For the second night in a row, I am making dinner for just the kids.  My husband and I have an event starting at 6. It is 5:05.  I just arrived home with the kids.  I have not done any pre-prep… Time is of the essence… …Not that that is a big surprise…

I am thankful I have a good excuse for not ordering take out tonight or buying something frozen to re-heat, because the temptation to do so is strong!  The pork tenderloin I am cooking  will also so be used for dinner 2 nights from now.  While I am crunched for time tonight, I will be glad on Thursday when I just pull the meat from the refrigerator.

Pork tenderloin is one of the leanest and most tender cuts of pork with 136 calories , 3.87 g of fat, and 23.8 g of protein per 4 oz. serving. Because it is so lean, it can dry out if overcooked. (The USDA now recommends cooking pork tenderloin to an internal temperature of 145 degrees with a 3 minute rest period.  This will make it a little pink and juicer.) Another advantage is that it is another easy meal to cook in the oven or on the grill.

Pork goes really well with butternut squash, which is also easily roasted.  If you are cooking the tenderloin in the oven, you can do both at the same time.

Roasting Butternut Squash

Recipe

Pork Tenderloin, Butternut Squash, Green Beans, Rice, Side Salad  

Serves 2 Adults and 2 Kids for 2 meals

Ingredients

Rice from yesterday

1 large or 2 small butternut squashes (or purchase 32 oz. pre-diced squash)

Olive Oil Spray (or Canola Oil)

2 ½ Cups Frozen Green Beans (or fresh)

2 lbs. Pork Tenderloin (2 -1 lb. tenderloins)

Olive Oil (or other preferred oil)

Salt

Pepper

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 425 for Squash and tenderloins

Or you can do the tenderloins on the grill

1. Remove rice from refrigerator, set in a microwaveable bowl and set aside.
2. Peel and dice butternut squash (or open package of pre-diced squash), and put on a lightly sprayed roasting pan.  Lightly spray squash and lightly sprinkle salt.  Top with a light dusting of cinnamon.
3. Pop squash in the oven. Set timer for 5 minutes.
4. Put green beans in a microwaveable bowl and set aside.
5. Rub tenderloins with olive oil, salt, and pepper. You can add other seasonings to taste – rosemary, thyme, basil, etc.
6. Stir squash in oven and set timer for 4-6 minutes depending on how fast squash is cooking.
7. Place tenderloins in a roasting pan and put in oven or place on grill and turn down heat to medium.  Consider a meat thermometer for accurate cooking time.  Oven and Grill cook time should be around 20-25 minutes if your tenderloin is around a pound. Internal heat should reach 145 degrees, letting the meat rest for 3 more minutes before serving. Check the temperature to make sure you have reached the target temperature.
8. Check tenderloin on grill half way through and turn.
9. Check squash.  Doneness check: Can a fork can easily pierce squash? If so, pull it out. Squash cook time will be about 30 minutes.

10. While tenderloin is standing, place green beans in microwave and cook for 2-3 minutes, checking for doneness and continuing to cook as necessary.

11. Next place rice in microwave and warm up.

12. Portion pork, green beans, rice and squash.  Serve!

Pre-Prep Opportunities

1. Peel and dice butternut squash.
2. Cook rice if you haven’t cooked it on a previous day. Try to make earlier in the day and make brown rice.