Pan Seared Pork Tenderloin Medallions with Garlic Olive Oil

So I know it has been a little while since I have posted anything but it has been a very busy week or so! Last week my sister, step-mom, and I hosted a birthday party for my dad so I spent a good amount of time baking up brownies and finalizing details for that event and I neglected to post anything. So here I am, making up for lost time with something delicious!

Usually I plan my dinners ahead of time then go shopping for them but because I have been so on-the-go I had to whip something up with a few ingredients that I already had around the house. I remembered on Monday that I had a pork tenderloin in the freezer so I took it out to defrost in the morning and then mulled over what I would do with it over the course of the day. I finally decided I would sliced it up and pan cook it with some garlic infused olive oil rather that roasting it whole in the oven like I normally opt to do. What resulted were super tender and flavorful pork tenderloin medallions. All in all, this main course recipe is super easy and only uses a few household ingredients. Here is how to make it: 

Ingredients:

• 1 Pork Tenderloin (about 1 pound)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 3-4 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2-3 Cloves Fresh Garlic
• 4 teaspoons Unsalted Butter (for pan frying)

Directions: 

• The first step to this (very simple) recipe is to infuse some olive oil with garlic. I had a head of garlic in my kitchen but garlic powder would probably work as well. I used a micro-plane to grate up 2 good sized cloves of garlic and added it to about 3-4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. I did this a couple of hours before I was going to start cooking dinner so the flavor could develop. Ideally, it would be better to let this combine for several hours or even overnight but I am last minute so that's that! 

1. Infuse olive oil with garlic
2. Slice pork tenderloin into about 1/2 inch thick slices
3. Season each slice of pork with salt and pepper
4. Heat 1 teaspoon of butter in pan over medium heat
5. Add pork to hot pan, trying not to crowd the pan, and brush garlic olive oil over each slice
6. Turn pork once (when golden brown), brush other side with garlic olive oil, and cook until internal temperature is about 145 degrees. I cooked my pork 3 slices at a time for about 1 1/2-2 minutes per side

That is it! SO EASY! Over all this recipe only took about 15 minutes to prepare compared to over an hour if I had roasted the pork in the oven. Using the infused oil allowed the pork to keep some of its own flavor while being enhanced by the garlic and cooking process- so tasty!

Happy cooking!