Citrus Soy Pork Tenderloin

The pork tenderloin that we served at the family Christmas party.. 

From Mel's Kitchen Cafe

• 2-3 pounds pork tenderloin
• 3/4 cup olive oil
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon dry mustard
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (from about 1 lemon)

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine all the ingredients except the pork and mix well. Pour the marinade into a ziploc bag or baking dish and add the pork tenderloin, making sure the marinade completely covers the pork. Marinade for 8-10 hours.
2. Preheat an outdoor grill (charcoal or gas). Grill the pork tenderloin about 3-4 minutes on each of its four sides (the exact time will depend on the temperature of your grill) or the internal temperature is about 150 to 155 degrees. Remove from the grill, tent with foil, and allow to rest 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Doctored Cake Mix

1 box of cake mix
1 large box of pudding mix
4 eggs
1 cup oil
1/2 cup water
1 cup sour cream

Cook as a cake or cupcakes or whatever form you choose according to the cake mix directions on the box. It will be much more moist and taste less like a cake mix.

Pecan Pie

This is the recipe that I always use for pecan pie.  It was from my boss during my health department days.


~3/4 cup pecans
3 eggs, well beaten
1 c. dark corn syrup
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. cinnamon
1 t. vanilla
1 t. flour
1/4 c. melted butter

Combine ingredients(except pecans), mix well and pour into a pie shell.  Top with pecans(whole pecans look better).

Bake at 375 for 35 to 40 minutes or until the center is set.

Quinoa Burgers

Original Recipe

Ingredients

2 rounded cups cooked quinoa
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese (or other variety, if you prefer)
1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese
1 medium carrot, grated
3 eggs
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 green onions, including white parts
1 /2 teaspoon Splenda or sugar
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
Olive oil for frying

Directions
In a large bowl combine the 2 rounded cups of cooked quinoa, cheddar cheese, cottage cheese, carrot, eggs, flour, green onions, sugar, pepper, cumin, salt, and garlic powder.

Heat a frying pan and a couple teaspoons olive oil over medium-low heat.  (To help them stay in patty form and not fall apart, it’s best to cook the patties on medium-low heat so they have longer to set-up without burning. This makes them easier to flip, too.) The mixture will be slightly sticky, so using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, drop mixture into pan and lightly flatten to 1/2 inch thick. Fry until golden-brown, about 4-6 minutes each side. When done cooking, place patties on a plate lined with a paper towel to drain off any excess oil and serve warm.

Pretzel Rolls

These pretzel rolls (or pretzel buns) have a definite pretzelish flavor. I assume you could roll them into a snake and cook as a soft pretzel, although I think you could actually make a pretty decent bagel this way as well. I made these as hamburger buns, so I shaped them more flat, but for an actual roll, you'd shape them more spherical. In the blog post, Mel's husband asked if she bought them from a fancy store; Kirsten also asked if I had bought them somewhere. I made half the recipe and ended up with 8 well-sized hamburger buns. Also, I cooked them on our pizza stone with a little cornmeal under each.

Mel's Kitchen Cafe: Pretzel Rolls

INGREDIENTS

Dough:
• 1 tablespoon instant yeast
• 2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
• 2 cups warm milk (about 100-110 degrees F)
• 1 1/2 cups warm water (about 100-110 degrees F)
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 6 1/2 - 8 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
Water Bath and Extras:
• 3 quarts water
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/4 cup baking soda
• Coarse salt for sprinkling

DIRECTIONS

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer (or you can do this by hand in a large bowl), stir together the yeast, oil, milk and water. Add the salt and two cups of the flour. Add the rest of the flour gradually until a soft dough is formed and knead for 3-4 minutes. You may not need to use all the flour depending on many different factors - add the flour until a soft dough is formed that clears the sides of the bowl. It is similar in texture to bagel dough and should be slightly more stiff and less sticky than, say, roll dough, but definitely still soft and not overfloured.
2. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl, cover it with greased plastic wrap and let it rise until doubled in size (1-2 hours).
3. Portion the dough into 16 pieces and roll each piece of dough into a lovely little round ball. Here's a great tutorial on how to do that quickly and efficiently.
4. Lay out the rolls on lightly greased parchment or a lightly floured counter. Make sure the dough balls won't stick! Let them rest for 15-20 minutes.
5. While the dough rests, bring the water, sugar and baking soda to a boil in a large 5-6 quart saucepan.
6. Working with one piece of dough at a time, carefully take it off the parchment or counter, flip it over in your hand and pinch the bottom to form a little pucker and help the dough form a nice, taut ball. Take care not to deflate the dough; you should pinch just the very edge of the dough.
7. Place 3-4 dough balls in the boiling water and boil for 30 seconds to 1 minute on each side (the longer you boil, the chewier the baked pretzel roll will be).
8. With a spatula, remove the dough from the boiling water and let the excess water drip off into the pan. Place the boiled dough balls onto lined baking sheets (lined with parchment or a silpat liner).
9. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
10. Using a very sharp knife or razor, slice 2-3 cuts into the top of each unbaked roll about 1/4-inch deep or so. It's important to use a very sharp blade so that it cuts the dough without deflating it. It's ok if the dough looks wrinkly and kind of funny. It will work itself out during baking. Lightly sprinkle each dough ball with coarse salt.
11. Bake for 20-22 minutes until the rolls are deep golden brown. These rolls definitely taste best the same day they are made; however, lightly warmed in the microwave for a few seconds will do wonders for pretzel rolls 1-2 days old.

Coconut syrup

Christie and I are on a coconut kick right now. My neighbor gave me this recipe for coconut syrup and brought me some over, it is delicious. Here is the recipe 2 cubes of butter 2 cups of sugar 1 cup buttermilk add to medium saucepan and heat on medium heat until boiling. Boil for 2-3 minutes then remove from heat. Add t teaspoon of baking soda and 2 t coconut extract.