Pork Tenderloin with Cornmeal-Herb Crust

This was herb overload...ha.  It was good! If your a fan of herbs then you'll love this, if not.....well you probably won't love it. 

Ingredients: 1/4 cup yellow cornmeal, 5 tablespoons dried parsley, 2 1/2 tablespoons dried sage (I halved the recipe and subbed 1/2 teaspoon of basil and 1/2 teaspoon of rosemary instead of the sage), 2 cloves garlic, minced, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 1 1/4-lb. pork tenderloin

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.  Line a baking sheet or pan with foil, spray with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, mix everything together. (Except for the tenderloin.)

Using a paper towel, pat the tenderloin dry. 

Press the herb mixture on the tenderloin.  Coat it completely. 

Place on the baking sheet or pan.  Roast for 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes, using tongs, turn over and roast for another 10 minutes.  I let it cook for about 15 minutes instead of 10 minutes. 

When cooked, remove tenderloin from sheet/pan.  Place on a cutting board and cover loosely with foil. Let rest for a few minutes before slicing.  (This helps to keep the juices in and keeps it from drying out.) 

After it has sat for a few minutes.  Slice and plate!

Find a written version here.

Picante Beef Roast

Last weeks "new recipe".  Alas, the CrockPot came through again! I noticed that all of my recipes so far have mostly been with chicken so I thought I would try some beef.  :) It turned out pretty good but it's probably not one of those that I will make on a regular basis.  Don't get me wrong I liked it, it's just not going on my top 10 list.  Still definitely worth sharing though!

It was a meal of "new" recipes actually.  I also made Cream Cheese Deviled Eggs and Carrot Mashed Potatoes.  Yes, carrot mashed potatoes.  They looked really unique in the picture.  I thought orange mashed potatoes...awesome! That should add some color and well they just looked cool, but they didn't turn out so great.  Might be ok with some tweaking...ha.

Again, I cut the recipe in half and it fit perfectly in my small CrockPot. NOTE: The measurements for the ingredients below are for the full recipe. 

Ingredients: 1 beef rump roast or bottom round roast (3 lbs.), trimmed, 1 jar (16 oz) picante sauce, 1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce, 1 envelope taco seasoning, 3 tablespoons cornstarch, 1/4 cup water. 

Note: Before putting the roast into the CrockPot, trim off the fat to avoid having a "greasy" gravy. I got a 3 lb. roast and cut it in half, using one half and freezing the other.  After trimming, place the roast in the CrockPot.

In a bowl, mix together the picante sauce, tomato sauce and taco seasoning.  Pour this mixture over the roast in the CrockPot.

Cover and cook on low for 8-9 hours or until the meat is tender.

After it is done cooking, remove the meat and place on a plate or serving platter. Transfer 3 cups (or 1 and 1/2 if you cut the recipe in half) of the sauce to a small saucepan an bring to a boil.

While sauce is heating, mix together the cornstarch and water in a small bowl. Slowly stir in the cornstarch mixture to the sauce and bring back to a boil, stirring continuously until the sauce has thickened.  It only takes a couple of minutes for the sauce to thicken. 

Slice the roast and serve with the gravy.  Enjoy!

The written version of this recipe can be found here.