Easter Dinner

Hello everyone. Happy Easter (a day late)!

As I was making my meal plan, wondering what to do for Easter, I was looking at some of my favorite food blogs for ideas. I came across a wonderful idea on a blog I've mentioned on here several times now-My Kitchen Cafe, which has recently switched over to Mel's Kitchen Cafe. She had an Easter meal on there, and I'm using a couple parts of it and then adding my own. :) The link to her original recipe is: http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2008/03/easter-dinner-delights.html

I will now let you know what I did. Hehe.

Ingredients:
For Pork Tenderloin-
-Pork tenderloin (Mel uses a 5 lb one, mine is about 2.5lbs. I don't need that much meat. :) )
-Salt (about 1/2 teaspoon)
-Garlic powder (about 1/2 teaspoon)
-Black pepper (a "dash" or "pinch")
-rosemary (about 1/2 teaspoon)
-1 cup water

For Potatoes-
-Red New Potatoes (I would say 2-3, if they're small, per person)
-3 tablespoons butter
-garlic powder (about 1/2 teaspoon)
-Italian seasoning, or whatever seasoning blend you like (I'm using a spice blend by McCormick, similar in flavor to Italian)

For Asparagus-
-Asparagus, enough to feed everyone
-olive oil, for drizzling
-salt and pepper, to taste, but probably 1/8-1/4 teaspoon of each depending on how much asparagus you have
-garlic powder, to taste, approximately 1/4 teaspoon
-parmesan cheese (enough to sprinkle over all your asparagus), around 1/4-1/2 cup

For Apples-
-Baking apples, one per person
-brown sugar, about 2 tablespoons per apple
-cinnamon, about 1/4 teaspoon per apple
-butter, about 1-2 tablespoons per apple
-raisons and nuts, optional

Directions:
For Pork Tenderloin-(from Mel's Kitchen Cafe, with a few minor tweaks to the seasoning for preference)
Mix together all the herbs and spices. Place the pork tenderloin in a lipped baking sheet pan, or a roasting pan. Sprinkle the seasoning mixture over the pork. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes, when then meat will be a little brown on the outside. Reduce the heat to 225 degrees. Add the cup of water to the roasting pan. Cover the meat with foil, and return to the oven. Continue cooking for 1 1/2 hours or until cooked through. (Mine was PERFECTLY done using this method. Still juicy, no pink in the middle. Wonderful). Let the meat sit for at least 10 minutes before cutting. I left mine in the foil until we were ready to eat, about 20-30 minutes later, and it was still hot.

To make a pan gravy for the meat, drain all the meat drippings/juices from the baking pan to a sauce pan. Mix together about 1/4 cup water with 1/4 cup corn starch. Heat the juices over medium low heat. Add the corn starch slowly, stirring continuously, until the gravy begins to thicken. Start out with just a little cornstarch, and add it until it's the right consistency. And don't forget that it will thicken a little as it cooks, so don't over do it. Serve with the meat.

For Potatoes- (my own "recipe")
Wash the potatoes, then cut them into large bite size chunks, about 1 inch pieces.Put them in a baking dish. Sprinkle with garlic powder and herb seasoning. Cut up some butter, about 3 tablespoons, and sprinkle it over the potatoes. Roast in a 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are cooked and tender, stirring up the potatoes and seasonings with the melted butter as it cooks (I did this about 2 or 3 times during the entire cooking time. It just helps all the potatoes to cook evenly, and have equal amounts of flavor). Serve while still hot.

For Asparagus-(from Ina Garten via Mel's Kitchen Cafe, with my addition of garlic)
Rinse the asparagus, and trim the rough stalk ends off. Lay in a single layer on a baking sheet, preferably a lipped one. Drizzle with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle LIGHTLY with garlic powder. Roast at 400 degrees for about 15-20 minutes until asparagus is cooked but not mushy. It will be "soft" but still have a bite to it. Sprinkle with the parmesan cheese and return to the oven for another minute or so. Serve hot.

For apples-(my own "recipe")
Rinse the apples. You can peel them if you want. I like to leave the peel on. It helps keep the wedges together as you cut them, and as they cook. Cut the apple into thin wedges, about 1/4-1/2 inch thick (You're basically cutting the apple into 16ths). Remove the seeds and core. Lay all the apples into a baking dish. If using raisins and nuts (I didn't this time), sprinkle them over the apples. Sprinkle with the brown sugar, then cinnamon. Finally, "sprinkle" the butter over the top. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 20-30 minutes, or until the apples are soft and cooked, but not falling apart mushy. Do the same as with the potatoes-stir up the apples and sugar and cinnamon and butter as they cook, making sure every apple is coated in yummy goodness. I probably did it 3 times total. Serve while still hot. Mmm. My mouth is watering.

Serve everything together for best wow factor and dining pleasure. :)

For my dinner, pictured, I also "baked" some frozen parker house rolls, a friend brought a Strawberry Poppyseed Salad (which was AMAZING), and for dessert we had red velvet cupcakes (not pictured), also brought by a friend. It was a WONDERFUL Easter dinner. I'm so ecstatic to have leftovers to eat. Yummmmmmmmm.