Spiced Pork Tenderloin with Sautéed Apples

Made this one tonight and it's really very good. The sweet treatment on the pork and savory treatment on the apples is a nice contrast. Also, one tip - make this in a stainless or cast iron skillet, so you get some nice browned bits into the sauce. It feels like a good Fall dish.

• 3/8 teaspoon salt


• 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander


• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper


• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon


• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg


• 1 pound pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut crosswise into 12 pieces


• Cooking spray


• 2 tablespoons butter


• 2 cups thinly sliced unpeeled Braeburn or Gala apple


• 1/3 cup thinly sliced shallots


• 1/8 teaspoon salt


• 1/4 cup apple cider


• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

1. Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Combine first 5 ingredients; sprinkle spice mixture evenly over pork. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add pork to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Remove pork from pan; keep warm.
2. Melt butter in pan; swirl to coat. Add apple slices, 1/3 cup shallots, and 1/8 teaspoon salt; sauté 4 minutes or until apple starts to brown. Add apple cider to pan, and cook for 2 minutes or until apple is crisp-tender. Stir in thyme leaves. Serve apple mixture with the pork.

Nutritional Information
Amount per serving

Calories: 234
Fat: 9.7g
Saturated fat: 5g
Monounsaturated fat: 3.2g
Polyunsaturated fat: 0.7g
Protein: 24.4g
Carbohydrate: 12.3g
Fiber: 1.5g
Cholesterol: 89mg
Iron: 1.7mg
Sodium: 394mg
Calcium: 18mg

Beef Tenderloin Steaks with Port Reduction and Blue Cheese

Hubba, hubba. This recipe was amazing. I happily ate leftovers for days. You definitely need a veggie with it, though since the portions are not so huge. One other tip: really wait for the sauce to cook down. Mmmnn.

• 4 (4-ounce) filet mignon steaks, trimmed



• 1/4 teaspoon salt



• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper



• Cooking spray



• 3/4 cup port or other sweet red wine



• 2 tablespoons jellied cranberry sauce



• 2 tablespoons fat-free, less-sodium beef broth



• 1/8 teaspoon salt



• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper



• 1 garlic clove, minced



• 2 tablespoons crumbled blue cheese

1. Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle steaks with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; coat steaks with cooking spray. Add steaks to pan; cook 4 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Remove steaks from pan; keep warm.
2. Add port, cranberry sauce, broth, 1/8 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon pepper, and garlic to pan, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Reduce heat, and cook until liquid is reduced to 1/4 cup (about 4 minutes). Serve steaks with sauce; top with cheese.
Nutritional Information
Amount per serving

Calories: 282
Calories from fat: 33%
Fat: 10.2g
Saturated fat: 4.1g
Monounsaturated fat: 3.8g
Polyunsaturated fat: 0.4g
Protein: 24.7g
Carbohydrate: 9.8g
Fiber: 0.2g
Cholesterol: 73mg
Iron: 3.3mg
Sodium: 361mg
Calcium: 35mg

Wasabi and Panko-Crusted Pork with Gingered Soy Sauce

This is one of three new recipes I just made this week out of Cooking Light, and they are all fantastic and easy to make. On this one, I will use more wasabi than they suggest next time I make it. And, Panko are a little pricey, but definitely make a difference vs. bread crumbs. But, don't buy sake - sherry cooking wine worked fine and was much cheaper. Yum.

• 2/3 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)


• 1 large egg white, lightly beaten


• 4 (4-ounce) boneless center-cut loin pork chops (about 1/2 inch thick)


• 1 teaspoon peanut oil Cooking spray


• 1/8 teaspoon salt


• 1 tablespoon bottled ground fresh ginger (such as Spice World)


• 1/3 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth


• 2 tablespoons sake or dry sherry


• 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce


• 2 teaspoons sugar


• 1 teaspoon wasabi paste


• 1/3 cup thinly sliced green onions

Place panko in a shallow dish. Place egg white in another shallow dish. Dip pork in egg white; dredge in panko.
Heat peanut oil in a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat; add pork. Cook for 4 minutes on each side or until done. Remove pork from pan; sprinkle with salt.
Reduce heat to medium. Add ginger to pan; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Combine broth and the next 4 ingredients (through wasabi) in a small bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Add broth mixture to pan, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Stir in green onions. Spoon sauce over pork.

Nutritional Information
Amount per serving

Calories: 215
Calories from fat: 28%
Fat: 6.8g
Saturated fat: 2.1g
Monounsaturated fat: 2.9g
Polyunsaturated fat: 0.8g
Protein: 24.5g
Carbohydrate: 10.8g
Fiber: 0.9g
Cholesterol: 65mg
Iron: 1.1mg
Sodium: 454mg
Calcium: 15mg