Outta Sight Mac and Cheese and Grilled Pork Tenderloin Dinner

I think I one-upped Martha Stewart here. You know I love ya Martha, but I just had to. The Mac and Cheese comes from her Cooking School book. Which if you really want to improve your cooking skills, I highly recommend. I added a generous helping of panko top the top ans well as bacon that I cooked and chopped. But what makes this a dish-o-awesomeness are the roasted, seeded, chopped jalapenos I mixed in with the pasta before topping. Heart-attack!


Roasted Portobello: drizzle in olive oil, season with salt and pepper, top with fresh mozzarella and bake on 350 until cheese bubbles, about 10-15 minutes.

Watercress with Roasted tomato dressing, toasted pecans and goat cheese: Recipe. I toasted my pecans (about 3-4 tbsp) on 350 for about 10 minutes and let them cool. I also diverged from the recipe by using small, halved tomatoes that I had on hand.

The pork tenderloin was marinated with rosemary, salt, pepper and olive oil. You should really marinated it for at least two hours in the fridge. And then I ruined it on the grill by cooking it too long. Don't be like me, cook it to 155 and let it stand covered for about 10 minutes. Pork cooking guidelines have changed, and pork can be served slightly pink in the middle. I was grilling in the dark so I have somewhat of an excuse.

Make your own Salad Night

In our home we have radically different ideas about salad and what we like in it and not in it.

So I provided the following ingredients:

1 head of romaine lettuce, chopped

1/2 lb of bacon crumbled

dried cranberries

a rotisserie chicken, shredded and warm

sliced almonds

croutons

tomatoes, chopped

goat cheese

onion, chopped

hard boiled eggs

various dressings

The master salad is supposed to have lettuce, chicken, almonds, cranberries and goat cheese topped with a balsamic dressing-- i.e. my salad.

Here are the results:

The Mama Bear

The Papa Bear

The Baby Bear #1

The Baby Bear #2