I realized recently that it has been since October since I posted a single recipe. Yes, I've been more lax with the cooking since the last trimester started, but I really have been cooking more than it appears.
Tonight, I defrosted a pork tenderloin that we've had frozen since June. (This sparked a whole side debate about whether it would still be good or not, which the USDA and our own taste buds confirmed -- yes, after six months, pork tenderloin still tastes tender and juicy.)
Although we have an old, tried-and-true pork tenderloin recipe, I'm always on the lookout for other ideas, especially since our favorite pork recipe uses breadcrumbs, and Brian's mom and sister can't eat gluten. This recipe for Maple-Mustard Pork Tenderloin, it turns out, is a great substitute. It doesn't use breadcrumbs, but has a similar taste to our usual recipe. I didn't follow the instructions for the apples: I just fried up some Jonathans with a tablespoon of butter and a sprinkling of cinnamon, the way Grandma always used to.
As a side dish, I decided to go the sinful route and make some pumpkin ravioli with a brown butter reduction. We get frozen pumpkin ravioli at Meijer that cooks up in 4-5 minutes, so its a quick, kid-friendly side, especially since it tastes like pie.
Jack demolished the apples, of course, and enthusiastically attacked everything else. A five-star dinner in our book.
