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?