Nathan Barnhouse endured another tough round of competitive cooking this week on Fox TV’s “MasterChef,” but survived to make the cut yet again. Now the former Slippery Rock resident is among the show’s final nine contestants.

“MasterChef” aired two episodes Wednesday night, the first divided the remaining 11 home chefs and had them pick their own vegetables and cook for 101 farmers. Barnhouse landed on the team led by Diamond Alexander, a Web designer from San Diego.

Much like last week, when he butted heads with his team leader, Barnhouse ended up being blamed for an extended back-and-forth over what the team would do with one of its side dishes: kale.

Alexander wanted the vegetable braised — something Barnhouse argued against — and ultimately the team ended up changing five times during the challenge.

The result: Barnhouse ran out of kale for their dish — pork tenderloin with roasted fingerling potatoes — and the team ended up losing the challenge.

“Everyone was so fast to blame me, and I was sick and tired of people throwing me under the bus,” he said.

But Barnhouse again dodged elimination when the opposing team picked him up. The move ended up angering some of his team members.

Barnhouse said that probably ended up getting his closest friend among the contestants, Andrea Galan, eliminated after she failed to complete her homemade sausages and hot dogs before the challenge’s timer ran out.

“Going back into the kitchen was kind of a bittersweet moment,” Barnhouse said. “Andrea was my best friend on the show. She was like a sister to me.”

The next challenge — requiring contestants to cook by themselves — focused on making breakfast food with Nutella.

Barnhouse, who ended up making toaster pastries, a smoothie and Greek yogurt, said it was tough competing without his friend.

His dishes were a hit with the judges, but didn’t win him the challenge. That honor went to Terry Mueller, who then chose to have the remaining contestants cook bibimbap, a Korean rice that Barnhouse chose to cook African style and serve with blackened chicken and vegetables.

The dish again failed to win him the challenge, but it was good enough to get him through the elimination — taking him into the final nine contestants.

Barnhouse said it was a big moment for him, and his attitude toward the competition has started to change.

“The possibility of winning is getting so big now, and I’m definitely starting to approach things differently,” Barnhouse said, “with the mindset of victory being so close.”

“MasterChef” will be on a two-week hiatus because of Fox’s coverage of the summer Olympic Games. The show returns at 8 p.m. Aug. 24.