recipes

I think I have fallen off the wagon a little bit when it comes to posting recipes. My bad. Life has been a bit crazy lately and I also don't want to bother posting so-so recipes (such as a Rachael Ray pesto/gnocchi/chicken weirdness)...I only want to share the best with my loyal three readers. So here you go:

Lighter Eggplant Parmesan:
Serves 4

1 large eggplant (2 pounds), sliced 1/2 inch thick crosswise
1 tablespoon olive oil
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 cup fat-free (skim) milk
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup homemade or best-quality store-bought marinara sauce
1/2 cup grated part-skim mozzarella
1/3 cup grated Parmesan

Preheat oven to 450 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds. Arrange eggplant on two rimmed baking sheets. Brush eggplant on both sides with oil, and season with salt and pepper. Bake until golden brown and very tender, 20 to 25 minutes, turning slices and rotating sheets halfway through.

Meanwhile, make sauce: Off heat, in a medium saucepan, whisk together 1/4 cup milk, flour, and garlic. Gradually whisk in remaining 3/4 cup milk and 1/2 cup marinara sauce. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer, and cook until pink sauce has thickened, 2 to 3 minutes.
Spread cup marinara sauce in the bottom of a shallow 2-quart baking dish. Alternate layers of baked eggplant with pink sauce. Dollop with remaining cup marinara sauce. Sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan. Bake on upper rack until browned and bubbling, 10 to 15 minutes.

*This is oh-so-yummy and easy!! The sauce is amazingly flavorful!

Olive-Spiked Pork Tenderloin
Serves 4

1 pork tenderloin (1.25 lb) trimmed of silverskin if necessary
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 C stuffed green olives cut in half crosswise(I used Gorgonzola stuffed ones)
2 TB balsamic vinegar
2 TB olive oil
2 TB light brown sugar
2 T Dijon mustard
1 T dried oregano
cooking spray

Season pork all over with salt and pepper. Using a sharp knife, make several slits in it about 1/2 inch deep. Stuff the olives into the slits as you go. Place the pork in a Ziploc bag. In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar, oil, brown sugar, mustard, and oregano. Heat in microwave for 3o seconds if necessary to dissolve sugar. Pour the mixture all over the pork and seal the bag. Refrigerate for up to three days.

Preheat over to 400 degrees. Coat a roasting pan with cooking spray. Remove tenderloin from the bag, place in pan, and pour marinade over it. Bake until thermometer reads 160 degrees, 30-35 minutes. Let the pork stand for 10 minutes before slicing crosswise into 1-inch-thick slices.

*This is SOOOO good! The marinade would be good on its own if you don't want the olives. My olives were HUGE, so I ended up cutting them into smaller slices.