Pineapple Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Sweet Potatoes

This dish was photographed and baked by my amazing husband!

This is a sad time of the year around the Tutterrow house.  We have a back yard that birds love.  They are so fun to watch as they eat from the bird feeder and go in and out of the houses around the yard that we have set up.  What makes this time sad is when the baby birds begin to test their new wings.  This typically results in a few ending up on the ground in an attempt to refine their flying skills.  Our sweet Tucker and Jackson think these birds are for them to play with.  These little guys look like a fun toy as they hop and flop around on the ground.  Tucker thinks it is a game and likes to play "catch and release" with these guys.  Sometimes they are fine, sometimes he gets  a little too excited, and well you can imagine what happens.  We have a burial site for all the baby birds that don't make it into summer.  

A few days ago I called the dogs inside and Tucker would not come.  He was standing in the corner of the yard with his "play ears" all perked up.  I found this little guy when I walked over.

Luckily for him, Tucker had not played a game of "catch and release"...yet.  So I do what every wife does and called my husband out to help me figure out a plan.  We couldn't put him back in the nest because it is way up in the trees.  We knew he wouldn't have a fighting chance if he stayed in our backyard, so we moved him to the side of the house in a safe and shaded area.  

I went out to check on him the next day and he was still just hanging out back there, but a little less energetic. I started to worry about him and wondered if we had done the right thing.  After calling a few nature centers they assured me that we did do the right thing, but if he is too far away from the nest then the parents may not hear him in order to feed him.  This made me so sad to think that he was starving to death.  If he was old enough he could have potentially started to fly from this spot, but after some inspection we realized he didn't have his feathers underneath his wings.  I am sad to say this little guy didn't make it, but I hope his passing was  more pleasant back here then it would have been in the mouth of one of my dogs.  

I am such an animal lover and was so sad when I found out he didn't make it.  Hopefully the rest of his siblings will learn to fly straight from the nest.  

Sorry, that was a little sad.  I promise my next post will be happier.

Have you guys ever had your animals do something that made you so sad?

This was my lunch meal of the week.  Alex is not a fan of sweet potatoes.  I loved this meal.  It had a great flavor that was good even reheated.  I loved the roasted sweet potatoes, but prefer them fresh out of the oven than reheated.

Pineapple Grilled Pork Tenderloin

Ingredients:

• 2 1 lb. pork tenderloins
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper
• 1 8 oz. can pineapple slices in juice
• 2 limes
• 1/4 cup orange marmalade
• 3 tbsp. hoisin sauce
• 3 tbsp. soy sauce
• 2 garlic cloves, pressed
• 1 tsp. dijon mustard
• 1/2 tsp. ground ginger

Directions

Preheat grill to 350 to 400 (medium high heat).  *We cooked ours in the oven at 350 until meat thermometer read 155.*  Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper.  

Drain pineapple, reserving 1/3 cup juice.  Grate zest from limes to equal 1 tbsp.; squeeze juice from limes to equal 1/3 cup.  

Bring reserved pineapple juice, lime juice, zest, marmalade, and next 5 ingredients to a boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat.  Boil 3 to 4 minutes or until slightly thickened.  Reserve half of mixture in a bowl.  

Grill or bake pork (if baking add pineapple to dish) until meat thermometer inserted into thickest portion registers 155, basting with remaining half of pineapple mixture.  Remove from grill.

Meanwhile, grill pineapple slices 1 to 2 minutes on each side (skip if baking because you can bake the pineapple with the pork).  Serve grilled pineapple and reserved pineapple-marmalade mixture with grilled pork.  

Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients:

• 2 large sweet potatoes
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper

Cube sweet potatoes and toss with olive oil.  Bake at 425 for 25 minutes (keep an eye on them to make sure they do not burn).  Remove from oven and toss with salt and pepper.