Peach and Mustard Glazed Pork Tenderloin

This dish is so easy to make and yet so flavorful, it has become one of my favorite things to grill!  I found this recipe years ago in a recipe book that was sold near the check out stand at the market.  This particular recipe sounded so good I tried it immediately and it was a hit with my family.

The meat is so tender and the marinade adds that special flavor.  This dish gets 9's all around on the Melnarik rating scale.  I love to serve this with the Grilled Asparagus and New Potatoes which I've posted below.  The two dishes go very well together.

I begin by placing the peach preserves, Dijon mustard, olive oil, thyme leaves and salt in a measuring cup.  I use a measuring cup instead of a bowl for ease of pouring the marinade over the meat later.

Using a whisk, I mix the ingredients together until well combined.

I place the pork tenderloins in a large resealable plastic bag.

I pour the marinade directly on top and seal the bag.

Then I manipulate the bag, turning the pork to make sure the tenderloins get completely covered in the marinade.  I put the bag in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour to fully marinate.

After getting the grill ready, I remove the pork from the bag, reserving the marinade and placing it in a small bowl for basting the pork.  I place the pork over direct medium heat and cook covered, turning every 10 minutes or so, basting with the reserved marinade each time I turn it.  I cook the asparagus and potatoes at the same time, making that dish the perfect accompaniment for this pork dish.  See the following post for that recipe.

When the pork is fully cooked, I remove it to a cutting board and let it rest for 5 minutes before slicing.

Even after resting, you can see that this meat is juicy and tender and oh so good!  If there is any remaining marinade, I heat it to boiling in a small saucepan, letting it cook for 1 minute, and serve it with the meat.  Enjoy!

Peach and Mustard Glazed Pork Tenderloin

1/2 cup peach preserves

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons olive oil

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 pork tenderloins (about 3/4 pound each)

In a 2-cup measuring cup, combine the peach preserves, Dijon mustard, olive oil, thyme and salt to make the marinade.   Whisk until fully combined.  Place pork in a large resealable plastic bag; pour marinade over pork, seal bag and turn meat in marinade until fully coated.  Place in refrigerator for at least 1 hour but no longer than 8 hours.  Heat coals or gas grill for direct heat.  Remove pork from marinade; reserve marinade.  Cover and grill pork over medium heat 25 to 30 minutes, brushing occasionally with marinade and turning at least twice during cooking time, until pork has slight blush of pink in center and meat thermometer inserted in center reads 160 degrees.  Let pork rest 5 minutes before slicing.  Heat remaining marinade to boiling in a small saucepan; boil and stir 1 minute.  Cut into slices; serve with marinade.

Grilled Asparagus and New Potatoes

I found this recipe years ago in a Great Grilling recipe book I found near the check out stand at the market.  It is the perfect accompaniment for the Peach and Mustard Glazed Pork Tenderloin, which I will share with you also.

The first time I made this, I wasn't sure my boys would like it as they were much younger, but the smoky flavor with the mild seasoning made it a hit with all of my guys.  They give this dish 8's on the Melnarik rating scale!  What I love about it is that it's so easy to put together.

In a medium bowl, I combine half of the required amounts of salt and lemon-pepper seasoning in extra virgin olive oil.

I then scrub the new potatoes and cut them into approximately 1/2-inch cubes.  They get added to the olive oil mixture and tossed until all of the pieces of potato are coated.

The potatoes then get put directly into a grill basket which is directly over the coals, or heat source if using a gas grill.  I forgot to take a picture of just the grill basket, so you're seeing how I cook the side dish at the same time as the main course of pork tenderloin.  If you don't have a grill basket, heavy duty foil with some holes punched in it will also suffice.  I cover the grill and take the lid off every few minutes to stir the potatoes so they cook evenly.  The potatoes take longer to cook, so they begin cooking in the basket alone for about 10 minutes before adding the asparagus.

In the meantime, I combine the remaining salt, lemon-pepper seasoning and oil in the same bowl I used before.  I cut the asparagus into 1-inch pieces, discarding the tough ends, and toss them in the bowl with the seasoned oil.  Then I add the asparagus to the grill basket, cooking the vegetables covered and stirring every few minutes for even cooking.

After about 10 minutes, the vegetables are fully cooked and I removed them from the basked to a serving bowl.  Just looking at that picture makes my mouth water!  Enjoy!

Grilled Asparagus and New Potatoes

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon lemon-pepper seasoning

1 lb. red potatoes

1 lb. fresh asparagus spears

Heat grill.  In a medium shallow bowl, combine 1 tablespoon of the oil with 1/4 teaspoon of the salt and 1/4 teaspoon of the lemon-pepper seasoning.  Scrub potatoes clean.  Do not peel.  Cut into 1/2-inch cubes.  Add potatoes to oil and seasonings; toss to coat.  Place grill basket on gas grill over medium heat or on charcoal grill 4 to 6 inches from medium coals.  Cook 10 minutes, turning potatoes occasionally for even cooking.  Meanwhile, in same bowl, combine remaining oil, salt and lemon-pepper seasoning.  Trim asparagus and cut into 1-inch pieces.  Add to bowl and toss to coat.  Add asparagus to potatoes in grill basket.  Cook about 10 minutes or until potatoes and asparagus are tender, turning and mixing vegetables occasionally.

Liza's BBQ Chicken Baked Potato

Being and Irish girl, I haven't met a potato I didn't like, but this is one of my favorites.  The bonus is that this is another fairly simple recipe that I came up with.  The only thing that takes time is baking the potatoes, but there are different options for how to do that!  My preference is to bake them in the oven, the old-fashioned way, but that takes about 1 1/2 hours.  The longest method is in the slow cooker, but it can be the biggest time saver, especially if you are gone all day and just have a little bit of time to put dinner together when you get home.  Prepare them as if you are baking them in the oven, scrubbing them clean and wrapping them in foil, then throw them in the slow cooker, cover and cook on low for 8 hrs. Of course, the quickest way is in the microwave, but I don't like the flavor nor the texture when the potato is cooked this way.  You do have to remember to pierce the skin several times with a fork and not to use foil of any type when using this method.  The other option is to use a pressure cooker, following manufacturers directions.  I've done this before and it cuts the cooking time down to about half an hour.  It's your choice as to how to cook your potatoes; here I'm sharing how I baked mine in the oven.

I guess you could say these are similar to a fully loaded baked potato.  It is certainly a filling dish that tastes good also.  The simplicity comes from using bottled BBQ sauce and already cooked chicken; whether left over from a different meal or prepackaged chicken strips that I cut into cubes.

Potatoes are dirty, so the first step is to give them good cleaning.  I use a scrubber to get into the "eyes" of the spud.  I think there would be nothing worse than getting the flavor of dirt when eating a spud!  It doesn't need to be dried, just put it on a piece of foil large enough to entirely wrap it up.

I twist the ends and put it directly on the oven rack, usually on the top shelf, which is a bit higher than the middle of the oven.  I've preheated the oven to 350 degrees, so once I close the door, I can do something else because it's going to take about 1 1/2 hours to bake.  I usually return to the kitchen about 20 minutes before the potatoes are done to begin preparing the BBQ chicken topping.

The first step is to start cooking the bacon, as this is the longest step in preparing the topping.  The picture above may look strange, but this is the way I cook my bacon when a recipe calls for crumbled bacon.  The pieces cook evenly and they are more uniform in size when done.  Also, they don't splatter grease all over the stove and they don't have to be watched closely and turned every so often.  So, I cut my raw bacon across into thin strips and put them in a medium saucepan to cook over high heat.  While preparing the rest of the dish, I stir the bacon occasionally, to ensure the pieces don't stick to the pan.  Using a slotted spoon, I remove the cooked pieces to paper towels to drain.  

I begin by cutting my chicken pieces into small cubes.  Remember they are going on the top of a potato, so they shouldn't be too big.  I place the cubes into a microwave-safe bowl.  I just learned that the way to check to see if a dish is safe to use to cook in the microwave, put it plus 1 cup of water in a microwave save measuring cup (like Pyrex) in your microwave and turn it on for 45 seconds at high.  If the dish remains cool while the water is heated, it's a safe dish to use in your microwave!

I add the BBQ sauce and stir until all of the chicken is coated in the sauce.  I then put the bowl in the microwave and heat the chicken for 3 minutes at 50% power.  I stir it, and then cook again for 2 minutes at 70% power.  My experience is that anything cooked in the microwave at a lower power setting than high (100% power) stays hot longer, besides, everything here is already cooked, it just needs to be heated.

Next I toss in the cooked bacon pieces and the green onions, which I had chopped while the chicken was in the microwave.  This is a dish that is easy to serve my son earlier than the rest of us before he heads off to class.  I just start baking his potato earlier.  I do prefer to have the flavor of the green onions be fresh, so I don't add them until after the chicken is heated in the microwave.  But, when feeding Jimmy early, I reheat the BBQ chicken mixture in the microwave, which just makes the green onions a bit softer.

How you cut and dress your potato is entirely up to you.  I like to cut mine in half and then cut a grid in the flesh, so when I add a pat of butter it melts into the spud. 

I then top it with the warm BBQ chicken mixture.  On average, I would say each of us takes about a cup of this mixture.

Of course, the finishing touch is some shredded cheddar cheese.  My preference is sharp cheddar, but my guys prefer medium.  Enjoy!

BBQ Chicken Baked Potato

4 medium Russet baking potatoes

4 cups cubed, cooked chicken

1/3 cup BBQ sauce

1/2 cup bacon pieces, about 8 strips

1/3 cup diced green onions

1 1/3 cups shredded cheddar cheese

butter, salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Wash potatoes by scrubbing them under running water.  Roll in individual pieces of foil, twisting the ends tightly.  Place directly on oven rack placed higher than the middle of the oven and bake for 1 1/2 hours.  Cut bacon into pieces and cook in a medium saucepan over high heat until browned, stirring occasionally.  Drain on paper towels.  In the meantime, cube chicken and place it in a microwave-safe bowl.  Add BBQ sauce and toss to coat.  Warm in the microwave at 50% power for 3 minutes; stir.  Return to microwave and heat at 70% power for an additional 2 minutes.  Meanwhile, chop green onions and shred cheese.  Remove chicken from oven and add bacon and onions; mix thoroughly.  Place baked potato on plate; cut open and add butter, salt and pepper to taste (optional).  Top with BBQ chicken mixture and shredded cheese.

Liza's BBQ Chicken Pizza

Over 20 years ago, when I worked in Downtown L.A., a new restaurant called California Pizza Kitchen opened.  Once I tried their BBQ Chicken Pizza, I knew I needed to recreate it in my kitchen.  What I came up with is one of my family's favorites and it's quite easy to assemble.

I begin my dicing some already cooked chicken breast meat.  Precooked chicken breast strips can be purchased and diced or sometimes I grill an extra breast earlier in the week to use on this pizza.  I toss it with some BBQ sauce (our family favorite is KC Masterpiece Private Stock Reserve) and put it in the microwave at 50% for 2 minutes.

Meanwhile, I slather a Boboli Italian Pizza Crust with more of the BBQ sauce.

Next, I add a generous layer of mozarella cheese . . .

followed by some medium cheddar for flavor.

I follow this up with some diced red onion . . .

and some fresh cilantro.

The last thing I add is the chicken in the BBQ sauce.

I think my Pampered Chef baking stone gives me the best results. I also like that it keeps the pizza slices hot until eaten.

 The pizza goes on the stone and into a preheated 400 degree oven for 15 minutes.  This amount of time and temperature is perfect on the stone as the pizza can be sliced and eaten immediately.  I've also baked it at 450 degrees for the same amount of time, but it needs to sit for at least 5 minutes before eating, as it is hard to slice and too hot to eat right away.  This might be the best way to go if you don't have a baking stone, so it stays warm longer.

The result is a delight to the taste buds and is considered comfort food in my household.  I have served this to many friends of my boys and it always gets rave reviews.  I made it once for my parents who are in their 80's and they liked it so much, they now make it, too!  By the way, it's good reheated as left overs (if there are any!)  Enjoy!

Liza's BBQ Chicken Pizza

1 - 14 oz. Boboli Italian Pizza Crust

1 cup diced, cooked chicken breast

1/4 cup plus 1/3 cup BBQ sauce

12 oz. mozarella cheese, shredded

4 oz. medium cheddar cheese, shredded

1/3 cup diced red onion

1/4 cup lightly packed chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  In a small bowl, combine diced chicken breast with 1/4 cup BBQ sauce.  Heat in microwave oven at 50% for 2 minutes.  Meanwhile, place pizza crust on a baking stone or baking sheet.  Spread evenly with 1/3 cup BBQ sauce.  Top with shredded mozarella cheese, then the shredded cheddar cheese.  Sprinkle the red onions on top, followed by the chopped cilantro.  Evenly add the chicken in the BBQ sauce.  Bake in the oven at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.  Slice and serve.