Pork Loin with Mandarin Orange Salsa, Roasted Eggplant over Penne & Chicken with Poultry Seasoning

Sick. Sick. Sick. My entire chest was sick. Luckily, two thing came to my rescue: my husband and the packets that Amazing Taste sent. It all began Friday as I began to feel bad and steadily got worse and the meals went from some energy to no energy. I had already taken out the pork loin to thaw and so it was waiting for TLC. I went to work quickly before things got worse. But before I give you my recipes, I first want to thank Amazing Taste for their generous samples and for making a nice product to enhance foods with. My favorite so far is the poultry. For the chicken, I used it as a marinade as suggested on the packet. I can tell that the fajita (used on the eggplant!) has lots of cumin (which I love) and the spices in the pork seasoning are nicely balanced although some of the salt could be removed and I think it would be perfect. Give some a try yourself and let me know what you think. There are also some great recipes featured on their site. Please note that I only express my honest opinions on product reviews.

1 lb. pork tenderloin

1/4 cup pear juice from the can of mandarin oranges

2 Tablespoons lime juice

1 clove garlic, chopped

1/4 cup red onion, minced

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

Mandarin oranges from 11 oz. can, drained, juice reserved

1 Tablespoon lime juice

1 Tablespoon pear juice

Directions:

1. Whisk marinade ingredients until well combined. Place marinade and seasoned pork into a plastic bag and place in refrigerator for 30 minutes.

2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees and prepare the salsa.

3. Cook pork until temperature reaches 160 degrees (took us 40 minutes). Let stand 5 minutes. Slice and serve with salsa.

1/2 lb. Eggplant

1 Tablespoon Amazing Taste Fajita Seasoning*

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1/2 jar (25 oz) organic marinara sauce

1/4 teaspoon fajita seasoning

Box whole wheat organic penne

First of all, this idea was on my mind to try due to a post that Rebecca of Chow and Chatter did last week. So, thank you Rebecca!

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Chop up eggplant into 1-1 1/2 inch pieces and mix them in a bowl with the seasoning and olive oil. Place onto baking pan and bake for approx. 20 minutes or until tender.

3. Boil penne per box instructions. Place sauce in a pan, add seasoning, mix and heat thoroughly.

4. Place some penne, eggplant and sauce in a bowl, mix and enjoy.

*Are you wondering why I would use a fajita seasoning mix on eggplant and in the sauce? I wanted to add some flavor as the sauce was quite bland and since I am a cumin lover, I went for it and was glad I experimented.

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts

4 Tablespoons Amazing Taste Poultry Seasoning

1/4 cup water

1 Tablespoon

Directions:

1. Combine seasoning, water and oil and mix well. Place marinade and chicken into a plastic bag and place in refrigerator for 15 minutes.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

3. Bake chicken for approx. 30 minutes or until cooked through.

Monday night: Still in bed and have no idea what the hubby made for the kids. I ate carrots with hummus and some of my favorite organic cereal.