Beef Tenderloin with Rosemary, Tomatoes, Shallots and Polenta

I made this Ellie Krieger recipe for my son and myself this week and DAMN.  It is good.  And, easy for cleanup, as a single sheet-pan meal.  The herbs with the beef are truly kick-butt and, since my son ate all the meat immediately, I’ve been loving the veggies & polenta as a standalone leftover.  I will say the polenta was even better after I pan sautéed it to put a slight crust on it.  Good tenderloin isn’t cheap, but this is a good way to use it if you feel like investing a bit in a great dinner.

Ingredients:

• 1 large clove of garlic, finely minced
• 3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
• 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped rosemary
• 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 ¼ pound beef tenderloin roast
• 2 pints grape tomatoes
• 4 medium shallots, peeled and quartered lengthwise
• One 1-pound tube of prepared polenta, sliced into 8 slices about ¾-inch thick
• 1 teaspoon aged balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Directions

Preheat the broiler to high. Take the garlic and chop extra finely. Place the garlic paste into a small bowl with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, the rosemary and ½ teaspoon of the pepper and stir to combine. Rub the mixture all over the meat.

Place a metal rack on top of a sheet pan; place the meat on the rack and broil about 2 inches from the flame until the top of the meat is browned, about 3 minutes. Turn off the broiler and preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Transfer the meat to a plate and remove the rack.

Place the tomatoes and the shallots on the pan. Drizzle them with 1 tablespoon of the oil and the remaining ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Toss them with tongs, then push them over to one half of the pan. Place the meat, browned side up, in the center of the pan. Brush the polenta slices with the remaining tablespoon of oil and place them on the other side of the meat on the pan.

Cook for 15 minutes, then stir the tomatoes and shallots and flip the polenta slices. Return to the oven and continue to cook until the meat is reaches an internal temperature of 130 degrees for medium rare, 10-15 minutes more. Transfer the meat to a cutting board and allow to rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing against the grain into ¼-inch thick slices. While the meat is resting, drizzle the tomatoes and shallots with the balsamic vinegar.

Makes 4 servings

Serving size: 3 slices of meat, 2 polenta rounds and 2/3 cup tomatoes and shallot

Per serving: Calories 420, Total Fat 22 g; (Sat Fat 6 g, Mono Fat 11 g, Poly Fat 2 g); Protein 33 g; Carb 23 g; Fiber 3 g; Cholesterol 75 mg; Sodium 610 mg, Total Sugar 7 g (Added Sugar 0 g)

Blue Cheese Lemon Green Beans

 Now, I like green beans, don’t get me wrong, but it can be really hard to make them anything more than “pretty good.”  Sometimes, a large pat of butter, salt, and pepper is just not enough to make veggies awesome.  This is one of the first recipes that makes the vegetable course the absolute standout of the meal.  I have made this a dozen times now, and it is a beautiful thing every time I make it.  I do use Frank’s Wing Sauce instead of sriracha sometimes, and that is just as good, so feel free to experiment.  Big fan of Cholula or Crystal hot sauces?  See if they work just as well.  Anyway, thanks Ree Drummond, you know how to zazz up green beans pretty darned well.

Ingredients:

• 1 TB Olive Oil
• 8 oz green beans trimmed
• 1 TB Worcestershire sauce
• 1 TB sriracha or other hot sauce (I maaaay have used more)
• Fresh lemon juice as needed
• 2 oz crumbled blue cheese

Instructions:

1. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat the oil. When hot, add the green beans in one layer. When the beans are just beginning to color, stir them around and add the Worcestershire, sriracha and lemon juice. Cook until the beans are crisp-tender, a few more minutes. Transfer them to a plate, crumble over the blue cheese and serve.

Serves 4

Calories: 152

Carbs: 13.7 g

Protein: 5 g

Grape Jelly Crock Pot Meatballs

 This was another appetizer I made for a party I held last night and people were raving about these meatballs.  They kept saying the flavor was so unusual, like nothing they'd had before.  What I did not tell them was that this was 1000% the easiest recipe I've made in forever, because it did not taste "easy."  That's my favorite kind of fancy food!  These soak up more sauce overnight and reheat extremely well.  

Ingredients:

• 2 packages, about 32 oz, pre-cooked frozen turkey meatballs (yes, you can make your own meatballs if you're feeling fancy, but these are really good and a whole lot easier!)
• 1 jar, 15 oz, grape jelly
• 1 jar, 12 oz, Heinz chili sauce

Instructions:

• Put the meatballs, grape jelly, and chili sauce in your crock pot.
• Cook on low for 4-6 hours or high for 2 hours.  Stir every so often.

That is literally, it. 🤩

Serves 10 - 235 calories, 6 g fat, 733 mg sodium, 33g carbs, 1g fiber, 22g sugar, 10g protein

Crab & Cheese Stuffed Mini-Peppers

I made these for a party last night, and MAN, were they good!  Not that hard to make either - the toughest part was slicing & de-seeding all the little peppers.  I did these with dairy-free Boursin cheese, which was kind to my lactose-intolerant guests and had the bonus of giving the peppers a nice roasted garlic flavor.  I might add either a little tabasco to the filling or top the peppers with parmesan before cooking them next time - those feel like they could be fun experiments.  I suspect these will not reheat well, but I'll letcha know because they will be part of dinner tonight.  I'll make these appetizers again for sure.

Ingredients:

• 12-14 sweet mini-peppers
• 1 TB olive oil
• salt & pepper
• 5 oz scallion or garden flavored cream cheese
• 8 oz lump or jumbo lump crabmeat, picked over for shells

Instructions:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment.
• Cut the peppers lengthwise and remove the stems, seeds and ribs. If needed, trim a small amount off the bottom of each pepper half so that it will lie flat when cut-side up (making them steady is important so the filling stays intact during baking). Chop the trimmings into small pieces and set aside.  
• Toss the pepper halves in a medium bowl with the olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and several grinds of black pepper. Set aside. 
• Stir together the softened cream cheese and reserved pepper trimmings in another medium bowl until smooth. Gently fold in the crabmeat and season with salt and pepper.
• Fill each pepper half with about 1 tablespoon of the crab mixture so it comes over the top of the pepper slightly. Place on the prepared baking sheet and bake until the filling is beginning to brown, about 18 minutes. Serve warm.  

Serves 6 - 173 cal, 13g fat, 600 mg sodium, 6 g carbs, 2g fiber, 3g sugar, 9g protein