Pork tenderloin with sauteed green beans and rice pliaf

With our daughter back home for a couple of weeks before going off to start her senior year of college, I felt like I should make at least an attempt at home-cooked meals. Like the spaghetti I mentioned in the last post, this was a very modest affair. A small pork tenderloin rubber with Penzey’s Bavarian Seasoning, a rice pilaf package mix, and some green beans sauteed with sliced garlic and red pepper flakes.

Because the tenderloin was so small (3/4lb), I just cooked it in the grill pan for five minutes per side and it was perfectly pink in the middle. (If you are still cooking pork to death, please stop.) For larger ones, I usually sear them on the stovetop, then finish in the oven for 12-15 minutes to get the same doneness. I sometimes like a little HP sauce with pork, but this was quite tasty with just the spice rub. Penzey’s rubs are always great.

For the green beans, you want to par-cook them first, dry them off thoroughly so the water doesn’t make the oil splatter, then sautee them for a couple of minutes in olive oil. Add red pepper flakes to the olive oil as it is heating up, then add a couple of cloves of sliced garlic and let the garlic toast up just a bit befre you add the green beans. If you time it right, the garlic slices will get lightly brown and a bit crisp.