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!)

2009 Buckley's Cove Merlot

I'm getting this one in right under the wire. I had a crazy day at work and then right after some friends and I went to a book reading and signing by Christopher Moore. It was good fun but we were in line for about 2 hours. Totally worth it, though!

But, to the wine please! We drank a 2009 Buckley's Cove Merlot with polenta pasticciata (recipe coming tomorrow!). The wine costs $2.99 at Grocery Outlet compared to $12.99 elsewhere.

Front of the bottle:


Back of the bottle:


There are berries and cherries on the nose as well as a bit of a buttery caramel. For my money, it is far better than "2 Buck Chuck". It is mild, with very few tannins. It was better than I thought it'd be and fairly charactered for a three dollar wine. There are pepper notes at the end but no bitter lingering flavor. It would be good with a sharp cheese such as cheddar or parmesan. It's not very complex but, then, I didn't expect it to be. We did drink the whole bottle. Most of the time I drank it while sitting at the table surfing the internet on my laptop. It's perfect for sitting, lingering at the table with conversation.

I don't think I would actively seek this wine out but I wouldn't turn it away, either.

The back of the bottle is worth a read! It's very funny!



Here's a teaser of the polenta dish:

Italian Chicken with Polenta

Have you ever had a bad day where nothing really horrible or out of the ordinary happened but it was just not good nonetheless? I had one of those days today. I didn't feel good enough for what I was doing. I felt devalued as a person. Well, when I feel that way I usually end up in the kitchen. Sometimes, like tonight, it is for a good purpose. I asked the teenager to get chicken breasts out of the freezer but I hadn't a clue what to do with them. So, I improvised.

Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 red bell pepper
1 summer squash
1 14.5 oz. can tomatoes with onions, garlic, oregano
red wine
1 tube of polenta



First, you'll need to chop vegetables and chicken. Remember to chop up your vegetables and other items first so you can save your chicken for last. I chopped the bell pepper into strips and then cut the strips into halves.



Then I halved the squash and then sliced it.



Slice the polenta into 3/4" slices. Spray a cookie sheet with nonstick cooking spray and then lay the slices on the sheet. Preheat the broiler in your oven.



Finally, chop the chicken into about 1-inch chunks.



Heat a nonstick skillet that has been sprayed with cooking spray over medium high heat. While you're waiting for it to heat up, go ahead and pour yourself some wine. This was a great wine and I'm sad to see it go. I normally don't go out of my way for Pinot Noirs but if I see this one in the store I'll probably buy it. (This one was a gift, I believe.)



After the skillet is hot, put the chicken in. Sprinkle it with some pepper. I use white pepper but it's a matter of personal taste.



After the chicken has mostly cooked (this will take about 8-10 minutes), pour about 1/4 cup wine into the skillet. Stir to incorporate.



Add the can of tomatoes to the chicken. Again, stir it up.



Let it simmer for about five minutes so the flavors mingle and the sauce reduces just a bit.



Add the squash and red pepper into the skillet. Stir to combine and let simmer.



Meanwhile, put the polenta slices under the broiler.



After about 8 minutes, pull them out and flip them over. Yours may take less time to brown so just watch them.



After you've flipped them over, let them hang out under the broiler for about 3 or 4 more minutes. Then take them out for plating. Lay a couple of polenta slices on the plate and spoon some of the chicken and vegetable mixture over it.



This was delicious! I am really pleased with how this turned out for a night when I had to "wing" what I made for dinner. All the kids (except my picky preschooler - how did I get a picky eater??) loved it.