Fast & Easy Weeknight Meals--Gorgonzola Topped Pork Tenderloin

from Cooking Light

At first, you may think this recipe isn't easy. Trust me--it is.

1 (1 lb) pork tenderloin, trimeed and cut crosswise into 4 pieces
1 tsp vegetable oil
Cooking spray
2 tsp bottled minced garlic (or fresh if you're all fancy and a show-off)
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup beef broth (in a pinch, I've been known to just use some bouillon dissolved in water)
1/2 cup dry red wine (TIP: I buy 2 buck chuck from Trader Joe's to use when cooking. You can freeze leftovers and defrost for later use.)
2 Tbsp crumbled Gorgonzola or other blue cheese

Place the pork between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap. Pound the crap out of it until it's about 1 inch thick. The shape doesn't matter as much as the thickness. You want it to cook evenly, so it all needs to be the same thickness.

Heat oil in a large skillet (this one is also good in the cast iron skillet) coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat.

Combine garlic, pepper, and salt. Rub all over pork. Add pork to pan and cook 5 minutes on each side or until done. Remove pork from pan and keep warm (put foil over it).

Add broth and wine to skillet, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Increase heat to hight and cook until reduced to about 1/2 cup (between 6-10 minutes). Spoon sauce over pork (and mashed potatoes, if you have them, or rice, or onto bread--the sauce is damned good). Sprinkle with cheese.

See, that wasn't so difficult. It just messes with your head because of the fancy sounding ingredients.

Chili and Cornbread in the Cast Iron Skillet

The Big Geek got me a cast iron skillet for Christmas this year, and I've been trying to use it. So far, I've made some pretty tasty things that I hope I'll make again in the future and photograph to tell you about here.

For now, here's something really basic: Chili and Corn Bread.

For the chili, I just used a seasoning packet, some canned diced tomatoes, canned beans, and ground turkey. I did saute an onion to add in as well (well, half of one, because The Big Geek has onion issues). I'm sure there are many many home-made chili recipes on the web that would be far better, but for a weeknight, this works.


I also found the cornbread recipe by using google. I chose one that didn't use sugar, because I didn't want to use sugar, but I wasn't really all that happy with it. The cornbread was a little dry, and I'm not sure why--I assure you I used plenty of butter both in the skillet and in the cornbread. The edges were the best part.


While I'll keep looking for better recipes, it was a good weeknight dinner. I'm going to try calling my grandma to see if she'll share her cornbread recipe. Although when I was in college and asked her how she made her chili because it was so good, she laughed and told me she used a seasoning packet from the store, so I won't be surprised if she tells me the secret is "Shawnee Mills."

Have a great recipe using a cast iron skillet? Please share it!