Cranberry Pork Tenderloin

One of my all-time favorite food pairs is pork and fruit.  I don't know why exactly but I think there are so many fruits out there that complement pork beautifully!  Apples, pineapples, cherries... I particularly love cranberries with pork.  Must be a family thing.  My brother came up with a cranberry pork chop recipe that is insanely good.  And now that I've said that I'll have to make it again soon so I can share it with you.

But anyway, it's my brother's recipe that gave me the inspiration for this one.  Now, he uses cranberry juice for his sauce, which is great but I very rarely buy juice.  (I know, I'm weird.)  I do try to keep cranberry sauce around though.... and this dish was born:

Cranberry Pork Tenderloin
Recipe inspired by my brother

One 1lb pork tenderloin
1/2 cup whole berry cranberry sauce*
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

*If it's feasible for you, because I know we're all busy, I'd strongly recommend using some homemade cranberry sauce.  Maybe you stashed some in the freezer after Thanksgiving?  No?  Oh.  Well, if you don't have any leftovers hiding in the back corner of your deep freezer, consider grating a little fresh ginger and orange zest into the canned kind to jazz it up. Just a thought...

1.  Preheat oven to 375.  Spray a baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

2.  Combine the cranberry sauce and mustard and season to taste with salt and pepper.

3.  Lay the pork in the greased baking dish and pour the cranberry mixture over it, making sure the whole tenderloin is coated.  Bake for 25-30 minutes.  LET REST 10-15 MINUTES before slicing.

It doesn't take a mountain of ingredients to make a tasty, flavorful dish.  Sometimes things taste even better because of the simplicity!  I love dishes like this.  Easy.  Throw it in the oven.  Bake some potatoes, steam some veggies and I've got dinner done with very little hands-on time put into it.  I think I spent less than 10 minutes getting everything together.  Gotta love that on a busy night!

Indonesian Pork Tenderloin

It doesn't matter if the Family Cook is sick or not, we still need to eat.  So some meals over the weekend got shuffled around in my plan, and take out did get ordered at one point.  But I was DETERMINED to find enough energy to put this one together.  Soooo glad I did!

And it's truly amazing how much flavor there is in such few ingredients...

Indonesian Pork Tenderloin
Recipe only slightly adapted from Kitchen Confidante

1 1-lb pork tenderloin
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp creamy peanut butter
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
2 cloves garlic, minced
Vegetable cooking spray
1/4 cup mango chutney


1.  Preheat oven to 375°F.

Don't we all have these ingredients in our pantries?

2.  Combine soy sauce, peanut butter, red pepper flakes and garlic, stirring well. Spread mixture over tenderloin. Place in a 9x13 baking dish coated with cooking spray.  Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes.

Thick coating

3.  Brush tenderloin with mango chutney and bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until meat thermometer registers 160°F with a meat thermometer, basting often with chutney [Note: I hovered over the oven and basted every 2-3 minutes]. Remove from oven, cover lightly with foil, and let stand 10 minutes before slicing.

Quite possibly my new favorite condiment.

I may have been extra stuffed up when I made this but I still could smell the amazing aromas wafting from the kitchen.  And the flavor of this was INCREDIBLE!!  I'd never worked with mango chutney before, but I kept hearing about it so wanted to give it a try.  WOW!  The ginger especially came through and helped to balance the sweet mango and salty peanut butter.

We devoured this with some baked potatoes and a tossed salad.

Rosemary Pork Tenderloin

The other night, as this was baking and the glorious aroma of it was scenting the air, I made an off-hand comment about this dish being a meat log covered in meat.

Really, that pretty much sums it up.  If you like Pig, you'll LOVE this.

Rosemary Pork Tenderloin
Recipe slightly adapted from Claire Robinson

1/3 cup Dijon mustard
1-2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary leaves, PLUS 4 sprigs rosemary, with hard woody stems
5 large garlic cloves: 2 cloves minced, 3 cloves smashed
2 pork tenderloins, about 1-pound each
6-ish slices bacon, cut in half

1.  In a small bowl, whisk together the Dijon mustard, fresh ground black pepper, chopped rosemary, and minced garlic and mix well. Rub the mustard mixture over the surface of the tenderloins and wrap in plastic wrap. Marinate in the refrigerator at least 1 hour (I marinated mine for close to 6 hours). 

Simple ingredients. Strong flavors.

2.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. 

The bed for the tenderloins

3.  Place rosemary sprigs and smashed garlic in the center of a baking dish. Remove the plastic wrap from the tenderloins and top each with slices of bacon. 

Tucked in with a bacon blanket

4.  Place the baking dish in the oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until an instant-read thermometer, inserted in the tenderloins, registers 160 degrees F. Remove from oven when desired doneness is reached and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes on a cutting board before slicing.

Took this pic with my phone.  Not too shabby!

Yup, a log of tender pork, covered in a bacon blanket.  I don't think it gets any better than that!

Lemon Pork Tenderloin

In my never-ending quest to get Gavin to eat and enjoy a nutritious dinner without dissolving into a tantrum because I'm not making mac & cheese or pancakes, I came across this recipe.

Easy. DELICIOUS. Awesome.

Make this.

Lemon Pork Tenderloin
Recipe adapted from Ina Garten

Grated zest of 1 lemon
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup EVOO
2 tbsp minced garlic
1 1/2 tbsp minced fresh rosemary
1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme
2 tsp Dijon mustard
Salt & freshly ground black pepper
3 pork tenderloins (about 1lb each) 

1.  Combine the lemon zest, lemon juice, oil, garlic, rosemary, thyme, mustard, & 1 tsp salt in a resealable plastic bag. Add the pork tenderloins and turn to coat. Marinate pork in the fridge for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight. 

Such delicious, simple ingredients

2.  Preheat oven to 425.  Spray a shallow baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.  Remove the tenderloins from the marinade and season with salt and pepper.  Place them the baking pan and discard the excess marinade.  Bake for 25-30 minutes.

Do you own a microplane?  If not, GET ONE!

3.  Transfer the tenderloins to a platter and cover tightly with aluminum foil. Allow to rest for 10 minutes. Carve into 1/2" thick diagonal slices. 

Flay. Vor. TOWN.

 So, once again, the end result smelled so amazing, was so durn TASTY that I neglected to take a picture of the finished product.  TRUST ME though, this is a recipe to add to your collection.

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.