I have kind of gotten away from much cooking lately, and I need to get back at it. For one, because I do like to cook. And secondly, because it’s always fun to share good recipes with you! I always look for recipes that can either go in the crockpot (so you come home from work and your house smells awesome and dinner is ready), or recipes that can be done up quickly (so you come home from work and don’t have to spend 2 hours making dinner, when what you really want to do it sit down and knit. Or is that just me?) Weekends are different – more time to experiment with other types of cooking.
We tried two different pork loin recipes over the holidays. One was in the crockpot, but really, it wasn’t that great. Not worth sharing that recipe. The second one is baked in an oven and ready in a half hour – that one was a keeper, so I wanted to share it with you. Found on Pinterest, with references that it may have originated with Rachel Ray.
Balsamic Pork Tenderloin
1 package of pork tenderloins (2 in the pack)
2 Tbl. balsamic vinegar
1 T extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp. garlic powder (or 1 Tbl. sauteed, minced garlic)
1 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. thyme or rosemary
1 tsp. parsley
salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Place tenderloins in a 9 x 13 pan that has been lined with foil. Drizzle with olive oil and the balsamic vinegar. Combine spices in a separate bowl and then rub onto all sides of the tenderloins until well coated. Finish off with a few dashes of salt and pepper.
Place in oven and roast for 20 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 150-160 degrees. Allow the meat to rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing. Enjoy!
So – do you do a lot of cooking during the week? More on the weekends? None at all?
Sheri quietweekendaheadwhichmeansknittingwillgetdone!
Sounds delicious and we love pork tenderloin.
We usually save “big cooking” for the weekend. Do you have a FoodSaver vacuum sealer? My husband loves to grill or smoke outside. We package up brisket, pulled pork, chicken breasts, pork loin, sausage, etc. in 2-3 servings per package. Then just thaw in the bag what we want for that night, bring a pot of water to boil and drop the sealed bag in to heat for 10 minutes. It makes for a quick supper but we still get to enjoy the outdoor cooking.
I make small pans of chicken enchiladas which we vacuum seal. Those I thaw and then cook in the oven. Also, at various times we have tubs of beans, chili, stew and spaghetti sauce in the freezer.
I just ordered a Food Saver this week, Bonnie! Glad to hear you like it a lot. I want to be able to make salads in a jar and vacuum seal them, but I know there is so much more that I will use it for as well.
I’ve printed off your recipe to try in the near future.
Add me to the list of “food vacuumers!” I’ve had mine for *years* and love it. Been portioning the meats so I just pull out enough for the two of us. Makes for fast defrosting.
I like to eat well, so I have to cook. My husband and son refer to the house on weekends as “Leslie’s House of Good Smells”. Kind of as a joke, I started posting weekend meals on my Facebook page. I now have a following among my friends, and my brother-in-law, Dwight, gave me two bumper stickers with that on it. One will go on the car and the other will be framed and hung in the kitchen.
I love roasted port tenderloin. I cook it frequently with a garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper rub and grill it out side! I grind the rosemary salt and peper in a mortar and pestle to bring out the flavors. It is yummy! I cook a lot on the weekend making soups and main dishes that can be assembled easily on weeknights.
I have a good turkey meatloaf that I mix up as if I was making stuffing and then mix that into the ground turkey with dried cranberries. I will leave a crockpot going during the day and at night have dinner made.
Thanks for the recipe!
In my early married life, since kids came with the bargain, I would cook every night during the week- except Friday. Friday. nights were for pizza! The weekends were for eating out or leftovers. I wasn’t working until about 13 years ago, but I still cooked most nights until recently.
Now, everyone is grown and mostly gone. The Kid that goes to Colorado State has been home for break, but still, we eat out more than we eat in. It’s kind of sad because I love to cook.
I’m with you – I like the crockpot or very quick meals, because by the end of the day, I’d rather sit and knit!
I don’t do much of the cooking at this time of year. My husband has supper ready when I get home from work. That gives me more knitting time.
We don’t use the crock pot very much. My brother-in-law gave us a crock pot cookbook for Christmas. Perhaps we will use it more now.
Sheri, when I read your recipe, I thought of your huge jar of minced garlic that DH brought home from grocery emergency awhile ago. Wondering if you still have it?! LOL! The recipe sounds great–can’t wait to try it.
We love Pork tenderloin here! Do you cook it for 20 min because it’s on 500*? It seems like I have to cook mine a lot longer – like over an hour. My temp is usually on 375-425 though. I will have to try cooking at the higher temp and with the balsamic! Thanks. I love all of these tips and recipes on the blog. From you and the other Loopy customers! It would be neat if you had some way for everyone to post their stuff. Wait- you could maybe create a group board on Pinterest?! Then we could all join when you invite and have all these great things on 1 board?! I use Pinterest for most all of my recipes and ideas now. So handy cause everything is right at your fingertips. Just a thought for you, Sheri! Thanks for everything!!!
I cook most days but nearly all vegetarian (my husband is veggie). I’m a happy omnivore, so I’ll make this next time I visit my Mom! I always appreciate recipes that are fast and delicious. Thank you Sheri.
My husband made your pork tenderloin recipe for supper tonight. It was wonderful — tender and jiuicy and easy to prepare. Thanks for a great recipe!
So glad you enjoyed it, Nancy!
Lisa, yes, the higher cooking temp means a shorter cooking time. It also seems to stay moister this way.
Carol – funny that you remember that! I tossed the rest of that jar when we moved from St. Louis to Colorado, and he hasn’t repeated that little grocery mix-up since!
We also love pork tenderloin, but are not so much for the garlic — love it the first time, but the second time is not as appetizing!
I try to cook something that will last a few days on the weekend, and then not have to cook from scratch as much during the week. However, I do have several fairly easy casserole recipes that can cook in an hour or so. And a freezer that has several items that can cook in less than an hour, too!
I’d love to knit more; I guess I just have to discipline myself to do that, as there is so much I want to knit, but never seem to get to!
Bought a pork tenderloin today to make this. Looks good! Thanks for sharing the recipe.
This tenderloin recipe looks amazing. Thanks for sharing Sheri. I’m thinking I might try roasting this on the BBQ.
I love to cook and despite a long day at work, I have not problem coming home to cook – for me its wind down time, but to avoid eating too late, I try to keep it fairly simple during the week. we love to BBQ and do so year round despite the snow and cold weather in the Great White North. I leave the weekends to trying something unusual or more involved.
Thanks to those for the info on the food vacuums. I have thought about getting one, but didn’t know anyone who used it (until now) – I think I may have to invest in one of those. I currently package smaller portions in freezer bags, but it’s not always ideal.
I don’t eat out much, so I probably cook as much during the week as on weekends. We do a bit more grilling on weekends at this time of year, but grill quite a lot when the weather is a little nicer and the days longer.
I made this recipe on Sunday, but omitted the peppers and toned down the spices just a tad:
http://www.parade.com/246689/giadadelaurentiis/giadas-california-turkey-chili/
When we put a pork tenderloin on the grill, I use a honey raspberry rub and then towards the end, baste with a fruity flavored jam or jelly.