I am a little over 6 weeks post-partum and have found myself in a dinner rut.  Not only do I not feel like cooking, but I can’t even come up with any ideas, it seems.  It was amazing to have so many wonderful people bring my family yummy dinners right after we had Andrew and I am so grateful.  

The other day I was browsing online recipes and found a few on pork tenderloin.  Now, I am more of a beef gal, but I tell ya’ after serving this up for dinner recently, I can say this will be on the dinner rotation list in our house.  It truly tasted like something I might have at a local restaurant and it was quick and easy!  I hope you enjoy it.

Spinach and Swiss Cheese Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

What you need:

1 pork tenderloin {I like to use Hormel}

2 tsp. garlic powder, divided

2 tsp. fresh cracked black pepper, divided

1 tsp. celery seed spice, divided

1 cup fresh spinach leaves, chopped

4 ounces Swiss cheese, cut into small sliced strips

What to do:

• Cut a lengthwise slit down the center of the tenderloin, being sure to not go any further than 1/2 inches from the bottom. Open tenderloin so it lies flat. On each half make another slit, being sure to not go any further than 1/2 inches from the bottom; cover tenderloin with plastic wrap and, using a kitchen mallet, flatten to about a 1/4 inch thickness.  Remove plastic wrap and sprinkle pork with 1 tsp. garlic powder, 1 tsp. pepper, and 1/2 tsp. celery seed.  Layer with the cheese, spinach and another layer of cheese.  Press this filling down gently into the tenderloin.

• Carefully roll it up, starting with a long side.  Using kitchen string, tie the tenderloin going down its length about every 1 to 2 inches.   Sprinkle the tenderloin with remaining spices, then place it on a rack in a shallow baking pan.  {I simply used a foil lined baking sheet and placed a cooling rack on top of that and it worked fine.}

• Bake, uncovered, at 425° for 25 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 160°.  Let the tenderloin stand for 10 minutes before slicing. 

A few notes about this recipe:

>> I did not really measure the spices I used.  I simply eyeballed it and sprinkled on as much as I thought would enhance the flavor of the tenderloin.

>> You can use just about any type of cheese you want or have on hand.  I just so happen to have picked up a block of swiss the other day and wanted to try that with the spinach.

>> You can also try any other types of spices you have on hand.  The original recipe this was adapted from originally called for celery salt but I did not have any so I used celery seed.  It came out totally fine!