Paisley Sprouts: cornbread-stuffed bacon-wrapped pork tenderloin

Whether you enjoy my regular postings of tried and true recipes, or not, expect them to keep coming until something (or someone else) comes along to fuss over. I, honestly, have nothing better to do with my days than to search for recipes to experiment with in the kitchen. With the condo all put together and us playing the waiting game with our little man, my days are pretty uneventful. Naps and prepping dinner, along with 4:30pm when Travis gets home, are my highlights. Pretty sad, huh? But this will all soon change, so I may as well embrace it while I can.

Anyways, ready for another recipe?

I've never been a huge fan of pork, but when I came across this recipe for Cornbread-Stuffed Bacon-Wrapped Pork Tenderloin in my "Home Cooking the Costco Way" cookbook, I really wanted to try it. The picture in the cookbook just made it look so good. I gave it a whirl. I'm happy to report that it is delicious! The pork came out so tender and the stuffing had such great flavor - just look at all that goes in it. If you're looking for a nice, fairly simple Sunday dinner or a tasty weeknight meal, jot down this recipe and give it a try. Even if you're not a fan of pork (like me), I'm fairly certain you will enjoy it!

Ingredients:
7 slices bacon, divided
3 Tbsp butter or margarine
1/2 c. chopped onion
1/3 c. chopped red cooking apple (ie. Rome or Jonathan)
1/4 c. chopped celery
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1/2 tsp. poultry seasoning
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. ground pepper
3/4 c. cornbread stuffing mix
apple cider (approximately 1/3 c.)
1 1-1/2 to 2 lb. pork tenderloin

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cook 3 slices of bacon in a large skillet, drain. Crumble. Carefully pour all but 1 Tbsp. bacon grease from the pan; add butter and melt. Add onion, apple, celery, garlic, poultry seasoning, salt and pepper; cook over medium heat until the onions are tender. Stir in crumbled bacon and cornbread stuffing. Stir in enough cider to moisten the stuffing.

melting the butter in the bacon grease

all of the stuffing ingredients - browning beautifully

Place 4 remaining slices of bacon about 2 inches apart across the center of a 15x10x1 baking pan.

Make a lengthwise cut down the center of the tenderloin but not all the way through. Lay flat on top of the bacon slices. Spoon the stuffing over the tenderloin. Wrap the bacon slices around the tenderloin, overlapping on top, but leaving the tenderloin open.