Smoked Tenderloin, Mashed Red Potatoes, and Strawberry/Cucumber Salad

Hi there!

Several friends have been on me about starting a blog, so here I am. I will start off with our dinner last night, but may go back and catch up on some other meals we have cooked that have been winners!

Last night was Smoked Pork Tenderloin, Mashed Red Potatoes, and Cucumber and Strawberry Salad. My husband handled the Pork 100%, while I did the rest. So, let's get cooking:

Ingredients

• Pork Marinade (3 tablespoons of seasoned salt, 3 tablespoons of brown sugar, 1 tablespoon of minced garlic, 1/2 tablespoon each of paprika and black pepper, and a teaspoon each of cumin, onion powder, coriander and orange zest. Toss all of that in a gallon bag with enough apple cider vinegar and olive oil to coat the meat. Marinate in the fridge for at least 4 hours.)
• 2 - 2 1/4 lbs Red Potatoes
• 1 1/2 cups Half and Half
• 3 tablespoons butter
• Salt/Pepper to taste
• Salad Dressing: 1/2 cup orange juice, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard, and 2 teaspoons fresh chives (chopped)
• 2 cups Strawberries (halved or quartered)
• 1 large Cucumber
• 1/2 cup Gorgonzola
  
• Red Lettuce Leaves (or substitute any other lettuce you prefer)
  

Pork Tenderloin: My husband was 100% responsible for this. He smoked it for about 3 hours, then placed it in the oven for 20 minutes or so at Broil to crisp up the outside.

The Mashed Red Potatoes were easy! Half the potatoes (skin on please), and place in a pot with just enough water to cover. Place a lid on the pot and on high heat, bring to a boil. Remove the lid, add some salt (just a sprinkle around once or twice), and let boil for 10-15 min, until they are tender. Drain off the water, and put the potatoes back into the pot. Add the Half and Half, butter, salt/pepper, and mash!

The Strawberry and Cucumber Salad was a nice refreshing surprise. We have a vegetable garden, and have cucumbers coming out the yin yang. I wanted to try something new so I hopped over to Food TV's website and found this nice recipe. You actually are supposed to add scallops to the salad, but we omitted these for our dinner.

Let's make the salad: Whisk the ingredients for the dressing then add in the strawberries and sliced cucumber. Serve over the lettuce and top with the cheese! Simple!

A nice dinner for a hot summer night! And here is the finished product!

Thanks for reading this first post of New Recipe Saturday. Hope you enjoyed it and get out there and try something new!