Roasted pork and lentil salad

This is another recipe I took from Real Simple magazine; I modified it only slightly, of course.  Lentils are a great way to get fiber into your diet, plus they are tasty :)

2 lb pork tenderloin roast
1 cup lentils, rinsed
1 honeycrisp apple cut into 1/2" pieces
1 celery stalk, thinly sliced
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 tbs fresh lemon juice
2 tbs salted butter
2 tbs olive oil
2 tbs balsamic vinegar
2 tbs brown sugar
kosher salt
black pepper


Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Bring 4 cups of water to a boil.  Add the lentils and 1 tbs of salt and reduce to a simmer.  Cook for 20-30, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are tender.  While the lentils cook, heat butter in a dutch oven or heavy, oven proof skillet. Pat the pork roast dry and season it with salt and pepper. Place the pork roast in the skillet, fatty side down, and cook on medium high heat for 6 minutes (leave it alone; it won't burn). Turn the roast over, and cook for another 6 minutes. Cover it and place it in the oven for 20-25 minutes to finish cooking through.  If you have a meat thermometer, the approved internal temperature for pork is 140 degrees, but I like to go to about 150.  Mix up the balsamic vinegar and brown sugar in a little bowl.  Baste the meat with it twice in the last five minutes of cooking.
Once the lentils are tender, rinse them with cold water and drain.  Place them in a medium bowl with the chopped apple, celery, parsley, lemon juice, olive oil, and 1/4 tsp each of salt and pepper.  Toss until mixed. 
Slice the pork and serve with the lentil salad. Sweet tea also makes a fabulous accoutrement ;)

Poached Tilapia and Jasmine Rice

I took this recipe from REAL SIMPLE magazine and completely changed it up; it turned into a really flavorful way to cook tilapia, which doesn't have too much flavor of it's own.  I highly recommend using an electric skillet for this, but if you don't have one, it's okay. 

16 oz of coconut water - NOT coconut cream or coconut milk
4 6 oz tilapia fillets
1 lemon, thinly sliced
8 sprigs fresh thyme
dash of kosher salt
pinch of black pepper
Jasmine rice

Combine all ingredient except for jasmine rice in an electric skillet, or a large skillet on the stove if you don't have an electric skillet.  Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer.  Simmer until fish is tender.  While the fish is cooking, cook the jasmine rice according to the package directions. Serve with a green salad!

Warm Barley Salad

Hi! I apologize for the LONG space in between posts.  But I am back!

We recently discovered barley! (I know.  It's been around awhile.) I love rice and potatoes, but Dustin gets bored, so I have to keep finding new side dishes. This warm barley salad is a fabulous substitute for plain old rice or potatoes.  Plus, it's healthy :) This application (to steal a term from Alton Brown) is very similar to risotto.  I typically serve this with chicken that I roast in the oven while the barley salad cooks.

1 cup uncooked quick cook barley
1/2 cup chopped white onion
1/2 cup chopped carrot
8 oz asparagus cut into 1" pieces or fresh green beans
32 oz of heated Kitchen Basics chicken stock or beef stock or vegetable stock (it depends on what you decide to serve this with)
1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp pepper

In an 11" or 12" skillet, saute the onion and carrot in olive oil over medium heat until slightly tender.  Stir in the barley and one cup of chicken stock cook until the liquid is absorbed.  Stir in the asparagus or green beans.  Cook until barley is tender and liquid is absorbed by adding one cup of broth at a time and stirring frequently.  Once the barley is tender and liquid is absorbed, remove from heat and stir in the cheese, thyme, and pepper. Salt to taste.