Spicy Tenderloin

Here are a couple more results from my selection of recipes via the weekly menu service at RelishRelish.

The crockpot-friendly Pork Tenderloin with Sweet Potatoes sounded promising. I haven't had a lot of luck with crockpots over the years; most of the time there's a funny taste, or the taste is just so bland that I'd rather eat towels. Dry, fluffy towels fresh out of the dryer.

Regardless of the condition of the towels at my house or in the kitchen, if I see a crockpot recipe, I automatically think of how it could be turned into a stove top recipe. This recipe was a breeze to make on the stove. First I browned the tiny tenderloin in my trusty Calaphon pan. I chopped sweet potatoes and onion, then placed them in a separate pot with garlic and brown sugar. The tenderloin went on top. I added chicken broth, covered, and let the whole thing go for about a half hour.

In the meantime I got going on the suggested side dish, Breadcrumb Broccoli. I created some instant breadcrumbs by whirring toasted and chopped bread with a hand blender; mine's a lovely shade of red. I definitely am not organized enough to keep breadcrumbs on hand or in the freezer, so the hand blender did good things on a short notice. It's also pretty hilarious to have itty bitty breadcrumbs flying all over the kitchen!

I steamed the broccoli until just tender and drained. In the pan the broccoli cooked in, I added the breadcrumbs and fresh thyme from my counter-top Aerogarden (love it!) When the breadcrumbs were golden, I removed from the heat and added broccoli, Parmesan, and pepper, then tossed to combine. This was easy and tasty.

Breadcrumb Broccoli

By the time the broccoli was ready for the table, the pork tenderloin and sweet potatoes looked luscious. This was just right for a cold winter evening - pure, satisfying comfort food. The chicken broth made the sweet potatoes extra-special, and the addition of the brown sugar? Perfect. I ate this at night, and then again for lunch the next day. Wonderful!

Pork Tenderloin with Sweet Potatoes

I also prepared the Breakfast Burrito with Spicy Hash Browns. While easy enough to prepare, and satisfying in a "fill me up" sort of way, the burrito wasn't anything spectacular that makes me beg for more. And the Spicy Hash Browns were not spicy. I also didn't finish those, so I believe they're headed down the drain through the garbage disposal. I have to say that's one of the worst things about cooking for yourself. If you don't like the recipe, you're stuck with it. You can't always pawn it off on a friend. You can't always find a friend who has an active compost pile in the middle of a snowy winter who would appreciate a bag of boring hash browns.

Score for RelishRelish thus far? Very good! I have one more recipe to write about: Pumpkin Bread is on the way.

Hash Browns looking good!