Beautiful Day with an Amazing Dinner Tonight!

Today I got to spend time with my wonderful boyfriend in the morning, then I hopped on my  motorcycle and road to the mall and sold raffle tickets for our Kiwanis fundraiser hanging out with one of my Kiwanis sisters, Bonnie.  Then I met my honey for a movie date and we saw Expendables 2.  A fun movie, full of action and humor.  After the movie was over, we hopped on our motorcycles  and headed back to the house through the beautiful Champlain Valley farm lands. 

To top off the day we had leftovers from last night.  Dinner last night consisted of Pork Loin wrapped in Pepper Bacon with Herbs and Garlic and Cheese Baked Potato Casserole with Ritz Cracker Crumbs on top, and Fresh Cucumbers on the side. 

Pork Loin wrapped in Pepper Bacon with Herbs

 

 

     4 Tablespoons of chopped fresh garlic

     2 - 3 tablespoons olive oil

     2 pork tenderloins (about 1 to 1 1/2 pound each)

     Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

     1-2 tablespoons dried rosemary leaves crushed in tiny pieces

     1 tablespoon of poultry seasoning

     1 - 2 tablespoons dried thyme leaves crusted in tiny pieces

     8-10 (1/4-inch thick) slices Pepper encrusted bacon ( I get from butcher at Price Chopper)

 

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Arrange tenderloins on cutting board. Rub the top each tenderloin with 1/2 of the garlic and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle half of the herbs on top, then flip and repeat process.  Season both sides with a pinch of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Wrap 4-5strips of bacon around each tenderloin and tie bacon in place with kitchen twine.  If you don't have twine, I use turkey skewers to hold the bacon in place.

Heat oil in a large, skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the tenderloins until golden brown on both sides. Transfer  tenderloins to medium roasting pan that has been sprayed with a light coat of pan spray; place in the oven and cook to medium doneness about 20-25minutes.

Check with meat thermometer or cut in to the thickest portion to make sure it is not pink and running blood. 

Transfer tenderloins to cutting board and let stand 10 minutes. Remove twine or skewers before carving. 

*Note: If you use fresh herbs, use half of what I have listed because they are much stronger then the dried herbs!


My family loves a nice cheesy dish with this meat so I made the following potatoes last night:

Cheesy Potato Casserole

 

1 Bag of Frozen Hash Brown Potatoes

1 Can of Cream of Chicken Soup

1 Pint of Sour Cream

2 - 8 oz Bricks of Orange Sharp Cheddar Cheese shredded.

1 Stick of Butter

Fresh Ground Pepper

1 1/2 Sleeves of Ritz Crackers

 

 

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

 

Soften stick of butter, take two table spoons and spread all over the bottom and sides of glass 13 X 9 glass baking dish.  In a large bowl dump bag of hash browns, add can of soup, and pint of sour cream, pepper to taste, and half of the cheese.  Mix well and spread in to buttered baking dish. 

 

Place in oven and bake for 45 minutes.  In the mean time crush the crackers well and add a half a stick of butter and mix well.  I do this in a gallon size zip lock bag.  Once mixed well, pull the potatoes out of the oven about five minutes before they are done.  Add the crumbs to the top, return to the oven and finish baking for five minutes.