Valentine's Two-Steppin' Tenderloin

The perfect Valentine's Day meal...except I didn't make it on Valentine's Day! Brent was travelling, so I made this a couple weeks before the romantic holiday.

I'll admit, I was really disappointed with the tenderloins that I purchased from my local grocer. I bought them packaged since they were on sale. I should have known better...they put the "bad" side down, so I couldn't see that it had some weird connective tissue on one side. Blech. Note to self...spend $1 more and pick the exact cuts I want from the meat case.

BUT I cooked the tenderloins perfectly and the pesto and rice "pilaf" came out nicely! The cool thing about this recipe is the cooking method. It's like a chef's secret: from the stove top to the oven = perfectly browned and perfectly medium rare (or whatever doneness you prefer).

A tip to cut down on ingredients and time: buy jarred pesto. YES, making your own is probably healthier because you can control the amount of oil, type of nuts, etc. But making it myself made for more dishes to wash--I'm not a fan of more dishes. :)

Two-Steppin' Tenderloin

Colorful and easy!