dried tart cherries
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
Cooking spray

1. Preheat the oven to 350.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the oats, flour, wheat germ, cinnamon, and salt.

2. In another bowl, whisk together the honey, applesauce, oil, egg, and egg white until well combined.  Stir in the oat mixture until well combined.  Add the dried cherries and walnuts.

3. Coat an 8-inch square baking pan with cooking spray.  Spread the mixture in the prepared pan and back until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 30-35 minutes.  Cool and cut into bars (recommended: 12 bars).

 

Walnut & Dried Cherry Bar

I always know I did something good in the kitchen if 1) my son INHALES the result, and 2) my husband asks me to make it again (actually, he usually says something like "you can make these again").  So guess what I'll be stocking in my pantry from now on. ;)