Step by Step- Spinach Pork Tenderloin

Please don't let this post insult you. I realize most of you do not need any further instruction other then the written recipe. But some of you might be a little intimidated by the idea of pounding and stuffing your meat- this post is for you.

First, let me say I used a pork loin cut into 2 (to feed 2 families) instead of a pork tenderloin. The pork loin was simply a more economical choice because it was on sale and 1 pork loin could easily feed 2 families versus the need to buy 2 pork tenderloins. I think a pork tenderloin would actually be a lot easier to work with because it is not as thick and often comes in 2 sections.

Step 1- Pork loin cut down the middle to make into 2 meals (skip if using pork tenderloin)

Step 2- Next I used my cooking scissors to cut down the middle of each pork loin to within 1/2" of bottom. (I'm not left handed but my right hand was being used to take the picture)

Step 3- Next I opened my pork loin up like a hot dog bun and placed it on wax paper. I then placed a second piece of wax paper on top of the opened pork so I could hit it with my mallet without pork juices flying everywhere! I pounded the pork several times until it was as thin as I thought it was going to get (recipe says to flatten to 1/4th inch thickness)

This is what one section of my flattened meat looked like.

Step 4- After I had my meat flattened. I started on the spinach. Instead of adding water to the spinach, I simply put the undrained jar of artichoke hearts, rosemary, and Parmesan in with the fresh spinach to saute until spinach was wilted.

Step 5- I then added the spinach artichoke mixture to the center of the pork.

Step 6- Fold the meat up around the spinach mixture. I used 6 or 7 toothpicks to hold it together. The toothpicks went in one side of the pork and out the other. The recipe calls for kitchen string, and that would have worked great too, I just didn't have any string.

Step 7- The last thing I did was wrap the stuffed pork in a double layer of foil to store until I'm ready to cook it. I could cook the pork in the foil but I will probably unwrap and cook according to the recipe.
I can't wait to try it and let you know if it is worth all the effort!

This has been an episode of cooking with Donna. Stay tuned to watch as Donna tries to prepare Spaghetti Squash!