Mike’s Hot Spicy Food Recipes

Turn this tenderloin dinner's leftovers into a hearty beef-barley soup by following three easy steps:

1. Heat a little oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add 1 large chopped onion and sauté until tender.

2. Cut leftover cooked tenderloin into small pieces. Add the meat, any leftover sauce and barley pilaf to the pot.

3. Pour in enough chicken broth to cover solids; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for about 20 to 30 minutes. Soup's on!

Note: The beef-barley soup keeps for 5 days in the refrigerator and freezes well, too.

used to make the barley soup

Blue Cheese-Stuffed Beef Tenderloin With Port Sauce & Mushroom-Spinach Barley Pilaf

The beef and pilaf cook in one pan.

• 1 4-pound trimmed beef tenderloin
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 3/4 tsp. black pepper
• 3/4 tsp. dried thyme
• 2 cups crumbled blue cheese
• 1/3 cup bread crumbs
• Butcher's twine or string
• 1 Tb. olive oil
• 1 cup ruby port wine
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 tsp. cornstarch dissolved in 1 tsp. water

For the barley pilaf:

• 1 cup dried mushrooms 2 Tbs. olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 pound pearled barley
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 7 ounces rinsed baby spinach
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Prepare beef and sauce: Slit tenderloin lengthwise, almost but not all the way through. Sprinkle with salt and 1/2 tsp. each pepper and thyme. Mix cheese, bread crumbs and 1/4 tsp. each pepper and thyme; stuff pocket with cheese mixture. Tie tenderloin crosswise at 1 1/2-inch intervals. Coat with oil and sprinkle with more salt and pepper; set aside.

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Heat a large, heavy-bottomed roasting pan over two burners on medium-high heat. When pan is very hot, turn on exhaust fan and sear roast until well browned, about 2 minutes on all 4 sides; transfer to a cookie sheet. Reduce heat to low; add port, scraping roasting pan to loosen brown bits. Pour port into a saucepan with 1 cup broth. Simmer until reduced to 1 cup; whisk in cornstarch to thicken. Set aside.

Prepare pilaf: Place mushrooms in a bowl, cover with3 cups of water and agitate to loosen dirt. Let sit 30 minutes. Put mushrooms in a fine mesh strainer; reserve liquid in bowl. Wash mushrooms under running water. Set aside. Pour mushroom liquid through strainer into another bowl.

Add 2 Tbs. oil to the roasting pan. Sauté onion until well browned, 5 minutes. Add barley. Sauté; stir constantly,1 to 2 minutes. Add mushrooms, then wine. Simmer until nearly evaporated; add reserved mushroom liquid and4 cups broth, and bring to a simmer.

To cook: Set a wire rack over the barley; set beef on rack. Cook, uncovered, until a meat thermometer inserted in thickest portion registers 120 (medium-rare) or 125 (medium), 30 to 35 minutes. Remove roast from rack and rack from pan. Let roast rest for about 25 minutes. Return barley to oven; cook until liquid evaporates and barley is tender, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven; stir in spinach and Parmesan until spinach wilts.

To serve: Reheat port wine sauce. Cut roast into 1-inch-thick slices. Serve with sauce and barley pilaf.

Serves 8, with leftovers for soup

Per 4 ounces beef, 2 Tbs. sauce, 3/4 cup barley: 669 calories, 49g protein, 9g carbohydrates, 10g fat (4.2g saturated), 15mg cholesterol, 4g fiber, 205mg sodium