Asian Pork Tenderloin

This recipe was given to me by Gina Jones when we were prepping for a freezer cooking night for the E. 91st Street MOPS girls. It is seriously yummy and will be used often!!

1.5-2 lbs. of pork tenderloin, trimmed

¼ cup olive oil

1/3 cup soy sauce

2T lemon juice

1/3 cup brown sugar

2T Worcestershire sauce

1T dry mustard

4 cloves garlic – crushed (or 2 tsp. minced garlic)

1.5 t pepper

Combine all ingredients and marinade at least an hour, preferable longer.

Bake at 350 uncovered for 1 hour, or till meat is no longer pink in the center.

Let sit for 5 minutes before slicing. Slice thinly against the grain with electric knife.

Note: Can also be made as a freezer meal. Thaw in refrigerator overnight and bake as directed.

Creamy Sausage and Mushroom Rigatoni

We got this recipe out of one of our Simple and Delicious magazines... and it truly is simple and delicious!!! Allie loves to make it!!!

1 pkg. rigatoni
1 lb. Italian sausage
2 tsp. butter
1 lb. sliced fresh mushrooms
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 cups heavy whipping cream

*Cook pasta according to directions.
*Cook sausage and drain. In the same pan sausage was cooked in, add butter, mushrooms, salt and pepper... and cook for 4 minutes covered on medium. Uncover and cook for another few minutes... until liquid is almost gone.
*Add in cream and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook uncovered for another 8-10 minutes before adding back in the sausage.
*Serve the sauce with the pasta... and ENJOY!!!

Ham Poppyseed sliders

I have made these twice now with wonderful compliments. A great addition to a party. :)

This recipe makes 24 mini sandwiches.

1 24 pack of the King's Hawaiian Sweet Rolls
1 lb of thinly sliced ham (or more or less, depending how much ham you like)
1 lb of thinly sliced Swiss cheese (again to preference)
2 Tablespoons yellow mustard
1/2 cup butter
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
mayonnaise
poppy seeds

First, slice your rolls through the middle into sandwiches. Spread mayo liberally on the inside of the bottom piece. Arrange your ham and Swiss on this. Spread mayo on the inside of your top piece and form the sandwich. Arrange in your 13x9.

After you have made your sandwiches, you will make your sauce. In a small saucepan, add the butter, mustard and Worcestershire sauce. Heat over medium heat until melted and whisk together.   Pour this over your prepared sandwiches. Then, sprinkle the poppy seeds over the top of the sandwiches. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until lightly browned and the cheese has melted. Enjoy!!

Bacon Hearts

 I saw this idea on Pinterest and just had to try it for Valentine's day:) All you do is cut a piece of bacon in half, form it into a heart shape and bake for about 20 minutes!!!

Talk about love on a plate;)

Sweet and Sour Pork

1 20 oz. can pineapple chunks… only use the juice when preparing- add chunks when ready to eat
½ cup water
½ cup vinegar
½ cup packed brown sugar
2 Tbls. Ketchup
2 Tbls. Soy sauce
2lbs. boneless pork, cut into 1 in. cubes
1 ½ tsp salt
½ tsp garlic salt
½ tsp black pepper
2 Tbls. Vegetable oil
2 Tbls. Cornstarch
1 large bell peppers, cut into 1 in. pieces… added when ready to eat
1 large onion, cut into 1 in. pieces… added when ready to eat
Hot Cooked Rice… to be served on

*Drain pineapple, reserving juice in a bowl. Add water, vinegar, brown sugar, ketchup, and soy sauce to pineapple juice; set aside.

*Sprinkle pork cubes with salt, garlic salt and black pepper. Preheat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown pork cubes in hot oil. Turn heat to low. Add 1 cup of pineapple juice mixture to skillet. Cover and simmer gently about 20 minutes or until pork is tender.

*Add cornstarch to the remaining pineapple juice mixture, whisking to break up any lumps; whisk into skillet. Turn heat to high, whisking constantly until mixture boils and thickens. STOP HERE IF FREEZING… and put into a freezer bag and freeze up to 2 months. Defrost completely in refrigerator and then continue with next step.

*Add pineapple chunks, bell pepper and onion to skillet. Cook about 5 minutes more or until vegetables are heated through. Serve over rice.

Sarah's Meatloaf Recipe

I vary this a lot depending on how many people I'm making it for.

This is the "recipe" I use when I make it for my family.

1 lb ground beef (or chuck, it doesn't matter)
1 lb sausage (I use the Jimmy Dean Sage sausage)
1 large white onion, chopped into large chunks
2 rolls of Ritz crackers, crushed
2 large eggs
1/2 palm of Kosher salt (that's just what I use. I guess its about 1 tablespoon of coarse salt, maybe 1/2 tablespoon of table salt)
About 4 turns of crushed pepper. (I don't know if you have a pepper mill or not, but its probably 1/2 teaspoon or there abouts)

Mix this all together. I use my hands and press into a 13x9 glass baking pan.

The glaze that I put on top is simple. It's just brown sugar and regular mustard. What I usually do is put a big scoop of brown sugar in a bowl and add mustard to it until its a thick glaze. I think its probably a loose cup of brown sugar and 1/2 cup mustard. I really do this part to taste, so you might take a little taste before you put it on your meatloaf, and add more brown sugar or mustard depending. The glaze gets spread over the top before you cook the meatloaf.

The meatloaf gets baked at 350 for about an hour or until the meatloaf is browned and cooked through.

This does produce a lot of oil in your cooking pan, so it is best to remove it to a serving platter for the table. :)

Sometimes I'll add an extra pound of hamburger when we have company coming over. You just add an extra egg and roll of ritz crackers and maybe another onion if you like onions. But, don't do more than two lbs of beef per roll of sausage. You can fit three lbs of meat in the 13x9 pan just fine, but if you do more than that, its best to split it up into two pans.

Pork & Shrimp Wontons

This recipe was on the bag of another wonton wrapper package... so again I can not give credit where it is truly do. But it is another tasty meal that kids will love- especially when you let them dip it in a sweet & sour sauce:)

Pork & Shrimp Wontons
1/4lb. ground pork
1/8lb. raw shrimp, shelled (also use cooked, frozen shrimp)
1/2 cup cabbage, shredded
1 T. soy sauce
1/2 T. wine
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp corn starch
1/8 tsp sugar
Dash of Pepper
Approximately 20 wonton wrappers

~Mix the filling ingredients together. Place a tablespoon of filling in the center of each wrapper, fold and seal as desired (it works well to just moisten the edges and fold them in half).
~To Fry: Heat oil until you can drop water in it and it will bubble. Then place won tons in the oil for 5-7 minutes or until each side is golden brown, drain on a paper towel.
~For Soup: Cook wontons in boiling water or chicken broth for 7-10 minutes or until done.