Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Wow...haven't posted since middle of April!! Apparently I have made nothing exciting and haven't' read any books worth mentioning. That is kinda sad. But anywho, tonight I made a grilled pork tenderloin that I spiced up and some mashed sweet potatoes.

I have fallen in love with grilling pork tenderloins. Normally I would just roast them in the oven, but now that it is getting nice out and grilling season, I have fallen in love. We have an electric George Foreman grill out on the balcony, it's one that Dan grabbed from his parent's house when we moved. We never really use it all that often but I find myself thinking of things to grill, and now I am grilling pork. We use it for brats and hot dogs like once in a blue moon, but we will be using it more often I think.


I was gonna make a spice rub for the tenderloin but I am afraid of it burning and then just tasting burnt and not good so I just seasoned it up.

Spice Blend on Pork

Salt
Pepper
Garlic Powder
Chili Powder
Cinnamon
Cumin

My spice "jars" have different numbers of holes you can use to season with, the more holes, the more that comes out of the jar. So I mean, I just sprinkled them on until it looked good to me, no exact measurements. Like for the cumin and cinnamon I used either one or two holes where with the chili powder I had 3 holes open.

Then I drizzled it with olive oil and threw it on the grill. It said to cook for 25 minutes per pound (mine was 1.51 pounds) I had mine on the grill for about 40 mins cause my thermometer sucks and was giving me hardly a reading. It was cooked perfectly. I have to say though I was a little disappointed that I couldn't really taste any of the spicing I put on it...but it was still great.

For the sweet potatoes I just used a large can of canned yams, I should have use 2 cans maybe, but we are both full and there weren't any left overs. Here is how I make my mashed sweet potatoes. Sorry I don't really have exact measurements, cause I taste and add as I go.

Mashed Sweet Potatoes

1 large can sweet potatoes/yams in syrup, drained and mashed
Brown Sugar (about 1-2 T)
Honey
Cinnamon (I have no idea how much, I just kept adding it)
Salt (a pinch, just to bring out flavors)
Vanilla Wafers

I mash the canned yams in the pot then add all but the vanilla wafers. Turn heat to medium-low and heat, mixing it up once in a while to distribute heat and prevent burning.

The vanilla wafers are a new addition. I wanted to try them out, maybe add some crunch and texture. They added a nice flavor but they got mushy in the mixture. I added them toward the end and they were still mushy, so nice idea but maybe just to add on top as garnish, that way they would stay crunchy?

I thought the sweet potatoes complemented the pork very nicely and it was a great dinner!! It was really good and the hubsie loved it!


Eat, Drink and Be Merry...and grill something up for dinner!!

-BellaRosa