Tasteful Tuesday: Slowcooker Style!

This Monday I decided to find a slowcooker recipe for all those busy bodies out there! It actually turned out to be a great Monday to do it on as I was quite busy myself and ended up not being home for dinner! This recipe was delicious.

Apple Glazed Pork Roast

Pork Loin Roast (Your desired weight, mine was 3lb and it was plenty for 5)

6 Apples 

1/4 Cup Apple Juice

3 Tablespoons brown sugar

1 Teaspoon Ground Ginger

1 Teaspoon Cinnamon 

1. Rub Roast with Salt and Pepper

2. Brown pork roast in broiler to remove excess fat. (I did not do this step)

3. Core and quarter apples and place in the bottom of the crock pot.

4. Place roast on top of apples

5. Combine apple juice, brown sugar, ginger, and cinnamon. Spoon over top of roast, moistening it well.

6. Cover and cook on low 10-12 hours

*I did add a bag of carrots to the crock pot.

A couple tips that I found online when using a slow cooker are:

• Only fill the crockpot one half to two thirds full. The foods will not cook properly if the appliance is filled to the brim. If the food and liquid level is lower, the foods will cook too quickly.
• Foods cooked on the bottom of the slow cooker cook faster and will be moister because they are immersed in the simmering liquid.
• Remove skin from poultry, and trim excess fat from meats. Fats will melt with long cooking times, and will add an unpleasant texture to the finished dish. Fatty foods will also cook too quickly.
• You can thicken the juices and concentrate flavors by removing the lid and cooking on HIGH for the last half hour of cooking time.
• Most meats require 8 hours of cooking on LOW. Use cheaper cuts of meat - not only do you save money, but these meats work better in the slow cooker. Cheaper cuts of meat have less fat, which makes them more suited to crockpot cooking. Moist, long cooking times result in very tender meats.
• Follow the layering instructions carefully. Vegetables do not cook as quickly as meat, so they should be placed in the bottom of the appliance.(Notice in the picture I did not follow this step and the carrots were not done!)
• Don't lift the lid to stir, especially if you are cooking on the low setting. Each time you lift the lid, enough heat will escape that the cooking time should be extended by 20 minutes to half an hour. To check progress without lifting the lid, spin the cover until the condensation falls off. Then it's easy to see inside.