You know a marketing campaign is good, when years after it has run its course, you still recall their slogan. I love pork and I think calling it the “other” white meat sells itself short sometimes. My new favorite cut, is pork tenderloin. It is succulent, delicious and is the perfect canvas to absorb all sorts of flavors. The fact that it is relatively lean doesn’t hurt either – especially this time of year.
The recipe I made last night was inspired by one of my favorite wing recipes, Maple Wings. If you have never tried this recipe, you definitely should – they are sensational and everyone always raves about them. I can’t tell you the number of times I have given out that recipe. The combination of soy sauce, teriyaki and maple syrup is spectacular and really brings out the natural flavors in the pork. I love to serve this dish with my Ginger Rice and a cool cucumber salad. Sooooo good!
Maple Pork Tenderloin
Ingredients
1 pork tenderloin (approximately 1.5-2 pounds)
2/3 c. pure maple syrup
1/4 c. soy sauce
1/3 c. teriyaki sauce (preferably Yoshida’s)
1 T. finely minced garlic
1 t. pepper
1/4 t. crushed red pepper
Directions
Put pork tenderloin in a ziploc bag. In a separate bowl, mix all the remaining ingredients and pour into the ziploc bag. Marinate for as long as you can – overnight, if possible.
Remove pork from the plastic bag and grill or bake in a 400 degree oven until the pork reaches an internal temperature of 145 degrees.
While the pork is cooking, boil the remaining marinade in the bag for atleast 10 minutes.
When the pork is finished, slice and serve with the marinade as a sauce.
Now, wasn’t that easy!
There is a Mediterranean restaurant that my husband and I absolutely love going to called, Mediterranean Kitchen. The food is so flavorful (think super garlicky and lemony) and although it isn’t the place to go if you are on a first date (unless you are into that sort of thing) it is definitely the place to go if you want something crazy garlicky good.
I love Mediterranean food which is why I am so excited to share my recipe for a Greek Quinoa Salad that I created. I am always looking for new ways to incorporate these fresh flavors into my cooking so when I found a recipe for a greek salad with yogurt dressing I knew it would be a winner.
The dressing itself is delicious and not only is great as a dressing but also is amazing utilized as a sauce as well. I did create this recipe to be a little more garlicky, a lot more lemony and a touch lighter (in calories) by adding both olive oil and chicken stock then traditional dressings/sauces. I used Greek yogurt for its added protein punch and added quinoa and garbanzo beans to make this salad super filling.
I love going to Farmer’s Markets. I always come home with an abundance of veggies and while I have the best of intentions to you use them all, often times I fall short. Those days are over now with this recipe for Summer Gazpacho Pasta Salad.
In my quest to use up the inordinate amount of fresh veggies I had on hand, I decided to make Gazpacho. Now I love Gazpacho, but unfortunately I am the lone one in my home with this love. My husband doesn’t care for it much and I won’t even attempt to try and feed this to my boys…until now… You see, I had this huge bowl of yummy Gazpacho in my fridge and decided to use it as a pasta sauce on some thin spaghetti last night. Add a bunch of parmesan, fresh basil, salt, pepper and you have a healthy, delicious meal that will definitely satisfy. What else could one ask for?
I love summer – I love that my boys get to sleep in, the weather is warm, and just the overall more relaxed vibe that summer brings. I love a good salad, but the warm weather always brings my cravings for fresh, delicious salads to the forefront so I decided to come up with a new creation which is where I came up with this Salmon, Potato and Spinach Salad.
Spinach is a superfood and one of my favorite greens to use in salads. Not only is spinach rich in niacin and zinc but also provides a plentiful amount of fiber, vitamins A, C, E and K, thiamin, vitamin B6, folate, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, copper, and manganese. Definitely a great addition! Then there’s salmon, another superfood which is rich in vitamin B12, vitamin D, and selenium. Salmon is also a good source of niacin, omega-3 fatty acids, protein, phosphorus, and vitamin B6.
OK, so we have two super foods and then I decided to add potatoes for their creaminess and additional texture. I added my favorite vinaigrette recipe and some parmesan to round out the salad and give it a salty, creamy bite. A squeeze of lemon makes the whole dish come together.
I have a guilty pleasure – PF Changs Dan Dan Noodles. Generally I try to avoid restaurants that advertise on television, I don’t know what it is, but I feel like a lot of mass market restaurants usually don’t have the freshest most delicious food. Seriously though, think about it…Red Lobster, Olive Garden (with their never ending salad and breadsticks – YUCK!), Applebee’s – when I think of fresh, flavorful, unforgettable cuisine the above just don’t come to my mind.
I do however have a few favorite chains that I am particularly fond of and they seem to deliver on delicious food. I just hope they don’t start advertising on TV cause it is all downhill from there. My favorite of all the chains would have to be PF Changs because I LOVE their Dan Dan Noodles. It is one of those items that I crave. I will think about them and my mouth will begin to water. Well, today I had a craving and I decided to try a recipe out. Boy am I glad I did. The taste wasn’t exact, but it was pretty darn close and this is a recipe that I will be adding to my regular repetoire. I have to add that I made this whole meal in about 20 minutes, which isn’t half bad for a quick weeknight dish.
If you love PF Changs or even if you don’t, you should give this recipe a try. One note, PF Changs serves their Dan Dan noodles with cucumbers. I am not particularly fond of cucumbers in this dish, so I left them out. If you like them, by all means add them.
