Grilled Pork Tenderloin w/ Green Tomato-Pineapple Salsa

Here is a great Summertime recipe I found in my All You Mag. A friend of mine has given me several green tomatoes-and although we love them-we are a little tired of them fried. 

2 med green tomatoes-cored/chopped
1/2 small onion, chopped
1 tea. lemon juice
1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
1/4 fresh pineapple/about a cup(ok to sub canned-but try to get fresh)
1/4 cup cilantro/fine chopped (optional)
whole pork tenderloin(about 1-1 1/2 lb)
clove of garlic-thinly sliced
salt/pepper

Combine 1st 6 ingredients and chill till ready-can be made a day ahead covered and refrigerated.
Make small slits in tenderloin-insert garlic slices until well studded.Season w/ salt and pepper.Grill until reaches 160degrees F-lightly browned and no pink inside-about 40 minutes.Let pork rest 10-15 minutes.
Season salsa w/ a little salt and pepper-top w/ cilantro if desired.
Slice tenderloin thin and serve with cold salsa.

Light Summer Pasta and Laughter

After a FABULOUS evening with two of my most favorite people, I felt inspired to share a great recipe for a  tasty, meatless pasta dish. This is a light yet filling meal, perfect for a balmy summer evening. Pair it with good friends who make you giggle and maybe a crisp green salad for the perfect meal. I am lucky to have such friends-friends who remind me that when parenting three wild boys gets overwhelming-there is always a chair at their table for me. Thanks Rebecca and David...


SPINACH, SUN DRIED TOMATO and ARTICHOKE PASTA

• 12 ounces Pasta (any Short Shape Like Penne, Or Bow Ties)
• 12 ounces,Marinated Artichoke Hearts
• ⅓ cups Oil-packed Sun Dried Tomatoes, Thinly Sliced
• 1 Tablespoon Sun Dried Tomato Oil
• 5 ounces Baby Spinach
• 3  Green Onions, Sliced Into 1/2-inch Pieces
• ½ cups Feta or fresh Mozzarella Cheese
• Salt And Pepper

Preparation Instructions

In a large pot, cook the pasta according to package directions. Remove the pasta from the water and drain just shy of al dente. (The pasta will finish cooking in the sauce.) Turn the burner down to medium heat.

Return the pasta to the pot and add the artichokes (including all of the liquid from the jar), the sun dried tomatoes, and the sun dried tomato oil. Stir everything together until the artichokes are heated through and the pasta has absorbed most of the liquid, about 3 minutes.

Add the spinach and cook until wilted, stirring frequently, about 2 minutes.

Transfer the pasta mixture to a large serving bowl. Add the green onions and cheese. Stir to combine.

Season to taste with salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper.

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On a ride in T'ville-we saw this...hummmm..."FRYIES". Maybe the "D" stands for the grades they made in school!! Oh My Goodness. hahahaha....
Here is my sweet middle child with his silly mom at the red light-we were having a great Sat.

Easy Jumbalaya

Want a new recipe? I decided to build on a box of Red Beans and Rice I had in the pantry. It turned into a Sausage jambalaya that was quite tasty. Along with a Spinach salad-it made a healthy and filling meal for my 4 men and myself. We even had leftovers for my lunch! This is a cheap meal too- costing a little over $1 a serving It really was delicious. My oldest, Zach, said it was better than the jambalaya he had when we were on vacation at Callaway Gardens.

Ready? OK!! here we go...

Ingredients:

1 TB oil (olive or Veg is fine)

1 to 1.25 lb fresh mild sausage

1 small or half med. onion (chop small dice)

1 small bell pepper and 1 small jalapeno pepper-take out seed and veins(very small dice)

1 box Zatarain's Red Beans and Rice

1 can whole tomatoes-do not drain-use liquid

few dashes hot sauce

black pepper-to taste

1)Brown cut up sausage in 1 TB oil with onion and peppers in a big frying pan. If you don't like onion-just leave out. Add can of tomatoes (undrained), hot sauce and a sprinkle of pepper. Let simmer while your Bean/rice cooks (15 min)

2)Cook Beans and rice in separate pot as per package directions. In place of one cup of water-use a cup of liquid from your tomato/sausage mixture. This is important-or you will end up with too much liquid in the end. We wouldn't want that., now would we? Cut back the cooking time about 5 minutes. Don't worry-it will cook more in step 3.

3) pour bean/rice into sausage/tomato mixture and cover. Cook on low 10 minutes stirring often.

Enjoy! If you don't like or can't eat onions or peppers-then leave then out! Feel free to use what ever type onion/pepper/tomato you have on hand. If you want more spice-try the hot sausage and /or up the hot sauce.

NOTE: hate or can't eat sausage? Try Chik breast instead!! Also adding/subbing 1-2 lbs shrimp would be wonderful. Just be sure to add the shrimp during last 2 min of cooking and don't overcook them.

SwagBucks

Anyone want to earn free points for searching the web and entering codes? It is legit, easy, fun , free....all that good stuff. Give it a try-they don't ask for credit cards or anything else questionable. In a few weeks-I have almost enough for a free $20 gift card to either Target or Amazon. If you are on Facebook-it is even easier to do. One friend saved up enough for a laptop. Think green stamps of the 70's-but much better. Just click on the link on the right-after you feed the fish. :)

Chez Duckie

Logan loves to cook. Today the Publix Preschool Club mailed him a free apron! He wont take it off. It has the Publix mascot (a dragon) on it and fits great. Thanks Publix. :O)

BRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!

Baby it is COLD outside! I have on my thickest socks and my feet still feel like ice cubes! Down in the deep south, we are spoiled when it comes to wintertime weather. Today is will not get above 40 according to my informed, wishes he was an employee of the weather channel, husband.:o)

Since we don't plan of leaving home on this chilly morning, maybe we will do some penguin activities. By we, I mean baby duck and myself. click HERE to see some cute ideas for penguin activities, pictures and fun facts. NOW-will somebody PLEASE close the freezer door??!?!? brrrrrr!

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A friend told me about this wonderful interactive educational site. My 2 year old loves it. If you have a 2-7 year old-go check it out. I really like the ABC section. Making learning fun and interesting is the name of the game. Start by clicking on "ABC" and go from there or click on the pumpkin. Reading is such a wonderful gift.

another cool site for little ones is knee bouncers. It keeps BD in giggles

http://www.kneebouncers.com