{Recipe Recap} Honey-Orange Tenderloin

The McHusband and I eat a lot of chicken.  A lot.  So I wanted to make something different for our dinner this past Sunday.  It still needed to be relatively lean, and I hoped to make something that would provide leftovers for the McHusband to eat for a few more days.

Enter the pork tenderloin.

I searched my Google Reader for any tenderloin recipes I might’ve starred and this one was at the top of the list.  It was also the only recipe for pork tenderloin; the rest of the results just happened to mention tenderloin.  Guess it’s not something I’ve been all that interested in.

We’ve grilled pork tenderloins, but I’ve never baked one before.  I wasn’t positive this was going to work out, but it turns out I should’ve been more optimistic.

First I had to sear the meat in my oven-proof skillet then I poured half the marinade over the meat.  I baked it for 10 minutes then pulled it out, turned the meat over, added the rest of the marinade, and put it back in the oven.

I put my potholders on each handle so I wouldn’t accidentally grab hold of them barehanded to put the skillet back in the oven.

Those yellow things are orange peels from the orange marmalade.

I used my meat thermometer to ensure the tenderloins were cooked enough without being overdone, and I think I took them out at exactly the right time.  The meat was tender but not so much so that I worried for our health.

Our sides were yam patties and Steamfresh peas.

So what’s the verdict on the recipe?  I didn’t love the orange flavor.  I’m not big on fruity “real” foods.  Actually, while I like fruit a lot on its own, I don’t love it as either a dessert or as part of a main dish, and it’s especially wrong in salads.

I searched MFP and this was already in there.  According to the website, a 3-ounce serving is 275 calories.  I honestly have no idea if that’s right or not, but I didn’t feel like putting the recipe in myself so I decided to trust the database.

If you like citrus flavors in your foods, then give this tenderloin a try.  I do like the method for making the tenderloin since I could see when it was ready so I’ll try some different marinades and rubs but cook the meat this same way.  Hopefully I’ll find a go-to recipe for when we want to switch things up at the dinner table.

{Recipe here}