Beef Tenderloin with Tomato, Arugula & Feta Salad

Day 5 on the cleanse is coming to a close. If you're familiar with this GM diet, that means meat and tomatoes were my breakfast, lunch and dinner today. I must confess, I had a weak moment last night. After a rather strong few days, with the exception of my daily iced coffee, it was bananas and soup day. But, instead of the soup, I had a margarita or two and then decided that it would be okay if I ate some of those incredible Terra Exotic Vegetable chips. I quickly came to realize that there are two reasons why alcohol is not supposed to be consumed during this diet. 1) To avoid "empty calories" and 2) So you don't become vulnerable and stuff your face with chips like you've got nothing to lose. Well, there's nothing I can do about it now. It happened. It's done and over with, and I'm back on track. Except... I accidentally dropped some feta into my salad tonight. It literally fell from the sky and somehow wound up tossed between the leaves of arugula and chunks of tomato. I couldn't pick it out because that would be too hard. And, throw it away? Now, that would just be wasteful! I figured, since it magically rained from the heavens into my salad, I was meant to eat that feta... And I did. I made damn sure that not one, tiny crumble was left.

As you can see, this picture also gives you a lovely view of my living room and roommate, Amanda. Womp Womp!

Serves 2

Ingredients:

- Two 4 to 8 oz filets
- Meat Seasoning
- 2 cups arugula
- 1 tomato, cubed
- Feta, crumbled
- Vinaigrette (your favorite, homemade or bottled)

Learn how to prep the tenderloin here, and you can find my simple, homemade vinaigrette recipe here.

Toss together the arugula, tomato, feta and vinaigrette. Serve your filets on the side or sliced on top of your salad and enjoy!

Chorizo Chili

So, I started the GM Cleanse today, and I already feel like dying. And... I already cheated and had an iced coffee. I guess it could be worse. I could have started my morning (afternoon, shhh!) by polishing off the leftover orange chicken in the fridge, but I didn't. GO me! I know I shouldn't speak too soon, because it's still there winking at me every time I reach in for another piece of fruit. Gotta keep my eyes on the prize... Eyes on the prize to shrink my thighs.

Anyway, about this chili... First of all, chorizo is delicious, and you are out your mind if you disagree. Yes, out-your-mind! It really makes for a great addition to a regular bowl of chili by giving it that little something extra. This is a feel-good recipe that's certainly worth a try!

Serves about 6

Ingredients:
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 2 large garlic cloves, minced

- 1.5 to 2 lb lean ground turkey or beef

- 0.5 to 1 lb chorizo, cubed

- 2 tbsp cumin
- 2 tbsp dry mustard
- 4 tbsp mexican style chili powder
- 1 tbsp mexican oregano
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper (or more if you like it hot)

- 2 12oz cans of red kidney beans

- 1 28oz can of tomato puree

- 1 small can of tomato paste

- 1 12oz bottle of beer

- 1 cup chicken stock
- Salt
- Olive oil
- Shredded cheese (for topping)

Directions:
Prepare your onion and garlic, then throw them in a pot on medium heat with a little olive oil.

Sweat the onion until it becomes translucent.

Add your meats and cook until there is no more pink left.

Then, stir in your spices. This should significantly darken the chili-base, and it should be smelling really good by now.

Finally, add the beer, chicken stock, tomato puree, tomato paste, kidney beans, and salt to taste.

Bring the pot to a boil, then turn the heat down low and simmer while partially covered for 2 hours, or until the chili is at your preferred state of thickness. As you can see, I like mine chunky.

Serve hot, top with cheese or whatever else you like to put on your chili (sour cream, lime, cilantro), and have a bowl or two... or three... or five. I'm so hungry. *Tear*

Electric Chair Dinner: Part 2

At last, I give you the third and final factor to my Electric Chair Dinner-- The Caesar Salad. You haven't experienced a real caesar salad until you've had a homemade dressing, and once you've had the homemade dressing, there's no turning back. Your life will forever be changed, and you will never buy a bottled caesar dressing AGAIN!

Ingredients:

- 4 to 6 anchovy filets, minced

- 4 to 6 medium garlic cloves, smashed

- 1 tsp worcestershire

- 1 tbsp dijon mustard

- 2 tbsp mayo

- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar

- 1/2 cup olive oil

- 1 lemon, juiced

- 3 heads romaine

- 1 to 2 cups parmesan, grated

- Croutons

Most of you are probably thinking, "No way to the anchovies," and I completely understand. I'm the kind of girl that will not eat any kind of seafood unless it is free of all fishy flavor and smell. I also freak out if I can't get fish smell off of my hands. One time, I thought it would be a great idea to make salmon burgers. Yeah... worst idea ever. My hands smelled like fish for two days. Needless to say, the next time I decide to make any sort of seafood burgers, I'll be buying gloves. Anyways, as much as anchovies might turn you off, they are essential to a great caesar dressing. If you can only handle a small amount, start with two filets and work your way up. Another handy alternative is anchovy paste. It is super convenient, comes in a tube, and is a great way to avoid clumps of anchovies/excessive fishy flavor in your dressing. I try to think of it more as a salt additive rather than what it actually is. Oh well, if I can get over it, so can you. Trust me, it's worth it. 

Directions:

Mommy dearest is the hand model for these pictures. That is her mincing up the anchovies using two forks in a small mixing bowl.

There she is again crushing garlic like a pro.

Once the anchovies are minced and the garlic is smashed, mix these ingredients together. As you can see, the goal is to get the pieces of anchovy down to about the same size as the garlic bits. If you're using anchovy paste, no need to worry about that. Just crush the garlic, toss in a couple tablespoons of the paste, and continue from there...

Now it's time to finish constructing the base. Add in the worcestershire, dijon, mayo, and red wine vinegar, and mix until combined. It's best to taste the base once it's finished to make sure you've got the right balance of ingredients, and by "the right balance" I mean this mixture should give you a nice, tangy, garlicky punch in the mouth! 

When the base is done, whisk in the olive oil...

And the final (delicious) product should look a lot like this.

Finally, to prepare the salad, chop up your romaine...

And top it with the croutons, grated parmesan, lemon juice and dressing.

Toss until the dressing is evenly distributed and enjoy! Take note that you will be breathing garlic for the next day or two, and any garlic lover would agree that that is a beautiful thing. 

The Omelet

Now, I don't know about you, but it took me a while to master the omelet. My biggest problem was trying to stuff it full of yum-yums without them all pouring out the sides when I would fold it. Let's be real-- if I could fold it. Well, anyways, I think I've figured it out! The trick is deciding what goes in with the eggs, in the middle of the omelet, and on top! This way, most of the ingredients are bound with the eggs so all you need to make room for in the middle is cheese. Lots and lots of cheese...

Ingredients:

- 2 eggs

- 2 tbsp milk or cream 

- S&P

- Butter or olive oil

- Scallion

- Mushrooms

- Ham 

- Sprinkle cheese

- Tomato

- Avocado

Use as little or as much of each/any ingredient you want! It's all about achieving the perfect combination of flavors. 

Directions:

Crack your eggs in a bowl, add a splash of milk or cream, and beat together until combined.

Chop up what you want inside the egg mixture. For this omelet, I used a little bit of scallion, a handful of mushrooms, and 3 slices of ham! Toss these ingredients into the bowl and fold until they're fully coated with the egg mixture. Lastly, add in a dash of S&P.

Turn a small to medium size nonstick skillet on medium heat. Add just enough olive oil or butter to coat the bottom of the pan. Then, pour the egg/meat/veggie mixture into the skillet while making sure all of the goodies inside don't get clumped together in one area.

Once the edges of the omelet start to firm up, gently slide your spatula underneath and lift the edges while tilting the pan so that the raw egg in the center runs underneath the omelet and cooks.

When the eggs are almost done cooking, and the bottom is starting to brown, sprinkle on your cheese and fold! 

If folding an omelet isn't quite your forte, don't worry, it'll taste just as good either way! (Droppin' rhymes like a boss.)

Finally, top with whatever fresh ingredients you like! I used to put my tomatoes inside the egg mixture, but they would get mushy and take on a tangy, tomato sauce-like flavor. So, I realized I would much rather have them raw and cubed on top! I also love using alfalfa sprouts. And, obviously, avocado is essential.

Now, omelet you finish, but this was the greatest bite of all time! Of ALL TIME! Too cheesy? The Kanye joke, not the omelet. Whatever, you still want to eat this.

Electric Chair Dinner: Part 1

Why do I do this to myself? Every time I come home, I convince myself I have the metabolism of a 13 year old boy and gorge myself. My belly is still stuffed, so please excuse anything I say that makes me sound like a looney because I'm Electric Chair Dinner delirious right now. Thanks.

You might be wondering, "Why is this called "Electric Chair Dinner??" Well, let me just tell YOU! I was placed with all random roommates last year (Yep, because I had almost zero friends which resulted in the random roommate placement.), and I am not complaining because I soon found that we have something that we like to the call "the magic." Just imagine: Four girls. Living together. No conflict. WHAHAHAHAATTT?!?! I know. Magic. So, when I was getting to know said group of girls, one of them asked, "If you were getting electrocuted tomorrow, what would you have for your last breakfast, lunch and dinner?" Well, this would be my last dinner. Absolutely. Hands down. Last meal ever. FOR-EH-VER! And after a dinner like this, I can't even begin to think about dessert. Don't need no sweets to die and go to heaven after a full plate of THIS-- beef tenderloin, caesar salad and a twice baked potato.

(PS- That is a baked potato in the picture below, not a twice bake. You can find my twice baked potatoes recipe right here.) Now, shall we get started?

Part 1: Beef Tenderloin with Horseradish Sauce

For the tenderloin:
- beef tenderloin
- onion powder
- S&P
- butter
- olive oil

Directions: 
Take your tenderloin out of the fridge and season generously with salt. Then, add some fresh, ground pepper and whatever other seasonings you prefer. We (my family and I) normally do salt, pepper and onion powder. Once the meat has reached room temp, put some olive oil and a pad of butter down in your skillet, turn the heat on medium-high, and sear the tenderloin for 3 minutes on each side. (My, my, my momma, my momma said, "3 minutes. Period. Don't touch it until the 3 minutes are up!")

Once you've seared the meat on all sides (and achieved that beautiful, flavor-rich, golden brown crust), flip them once more and put them in the oven at 350F until they're done. 

We like our tenderloin medium/medium-rare, and we don't use a thermometer to determine when it's done. We're old fashioned, so we use the "poke test." This is when you take your finger and poke the center of the piece of meat. If you poke it and the meat springs back up very slowly, that means its still very rare. If the meat springs back quickly, it is medium-rare. If it rises immediately with your finger as you pull away, this is medium. And if the meat is firm to the touch (not so poke-able), this is well-done. The "poke test" method is obviously all about trial and error. 

Before slicing and serving up the meat, let it rest in the pan for a few minutes. This is so that the meat will retain as much moisture as possible. If you cut it right when you pull it out of the oven, all of the juices will run out when you want to keep them trapped inside to achieve the juiciest, most tender-loin.

This tenderloin was (and always is) incredible.

For the sauce:

- 1 tsp worcestershire

- 2 tbsp horseradish

- 4 tbsp sour cream

- salt

Directions:

Combine all of the ingredients in a small mixing bowl and taste.

If it's too spicy for you, add more sour cream until you get it just right.

Dip your tenderloin in this sauce and you will SEE GOD!

That's all.

Pork Tenderloin with Mustard Sauce

Uuhhhmmmm, Wow! I mean, WOW! This was just as good as I imagined it would be. For mustard-lovers (like myself), this one is for you. And pig lovers, too. 

Serves 2 to 3

For the tenderloin:

- 1 to 1.5 lb pork tenderloin

- Garlic powder

- Onion powder

- S&P

- Olive oil

For the sauce:

- 1/3 c spicy brown mustard

- 3 tbsp dijon mustard

- 3 tbsp light sour cream

- 3 tbsp chicken stock

Directions:

Trim all of the visible fat off of the tenderloin and cut it in half. Season with garlic powder, onion powder, S&P, and rub it all in with a little bit of olive oil.

Drizzle some extra olive oil in the pan, and turn the stove on medium-high heat. Sear the meat on all sides until there's a nice, golden brown crust. After searing the meat, turn the heat down to medium-low, cover the pot, and cook until it reaches an internal temp of 145F. (I didn't use a thermometer, but it took mine about 10 to 15 minutes.)

When meat is almost done, set it aside, wrap in aluminum foil, and let it rest while you make the mustard sauce. 

First, deglaze the pan by adding the chicken stock and scraping all that brown goodness off of the bottom. That is tons and tons of flavor right there...

Whisk in the mustard and sour cream until combined.

If the sauce is too thick, add more stock or water until it reaches the consistency that you want.

Finally, slice up your pork and top with the mustard sauce. 

This does not even do it justice, y'all.