I have a little over an hour to make dinner for unexpected company......stuffed pork tenderloin, don't fail me now!

This is commentary about making dinner for unexpected company.

So, tonight's blog is all about being told at 8:45 a.m. that you are cooking for company who will be arriving at 5:30 p.m. that night!   I say, "what????"  I am????  Ok.....no prob!   Right!  So my brain goes into overdrive as I think about what I can cook in about an hour..... Pork tenderloin, of course!  All I have to do when I get home from work is whip up some stuffing, figure out a vegetable, and something quick and easy for dessert.... no problem, right?

I boogied home at lunch to take the pork out of the freezer... then back to work for a meeting and a full afternoon of work.  Left at 4:10, got home at 4:20, and raced to the fridge.  I was like a maniac, grabbing all kinds of ingredients to make a stuffing for the tenderloin.   I started by making a small batch of Pepperidge Farm stuffing.  To that I added fresh spinach and some sauteed Vidalia onions.

I tear apart a bunch of fresh spinach and throw it in, as well as some chopped Bella mushrooms, fresh garlic, and Parmesan cheese.

I always love cranberries with pork, so I throw a handful of craisins into the mix.

Now it's time for some breadcrumbs, fresh garlic, and some chicken broth and olive oil to moisten..its all about the texture of the stuffing.  You know what stuffing is supposed to look like, right?  It needs to be moise and flavorful.  Time to taste...I add some salt and pepper, and begin to stuff...

I take each tenderloin and butterfly it.  Then I pound it so it becomes evenly thin.  Then I add the stuffing.

Time to tie the roast.    Once it is all tied up, I brown 

At this point, I start to pay attention to the butternut squash.  I season it with sea salt and pepper.  I also sprinkle some curry on it.  In a hot oven it goes....

Make sure you have a single layer of squash in the pan.  If you have the squash too deep, it will become too mushy. Mix up every once in a while.

You'll notice there are no pictures from here on in.  That is because I got so busy and was trying to get dinner on the table.  Suffice it to say I sliced the tenderloin up and it looked delicious.  I served the squash in a cool pedestal bowl.  This is the first time I didn't make enough food! Usually I cook way more than I need, but I didn't bank on the fact that folks went back for seconds and thirds tonight!   My poor daughter got home from her volleyball game only to find that there was one lowly piece of pork and a little squash left for her.

I know I have made this before, but last night it just seemed to come out amazing!  The next time you are surprised with company, I hope you can throw something together like I did......