Lemon Rosemary Yogurt Loaf #CakeSliceBakers

This tender loaf made tangy with yogurt and lemon and flavored with savory herbs made a perfect, light dessert following Christmas Eve Brunch.  

We have opened a new cookbook for this year's edition of Cake Slice Bakers.........

Kielbasa Apple and Onion Skillet #CrazyIngredientChallenge #Merlotme

Disclosure:  I received free samples of wine to participate in the #MerlotMe event taking place during the month of October.  All opinions posted on this blog are completely my own.

This month's Crazy Ingredient Challenge asked us to combine Apples and Rosemary, two ingredients that I am crazy about.  See what I did there?  Crazy Ingredient Challenge/Ingredients I'm Crazy About.....sigh....never mind.....

I was initially going to make a dessert of some sort but we are just finishing up Choctoberfest and I was craving something savory.

I had planned on making a skillet dinner for us and had pulled out some fresh kielbasa, red skin potatoes and onions for this purpose.  I thought, "hey, rosemary goes great with roasted red skin potatoes and apples pair perfectly with pork, why not incorporate these ingredients into my skillet?"

I was also still celebrating #MerlotMonth and Duckhorn Vineyards had provided me with 2 bottles of their Decoy line out of Sonoma County.  As you know the Napa and Sonoma areas of California have been devastated by fires.  One of the ways you can help is by buying their products and since it is October you may as well make it Merlot and join in the movement to bring this varietal the respect it deserves.

I decided to serve the Decoy Merlot up with this meal.  The Decoy is a wonderful, reasonably priced, every day wine.  Perfect for a casual home cooked meal before heading out to choir practice. And we had half a bottle left to enjoy after choir....now that's what I call a win/win.

I loved the earthiness that the rosemary added to this and it complemented the sweetness that the apples added.  It is not a beautiful dish but it was a fast, easy and delicious dish.  The wine is flavorful, fruity and dry it matched well with the fattiness and spice of the kielbasa.

Kielbasa, Apple and Onion Skillet

4 Fresh Kielbasa Links (1 lb total weight)

1 T. olive oil

4 Red potatoes, parboiled to fork tender and diced

2 apples, peeled, cored and diced

1 small onion, diced

leaves of 1 stem rosemary, minced

salt and pepper to taste

Brown the kielbasa, in a skillet, over med high heat for 5-7 minutes per side.  Remove to a plate and set aside.  Add the olive oil to the skillet.  Once heated, add the onions, cook and stir for a minute or two then add the potatoes.  Season with salt and pepper.  Let cook without stirring or flipping for 5 minutes, until bottoms begin to brown. Flip and add apples and rosemary to the pan.  Cook and stir until apples start to soften.  Add the kielbasa to the skillet, turn the heat to med low, cover and cook until the kielbasa is warmed through and reaches an internal temperature of 145*   Print Recipe

Join us each month over at Crazy Ingredient Challenge as we vote on 2 subsets of ingredients and combine the winners into creative and fun recipes.  Here is what we came up with using Apples and Rosemary.

An InLinkz Link-up

Pork Tenderloin with Lemon and Rosemary Sauce for #ImprovCookingChallenge

Welcome to the Improv Cooking Challenge, a fun little group led by Nichole of Cookaholic Wife. This month we were given the challenge of making a recipe that contained Lemon and Rosemary.  A few weeks ago I decided to use lemon and rosemary in cupcakes.  I don't know what I did wrong but let me tell you....those cupcakes volcanoed ad overflowed all over my oven.  What a stinky, awful mess.  I was happy it was early in the month so I had time to come up with another idea.

I had pulled out a pork tenderloin for dinner and found a recipe by Ina Garten for an Herb Marinated Pork Tenderloin that I modified a bit since there were only two of us for dinner and I only needed to make one tenderloin.  I did not add any dijon mustard to the marinade and I used a tuscan herb olive oil.  

I followed the directions for searing and then roasting the meat after it spent the day in the marinade. It turned out perfectly cooked.  Tender, juicy and melt in your mouth delicious.

While taking photos, it came to my attention that this plate could use some color.  It is awfully brown but.....we were hungry, it smelled wonderful and I wasn't spending anymore time on prep.  

I'm anxious to see how the others improvised to include Lemon and Rosemary in their dishes.  Make sure you stop by the links following my recipe and see what they came up with.

Lemon and Rosemary Pork Tenderloin

adapted from Ina Garten

1 pork tenderloin

juice and zest of 1 lemon

salt and pepper to taste

Leaves from 1 sprig rosemary, minced

Leaves from 1 sprig thyme

2 T. Tuscan Herb Olive Oil

1 T. olive oil

Place the lemon zest, juice, 2 T. of flavored oil, and seasonings into a large plastic bag that seals. Seal bag and shake to combine ingredients.  Trim any silverskin from the tenderloin and add it to the marinade.  Place in the refrigerator for a minimum of 3 hours.  Remove tenderloin from marinade, leaving any bits of herbs clinging to it.

Heat 1 T. olive oil in a large, oven proof skillet over med high heat.  Add the tenderloin and sear on all sides.  Place the pan into a preheated 400* oven for 10-15 minutes, until an internal temperature of the thickest part of the roast reaches 140*.  Remove the roast from the oven, cover with foil and allow to rest for 10 minutes before slicing into 1/2" thick slices.  Print Recipe

More Lemon and Rosemary Creations

An InLinkz Link-up