Tuesday, May 25, 2010

menu planning monday: pork tenderloin, B&B breakfasts

as i mentioned last week, my hubby and i are following the P90X meal plan. this is week 3 and i am really happy with the meals and menus so far. the biggest change for us, from our typical meals, has been in portion sizing, not necessarily the recipes or ingredients.

last week i made the P90X Island Pork Tenderloin. normally we don't eat pork but Oh My Gosh. with this seasoning and atop a bed of greens this was DeeeLish.

Pork:

16 oz Lean Pork Tenderloin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon chile powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 brown sugar, packed
1/2 tablespoon fresh garlic, finely chopped
1/2 tablespoon tabasco sauce

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2.Stir together salt, pepper, cumin, chile powder, and cinnamon, then coat pork with the spice rub.
3.Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a skillet over moderately high heat and brown pork, turning, about 4 minutes
4.Stir together brown sugar, garlic, and Tabasco and pat onto top of tenderloin. Place pork in a roasting pan and cook in the oven for 20 minutes.

Salad (makes 1, double or triple as needed):
1/2 orange, peeled and cut
1 cup fresh spinach
1/2 red bell pepper, cut lengthwise into thin strips
1 tablespoon golden raisins
1 cup Napa cabbage, shredded
6 ounces Island Pork Tenderloin
2 tablespoons cumin vinaigrette (see below)

1.Peel and cut oranges crosswise into 1/4 inch thick slices and set aside.
2.Toss spinach, cabbage, bell pepper, and raisins in a large bowl.
3.Prepare the dressing (below)
4.Mound salad mixture on a large plate. Arrange pork and orange slices on top and drizzle with dressing.

Dressing:
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1/2 tablespoon orange juice
1/2 tablespoon dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil

Whisk together.

i didn't make the dressing, but it sure sounds yummy. it was tasty even without it. good recipes like this one makes the P90X program do-able!
 
so, switching gears here... my wonderful mom is visiting us this week! in case you didn't know, my mom is the Mrs. Stanley of Matagorda's finest Stanley-Fisher Bed and Breakfast. she is without a doubt hostess with the mostess and Queen of the Kitchen, especially when it comes to breakfast. i asked if she would share some of her favorite and most-requested breakfast recipes with me. not that i could ever make them as perfectly as she does or serve them as beautifully as she does! i plan on sticking these recipes in a special folder for when i need to pull out the "big guns" at a special occassion
 
Raspberry French Toast
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 eggs
2 egg whites
1-1/4 qt. fat-free milk, divided
1 loaf French bread, ends trimmed, cut into 18 slices
12oz pkg. frozen unsweetened raspberries
1 3.4oz pkg. Vanilla Instant Pudding
 

Beat first 4 ingredients in large bowl with mixer until well blended. Add whole eggs and egg whites, 1 at a time, mixing well after each. Gradually beat in 2 cups milk.
Arrange 9 bread slices on bottom of 13x9-inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray; cover with half the berries and remaining bread slices. Pour Neufchatel mixture over bread. Let stand 30 min.
Heat oven to 350°F. Bake French toast 40 min. or until golden brown. Meanwhile, bring remaining milk just to boil in saucepan; gradually add dry pudding mix, whisking until well blended. Remove from heat; let stand 5 min. Meanwhile, microwave remaining raspberries in small microwaveable bowl on HIGH 15 to 20 sec. or until warmed.
Spoon pudding over individual servings of French toast; top with berries


Another yummy Stanley-Fisher B&B Breakfast is the Croissant Cheesecake Sopapilla, which i plan on making and entering [and winning] in my MOPS recipe contest!
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese

2 (8 ounce) packages refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or almond extract
1/2 cup margarine or butter, melted
1/2 cup cinnamon sugar

Using a 9 x 13 baking pan, unroll one package of refrigerated crescent rolls and line the bottom of the pan.
Flatten. Mix together the cream cheese, sugar and extract.
Spread over the crescent rolls.
Unroll the other can of crescent rolls and place on top of cream cheese mixture.
Pour one stick of melted butter or margarine over the top and sprinkle with about 1/2 cup of the cinnamon sugar mixture.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.


happy cooking & happy eating! i am aware that it is tuesday and this is not a meal plan but i love OrgJunkie so much and i know yall will love these recipes so i'm linking up over there. by the way, these recipes are not "original" but my mom has her own little modifications to make sure that it's never the same breakfast twice. her modifications she would not share. ;)