Herb Crusted Tenderloin

Daddy Rating: 5

From time to time at my grocery store pork tenderloin is buy-one-get-one. It something I usually have in my freezer. I came across this Paula Deen (Love her!) recipe on the Food Network website and it turned out great. I put the meat ingredients together before work, cooked it when I got home and served it with some freezer green beans. We actually ate dinner right off the cutting board after my daughter went to bed...some days are just like that.

Dinner's Ready!

You'll need:
1-1.5 lb Pork Tenderloin
2 Tablespoons Olive oil
.5 Teaspoon salt
4 Cloves Garlic
1 Teaspoon dried thyme
1 Teaspoon dried basil
1 Teaspoon dried rosemary

If you line the cooking sheet with foil, you actually have NO dishes to clean up!

Mix oil, salt, garlic and herbs in a small bowl. Place defrosted tenderloin on a foil lined cooking sheet, massage herb mixture onto the top half of the tenderloin, cover with saran and go to work.

Get this ready in the morning and go to work!

When you get home, reheat the oven and cook tenderloin according to directions on the package (I did it at 425* for 25 min for 1.5lbs). Serve with the veggie of your choice - ENJOY!

Clean Pantry Pasta Bake

Daddy Rating: 4



My hubs was hungry and I wasn't fast enough to take a picture...it was that good!

 I have a small kitchen....tiny, really. I have no idea how the woman who cooked in it before me fed SEVEN children there. I have no pantry space so I usually wind up keeping crackers in the 'fridge just because there is more room. So, last week I went through the pantry to make room for more groceries. Going through the food I realized I may have the ingredients for something yummy - so I tried it...and it worked. Below ingredients are just suggestions, go through your pantry and you may find a different yummy twist - think of it as a challenge. Or as we call it in my house "Adventures in Eating"

I used:
1 Package bow tie pasta
1 Jar pasta sauce
1 28oz can whole peeled tomatoes
1/2 Jar roasted red peppers, chopped
1lb Italian sausage,
1/2 an onion, chopped
1.5 cups Italian shredded cheese
1 tablespoon capers
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 teaspoon dried basil

Boil water for the pasta. In another pan, cook the sausage. Once sausage is mostly cooked add onion and garlic (add a little olive oil, too, if the pan is dry) and cook until translucent. Add tomatoes and break apart with a spoon, then add basil, roasted red peppers, pasta sauce, capers and let simmer.

While the sauce is filling the house with great smells, cook the pasta and drain. Combine pasta, sauce and a little cheese in the pasta pot, put into a glass baking dish and top with the remaining cheese.

I covered this with saran wrap in the 'fridge and cooked it a few nights later. Heat oven to 350* and cook for 25 min or so until warmed through. ENJOY!

Toasted Ravioli

I went to school at the University of Missouri - in Missouri, they have this thing called "Toasted Ravioli" which it turns out isn't "toasted" at all, but rather is deep fried. What's not to like!? A bit messy to make, but if your little one is anything like mine, she will love anything that you can dip-dip.

You'll need:
- Frozen ravioli (meat or cheese - use whatever you have left over from making the Ravioli Lasagna)
- 2 tablespoons whole milk
- 2 eggs
- Bread Crumbs (either use Italian flavored or add Italian seasoning)
- Jar of marinara sauce
- Veggie oil
- Parm cheese

Set up your assembly line; Beat eggs in a shallow dish with milk, put bread crumbs in another shallow dish, and then at the end put a plate with paper towels or something else for the ravioli to cool/drain.

Heat a few inches of oil in a deep sauce pan or dutch oven on high until oil is hot. Dip frozen ravioli in egg mixture, cover with breadcrumbs and plop in oil for approx 3 min. Remove from oil and drain. Sprinkle ravioli with parm and serve with heated marinara sauce. ENJOY!

Soo Yummy Thai Pasta & Chicken



Yummier than it looks!

Perfect weeknight dinner even if there is homework to do - Less than 30 min to make, one pot and flavor to boot. I tried and tried to get a good picture of this one, but you're going to have to take my word for it, it's fantastic. Many birthdays ago my mom put together a bunch of her favorite recipes in a book for me - this recipe card has "EASY & YUMMY" written on it, she's right!
You'll need:
3/4 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
3/4 lb linguine
Roasted chicken, torn, as much or as little as you like
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons lime juice (or the juice of 1 lime)
2 tablespoons chopped peanuts

Bring water to a boil for pasta, cook, drain, set pasta aside in a colander. In the same pot you made the pasta, mix together, broth, vinegar, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and chili flakes. Simmer for 5 minutes. Stir pasta in with broth mixture. Add chicken, lime juice. Put on plates/bowls and sprinkle cilantro and peanuts on top. Enjoy!!