Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

This dish is SOOOOO good! I hope you like it as much as Garrett and I do!

the filling:
2 cloves garlic
10 oz. spinach
4. oz sun-dried tomatoes
4 oz. goat cheese
4 oz. cream cheese
1/2 c. sour cream

with a little olive oil, sautee garlic and chopped (or frozen) spinach until nearly cooked through. add chopped sun-dried tomatoes. in a bowl, mix goat cheese, cream cheese, and sour cream together until smooth. add spinach + sun-dried tomatoes to your creamy mixture.

then you'll need a pork tenderloin - i think ours was close to 3 pounds? i really can't remember. but it was big. so if you use a smaller one, you will probably only need about half of the filling.

cut your tenderloin open so it lies flat, rather than as a roll. (i should've taken a picture of how we did it - it's a little hard to explain. but you guys are smart, so i'm sure you could figure it out). pat the pork dry, then place on a baking sheet. spread the mixture across the pork. then roll the tenderloin up like a jelly roll, keeping the mixture enclosed. secure the pork with toothpicks or cotton strings (that's what we used - you can kind of see them in the picture).

brush the top of the pork with olive oil, and lightly sprinkle salt and pepper atop.

bake at 400 degrees, until the internal heat of the pork is 155 degrees. (you'll need a meat thermometer). i think we baked ours for about an hour. like i said, i should have paid better attention. if you overcook your pork, it will end up being dry and not as delicious. so at about 40 minutes, check your pork with your meat thermometer and keep an eye on it. cooking time will also depend on how much meat is being cooked, so it may vary.

Italian Nachos

I got this recipe from Mom, and I've heard that Alice's family loves them and Hannah's doesn't. We fell into the "love" category.

Italian Nachos

Pasta Chips
12 wonton wrappers (we got egg roll wrappers and just cut them)
1 egg white, frothed
1/2 teaspoon oregano or Italian seasoning mix

Nachos
1/2 lb Italian sausage, cooked an crumbled
1 (10 oz) container refrigerated four cheese pasta sauce or Alfredo sauce
1/2 cup chopped tomato
1/4 cup sliced green onion
1 (2 1/4 oz) can sliced ripe olives
2 tablespoons pickled jalapeno peppers, chopped (more to taste) or banana peppers, chopped
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Directions:

Cut wontons into 4 triangles each and toss lightly in olive oil.

Cover a cookie sheet with a single layer of wontons. Brush with egg white and sprinkle with oregano or Italian seasoning.

Bake at 400 degrees for 6 minutes or until lightly browned.

Meanwhile, heat the sauce, brown the italian sausage and drain fat.

On a platter layer the pasta chips, sausage and sauce. Top with the tomato, onions, olives and peppers. Finish with shredded cheese and red pepper glakes.

Place in warm oven for 5 minutes to melt cheese and serve.


*We didn't have jalapenos or red pepper flakes, and we don't like olives so didn't use any of these. We also thought it would be good with chicken.

Snickerdoodle Blondies

After checking out the www.rookie-cookie.com that Hannah suggested I found these. And since I was feeling "inspired" to make an FHE treat I made these. I think she said she made these tonight too. They are WONDERFUL! It doesn't help that my favorite cookies are Snickerdoodles.

Snickerdoodle Blondies

2 2/3 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
a pinch nutmeg

Set oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9×13 inch pan with non-stick spray. Combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and set aside.

In large bowl, beat together butter and brown sugar for 3-5 minutes. Add in the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla, and beat until smooth. Stir in the flour mixture until well blended. Spray your hands with non-stick spray and gently press the batter into the pan. Combine the sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a little bowl. Evenly sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture over the top of the batter.

Bake 25-30 minutes or until surface springs back when gently pressed. Cool before cutting.

Restaurant Teriyaki Sauce

We have a recipe for Teriyaki Sauce, however Stuart couldn't find it tonight and since I was on my way home from Laramie and couldn't help him he found this one. It was FANTASTIC! Our other recipe tends to be a little salty, and this one isn't at all.


This recipe makes approximately 4 1/2 cups, approx.


Ingredients

* 3/4 cup soy sauce
* 3 cups water
* 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
* 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
* 15 tablespoons packed brown sugar
* 3-6 tablespoons honey
* 6 tablespoons cornstarch
* 3/4 cup cold water

Directions

1. Mix all but cornstarch and 1/4c water in a sauce pan and begin heating.
2. Mix cornstarch and cold water in a cup and dissolve. Add to sauce in pan.
3. Heat until sauce thickens to desired thickness.
4. Add water to thin if you over-thick it .

Bread....with no milk, or oils

A friend gave me this recipe. It's wonderful...well technically I've never made it but I have eaten it and it's great!

10 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
3 Round Tbl spoons of saf-instant yeast
3 Tablespoons of honey or Lecithin
4 cups hot tap water

Mix dry ingredients. add honey and water. Mix for 1 min and check consistency. Add Flour or Water as needed. Mix for 5 more min. Spray counter and pans with pam. Shape loaves and cover with a dish towel. Let raise for 25 min. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 min. This recipe makes four loaves of bread.

For Wheat bread use the same recipe but add one cup of applesauce as aprt of the hot tap water. Mix for 10 min.

Mango Upside Down Cake

I got this recipe from one of my new favorite sites. Here is the link in case you want to check it out too.

www.rookie-cookie.com

Mango Upside Down Cake

2 mangoes, peeled
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar (preferably dark brown sugar)
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 2/3 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup milk

Set oven to 350 degrees. Trace the bottom of a 9 inch round cake pan onto a piece of parchment paper. Cut the circle out. Spray the bottom and sides of the pan with non-stick spray. Put the parchment circle in the pan. Spray the parchment. Set aside.

Slice the mangoes into thin strips and set aside.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Once melted, add the brown sugar and the mangoes. Gently stir. Cook until the mixture is bubbling and the brown sugar is melted. Cook for 5 minutes. With a slotted spoon, remove the mangoes and put into a bowl. Continue cooking brown sugar and butter mixture until it is a thick syrup, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Using tongs, gently place the mangoes in a single layer on the bottom of the sprayed pan. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, add the butter and sugar and cream together using a hand mixer. Once light and fluffy, add the eggs and vanilla. Mix well. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the flour mixture to the batter in three parts, alternating with the milk in two parts.

Gently pour batter over the mangoes in the prepared pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let cake cool in pan on wire rack for 30 minutes. Invert cake onto a cake plate and pour remaining brown sugar syrup over the top. If the brown sugar syrup is too thick to pour, reheat it for a minute or two on the stove top.

Texas Chili Dogs

1 lb. bottom round steak, trimmed and cut into 1" pieces
2 TB vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped fine
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 TB chili powder
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup chili sauce (you can find this by the ketchup and hot sauce at the store)
2 TB yellow mustard
2 TB hot sauce (optional)
1 TB Worcestershire sauce

Also: 8 hotdogs, 8 hotdog buns, shredded Cheddar Cheese

Process the steak in a food porcessor until finely ground. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add the ground steak, onion, garlic, chili powder and cloves and cook until the meat is no longer pink, about 5 minutes, breaking up any large pieces with a wooden spoon. Stir in the ketchup, chili sauce, mustard, hot sauce, and Worcestershire sauce and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium low and cook until thickened, about 30 minutes. Serve over hotdogs.

Note: If you don't have a food processor, or don't want to bother, it works well to just dice the meat with a knife. You will want the pieces pretty small though.