Tuscan Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

Stuffed stuff. The Whippets love it! Come in our house or walk in our yard and you will find stuffed toys everywhere. Hilton loves to carry them around and use them as a pillow. Henderson loves to chomp on the squeaker over and over and over and over and over and over....you get it! Then of course when the toys have been chewed on long enough, they boys find just the tiniest little hole and out comes all the stuffing! Away goes that toy, waiting for a new one to take it's place.

I loved stuffed stuff, too. Especially stuffed food. This recipe looks fancy and difficult, but it's very easy. And delicious, too. Start by butterflying a pork tenderloin and pounding out until it's about 1/2 inch thick.






Next spread on some softened cream cheese, topped with dry pesto sauce mix ( I used Knorr) , sliced onions, sun dried tomatoes and fresh spinach.


Finally, roll up the tenderloin and tie it up so that the yummy filling will stay inside.

 

 

Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes. Let sit for 10 minutes before slicing. Then enjoy!

 

Ingredients

1 pork tenderloin

olive oil

4 oz cream cheese, softened

2 TB dry pesto sauce mix

1/4 small onion, thinly sliced

1/3 cup sun dried tomatoes in oil, chopped

3/4 cup fresh spinach leaves

salt/pepper

 

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butterfly pork tenderloin. Pound with a mallet until meat is about 1/2 inch thick. Place on olive oil greased baking sheet. Spread  cream cheese on tenderloin. Sprinkle with pesto sauce mix. Top with onion, sun dried tomatoes and spinach. Roll tenderloin tightly, making sure ingredients stay inside. Tie roll together with kitchen twine or seal edges with toothpicks. Season tenderloin with salt and pepper. Bake for 45 minutes. Let sit for 10 minutes before slicing.

 

 



Spinach and Sausage Stuffed Shells

Cookbooks, I adore them. My book shelves are packed with them. I love collecting them. I love reading them. One of the first cookbooks I owned is The Frugal Gourmet Cooks with Wine. I methodically cooked my way through this book and still refer to it often. It has notes throughout, stains on the pages of my favorite recipes and is falling apart. If you ask Puppy Daddy what meal of mine is his favorite, I can guarantee it is this one. It is nothing like any stuffed shells you have ever eaten. It's certainly cheesy, but it's also filled with Italian sausage and spinach with lots of garlic and lemon. I encourage you to try it very soon!


Ingredients
1 lb large shells
1 10 oz package of chopped frozen spinach, thawed and water squeezed out
1/2 lb Italian sausage (Follow link to make your own.)
1/2 lb small curd cottage cheese, drained
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 tsp oregano
1 egg, beaten
2 cups marinara sauce
2 cups coarsely grated mozzarella

Directions
Boil the pasta until firm but tender. Rinse in cold water and drain.

Saute the sausage and break up into small pieces.  Mix with the drained spinach, drained cottage cheese, garlic, lemon juice, grated cheese, salt, pepper and oregano. Stir in the beaten egg.

Stuff the shells with the above mixture and place in a greased baking dish. Top with marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese.

Bake at 300 degrees until all is hot and cheese melted, about 20 minutes.