Almond Crusted Pork Tenderloin and Shrimp Feta Mac & Cheese...

We love to make this Almond Crusted Pork Tenderloin with Mango Relish when we have friends over or for special occasions! It was first made for us by my dear friend and former co-worker Susan after we had Ian, and it quickly became a favorite of ours. We have always baked it in the oven, but there is also the option of cooking it on the grill. The mango relish is flavorful and fresh; we usually add extra mint when we make ours. Honestly, the mango relish itself would probably make an awesome appetizer with some pita or tortilla chips. We typically have some leftovers and it's still really delicious the next day!

Tip from Rebecca's Kitchen: We've found it's easier to roll the pork with the rub and almonds in a separate pan (or even just on some foil on the counter) before transferring it to the cookie sheet. This is because pieces that fall off the pork tend to burn at the high temperature. It really doesn't hurt anything since it just burns on the foil, but it can make the kitchen smokey.

Pork Tenderloin ready to hit the oven...

 Sliced, plated, and ready to be served...

 LOVE this mango relish! Seriously, it looks so pretty and is SO delicious...

Next up, we love this Shrimp Feta Mac n Cheese, but when we're serving it with the pork tenderloin we usually leave out the shrimp so it's more of a side dish. When we make it as an entree itself for dinner we add in 1/2 pound of shrimp. And to make things easier I just buy the frozen precooked shrimp so I always have it on hand when I want to use it in a dish. I usually cut this recipe in half, make it in an 8x8 pan, and use a bit less lemon zest than what the recipe calls for. If you're not big on lemon you could definitely leave this step out and it would still be delicious. The Gruyere cheese is part of what makes this so delicious, and since I cut the recipe in half and only need 4 oz for the dish it helps to cut the cost down as well. I have never used as much dill as the recipe calls for, typically just 1/2 Tbsp and I use dried dill. This also makes an awesome leftover! When we make it as an entree for dinner we always have leftovers and love to heat it up for lunches the next day or two. You'll start to see on this blog -- we're big on leftovers in our house and love having extras for lunch the next day!

Tip from Rebecca's Kitchen: When mixing the sauce I've found it can thicken quickly so be ready. Also, if it thickens up too fast you can always add a little extra milk to it once you've mixed it with the pasta!

Feta Mac & Cheese read for the oven...

 Fresh out of the oven & ready to dig in...

 Dinner is served....