I love apples...I love roast pork loin...So, I went on a mission on Pinterest a while back to find a recipe that involved stuffing pork with apples. I found quite a few, really...But to be honest, a lot of them sounded more complex and complicated than I really have time for (not that I am not game to trying those out someday, they just don't fit into my insanely busy life right now). But yet, I found one. It really could not get any more simple than this. The recipe came from
this pin which can be also be found on my Pinterest Board,
Yummy in the Tummy. As you can see, it only takes a few minutes to prep and put in a crock pot...The best part is that there are only FOUR ingredients, all of which most people already have in their pantry or fridge/freezer. If you don't have these items readily available at home, they are inexpensive and easy to obtain at the store (although if you are like me and prefer to use organic raw honey, you may have to visit a local Farmer Market or reach out to someone that sells it from their home).
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| Finished product, served with applesauce (on my Pegasus plate) |
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Ingredients:
- Pork Loin (3-4 pounds)- mine was just a hair under 3 pounds
- 1/2 C. Honey (any kind will work, I used organic raw...the good stuff!!)
- 2 large Granny Smith Apples
- 2 Tbsp. Ground Cinnamon
That's it...that's all you need ingredient-wise...Now the instructions (if you can't follow these, I suggest you go back to a basic home economics, er sorry I forgot they changed it to "Food and Consumer Science" class to learn the basics on cooking)...
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| cut slits in the pork loin |
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| sliced apples- 16 slices per apple (32) |
Instructions:
- Wash & rinse the apples. Cut into small slices (I had 16 slices per apple).
- Cut slits into the pork loin- about 1 to 1 1/2 inches apart
- Stuff 2 apple slices into the pork loin
- Put 3/4 of the remaining apple slices in the bottom of the crock pot, put 1/2 of the honey over the apples.
- Place the pork loin on top of the apples
- Sprinkle the cinnamon on top of the pork loin (it will seem like a lot of cinnamon...and in fact it is).
- Put the remaining apple slices on top of the pork loin.
- Drizzle the remaining honey on top
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| stuff slices in the pork loin |
- Cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours.
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| layer of apples on bottom |
That is it...Literally...In about an hour your house will smell A-MAZING! Seriously, my girls thought I was making the
Apple Pie Crescent Rolls
that I blogged about last year (and make about once a week). No need
for a Scentsy burner, just make this and your home will smell yummy!
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| this measuring cup is the BEST for this kind of job! |
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I took several photos of the preparing process, as well as what the
roast looks like about an hour into cooking...Then of course I took a
picture of it after 8 hours of roasting. My mouth was literally watering
at that point. No worries, I didn't take pictures of that- no one wants
to see that mess, ha ha.
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| placed on top of apple slices |
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| "sprinkle" cinnamon on top- that's a lot. |
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| remaining apples on top |
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| Drizzle last half of honey on top |
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| An hour into roasting in crock pot...smells YUMMY! |
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| Finished product, pulls right apart! |
We served this with a side of applesauce, because I didn't think potatoes and carrots would have tasted very good with this particular recipe.
Family Verdict:
Well, I was down one child (Autumn) because this past weekend was the High School Musical- which she was in (Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Coat...if you've never seen this performed it is a really good show, and that's coming from a Pagan). So she ate dinner with her cast instead of us- to be expected from a teenager in high school....Anyways, the three of us that were home enjoyed it. But we all three had the same issue- the cinnamon was a bit overpowering. Corey and I also thought it could use a bit more apple flavoring, so I have a few tips to add if you make this...
TIPS:
- Cut the cinnamon in half...It was definitely overpowering and slightly unappetizing looking (IMO). I kind of wonder if the recipe should have said 2 TEASPOONS instead of TABLESPOONS...That was a LOT of cinnamon!
- Personally, I felt it could use more apples. The apples that were on the bottom were completely mushy. I think next time I will use 3-4 apples. I'm also going to cut my slits much deeper and put 3-4 apple slices per slit to see if that helps. It definitely could've used more apples for the side item.
- Applesauce is a good side with this, but I would have liked to have something a bit more...Maybe make baked apples next time? Or even throw some more apples in the crock pot half way through cooking (see point #2).
So there you have it! This is definitely worth a try, and I will be making again (with a few alterations that I mentioned in the tips). I'm always interested in what others have to say about the recipes I post...I love to hear suggestions, comments, improvements, etc.
If you aren't subscribed to this blog, I would love it if you did! I'm going to do better about keeping up with this than I have in the past. I'd also love to hear what you- the readers, would like to see me blog. Send me a good recipe pin...My mom does once a week. You are also welcomed to
follow me on Pinterest, or you can follow select boards (I have a ton of different ones for foods, drinks, holiday baking, grilling, etc.). I actually could benefit from a spring cleaning of my boards.
Blessed Be!!
