First post!

I was starting to get a little jealous of all my friends who have blogs... baby blogs, wedding blogs, photography blogs. I'm not ready for any of those. But, after making the following recipe this evening, I realized I do have being a gluttonous pig... yaya! But seriously, I thought it would be fun to share some of the delish recipes I've been making lately, in hopes that it will inspire some of my friends to try them and see what they think, as well as share some of their favorites with me.
One thing you should know off the bat is that I am not a very exact cook (probably why I am not a very good baker!), but I find when I am not too obsessed with measurement and specific ingredients, my food turns out better- so just go with the flow, make a guess, substitute something! More often than not it will work out just fine and you've made a recipe all your own!
So... without further ado, here is what Joe and I had for dinner tonight:

Spanish Style Pork Tenderloin
1lb pork tenderloin *see note below
Olive oil (about 2 tsp.)
Red wine vinegar (about 1 tsp)- so not necessary; I just happened to have a little sitting next to the olive oil!
1/4 tsp. paprika** see note below
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper**
1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt (I just do a few twists of my sea salt grinder)
1/8 tsp. onion powder (I did a pinch)
1/8 tsp. ground pepper (A twist or 2 of a ground pepper grinder will do!)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees with oven rack in the middle. Coat a shallow pan or casserole dish in foil and spray with non-stick spray (makes for easy clean-up!).
Mix spices in a small bowl. Coat tenderloin in olive oil and vinegar (I think vinegar is a tenderizer?) and then rub spices all over.
Put in oven until it reaches an internal temp of 150-155 degrees (about 25 minutes). Let sit for 5 minutes before carving (helps to retain juices, even though it is so hard to be patient!). Carve on a diagonal.
I served this with some creamy orzo- (that had diced carrots in it... sneaked those in on Joe!) and cooked peas (one of our favorite sides and the inspiration for the name of this blog).

*If I have a coupon, I get the Hormel brand from Super Target, or I pick one up at Aldi- they are HALF the price of the Hormel ones and you can't tell the difference. Aldi is my favorite little secret, but remember your own bags and a quarter for the shopping cart. And don't be afraid to try the off brands- they are good! Pork tenderloins are great to throw in the freezer and defrost over night.

** You can use 3/4 tsp. of smoked paprika (just a little harder to find) and no cayenne or 1/4 tsp cayenne and 1/2 paprika for less of a kick; however, IMHO just paprika won't do the trick- I think you'll miss out on some flavor!

So juicy and delicious!