Pork Tenderloin Potatoes

Recently I had a few pork tenderloins in my freezer that were pre-seasoned.  They were on sale, and I thought they would make a nice quick meal.  And to go along with it, I thought sliced potatoes would be a perfect compliment.
They were! and so easy to make.

So here's how to do it.

Take your tenderloin and read the cooking instructions. Set the oven to whatever it says.
Next, take a few potatoes, and slice them very thin. I used the mandolin for this.
Put your tenderloin in a square cake pan diagonally, then on both sides start to layer the potatoes.  Place a layer of potatoes, then spritz with a butter spray (melted butter brushed on would work as well) then sprinkle with salt.  Continue this layering until you have used your potatoes.

Bake it as directed.  You will definitely want  to use your meat thermometer, as the potatoes added into the pan does cause the tenderloin to cook slower. I think I had to add about 20-30 minutes extra, but it was in 10 minute increments, so I'm really not sure how long it took in total. 

The top potatoes will be crispy, the layers underneath very nice and soft.  If needed, you can take the pork out when it's finished and cook the potatoes longer, just use a fork to test doneness.

Enjoy!

Adventures in Acorn Squash

(I tried to publish this a few months ago, and only noticed this week that it never published)
Acorn squash.... A strange looking squash that sat on my counter for weeks, than became part of my Thanksgiving decorations. It's very pretty when presented that way, but alas, after Thanksgiving it's time to decorate for Christmas and there was no place in the Christmas decor for the acorn squash. Time for me to figure out how to cook the thing.
Now why, you might ask, did I have this thing lying around in the first place? Well I participate in Bountiful Baskets and it was one of the items.
So, I searched the Internet and found that for the most part it's cooked 1 way; sliced in half with butter and brown sugar. Although after some more intense searching I did find a few more ways to cook it up. This is a variation of one of those ways.
First you take an acorn squash, some kind of butter spray, and brown sugar.

Next, you slice the squash in half. Now, that sounds simple enough right? WRONG! That thing is pure evil to cut up! I tried to slice it on my mandolin, than with a large knife, than the serrated bread knife, than I cut it in half and sliced the halves on the mandolin. Still supper hard to slice, but slightly better that way.

Next spray the slices with the butter spray and sprinkle with brown sugar.

Bake at 350 for 15 minutes, turn over and spray and sprinkle the other side. Cook for another 10 minutes.
Yummy yummy.

Next time I might try peeling the acorn squash first.... Not sure how that will work. Guess ill find out.

*Note* peeling didn't work at all. So, please, unless you know a secret (and if so please let me know!) don't waste your time trying to peel it.

Acorn squash
Butter spray
Brown sugar

Oven at 350

Slice squash up and place on cookie sheet
Spray with butter spray
Sprinkle with brown sugar
Cook for 15 minutes
Turn over and repeat the butter and sugar
Cook for 10 minutes.
Enjoy!

Orange smoothie (julius?)

It dawned on me today that orange Julius is basically a smoothie. Never really thought of it as such before, so I thought lets make it real, as in, use fruit!
So I bring to you an orange Julius smoothie!
1 cup milk
3 oranges pealed and broken into chunks
1 teaspoon vanilla
Ice (depends on how thick you like your smoothies)
Blend! And enjoy!
This picture is taken of the smoothie in my blender. It was yummy.

Chex muddy buddies

This recipe can be found on the back or side of most chex boxes. So I'm going to post it here, since it is so readily available. These are super good, addictingly so.
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla
9 cups chex (any kind)
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
In a 1 qt microwave safe bowl mix the chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter. Microwave on high 1 min. Stir and microwave 30 sec longer or until melted and smooth. Add vanilla.
In a large container with a lid, fill with the chex and pour chocolate mixture over. Stir until evenly coated. Add powdered sugar, cover, amd shake until coated.
Spread onto wax paper to cool.

Yummy stuff

1st birthday cake

It was my little girls first birthday. I made a mermaid cake for her, and was very happy at how well it turned out. It is the almond cake I made for Christmas with butter cream frosting that was flavored with almond.

Beef tenderloin with veggies

This was a super yummy dish, and the photo does not do justice to the meal at all. Modifications made in this recipe: I marinated the beef in all the sauce made, then put it in the pan, dumped the veggies into the marinade, and threw them around the beef (rather than cooking them a bit first, then adding the beef) I didn't use brussel spouts, but that is due to a personal dislike of them.
I did forget to cover the dish, not intentional. So it took longer than directed to cook. Just make sure that your meat thermometer reaches the temp for the doneness you prefer and you'll be fine
120-130 rare
140- medium
150-160 well
The recipe can be found here:
http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/Beef-Tenderloin-with-Roasted-Vegetables

Parmesan Pork Medallions and Parmesan roasted carrots

These two dishes went very well together. They were both quick to make, so it was a perfect and balanced dinner for a weekday. The recipe can be found here for the the pork: http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/Parmesan-Pork-Medallions

and for the carrots: 

http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/Parmesan-Roasted-Carrots

I didn't make any edits to the recipes, just prepared them as instructed. They turned out great! I suggest you try.