All Roads Lead to the Kitchen: Pay it Forward

I recently saw some photos over at Lick the Bowl Good that made my mouth absolutely water...strange right? But honestly, Monica made a couple of pork tenderloin with a delectable sauce that had me clicking bookmark! I actually hadn't cooked pork tenderloin for some time when I found her recipe, so maybe that made it even more tempting? I think what really sold me were the fabulous studs of garlic spread out over the whole tenderloin. If you know me at all, you probably remember that I am a garlic fiend. Either way, I made it a few days later and thought I'd share the delicious recipe with you now.

Oink! Oink! Good...Pork Tenderloins
from Monica at Lick the Bowl Good...her Favorite Pork Tenderloins (click to see her post)

2 pork tenderloins
4 garlic cloves- peel & quarter length-wise
1/4 c. soy sauce
2 Tbs. country Dijon mustard
1/4 c. honey
2 Tbs. fresh orange juice
1 Tbs finely chopped rosemary or Herbes de Provence
Freshly ground pepper- to taste
3 Tbs. olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Rinse tenderloins and pat dry.

Place in a 9x13 Pyrex sprayed w/ pan spray. With a paring knife, poke (~16) 1" slits in top-side of tenderloins. Insert a sliver of garlic into each slit.
Mix together remaining (marinade) ingredients in a separate bowl (I did it in my 2 c. measure). Pour marinade over the pork.
Place in preheated oven for 35-45 minutes (overdone pork is icky, so start checking early, especially if you have a hot oven), uncovered, basting halfway through.
Remove from oven and let sit ~10 minutes before slicing. Serve with the lovely pan juices spooned over the pork.

This was a lovely dinner...actually served with mashed potatoes and green beans...(not pictured...oh really?). My favorite part was definitely the studs of garlic...I will probably leave the mustard out next time and sub in something (undecided) else because it was a little too mustard-y for me...but still moist and delicious. Go check out Monica's other tasty recipes...she makes the best desserts, too!
***PAY IT FORWARD WINNER: drum roll please......GIN!!!! Aw, Gin..Yay!! When you get a minute, email me your mailing address and then wait in sweet suspense to one day (in oh, the next 365) find something from me in your mailbox...or on your doorstep...somewhere!! (I still use the draw-from-a-hat method...with "little" helpers to do the drawing.) Congrats to one of the nicest gals I know :-)

Remember that popular phrase & bumper sticker that said MEAN PEOPLE SUCK? I know a lot of people made fun of it...it was spoofed...it was mocked...but, I had one (still do on my mini-fridge from college) and I still think it's true. I believe in the power of nice. I believe in karma. As of late I've been seeing some scattered Pay It Forward blog posts...and they've definitely made me smile (because you have to be at least a little nice to do this). Giving people something, even a little something, if it comes from the heart makes me feel good! Well, recently Karen of Karen Cooks held a Pay it Forward event at her place and I was one of the lucky ones chosen to receive something from Karen (yay...I love surprises). Thank you Karen. Now it is my turn to pay it forward. I am offering 1 of my regular readers an opportunity to play along with Pay it Forward. If you'd like to play along, simply leave a comment on this post saying that you would like to Pay it Forward. I will draw 1 person from those who wish to participate to receive a little something from me. I'm not sure what it will be yet...the guidelines state that I have 365 days in which to surprise you with a little something. I'm positive it won't take me that long to do it, though...I get anxious. I will draw the recipient on Friday June 12th...all they need to do is pay it forward to at least one person.

I would also like to send out a couple of thank-yous for some recent awards I've received. The multi-talented Claudia from Journey of an Italian Cook awarded me with the Sisterhood Award. Claudia is a wife, a mom, a cook, a thespian and a great writer who often makes me chuckle... Thank you so much Claudia, I am honored.

I was also lucky enough to receive the One Lovely Blog award from my girl Lady P at Madly Creative...we sort of, inadvertently, flip-flopped this award to each other. Great minds think alike...Thanks Lady!!! Since I recently handed out both awards to some more bloggers, I'm going to just revel in them for now...and maybe pass some out later :D And if ya know me, you know that I have a hard time going a whole post with out at least showing you some food. So, here goes...a simple Cake Mix Cookie recipe to finish with. Fudgey Peanut Butter Chip Cookies by girlichef (adapted from recipe on Dark Chocolate Fudge Cake mix Box...I forget the brand, sorry. I made these a while ago...notice pix from the old camera...and forgot to write down the brand) 1 box Dark Chocolate Fudge cake mix 2 large eggs 1/2 c. butter, melted 1/4 c. firmly packed brown sugar I may leave this out next time, don't think it was necessary 1 tsp. vanilla 1 c. Peanut Butter chips Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Stir together all ingredients except chips until thoroughly blended. Stir in chips. Drop by rounded Tbs. onto greased cookie sheet. Bake ~10-12 minutes. Cool 2 minutes on cookie sheet before removing.