Pasta and Meat!!

Meat and Pasta 

Thanks to Katie Workman (themom100.com) for this one!

• 2 tablespoons olive oil divided
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 pound fresh pork sausage squeezed from the casing
• 1 ½ cups chopped onion
• 2 teaspoons finely minced garlic
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
• Big glug or two of red or white wine if you have a bottle open 
• 2 28-ounce cans crushed tomatoes preferably in puree
• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes optional

• In a large saucepot, heat one tablespoon of the olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add both the ground beef and the sausage together and cook, stirring frequently, and breaking up the meat so that it’s very crumbly and browned throughout, about 4 to 6 minutes.  Turn it into a strainer and let it the fat drain off.
• Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the same pot over medium heat (don’t clean it!  All those little bits of flavor from the meat will season the sauce). Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, about 5 minutes.  Add the garlic, oregano and basil and cook, stirring for 2 more minutes, until you can smell the garlic and herbs. Add the wine, if using, and stir for one more minute, scraping up any bits stuck to the bottom, until the wine pretty much evaporates.
• Add the canned tomatoes and red pepper flakes if using, and stir to combine everything.  Bring to a simmer over medium high heat, stirring occasionally. Add the browned meat, lower the heat to medium low and simmer, stirring occasionally for 20 minutes.  Taste, and season gently with the salt and pepper (the sausages provide a whole lot of seasoning). 

Sweet & Sharp Pork Tenderloin

I'll admit to stealing this a while ago, but I've now no idea from where! I've made it a few times and it's always been devoured with murmurs of sated satisfaction. The nicest part (from the pov of the cook) is that it's easy to prepare and tastes great. Surprisingly it's usually quite cheap too!

This is an easy recipe that involves much more hanging around waiting than actually doing stuff, which means that you can make other things to go with/before/after it while the meat is just doing all the work!

Ingredients

2 tablespoons honey	2 tablespoons dijon mustard
1/4 cup white wine vinegar	1 tablespoon dried thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper	1 1/2 pounds pork tenderloin (1 piece)
Potatoes, peeled and boiled	Sweet Corn

Preparation

1. Whisk together honey, mustard, vinegar, thyme, and pepper. 
2. Place pork tenderloin in a large zip-top bag and pour in honey mustard mixture. 
3. Squish around to make sure pork is completely covered. 
4. Refrigerate at least one hour.
5. Heat oven to 425F. 
6. Lightly oil a baking dish.
7. Place pork in dish, reserving marinade. 
8. Roast 35 minutes to an hour (depending on the thickness of the tenderloin), checking internal temperature at 30 minutes. Pork is done when a thermometer inserted into the center reads 145F. 
9. Remove from oven and rest 10 minutes before slicing.
10. Place reserved marinade in a small saucepan and boil 5 to 10 minutes or until thickened, adding water as needed to keep from sticking and to maintain the desired quantity.
11. While working with the marinade to make gravy, you can use some Bisto (original) powder or granules to thicken it and give a good colour.

I serve the pork drizzled with the honey mustard gravy, and with boiled potatoes and sweet corn.

Note: 425F is a good temperature for roasting baby potatoes or vegetables, so cook them at the same time on a sheet pan while the pork is cooking.

Enjoy your meal - I'll add pictures when I make it next!

TTFN