Cajun Honey Pork Tenderloin

Today after church, my boyfriend and I went to The Nashville Farmers' Market. We had Sushi for lunch and then continued on in search of some produce and such. Although not all the vendors are at the Farmers' Market yet because it is not quite season for all the veggies, there was still quite a bit to choose from.

The first vendor we stopped at was from Walnut Hills Farm. Walnut Hills Farm, located right here in middle Tennessee, produces all natural grass fed beef, pastured pigs, and free-range chicken. It didn't take long for my boyfriend to be sold, and he left with a bag full of fresh meat. We also picked up some squash, sweet potatoes, and asparagus from some of the other vendors. If you have never been, I strongly recommend checking out the Nashville Farmers' Market. They have tons of gorgeous flowers, great places to eat lunch, crafts and handmade goods, and produce. As I said, the selection is better in the Summer time, but there is still some good stuff now.

We decided on pork tenderloin with mashed sweet potatoes, sautéed squash, and bacon wrapped asparagus bundles. We needed to find a recipe for the Pork Tenderloin, and I think we found a pretty good one from jocooks.com. This recipe is salty, slightly spicy, with a hint of sweetness. We decided it deserves an 8/10.

Cajun Honey Pork Tenderloin

• 1 pork tenderloin about 1 to 1 1/2 lbs
• 4 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp honey
• 3 tbsp of cajun spice (recipe below)
• 1/2 cup water

Cajun Spice

• 2 tbsp salt
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• 1 tbsp paprika
• 1/2 tbsp red chili powder
• 1/2 tbsp chipotle chili powder
• 1 tbsp ground black pepper

*Note: This makes about 6 tablespoons and all you need is about 3. The way the original recipe was laid out was very confusing and I ended up using it all. Luckily my boyfriend noticed the fine print and I was able to scrape some of the seasoning off the pork before I cooked it.

Method

1. Preheat oven to 375 F degrees.
2. Season pork tenderloin with cajun spice. In a oven proof skillet melt butter and add honey over medium to high heat; stir.
3. One the honey and butter is hot, place tenderloin in skillet and sear on all sides until browned and crisp. If you find the butter/honey starts to burn, turn heat down.
4. Place skillet in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes or until pork tenderloin is done in the middle.
5. Remove the pork from the skillet and set aside, covered with foil. Add the water to the skillet and put it back in the oven until the remaining sauce thickens.
6. Slice the tenderloin and serve drizzled with the sauce.

Pretty cool that everything in this picture is from the Farmers' Market.

Black Bean Burgers

As I mentioned before, one of my goals this semester was to eat healthier and live a healthier lifestyle by working out, cutting out refined sugar and bread, and sticking to mostly clean eating. That's not to say that I do not cheat every once in a while. I definitely do. I'm a firm believer that moderation is key, especially when dieting or watching what you eat.

My favorite though is when I discover a recipe that is healthy while also being so delicious that it feels like a "cheat". I have found several recipes like this lately. One of my favorites, though, is Black Bean Burgers. Like I mentioned in Jam-Packed Turkey Burgers, you should not go into this recipe thinking of a regular hamburger. These are nothing like hamburgers. They are, however, delicious. Have I mentioned that they are healthy?

This recipe is awesome because it is not only delicious, it is also healthy, gluten free, and vegan. There are a lot of delicious ways to get nutrients and protein without eating meat. here is an awesome resource for some other ways to incorporate meatless protein into your diet.

The original recipe for these burgers comes from Love The Leap blog. Of course, I modified it a little bit. Here is the original recipe for the burgers. Below is my version. Also, I forgot to mention that these are seriously the easiest thing to make. Ever. Prep time is, oh, about 10 minutes. Super simple.

Black Bean Burgers
1 can of black beans, rinsed (I always buy the plain kind. However, I'm sure that the seasoned kind would taste great in this.)
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 bell pepper, chopped (any color)
1 TBS minced garlic
1 TBS chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 cup brown rice, cooked
2 tbsp ground flax seed
1 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tbsp cumin
2 tsp hot sauce
Sliced onion and tomato, for dressing
Homemade guacamole (recipe coming soon)

Method:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mash the black beans with a potato masher or in a food processor. Then add everything else to it. Mix it up. Too easy, I know. Shape the mixture into good sized burgers (about 4 big ones). Pop them on a sprayed pan and put them in the oven for about 15 minutes. I also made them once and cooked them on my cast iron griddle on the stove. It gave them the nice lines like "real" burgers.

Once they are done, slather them down with some guac and top them with tomato and onion. Lettuce too, if you wish. And that's all there is to it!

Gluten free, vegan, fresh, healthy, and delicious!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Quinoa No-Bakes

I come from a family full of sweet lovers. I also come from a family of excellent bakers. This is a deadly combination. As I have said before, growing up in the Bray house, we never had "packaged" snacks. No Little Debbie's, No Snack Pack, no Chips Ahoy. Now don't go feeling bad about my deprived childhood just yet. The Bray children were certainly not deprived. Instead of the treats listed about, we had home made gooey brownies, the thickest, most chocolatey, creamy chocolate pudding, and my dad's world famous chocolate chips cookies exploding with chocolate chunks and pure ecstasy.

I have mentioned my dad and all that he taught me in the kitchen in previous posts. My mom, too, has taught me a lot in the kitchen. There is just something about a Momma's cooking that makes it taste better than anyone else's. Since moving out of my parent's house, I have done a lot of cooking (obviously). A good portion of the things that I make are things that I grew up having. Although I am excited when I make something I grew up having, like Steak Creole, it never tastes quite the same as when my mom would make it.

Momma and me in Ireland in 2011

One of my favorite after dinner treats that my mom used to make for us is no-bake cookies. I am sure your are familiar with the cookies I am referring to. Peanut buttery, chocolately oatmeal cookies with a texture similar to fudge. Ring a bell? My mom used to make a big batch of these cookies after dinner sometimes and we absolutely loved them. With a big glass of ice cold milk, it's hard to beat these simple treats.

The only downside of these cookies is that there are full of sugar and butter. When I adopted my healthier life style in January, sugar and butter were among the first things to go. However, the craving for no bakes has remained ever present. So I was on a mission to find a healthier alternative to no bake cookies. of course, don't I always deliver? Thanks to Pinterest for the inspiration, I stumbled upon the genius idea to use quinoa in cookies! My source for this recipe is Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies over at 366daysofpinterest.com. Check out her blog. What a great idea to put all of those awesome recipes from Pinterest to use one day at a time.

I made the recipe above the first go round, but then I made some changes that I really like. Here is my recipe:

Peanut Butter Chocolate Quinoa No-Bakes
1/2 cup dry quinoa
3/4 cup uncooked rolled oats
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips, plus 2 tablespoons
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 tsp vanilla

*note: if you use regular semi-sweet chocolate chips, the cookies should be sweet enough without any honey. If you you as higher quality, more bitter chocolate, you may need to add 4 tablespoons of honey. Use your discretion on this one.

That's it; that's all of the ingredients. It's even more simple than regular no-bakes. And this version is completely vegan as well as gluten free (depending on how you feel about chocolate being gluten free.)

Method
Cook the quinoa in 1 cup water. If you're nervous about cooking quinoa for the first time like I was, check out This Link which goes into great detail about how to properly cook quinoa. Thanks TheKitchen.com!

Now, once the quinoa is cooked but is still hot, add the 1/2 cup chocolate, peanut butter, and rolled oats.

Stir it up. Once the mixture is cooled enough to not melt the remaining chocolate, add the two tablespoons of chocolate and the vanilla. Stir it up. You have to wait until it is cooled so that you will have a few pieces of chocolate instead of it all melting together. Now you taste it (see above *note) Now just roll the mixture out into whatever size balls you want.

Now stick them in the fridge until they are set and enjoy! So easy and so delicious. 

My favorite way to eat them is to slather a little extra PB on top, maybe add a couple of chocolate chips, and pop it in the microwave for about 10 seconds to make it gooey.

*Be sure and store them in the fridge even after they are set. If not, they'll mold before you can eat them.

Thanks TheKitchen.com and 366daysofpinterest.com