Herb Roasted Beef Tenderloin with a side of Broccoli & Kale Stir Fry

I really never thought that cooking would have many challenges, just follow the recipe - viola. When you've spent more time watching The Food Network than actually cooking you tend to think you can do anything. Your expectations also are at a new level, for goodness sakes if the lady with the talons on Worst Cooks in America can do this then I can master this skill.

When my ever so handsome boyfriend uttered the words "I know what I want for Christmas, a type of service gift."
Of course I took a step back and a million things ran through my head. Service like oil change? Service like.... well we won't even go there.
Next came the words "I'd like for you to make me a healthy meal once a week"
Sigh of relief - I can handle that
Handsome man - "Even if I wouldn't choose to eat something, I want to try things that are good for us. You don't even have to try it but I'd like to try those new foods."
Even bigger sigh of relief - I don't even need to try the meals! Now I have free reign to be creative! No matter how disgusting or uninviting these masterpieces look I can just fry up some noodles and feast.

I took this gift seriously and built an only healthy recipes recipe book to make it easier on us... me. The Cleveland Clinic has a bunch of healthy recipes on their website and AllRecipes.com has a great assortment too. I'm so glad that I prepped this book because selecting a recipe is limited to the book and not the entire internet every week. For me, looking for a recipe is the annoying and discouraging part of cooking let alone cooking specifically to eat healthy.  The way it works for us is that Aaron selects the main meal and I pair it with a side & dessert.

Week 1 - 12/31/15 

Herb Roasted Beef Tenderloin 

with a side of Broccoli & Kale Stir Fry

Recipe: Beef Tenderloin
Recipe: Stir Fry Kale & Broccoli


Fairly simple. The marinade is a paste that you pat on the beef tenderloin I added extra brandy into my paste because ya know, intuition... I'm a chef and I let my creative juices flow.  Then just let it sit over night in the refrigerator.

I prepped kale for the first time and I was surprised at how "beefy" it seemed. Someone recommended that cooking onions with kale makes the flavor better. I took this advice and switched the sun dried tomatoes for onion. I personally don't like cooked tomatoes and my boyfriend only likes them certain ways. To me, this decision was a sure win!

Presentation: 
I thought it should at least look tasty just in case it tasted terrible. So presentation will be my goal. As I've never been the artsy lady of my family I basically think a well organized plate is gorgeous. I precut the tenderloin & arranged the vegetables ever so elegantly. I added color with some clementine peel and that perfected it. Right before I had moved the last broccoli in place Aaron walked in and gave me the greatest compliment "that smells incredible, when will it be ready"

Dessert: 
Kona Joe Medium Roast Coffee & my own recipe of the very hard to master Strawberries with Shaved Dark Chocolate on top. I added some coconut rolls or as the package says "Shih Fang Hsih". I got these from China Town (in Cleveland). Honestly I have just been afraid to try these coconut rolls and my boyfriend was sick of seeing them in his house and put them right in front of me at every chance that he had. I'd hear things like "do you think you're going to eat these?" Then the next time "do you want me to throw these out?" Then the final move - placing all the things on the table that I was neglecting to eat so I'd see them daily.  Well it worked and made its way into my healthy meal recipe even though it's not healthy. Shhhhhhh!

Rating: 
Michelle - Please More! 1/10/16 correction ** 2.5 Stars, I didn't even really want any leftovers and the meat was pretty tough this particular time.
Aaron - Please More! 1/10/16 correction ** 3 Stars, I enjoyed this meal but I probably wouldn't eat it again. Without the vegetables, I'm not sure I would have liked it as much.

With a few changes this will definitely be a meal that I make again!

Comment with questions and suggestions♡

Until next time xoxo,
M