Over the next four weeks my family is participating in “The Good and Good for You Challenge.” Each week I’ll prepare a new pork recipe using a different cut of meat with the goal of learning to better incorporate this healthy meat into our diet. I totally admit that I’m a chicken (literally) when it comes to preparing meat. My repertoire is pretty much limited to chicken and ground turkey. For that reason I’m really into the challenge and look forward to learning how to prepare another meat that is a good fit in our diet.

Publix 4 Pork

Publix, my very favorite grocery store, is the National Pork Board’s retail partner. Every week during the Challenge, Publix is offering a special sale on a cut of lean pork. We’ll be using that cut in the healthy eating challenge. This week, Pork Tenderloin is on sale at Publix so I prepared Pork Tenderloin Medallions.

Pork Tenderloin Medallions with Lemon-Garlic Sauce Recipe

Recipe via PorkBeInspired.com

Ingredients

• 1 pork tenderloin, (1 pound), trimmed (the Lean Cut was on sale so it was trimmed and ready)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt , divided
• 1/4 teaspoon plus 1/8 teaspoon black pepper, divided
• 2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
• 2 cloves garlic , minced
• 1/2 cup dry white wine, (for non-alcoholic, substitute low-sodium chicken broth)
• 1/2 cup chicken broth, low-sodium
• Grated zest and 1 tablespoon lemon juice , from 1 lemon
• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped, OR or 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage or rosemary*

*To substitute fresh herbs with dried herbs, use 1 1/2 teaspoons dried parsley or 3/4 teaspoon dried sage, or 3/4 teaspoon dried rosemary

Cooking Directions

Cut pork into 12 slices, about 1-inch thick. Sprinkle pork on all sides with 1/8 teaspoon of the salt and 1/4 teaspoon of the pepper. Heat 1 teaspoon of the oil in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pork and cook, turning once, until the pork is well browned and internal temperature reaches 145 degrees F, about 1 1/2 minutes on each side. Transfer pork to serving platter and cover to keep warm.

Add the remaining 1 teaspoon oil to skillet. Add garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the wine and broth. Increase heat to high and cook, stirring to scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the skillet, until the liquid is reduced by two thirds, about 5 minutes.

Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt, remaining 1/8 teaspoon pepper, the lemon zest and juice, and the parsley. Serve the pork medallions drizzled with the sauce (makes a generous 1/3 cup; about 1 1/2 tablespoons per serving).

Makes 4 servings

Prepared Pork Nutritional Information

Calories: 150 calories
Protein: 24 grams
Fat: 5 grams
Sodium: 220 milligrams
Cholesterol: 75 milligrams
Saturated Fat: 1 grams
Carbohydrates: 1 grams
Fiber: 0 grams

Challenge Results

This meal was a big success! The recipe was very easy – even for me, so that’s saying a lot – and it was delicious. I’ve never sautéed pork before but it was very simple and a quick method of preparation. If I change anything, next time I’ll make more sauce because it was super tasty and you can never have too much sauce. My husband raved about this meal and kept all the leftovers to himself! We served it with white rice, which was a good pairing with the zesty sauce, and steamed broccoli. One of the great things about the recipe is that several key ingredients are staples already in our kitchen (chicken stock, cooking wine, garlic and herbs) or relatively inexpensive (lemons). Overall, a VERY healthy meal with a lot of flavor. And, of course, it’s extremely healthy. This recipe will definitely become a regular in our house. Two thumbs up!

Shop & Cook! Lean Pork Tenderloin is on sale at Publix for $4.99 a pound through January 31. PorkBeInspired.com has a great collection of recipes using this cut of pork. For even more ideas, visit Pork Be Inspired on Facebook and follow @allaboutpork on Twitter. 

This is a sponsored post coordinated by TheMotherhood.com on behalf of the National Pork Board and Publix. As always, opinions are my own.