Pork Tenderloin Schnitzel with Potatoes

Another quick, no-pain meal. From prep to plating in under half an hour. For two of us I just peeled and cubed 1 Yukon Gold and 1 sweet potato and started boiling them while I halved Cremini mushrooms and sauté them in a bit of butter. Meanwhile I cut 4 slices from center part of pork tenderloin about 2” thick and pounded them to about 3/8” thickness for quick cooking. They were seasoned on both sides with salt, pepper and “Herbes de Provence”. Then they hit hot frying pan with grape oil, flipped over after 2 minutes and cooked another 2 minutes. Meal ready for plating. I could have done it with rice (more time) or even pasta like orzo, again, longer time to cook. This is very easy and tasty quick meal. It will come very handy on busy days.

Pork Loin with Sweet Potatoes, Asparagus and Tomatoes

Today, I have challenged myself (again J ) to come up with a meal that will include only ingredients I have on hand. First thing I touched in freezer were four small boneless pork loin chops, vacuum packed. Good start. Side dish was next and because in last few days we had rice, potatoes and pasta I felt for something else. Sweet potatoes, that Marjo bought just few days ago to keep our pantry stocked, filled the bill and since I had asparagus and tomatoes on hand as well the meal was done. At least in my mind. When I fetched the asparagus I noticed that I still had arugula that I have grown in cold frame and picked about four weeks ago before all the snow came down. It is still as fresh as when I picked it. Now I had a bed for my quickly sautéed chops. Next to chops I’ll plate steamed and then broiled sweet potatoes and then microwave steamed asparagus. Fresh small tomato wedges will complete the meal. I have to mention that this morning I broiled some hot Italian sausage ball in my toaster oven for snacks and knowing that I will broil/toast sweet potato wedges for dinner I left the fat in a pan. When wedges were nice and done I moved them on a paper towel lined plate to drain extra fat. Next, I poured a teaspoon of remaining fat into frying pan and used it third time to cook the chops. The taste was just incredible! I know it sounds like there was a lot of fat in this meal but there was no more then maybe 1 – 2 teaspoons for two people when plated.

Definitely a repeat, when I have the same ingredients on hand.