Bacon-Wrapped Pesto Pork Tenderloin ala ~DKBB~

Bacon-Wrapped Pesto Pork Tenderloin ala ~DKBB~

(original recipe by Holly Sander in Feb/Mar 2017 edition of Simple & Delicious)

4-6 bacon strips

½ pork tenderloin (½ lb.)

¼ tsp. cracked pepper

¼ cup prepared pesto

½ cup shredded Italian cheese blend

½ cup fresh baby spinach

• Preheat oven to 425° F.
• Place bacon strips width-wise, overlapping a bit, in foil-lined 15x10x1 pan (or just use a foil pan that size and skip the lining-with-foil part).
• Using ½ of a pre-package pork tenderloin (freeze the other half), cover the meat with plastic wrap and pound it with a meat mallet to ½-inch thickness; remove plastic wrap; place flattened tenderloin centered perpendicularly on the bacon strips.
• Sprinkle pepper over pork, spread on pesto, then add cheese then spinach.
• Close (roll up) tenderloin, wrapping the outside with the bacon strips; tie all with kitchen string (a wrapping method with the string works well…you want to be sure all the bacon is tied around the tenderloin); secure ends with toothpicks if necessary.
• Using a 12-inch skillet, brown the bacon-wrapped tenderloin on all sides (about 8 minutes).
• Return the now-browned bacon-wrapped tenderloin to the roasting pan; roast in the oven until a meat thermometer inserted into the pork reads 145° (17-20 minutes).
• Remove string and toothpicks, let stand 5 minutes before slicing.