Spicy Pork Tenderloin

Here's another tasty recipe, and easy too!
It's called spicy pork tenderloin.
First the recipe, then the pics.

Ingredients
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 pounds pork tenderloin, trimmed
Cooking spray
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons bottled ground fresh ginger (or 1/4 teaspoon powdered)
1 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup maple syrup

Preparation
Preheat oven to 375°
Combine first 4 ingredients in a small bowl; rub pork with spice mixture.
Refrigerate 30 minutes.
Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat; add pork.
Cook 6 minutes; brown on all sides.
Place on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 375° for 30 minutes or until thermometer registers 155°.
Let stand 10 minutes before slicing.
While pork bakes, melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion, and cook 10 minutes or until golden brown, stirring frequently. Add ginger, and cook 4 minutes. Stir in broth and syrup, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Bring broth mixture to a boil; cook until reduced to 3/4 cup (about 10 minutes).
Cut pork into 1/4-inch-thick slices; serve with sauce.


Here's the pork browned and ready to go in the oven. The secret to great browning, heat the oil in a pan until very hot. To test when it's right, drip a couple of drops of water in the oil, it should sizzle and 'dance'. Put in the roast and cook on each side for about 30 sec. turn with wooden spoons so as not to puncture the meat. It will retain its juices better. And our roast was more like 2 1/2 lbs, so we cooked ours for about an hour.
Here's the onions nicely browned with the ginger added, and ready for the chicken broth and maple syrup.

Mixture reduced and ready to spread on the sliced pork.

We served it with fried potatoes and broiled asparagus. The meat was sooo yummy!

And I know, that's 3 slices of meat for each person. I don't know how anyone can eat just one!

Turkey with White Castle stuffing

For Christmas Craig cooks a turkey with White Castle stuffing.

That's right, he uses White Castle hamburgers. You can find them in the freezer section in the store. Let them thaw completely and tear them into small bits.

Here's a pic of them all torn up.
The recipe........
1 box (six) of frozen White castle hamburgers. (you can use fresh, but take out the pickle)
1 1/2 cups diced celery.
2 cups diced onion,
1/2 bag stuffing mix. (any seasoned type you want)
1/2 teaspoon thyme.
1/2 teaspoon sage.
1/4 teaspoon coarse black pepper.

Mix all the ingredients together.
Use a stuffing bag to make it easier to get the stuffing back out. Stuff the turkey with as much as will fit. Tie off the end of the bag.

For the extra stuffing I make a foil pouch to hold the rest so it will fit in the corner of the oven with the turkey. Make sure to add about 1/2 cup of chicken broth to the stuffing in the pouch to help moisten while cooking. Add the pouch to the oven for the last hour of cooking.
Here's a pic of the turkey, stuffed, seasoned and ready to cook.

If using a roaster pan cover and cook at 325 for recommended time. if using a foil roasting pan, make a tent out of foil and cover, not letting the foil touch the turkey, and cook.

Make whatever side dishes you want. We had scalloped corn and scalloped potatoes.

Enjoy a delicious turkey dinner!

fried potatoes

We eat fried potatoes quite a bit. They're very tasty and satisfying. And here's how to make them...

Slice potatoes 1/4 inch thick.
Arrange in a frying pan coated with cooking oil. (we use olive oil)
Sprinkle with Paprika, and a little garlic, and Cook on medium turning frequently until browned and crispy.
Wasn't that easy? and they're so yummy!

Beef stir fry

A tasty beef stir fry.

We used a beef sirloin for this meal. Also mushrooms, snap peas, red pepper, and onions.The secret to tender lean beef, is to let it simmer in the marinade sauce.

We seasoned and browned the meat. remove to a plate, then saute the onions peppers and snap peas. Mushrooms don't take as long, so we did them in a separate pan. Then add all ingredients to same pan, add marinade, we used orange juice, teriyaki sauce, and some cornstarch for thickening, and cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

Serve over rice and enjoy!

Turkey dinner

Ummmm! Turkey dinner!
Craig is a traditionalist when it comes to holiday meals, and Thanksgiving is one of them.
Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, and scalloped corn.


His turkey is always moist and tasty. He does stuff the turkey, and makes extra stuffing on the side. Then mixes them together before serving. He then puts the turkey into a roasting pan and seasons the outside with a rub. What ever seasonings you like. Add some water in the bottom, and make a tent out of foil and completely seal the pan. But not touching the skin, this allows the turkey to steam as it cooks, making it extremely moist. Cook at 325. The time depends on the weight. Craig will cook a 13 lb turkey for 6-7 hours. Uncover the turkey the last 30 minutes so it'll brown nicely.
Scalloped corn and home made mashed potatoes finish the meal.

And we always eat too much! It took 2 plate to hold the food!

And there you have it. A delicious turkey dinner!

Panko Chicken with broiled marinated Zucchini and fried Potatoes

Panko Chicken with broiled marinated Zucchini and fried Potatoes.

If your not familiar with Panko, you really need to try it. It makes the best crunchy coating when baking any kind of meat. It's completely different from regular bread crumbs.


First you need a liquid to dip the chicken in so the crumbs will stick better. I usually use Egg Beaters, but I've also used fat free dressings like Italian or Ranch. I've even used Miracle whip. So just about anything you like. Now I add seasoning to the crumbs for more flavor. I use Mrs Dash and garlic powder and Parmesan cheese.

Dip the chicken in liquid, roll in crumbs, and place in a greased pan. I foil the pan for easy clean-up afterwards. Spray with spray butter, for better browning . Bake at 375 for 40 minutes, or until juices run clear.

Slice the zucchini lengthwise and place in a zip-lock bag. Add 1/4 cup oil, 1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar, and a teaspoon of Oregano. Marinate for 30 minutes. Broil for 20-30 minutes, turning once until tender and browned on edges. We like a little Parmesan cheese sprinkled when served.

Slice potatoes 1/4 inch thick. Arrange in a frying pan coated with cooking oil. Sprinkle with Paprika, and a little garlic, and Cook on medium turning frequently until browned and crispy.
And there you have it! A tasty dinner!