Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

I know...I know...I'm sorry for the hiatus...again. I've been a bad blogger. Between getting ready for Colorado (which means putting the same hours I alot for 5 days into 4 days) and helping some family members out it hasn't left me much time to blog. I haven't even seen my sweet puppy doggy in over 36 hours. Boo. But, I was thinking it was time for me to put a recipe on the blog, since it's been awhile. I made this awhile back but really liked it so thought I would share with you.


I saw a stuffed pork tenderloin on the cover of a magazine and decided to give it a try. I looked in my fridge and noticed that I had some ricotta cheese and some fresh baby spinach. I decided to improvise from there...

Start with your pork tenderloin. Don't worry...these are Mr. Herman's hands, not mine.

Butterfly your tenderloin. If you're not familiar with how to do this, look here.

Dice some onion.

Add the onion, your ricotta cheese (I also added some parm), salt and pepper, and grate some fresh garlic in a mixing bowl. (Sorry for the sideways picture)

Mix it up.

Add the mixture to the inside of the tenderloin, slightly pressing it down.

Place the fresh spinach leaves on top, then roll it on up. Brush the oustide with some olive oil then toss on the grill.

We also tossed one of our favorite side dishes (veggies with Greek seasoning) on the grill. Cook the tenderloin until the thickest part of the meat has no pink in it.

Voila. Yummy.

Close-up. Mmmmmm! Sorry for the horrible pictures...I promise I'll get better.

I really liked this recipe. Mr. Herman thought it was a bit bland. I think this is my fault, because being the health freak I sometimes am of course I used fat-free ricotta cheese (I know...I know...but that's what was in the fridge!). I think if regular fat ricotta was used it would be amazing. But, like I said...I actually loved it. This was a super fast and simple recipe perfect for a weeknight meal.

Ricotta and Spinach Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

1 pork tenderloin (I think the ones I buy are just over 1 lb)

1/2 onion, diced

1 clove fresh garlic, grated

1 cup fresh spinach leaves

1 cup ricotta cheese

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Start but butterflying your tenderloin. If you're not sure how to do it, look here. Dice your onion, and add to a mixing bowl with your cheeses, garlic, salt and pepper. Mix it up. Spoon into the tenderloin, pressing down slightly so it gets in the crevices. Lay the spinach leaves on top. Roll up the tenderloin. Bind it closed (we used bamboo skewers that we cut). Brush some olive oil on the outside of the tenderloin. Toss on the grill, medium-high heat, for about 10-15 minutes or until the thickest part is no longer pink on the inside. Pair with your favorite veggies.

There are about a million different ways you could adapt this recipe, adding and taking away as you like. I plan to try several different ways to do this, but for my first attempt, it wasn't too bad.

Enjoy!

xoxo

Dory