Month: February 2020

Sweet and Tangy Glazed Pork Tenderloin with Red Potato Mash

Sweet and Tangy Glazed Pork Tenderloin with Red Potato Mash

  • 1 pound
  • small red potatoes
  • 1/3 cup
  • 2 % reduced-fat milk
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons butter
  • 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt — divided
  • 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper — divided
  • 2 teaspoons olive oil — divided
  • 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
  • 1 small garlic clove — grated
  • 1 pound pork tenderloin — trimmed
  • Cooking spray
  • 2 tablespoons grape jelly
  • 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon minced shallots
  1. Preheat oven to 500°.
  2. Place potatoes in a large saucepan; fill with water to 1 inch above potatoes. Bring to a boil; cook 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Drain; return to pan. Mash potatoes to desired consistency with a potato masher. Stir in milk, butter, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
  3. Combine remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, remaining 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1 teaspoon oil, thyme, and garlic; rub evenly over pork. Place pork on a jelly-roll pan coated with cooking spray; bake at 500° for 10 minutes. Combine remaining 1 teaspoon oil, jelly, vinegar, and shallots in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute, stirring occasionally. Brush half of jelly mixture over pork; bake at 500° for 5 minutes. Turn pork; brush with remaining half of jelly mixture. Bake 5 to 8 minutes or until a thermometer registers 145°. Place pork on a cutting board; let stand 5 minutes. Cut across the grain into thin slices. Serve with mashed potatoes.

Tortellini, White Bean, and Spinach Soup

Tortellini, White Bean, and Spinach Soup

  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 2 cups chopped onion
  • 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
  • 1 tsp dried Italian seasoning
  • 3 garlic cloves (minced)
  • 2 cups coarsely chopped spinach
  • 2/3 cup water
  • 1 can navy beans ((16-ounce) drained)
  • 2 cups Fresh Vegetable Broth or 1 (14 1/2-ounce can vegetable broth)
  • 1 can no-salt-added whole tomatoes ((14.5-ounce) undrained and chopped)
  • 1 can quartered artichoke hearts ((14-ounce) drained)
  • 1 package uncooked fresh cheese tortellini ((9-ounce))
  • 1/4 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese ((1 ounce))
  1. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add chopped onion, bell pepper, seasoning, and garlic; sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Add spinach and next 5 ingredients (spinach through artichokes); bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 2 minutes. Add tortellini; cook until thoroughly heated. Sprinkle with cheese.

Teriyaki Pork and Vegetables with Noodles

Teriyaki Pork and Vegetables with Noodles

  • 8 oz uncooked spaghetti
  • 4 green onions
  • 1 Tbs dark sesame oil
  • 1 cup thinly sliced red bell pepper
  • 3 boneless center-cut loin pork chops (about 1/2 inch thick, (4-ounce) cut into 1/4-inch strips)
  • 1 package shiitake mushrooms ((3 1/2-ounce) sliced)
  • 1/3 cup low-sodium teriyaki sauce
  • 4 tsp chili garlic sauce (such as Lee Kum Kee)
  1. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup cooking liquid; keep warm.
  2. Remove green tops from green onions; thinly slice, and set aside. Mince white portions of green onions; set aside.
  3. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add minced green onions, bell pepper, pork, and mushrooms; sauté 3 minutes or until pork is browned. Combine reserved 1/4 cup cooking liquid, teriyaki sauce, and chili garlic sauce in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add pasta and teriyaki sauce mixture to pan; toss well to coat. Stir in sliced green onion tops.

Sweet Tart Pastry

Sweet Tart Pastry

  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3 tablespoons white sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2/3 cup unsalted butter — cubed
  • 1 egg — beaten
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  1. Sift together the flour, sugar, and salt into a bowl.
  2. Toss butter through flour mixture to coat pieces. Using fingertips, rub fat into flour, working it until you have created a coarse meal with a few pea-size particles of fat.
  3. Empty crumbs onto a cool surface. Form mixture into a mound. Make a 4 to 5 inch well in center of the mound. Combine egg and vanilla and pour mixture into the well. Using a fork, draw crumbs into egg mixture, about 1 – 2 tablespoons at a time. When all crumbs are added, toss mixture a few times with a pastry blender to form large clumps, then scrape into a mound.
  4. Using the heel of your hand, push 2 – 3 tablespoons of the dough at a time, outward in 6 to 8 inch sweeps. This will blend fat and flour and give crust a delicate texture. If your hand becomes sticky, flour it as needed. Repeat process until all dough has been worked. Gather dough into a mound again. Repeat procedure 2 more times.
  5. After third time, flour your hands. Gently knead the dough 5 or 6 times to make it smooth. Shape into a 5 inch disk. Dust disk lightly with flour, score with side of your hand, cover with plastic wrap, refrigerate for 20 minutes before shaping. DO NOT LET DOUGH BECOME TOO HARD or it will be difficult to roll. If this happens, let pastry soften at room temperature.
  6. Roll out to 1/8 inch thickness. After dough has been rolled, position rolling pin 4 inches from top of the pastry. Lift dough over top of rolling pin and gently roll dough toward you. Lift pastry up. Make sure you keep a finger pressed against barrel of rolling pin to keep it from slipping. Position pastry, leaving about 1 1/2 inches of dough hanging over edge of pan on side closest to you. Then unroll pastry over an ungreased tart pan, moving pin away from you. Immediately lift overhang into pan to prevent sharp edge of the pan from cutting dough.
  7. Working a small portion of the dough at a time, mold it into crease of the pan. Trim excess pastry from top edge of pan. Chill pastry in refrigerator or freezer for up to 30 minutes. Tear an 18 inch square of tin foil. Make a buttered circle in center of foil 2 inches larger than size of pan. Place foil buttered side down, centering it into the baking pan. Using your hand, press foil flush against the sides.
  8. Heat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Position shelf in lower third of oven. Fill pan with enough dried beans or baking nuggets to just cover surface of pan. DO NOT OVERFILL. Bake pastry shell on a shallow pan with sides. Bake crust 15 to 18 minutes or until sides begin to brown. Remove pan from the oven. Let stand about 30 seconds. Gently remove foil and beans. Reduce oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Continue to bake crust for 3 to 5 minutes or until it is golden. If bottom of pastry shell puffs up, tap it gently with bottom of a fork to expel the air. Do this carefully so the pastry crust doesn’t break. When crust is done, cool completely before filling.