Balsamic Garlic Pork Tenderloin

I have been trying to branch out a little with cooking because I realized as I was menu planning one week that there was a lot of chicken and a lot of beef, a little bit of meatless meals and that was it.  So, I went off to see if I could find some pork recipes.  When looking for recipes, it is important to me to have lean meat because it is healthy and it is important to Joe because he can't stand any kind of fat on his meat. (I don't really like picking through the fat either...but for Joe it is a texture thing I think.)


Anyway, I went off searching on Pinterest and found a recipe for pork tenderloin that basically marinates all day long.  I made a few changes to the marinade to make it a little more healthy and it came out wonderfully!  Joe really liked and Taelin kept asking for more and more...so it is definitely going into the rotation. 


Ingredients
1 lb pork tenderloin

1 tsp salt

3 tsp of minced garlic

1 Tbsp of olive oil

1/4 tsp of black pepper

2 Tbsp of balsamic vinegar

Directions

1.Combine and mix well, all the ingredients except the pork. Once they are mixed well, add the pork. (I just used a glass bowl with plastic wrap over the top.  

2. Marinate for at least 6-8 hours, turning the pork occasionally.

3. In a oven safe pan, sear the outside of the pork on each side.  Then transfer to an 400 degree oven for 20-30 minutes.  (internal temperature should be 160 degrees)

4. Let rest for 10 minutes before slicing.  

We had spinach salad along with the pork and when Taelin saw me pour some balsamic vinegar on my  salad, she asked for some of the "dip dip".  ("Dip dip for those of you that don't know is any kind of sauce that something might be dipped in.  Ketchup was the original "dip dip" but there are many varieties; salsa is "spicy dip dip", mustard is "yellow dip dip", A-1 sauce is "tangy dip dip" are just a few. I know I should probably correct her and tell her the real names of all the things she is eating but it is too bloody cute.  I promise that before she has to go to school and potentially be embarrassed by calling something by the wrong name that I will rectify the problem.)

Anyway, Taelin dipped each piece of the pork she ate in the balsamic vinegar which got me thinking that the next time I make it, it might be kind of nice to make some kind of reduced sauce for the pork.  I thought it had great flavor all on it's own without anything extra.  I think it would be even better grilled and probably would have done that originally had it not been pouring down rain.  There will probably be different variations of this dish along the way, but it is definitely a keeper!