Taste it Tuesday: Apple Stuffed Pork, With Garlic Broccoli & Sweet Potato Fries ~ Granolaville

Hey crunchy peeps!

I'm switching things up today and inviting you into my kitchen! Pay no mind the messy counters or sticky floors.

The hubby and I were watching the Food Network the other night, and just like always I immediately wanted to try the mouth-watering recipes they were teasing us with.

I'm always looking for new ways to do our favorite meals. I'm no one trick pony in the kitchen, buuuuut I do rotate the same 10ish meals every week.

So last night I brought a new twist to pork chops and apple sauce (courtesy of Ted Allen from Chopped), plus added in some veggies that my picky 6 year old will actually eat!

Apple Stuffed Pork, with Garlic Broccoli and Sweet Potato Fries

INGREDIENTS:

2-3lb Pork loin (preferably organic & antibiotic/hormone free)
2 Apples peeled, cored, and cubed into 1 inch squares
1/2 Apple Cider Vinegar
1/2 stick butter
1/4 cup Honey
Pinch of Ground Cinnamon
Salt & Pepper

2 medium sized heads of broccoli
1 tbls minced garlic
1 tbls Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper

5 medium sized Organic Sweet Potatoes cut lengthwise into wedges
3 tbls Coconut Oil (melted)
Salt & Pepper

DIRECTIONS

Oven Sweet Potato Fries (modified from Jeff Mauro)

Preheat oven to 475 degrees F.

Soak the potato wedges in a bowl of water for 10 minutes (this is called 'blanching', it helps by removing some starch and will make your fries SUPER crunchy!) Drain the potatoes and then fully pat them dry with paper towels or a lint-free dish cloth.

Layer a baking sheet with 2 tablespoons coconut oil and generously sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add the potatoes to the pan and drizzle with the remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and spread them evenly in a single layer on the pan. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 5 to 10 minutes.

Remove the foil and bake until the bottoms are golden brown, about 10 minutes. Flip with a spatula and cook until the other side is golden brown, another 10 to 13 minutes.

Apple Stuffed Pork

Drop Temperature to 375 degrees F.

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the honey, cinnamon and diced apples and toss to coat. Saute 3 minutes, without stirring to let the apples caramelize on 1 side. Toss and saute another 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool completely.

Butterfly the tenderloin by cutting the lengthwise down the center to within 1/2-inch of the other side. Flatten with a meat mallet.

When the caramel apples have cooled spread the mixture down the center flap of pork. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, to taste. Bring the 2 sides of the tenderloin up around filling to meet.

This recipe call for butcher string to tie the roast closed, but since I didn't have it I used tooth picks.

Season the stuffed and tied pork loin with salt and pepper. Pour the apple cider over the pork. Roast uncovered for about 1 hour or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the roast registers 155 degrees F. Meat should be firm to the touch if you don't have a thermometer.

Remove from the oven and let rest, tented with foil, for 15 minutes before slicing. Serve with pan juices.

Garlic Broccoli

Wash broccoli and remove stems from crowns. *If you save the stems they can be used to juice with*

Fill large pot halfway with water. Put broccoli into a metal strainer and place in pot. (If you don't have metal strainer just place the veggies directly into the pot). Cover with lid and let steam for 15 min.