Apple stuffed pork loin

The main course was a wonderful stuffed pork loin... simple and very tasty and it looks very pretty a well...No, the picture does not do it justice!

You will need a 4-5 lb center cut pork loin roast. I cut through the roast in the center all the way through but leave about 1/2 inch on either side so you don't cut it in half! This way you have a nice opening to stuff the pork. You can butterfly the pork but I find the stuffing doesn't fall out when you just slice into the center of the roast and leave the side intact.

Combine 3 cloves of minced garlic, 1 tsp of kosher salt, 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper, 1 tbsp minced fresh rosemary, 1 tbsp fresh thyme and set aside in a small bowl. Rub half the the garlic mixture on the cut sides of pork.

Melt 1 tbsp of butter in a skillet over medium high heat and add 2 thinly sliced granny smith apples and 1 thinly sliced medium onion. Cook until soft ~5-10 minutes. Add 2 tbsp of brown sugar, 1 tbsp Dijon mustard and stir until well blended. Cool the mixture and stuff into the cavity of the pork roast. Pour 1 cup of apple juice over the roast, and season with remaining garlic mixture. Place roast on a rack in a 325 degree oven and roast for ~2 hours or until meat reaches 155 degrees. As the roast cooks, I baste it and add more apple juice as needed. When you slice the roast, pour remaining jus over the slices.

I served this with quartered red potatoes which were roasted in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes and seasoned with fresh lemon thyme, parsley, fresh rosemary and salt and pepper. The herb garden was a busy place!

Earlier in the day I roasted broccoli and cauliflower (cut in~2 inch pieces roughly the same size)seasoned with olive oil and fresh pepper and kosher salt for 1o minutes at 450 degrees. Then I gave the veggies a stir and added quartered red, orange, green peppers (1 each) and quartered mushrooms and baked for another 10 minutes. Just before serving I reheated it in the microwave for 3 minutes and squeezed 1/2 a fresh lemon over the veggies. One less item to worry about at the last minute!

Dessert was from the freezer... peach pie and ice cream!