Tuesday, October 22, 2013

One Pot Goodness

Yes! Fall has actually arrived in Texas. I can't tell you how excited that makes me. Why? Because we usually don't get a fall. Summer drags into October and November and then one day we wake up and POOF, it's winter. Of course, then winter will be gone the next day, but hey, we'll take what we can get.
 
Now fall in Texas does not equate to beautiful color as it does in many parts of the country. For us, it means the temperature drops below 80 and we can open the windows. This week, we've been blessed. We've stayed in the 70's during the day and even dipped down as low as 41 one night. Ooooooo...
 
Cooler weather makes me want to cook some of those things I shy away from during the scorching summer months. Like stew, chili, and pot roast. But this week, I did something a little different. I'm trying to use up as much of the stuff in my freezer as I can before deer season and the holidays arrive. I know I'll need space for the holidays and I'm hoping I'll need space for lots of venison. Deer season doesn't open until November 2nd, so stay tuned.
 
I don't really have a recipe for this dish. No precise ingredients. But I started with a pork tenderloin. You can also use pork loin.
 
Now I bet you're wondering what's that stuff I sprinkled all over it. Well, you've heard our GAL, Julie, and I talk about Penzey's Spices. They really do have the best spices. And among them are several different blends. Okay, more than several, but you get the idea. For this dish, I used their Bavarian Seasoning. You'll see why I chose that on in a minute. The mixture is salt-free but with lots of great stuff like crushed brown mustard, rosemary, garlic, thyme, bay leaves and sage. SO good.

So I sprinkled that all over my meat. Then I wrapped the two pieces of tenderloin together in bacon, securing the ends with toothpicks.
 
Then I browned the meat in a tablespoon or two of olive oil.

Added some cabbage and onion.

 
Put the lid on and put the whole thing in a 275 degree oven. Now here's where I kind of messed up. I left it in the oven for 2 hours when I should have left it in for about 1 hour. Or at least checked the internal temperature of the meat at that point to see if it was done. As it was, I overcooked it. It was still good, just a little on the dry side. Now, if you're using a pork loin, you may need to cook it a longer, however you will want to check the internal temperature because if that gets over cooked it will be really dry.
 
 
In case a you couldn't tell, I was going for something with a bit of a German flare. The boys liked it because it was wrapped in bacon and then I served mashed potatoes on the side, which they love. And I love cabbage cooked like this.
 
All in all, a successful dinner that I will fix again, only I won't over cook it next time.
 
Well, the next manuscript has been submitted. Now it's time to catch up on all those things around the house that I've put off since May. Since the wedding, my dining room has become a major catch-all, so I tackled that yesterday. Honestly, we have too much stuff. Our stuff, my mother's stuff, my MIL's stuff... Oy! It makes my head spin trying to figure out where to put everything. I think I need a room just for stuff. But the good news is that we can now use the dining room!
 
Now it's your turn. What have you been up to?
 

14 comments:

  1. Tofu wrapped in faux bacon just wouldn't substitute well for this recipe so I'll take your word for its delishisness and pass on making it -- though I will pass it along to my meat-eting friends because I'm sure they would drool over it. I don't get the fascination with bacon everything but my goodness it's popular right now...except in the vegetarian circles. :-)

    We've had a lovely long fall -- it's just starting to get cold now which is unusual for us so I've been putting my garden to bed for the winter. And work. And reading. Glad to hear you have another one on it's way to publication.

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    1. You're right about the bacon, Kav. It's showing up in everything lately. I've even seen chocolate covered bacon and bacon ice cream. My favorite way to have bacon is as bacon :) Preferably thick-sliced.

      Sounds like you've had a wonderful fall. Glad the cold weather has held off. Goodness knows you'll have plenty of that in the coming months.

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  2. Yum! You had me at bacon. :)

    I love pork tenderloin. In fact, I was drinking coffee this morning, thinking, "YUK" about anything I considered eating for breakfast. So I went out to Bojangles to get a pork chop biscuit. :)

    Thanks for sharing, Mindy! We've had some cool weather here as well. Or maybe I should say coolER. It's still been in the 60's and 70's. NO SNOW like poor Jan! And we probably won't see any--like usual.

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    1. Missy, you're like us when it comes to snow. It's like a special occasion. And if the kids happen to get a snow day, I go all out in the kitchen.

      A pork chop biscuit, huh? Can't say I've ever had one of those. I do love those chicken biscuits at Chick fil A though. YUM!

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  3. This looks wonderful. I don't know why, but pork tenderloin always scares me. Will give this a shot. I bet the crockpot would work well for this.

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    1. Tina, you have nothing to fear when it comes to pork tenderloin. It is very easy to work with. I usually grill it, leaving each piece individual. It doesn't take long to cook. Just use a meat thermometer and make sure the internal temperature is about 150 degrees. I love to use the leftovers for stir fry.

      Yes, the crock pot would work great. Just be careful not to overcook it like I did. :)

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  4. This sounds fabulous - and my family would be all over this.

    Except the cabbage. I'd get that all to myself!

    We're toward the end of fall around here - but you know how it is in South Dakota. Our fall is what you'd consider winter :)

    We went driving up in the Hills on Saturday on our way back from Bear Butte, and there's still plenty of snow up there. So no hiking coming up...unless we go out to the Badlands.

    But there's the house to work on. Like you, I buried my head in writing this summer, and you can tell when you look at the house! But I'm tackling it layer by layer.

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    1. Jan, you've already had a good dose of winter. If that was a typical fall, no telling what winter would be like.

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  5. yep finally got to 80 here! doesn't look overcooked to me - I can't stand any pink in my meat though.
    susanna

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    1. Only 80, all the way down there, Susanna? Gotta love it.

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  6. You lost me at cabbage. But I'd eat the bacon!

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    1. Aw, Virginia...but the cabbage is so yummy cooked like this.

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  7. don't you just love Penzeys????? I need to try the Bavarian!

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    1. I really do, Julie. I get excited every time a new catalog arrives. :)

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