Buying fresh fruits and vegetables is not always the most practical way of preparing meals, especially if you’re cooking for one, like I am. Even for a full household, fresh ingredients often risk spoiling. You have to consider what’s in season and how fast you can use it before it needs to be tossed.
I always keep Del Monte canned Fruits and Vegetables stocked in my pantry for when I want a quick, home-cooked meal that’s packed with nutrition. That way, I can cook a nice meal at any time confident I am getting similar nutrition to fresh and with no artificial colors or flavors.
Kara and I wanted to come up with a recipe that was simple enough to prepare during a busy work week but also one we would feel good about serving to company.
Oftentimes after a long day of work, I will run errands on my way home or stop and take a yoga class. In other words, I don’t make it home with the time or energy to spend hours in the kitchen. I’m sure there are many people out there in the same boat as me.
We decided on pork tenderloin because it is easy enough to prepare but kind of special at the same time. We pounded our pork tenderloin thin and then butterflied it. Before rolling it up and cooking, we filled it with blue cheese, toasted almonds, dried cranberries and Del Monte Pear Halves in Extra Light Syrup.
We like Del Monte canned Fruits, Vegetables and Tomatoes because they’re grown in the best regions for producing consistently high-quality products, the majority in the United States. We appreciate this as Chicago’s season for growing fresh ingredients locally is not too long.
Adding Del Monte canned Fruits and Vegetables is a no brainer for adding a touch of garden into your home-cooked meal. Only minutes of preparation, but it’s a recipe we all enjoyed and one that we would be proud to serve to family and friends.
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Here’s what you’ll need
Pound the pork tenderloin to thin it out, then butterfly it
Dice up the pears
To the toasted almonds, mix in cranberries and pears
Season with salt and pepper then lay pieces of blue cheese all over the pork tenderloin
Now fill with pears, cranberries and almonds
Now roll the pork tenderloin up tight and add a little bit of the reserves pear juice
Cook and slice into 1-inch pieces. Enjoy!
Ingredients
1 pound pork tenderloin
½ cup almonds, sliced
½ cup dried cranberries
½ can Del Monte Pear Halves, diced and juice reserved
¼ cup blue cheese, cut into small chunks
salt and pepper
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Butterfly the pork tenderloin then pound until equal thickness throughout. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
In a small pan, toast the sliced almonds over medium heat. They are done when you can smell them, about 5 minutes. Add in the dried cranberries and diced pears. Mix together and heat through, about 2-3 minutes.
Lay pieces of blue cheese all over the pork tenderloin. Add the almonds, cranberries and pears on top. Starting with a long edge, roll the pork tenderloin up tight and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Spoon a couple tablespoons of reserved pear juice on top of the rolled pork tenderloin. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until cooked through. Broil for the last 4-5 minutes so that it is golden brown on top. Let rest before cutting into 1-inch slices.
Source: a Live Love Pasta original