Cajun Pork Sandwiches

This recipe is amazing for two reasons: the pork AND the sandwiches.  The pork tenderloins come out so juicy and amazing, I would just happily serve them as a main dish hot from the oven.  But, when you add them to the other ingredients to make a sandwich, they're still phenomenal.  It was hard to remember to stop eating these before the event!

Ingredients:
2 pork tenderloins, 1 lb each, trimmed
2 tsp vegetable oil
3 T paprika
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp dried thyme
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder


1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
36 French bread slices or mini buns
Butter, softened
Mixed greens
Thin slivers of sweet peppers

Directions:
1. Rub each tenderloin with 1 tsp of vegetable oil, then combine the spices in a small bowl.  Pat mixture over tenderloins, then cover and refrigerate over night.
2. Bake at 425 for 25-30 minutes or until a meat thermomether reads 160.  Let stand for 10 minutes, then thinly slice.
3. Slice french bread and spread butter over each slice.
4. Top each butter bread slice with mixed greens, pork slice, and sweet peppers.

Now, if it were up to me, there would be another sauce drizzled on top to keep the moisture and to make these open faced sandwiches look even cuter.  I'm not sure what I'd choose, but it's something I'd like to keep in mind for next time (provided I'm making sandwiches again).

Herb and Cheese Sweet Peppers

Here's something that won't take too long, but it'll be gone rather quickly.  It's a new item for our traditional crudite platters that start to bore me after a while...

You'll need a bag of 30 (or so) mini sweet peppers.  These are easily found at Costco for $3.99, or you can grab a bag at most grocery stores.

You'll also need 18 oz. of semi-soft chevre (goat cheese), 1/4 C snipped chives, freshly ground black pepper, and some basil to garnish.

And then, the easy part?  Mix up the cheese, chives, and pepper to taste.  Clean and cut the peppers in half, lengthwise, and stuff the cheese mixture inside.  Garnish and serve.

So simple, but at least it changes up the look of your platter, and they taste great, even for those less than fans of goat cheese!

See?  They're in the middle back of my platter!  You have to hide them otherwise they're gone ASAP!