Pork Tenderloin with Polenta and Mushroom Tomato Sauce

At the store the other day I got a copy of the newest Clean Eating magazine. They have a great recipe in there for pork tenderloin that makes two meals.

Ingredients:
2 lbs. pork tenderloin
2 cups polenta
24 oz. jar natural tomato basil pasta sauce
1 lb. mushrooms
oregano
sea salt
pepper






Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Spray a jelly roll pan with nonstick cooking spray and place the pork tenderloins on it. Season them with oregano, sea salt, and pepper. Put the pan in the oven for 10 minutes.



Meanwhile, slice the mushrooms.



Spray another jelly roll pan with nonstick cooking spray. Spread the mushrooms on the pan and sprinkle with pepper. After the pork has cooked for 10 minutes put the mushrooms in the oven with the pork and roast both for about 20 minutes.



Pour 8 cups of water into a large pot and bring to a boil.



After the water is boiling, pour in the polenta slowly and stir.



Stir the polenta with a long handled wooden spoon until it is cooked, about 10 minutes.



Get the pork out of the oven and let stand for 10 minutes or so.



Heat the pasta sauce until it is warmed through, about 5 minutes.



Add the mushrooms to the sauce and heat through, about 2 minutes.



Slice the pork in order to serve. Only slice one tenderloin.



After serving polenta to everyone's plates pour it in an 8x8 pan for the next dinner.



I served about 1/2 cup of polenta, 1/2 cup or pasta sauce, and a quarter of one of the tenderloins on each plate. The leftovers will be used for a different meal in a few days.



This was delicious comfort food. Everyone except the preschooler loved it, but she doesn't like anything. ;-) (Okay, she did love the banana bread in the previous post!)

Tuna and White Bean Salad

To placate my masses I must re-emerge with a wonderful recipe, one so great that once you make it yourself you will moan with delight and forget all about my absence here from the blog. This, my friends, is just such a recipe.

I came across this recipe when some coworkers and I took an Italian cooking class. Really, it was more of a cooking demonstration and tasting since there were no hands-on opportunities. Regardless, I came away with one of the best recipes I've ever tried in my life. No, I am not exaggerating!

Tuna and White Bean Salad
2 cans Italian tuna, in olive oil
2 cans cannellini beans
1/2 red onion, sliced very thinly
Leaves from celery (the light green parts inside)
Juice of one lemon
6 Tbsp. olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Pinch of sugar

Ingredients photo:



(2 lemons pictured because I wasn't sure how much juice I'd get from one. Only use one, which should give you about 4-5 Tbsp. of juice.)




Close-up shot of the tuna. Find this tuna! Specialty markets may have it. I found mine at an import food shop here in Seattle. It's worth it...trust me on this. If you like, you can use regular tuna canned in oil or water but the flavor will be different and not as rich.



Take off all the stalks from the celery. You're after all of the light green leaves. You can use some of the darker green leaves but not too many! The green leaves have a wonderfully delicate flavor that adds so much to this salad.



Special Italian beans...yum! These tasted amazing. I got them from the import shop as well.



Slice the red onion verrrrrrrrry thinly. You can use a mandoline if you like but I just used a knife.



Mmmmm...tuna.



Mmmmm...tuna. ^_^



Put the lemon juice in a separate bowl.



Add the olive oil.



Now add the salt, pepper, and pinch of sugar.



Incorporate the dressing carefully. You don't want to break up the tuna too much.



Enjoy! Yes, I did eat this whole bowl. No, I don't feel guilty. It was amazing!



Obligatory cocktail shot: this time a dirty martini for Mr. Mary Cooks!

Buitoni Pasta - Wild Mushroom Agnolotti

Being a Foodbuzz featured publisher has its perks. One of those perks is occasionally they send out a product to try and review. This past Friday I came home to a huge box. I opened it and was so pleased to find a lovely note from Foodbuzz along with a package of pasta!



Not just any pasta, but Wild Mushroom Agnolotti by Buitoni.



For the next 36 hours I thought and thought about what kinds of sauces would go well with this agnolotti. I contemplated alfredo sauce and while that would be good, it would overpower the mushroom. I felt the same way about a marinara sauce. In the end, I developed a flavorful sauce with chicken broth as its base. (Vegetarians: you could easily substitute vegetable broth and make this a vegetarian meal.)

Here is my recipe:

Buitoni Wild Mushroom Agnolotti with Asparagus, Spinach, and Sun-dried Tomatoes

Ingredients:
1 9 oz. package Buitoni Wild Mushroom Agnolotti
1 bunch of asparagus, tough ends trimmed and cut into 1" pieces
4 oz. spinach leaves, washed
7 to 8 sun-dried tomatoes (dried, not packed in oil*), sliced
1 Tbsp. olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1 1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup white wine
2 Tbsp. butter
4 Tbsp. grated Romano cheese
3 Tbsp. pine nuts, toasted

*I found sun-dried tomatoes at Trader Joe's that were not packed in oil. They were just dry, in a bag. There are some similar tomatoes here but I've never purchased from this vendor and can therefore not verify how good they are.

Instructions:
1. Prepare the pasta per the package instructions.
2. Heat olive oil in a wide, deep pan over medium-high heat.
3. Add garlic, thyme, oregano, and crushed red pepper flakes. Stir for about 30 seconds.
4. Add spinach and stir until the leaves have completely wilted.
5. Add the chicken broth and white wine. Bring to a simmer.
6. Add the sun-dried tomatoes. Let simmer for 5 minutes.
7. Add the asparagus and cook for another 4-5 minutes, or until asparagus is mostly tender and bright green.
8. Gently add the agnolotti and stir - gently - to coat with sauce.
9. Put the butter in the pan and stir gently until it is melted.
10. Remove pan from heat, stir in the grated Romano and pine nuts gently.
11. Serve and enjoy!



First, the pine nuts were toasted.





The garlic was first up in the pan. This starts the magic.



Next, the herbs were added.



After about 30 seconds, the spinach went into the pan.



It wilted so nicely, don't you agree?



Next up is the chicken broth and white wine. I just used a white wine blend from Metropolitan Market.



After the liquid came to a simmer I added the sundried tomatoes. I wanted to add them now as opposed to reconstituting them in separate boiling water because I wanted to retain all that lovely tomato flavor and color. These look a little dark because they are sulphur-free. I got them from Trader Joe's.



After about 5 minutes I added the cut up asparagus.



4-5 minutes later I added the agnolotti into the sauce mixture.



Butter, of course, is a wonderful finish to any sauce!



Stir gently... Do not break up those beautiful agnolotti!



Remove the pan from heat and add the grated Romano.



Finally, add the toasted pine nuts. Remember to stir gently!



The finished dish is a sight to behold.



This was delicious!

I have, in the past, picked up some refrigerated ravioli and sauce as a quick meal for the family. Honestly, it is a decent meal but not exactly awe-inspiring, know what I mean? This agnolotti, though, was different. This was special. Gourmet! The flavor was out of this world amazing. It tasted like we had made them at home. The sauce balanced the agnolotti perfectly. This is exactly what they were asking for.

Do you want to know the best thing about this Buitoni pasta? It inspired me to think of other ways to cook it. I wonder how this would taste with beef broth and red wine instead of chicken broth and white wine. Ooooh! And I'd bet it would be lovely with duck broth and fennel!

We will definitely be purchasing this agnolotti as it has totally won us over. And special thanks to Foodbuzz for introducing this wonderful pasta to our kitchen!

The Pioneer Woman's Lasagna

Since it was snowing today (we have about a foot and a half!) I needed some comfort food. I chose The Pioneer Woman's Lasagna. This is such a seriously good recipe. No, it's not authentic. It doesn't matter; it tastes good.

You can go to her website (link above) for a detailed list of ingredients and instructions.

First, start with spicy sausage and ground beef. Brown it in a pan.



Add two cloves of garlic. I used the jarred kind. I took the lazy way out. But, you know, you couldn't tell the difference (at least not in this recipe).



There is a lot of fat in this so you'll want to spoon it off.



It's time to add the tomatoes. I use one big can of tomatoes vs. the two smaller cans as called for TPW.



It's starting to look really good!



Add the two cans of tomato paste.



Next add the herbs. Two tablespoons each of parsley and basil.





The smells are already driving the kids insane. Mr. Mary Cooks makes a snack for them.





Okay, let the sauce simmer for about 45 minutes on medium-low. Stir it occasionally.



Meanwhile, get the cottage cheese mixture ready. Three cups of lowfat cottage cheese go into the bowl.



Add 1/2 cup of parmesan from a can. I KNOW. That doesn't mean it's not delicious.



Two eggs are to be added to the mixture.





Add a couple tablespoons of parsley.



Mix together until it is all incorporated.



Great! Now it is time for assembly! I am using the no-boil lasagna noodles. Put four down in the pan (I sprayed it with nonstick cooking spray first).



Put half of the cottage cheese mixture on top of the noodles.



8 ounces of mozzarella cheese goes on top of the cottage cheese mixture.



Here is where I diverge a bit from TPW's recipe. I lay one-third of the sauce on top of the cheese instead of one-half.



Then, repeat the layers. I end with one more layer of noodles and the rest of the sauce. (So it is: noodles, cottage cheese, mozzarella, sauce-noodles, cottage cheese, mozzarella, sauce-noodles, sauce.) Sprinkle the top with some more grated parmesan.



Cover with foil, seal tightly, and place in the oven for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and cook for another 20 minutes or until it is bubbling and the cheese is melted.



When it comes out, let it rest for about 15 minutes.



I sliced some focaccia bread to go with it and also cooked some broccoli.



And dinner is served!



Like I said earlier, this is hardly authentic but it is delicious. Mr. Mary Cooks had two servings. The teenager ate at least four pieces! We only have two pieces left out of the pan. So much for leftovers!