From the kitchen of: Alison (me!)

Yields: 3-4 people

Ingredients: 
* Pork tenderloin
* 2 Tbsp olive oil
* 3-4 cloves of garlic
* 2 Tbsp chopped basil (if you don't have fresh, dried is fine)
* 1 tsp salt
* 1 tsp pepper

Directions:

1. Start by making a rub out of the salt, pepper, basil, and garlic (I have a garlic press but you can also just chop it finely). 

2.  Add the olive oil and mix to make a paste.

3. Spread the paste onto your tenderloin and rub it into the meat.

4. Place on a baking sheet (with aluminum foil, if you'd like) and use a second sheet of aluminum foil to lightly cover (i.e. "tent") your tenderloin - this will help keep it moist.

5. Bake at 375 degrees F for roughly 30 minutes.  The cooking time may very, depending on the initial temperature and size of your tenderloin.  After 30 minutes, uncover and bake for another 15 minutes, give or take.  

I usually use a meat thermometer to verify that it's fully cooked before I take it out of the oven.  There are plenty of meat temperature charts (like this one) - I usually use 165 degrees F in the center of the thickest part of my tenderloin.

Once it's cooked, remove from the oven and recover with the aluminum foil - let it sit for 10 minutes or so before slicing!

Pair it with some of your favorite sides and you're good to go!

From the kitchen of: Alison (me!)

Yields: depends on how many potatoes you use!

Ingredients: 
* Sweet potatoes (or yams)
* Olive Oil (enough to drizzle)
* Salt and pepper

Directions:

1. I usually start by washing my potatoes (just to be safe) under cold water; then you can peel them.

2. Slice your potatoes into 3/4"-thick circular sections.  Try to keep them as uniform as possible so that they bake evenly.

3. Put your potato slices in a bowl and drizzle them with olive oil (you only need enough to very lightly coat all of the slices).

4. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to your liking and mix a little to distribute evenly (I usually find its easier to just use your hands for this part...)

5. Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet - you may want to lay down a sheet of aluminum foil to make clean up super easy.  You shouldn't need to spray the pan at all - the olive oil drizzle should be enough to keep everything from sticking.

6. Bake in the oven at 400 degrees F (you can lower it to 375 if you're trying to bake meat at the same time and don't want it to dry out as easily - you may just need to adjust your baking time).

Bake for 20 minutes and then use tongs or a spatula to flip them all and bake for 20 minutes on the other side.  They should begin to brown a little - it's them caramelizing a little.  Yum!

I can't lie, sweet potatoes are one of my favorite sides and this is one of my favorite ways to prepare them - I hope you enjoy!