Crockpot Balsamic Pork Loin with Apples & Onions

One of my longtime friends recently shared this recipe with me in her weekly grocery bag post.  Queen B mentioned how easy and tasty this recipe is, and knowing that her kiddos love this recipe too encouraged me to give it a try. 

It seemed perfect for fall, and I loved the use of balsamic on pork and delicious apples.  I opted to convert the recipe from the oven to the crockpot, which made it even easier.  We’ll definitely be making this one again!

Crockpot Balsamic Pork Loin with Apples & Onions – Adapted from My Recipes

Ingredients

• 1 2.5-3lb pork loin or roast
• 3 T brown sugar
• 1 T minced onion
• 1/4 tsp. minced garlic
• pinch of chili powder
• pepper & salt
• 1/4 C chicken broth
• 1 medium onion, cut into wedges
• 1/3 C balsamic vinegar
• 4 apples (sweet/tart combo preferred)
• 1 T butter

Directions

Pour 1/4 C chicken broth into the bottom of your slow cooker.  Arrange the wedged onion over the top.  Place the pork over the top. 

Combine 3 T brown sugar with 1 T minced onion, 1/4 tsp. garlic, salt, pepper and a pinch of chili powder.  Rub this mixture over the sides and top of the roast.  Then, drizzle 1/3 C balsamic vinegar over the roast. 

Cover, and cook on low for 8-10 hours.

1 hour before dinner, prepare the apples by peeling and slicing them.  We chopped ours into 1-2 inch pieces.  Place into a 9x9 glass baking dish and add 1 T butter.  Bake at 350 for approximately 45 minutes. 

Just before serving, drizzle another tablespoon or so of balsamic vinegar over the pork.  Slice and allow the slices of pork to sit in the juices in the bottom of the crockpot until serving. 

Serve with baked apples, onions and winter squash, if desired. 

Enjoy!

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German Apple Cake

If you are looking for a delicious and quick apple dish, go with this German Apple Cake recipe from What Megan’s Making.  I can always count on Megan’s recipes to be tasty and easy, and this one was no exception. 

In fact, I made this cake when we had some new friends over for games.  We enjoyed it so much before I knew it, we had just one piece left and I realized I hadn’t taken any photos of the cake sliced and served.

 

Guess that’s a sign of a good recipe, right? 

German Apple Cake – Adapted from What Megan’s Making

Ingredients

• 2 medium apples
• 3/4 C sugar
• 1/4 C olive oil
• 1/4 C applesauce
• 1 egg
• splash of vanilla
• 1 C white whole wheat flour
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• pinch of nutmeg (optional)

Directions

Mix together 3/4 C sugar, 1/4 C olive oil, 1/4 C applesauce, 1 egg and a splash of vanilla in a large bowl.  Stir well. 

Mix together 1 C flour, 1/8 tsp. salt and 1 tsp. cinnamon.  Add a pinch of nutmeg, if desired.  Add to the wet ingredients and stir until incorporated. 

Peel, core and slice apples into 1/2-1 inch pieces. 

Stir in the apple pieces. 

Place into a lightly greased 9x9 or 8x8 (or 9-inch pie plate) glass baking dish. 

Bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes, until center is set and the edges are lightly browned. 

Serve warm, with ice cream, if desired. 

Enjoy!

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Apple Raisin Pumpkin Swirl Bread

Saturday morning I had an idea.  What if I made cinnamon raisin bread, added chopped apples and rolled a pumpkin spice swirl into the middle?  I had to try it. 

This bread was fantastic.  I say was because Frog Prince and I polished it off in a matter of days.  We might have made French Toast out of it too, which was so fantastic we didn’t even need syrup. 

Apple Raisin Pumpkin Swirl Bread – Inspired by Will Cook for Smiles

Ingredients

• 1 C warm water
• 1/2 C (heaping) raisins
• 2 1/4 tsp. yeast
• 1/2 C milk
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 T butter, melted
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 C whole wheat flour
• 1 1/4 C white whole wheat flour, plus more for kneading
• 1 small tart apple, peeled & finely diced
• 2 T sweet potato or pumpkin puree
• Ginger, cinnamon & nutmeg
• 1 T coarse sugar

Directions

In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine together 1 C warm water (no hotter than 120 degrees F) with 2 1/4 tsp. yeast.  Allow this to sit for 5 minutes, until frothy.  Meanwhile, combine the heaping 1/2 C of raisins with water, enough that the raisins are submerged in water.  Allow these raisins to sit and plump in the water for 10 or so minutes. 

Once the yeast is ready, add in 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/2 C milk, 1 T melted butter and 1 tsp. cinnamon. 

Then, one cup at a time, add in the whole wheat and white whole wheat flour.  The dough might be sticky, and if it is at this point, add a little more flour.  Knead at a medium speed on your mixer for 5-6 minutes. 

Drain the water from the raisins and add the raisins along with a little pinch more of flour to the dough and allow the mixture to knead the raisins into the dough for an additional 5-7 minutes. 

Shape the dough into a ball and place it in a lightly greased bowl.  Cover with a towel and allow the dough to rise for about 1 hour, until it has about doubled in size. 

Punch the dough down to remove air bubbles, and then stretch the dough out on a lightly floured surface.  Roll the dough into a rectangle that is about 8-inches long (or as long as your loaf pan) and about 1/2 inch thick. 

Spread 2 T sweet potato or pumpkin puree over the dough.  Sprinkle with ginger, nutmeg and cinnamon, or a pre-mixed pumpkin spice mixture.

Arrange apple slices over the top. 

Roll up the dough and place the loaf seam-side down into your greased loaf pan.  Lightly spritz the top with olive oil or melted butter and sprinkle with 1 T coarse sugar. 

Cover and allow the dough to rise again, about 30-45 minutes, until the dough has risen above the rim of the pan. 

Then, uncover and bake the bread in an oven preheated to 375 degrees for 40-45 minutes.  The bread should be lightly browned and sound hallow when knocked/tapped. 

Remove the bread from the pan, and place on a cooing rack.  Cool completely (I know… it’s so tough to wait!!!) before slicing.  Slice and serve. 

Enjoy!

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No-Bake Apple Cinnamon Energy Bites

What’s not to love about granola, applesauce, apple bites, and cinnamon in a no-bake granola bite? 

These are perfect for an after schools snack, and are easy enough for even your kids to help make. 

No-Bake Apple Cinnamon Energy Bites

Ingredients

• 1 C quick cook oats
• 1/2 C oat flour*
• pinch of salt
• 1/8 tsp. baking soda
• 3/4 tsp. cinnamon
• pinch of nutmeg
• 1/4 C unsweetened applesauce
• 1/8 C brown sugar
• 1/8 C honey
• 1/8 C apple maple sauté

Directions

Take roughly 1/2 C of oats and pulse it in a blender or food processor until a smooth powder forms; measure out 1/2 C of oat flour and combine this oat flour* with 1 C quick cooking oats.

Add in a pinch of salt, 1/8 tsp. baking soda, and 3/4 tsp. cinnamon along with a pinch of nutmeg.  Stir well. 

Mix in 1/4 C unsweetened applesauce, 1/8 C brown sugar and 1/8 C honey. Add in 1/8 C cooled apple maple sauté.  Mix until all ingredients are moist. 

Refrigerate for 10 minutes. 

Then, using a cookie scoop, create 1 T balls of the granola apple mixture.  You’ll get about 12-14 energy bites in total. 

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. 

Enjoy!

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Apple Butter Muffins

One of our good friends from Bible study gave us some delicious apple butter.  I couldn’t think of a better way to use it than to make muffins to serve to our Bible study!

They were fragrant, delicious and extremely flavorful. 

If you don’t have apple butter, you can still make them with applesauce and some additional spices.  But, I highly recommend them with apple butter.  Yum. 

Hello fall. 

Apple Butter Muffins – Recipe adapted from Money Saving Mom

Ingredients

• 1 C white whole wheat flour
• 1/4 C brown sugar
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 C Old Fashioned oats
• 1/2 {heaping} C apple butter (or applesauce*)
• 1 C milk
• 2 eggs

Directions

Whisk together 1 C white whole wheat flour, 1/4 C brown sugar, 1 tsp. baking powder, 1/2 tsp. baking soda and 1/4 tsp. of salt. 

Then, stir together 1 C oats with 2 eggs, 1 C milk and a heaping 1/2 C apple butter.  *If you use applesauce, add in 1 tsp. cinnamon and a pinch of nutmeg.  Stir well. 

Pour the flour ingredients into the oat mixture and stir until just moist. 

Scoop, using a cookie scoop, batter into 12 lightly greased or lined muffin tins. 

You’ll want to fill them nearly full (over 3/4 of the way).  If desired, sprinkle the top with coarse ground sugar. 

Bake at 400 degrees for 20-23 minutes, until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. 

Cool for 5 minutes in the pan before removing.  Then, cool completely on a wire rack.

Serve with additional apple butter if desired. 

Enjoy!

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Ingredient Spotlight: Apples!

I am so glad you stopped by today.  We are kicking off fall with our first Ingredient Spotlight of September and it’s all about apples.  The farmers markets in our area had their first crop of apples last week, so apple season is officially here. 

A few specs on apples:

• Good source of vitamin C
• Low-calorie sweet snack
• Pectin in apples has been linked to decreases in cholesterol, body weight loss, and risk for heart disease
• Contains heart-healthy antioxidants

All the more reason to enjoy an apple a day during peak season! Our favorite apple recipes & tips are below – link up yours too!

10 Apple Recipes Perfect for Fall – recipes from apple chips to apple pie!

How to Freeze Apples – in just minutes you can preserve your fall apple harvest to use all year round. 

Easy Apple Danish – These are delicious and great for breakfast or dessert.  They are topped with our favorite Maple Apple Sauté, which doubles as a fabulous pancake, waffle or ice cream topping. 

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars with Crumble Topping – This is a really special and delicious fall treat.  We made it healthier at our house (reducing >40% of the fat, sugar and calories in the dessert, and adding whole wheat) and no one knew the difference.  I can’t wait to make it this fall.

Caramel Apple Crumble Granola – This dessert granola was amazing on ice cream. 

Spiced Country Apple Sauce – Or, the applesauce that turned me into an applesauce snob.  This is the only applesauce I will ever eat.  I bake with the stuff that has no flavor, is grainy and otherwise unpalatable from a bowl, but this, and only this, will I eat as a snack. This recipe is a keeper.

What are your favorite apple recipes?  I can’t wait to find more for my collection!

 

An InLinkz Link-up

Join us next week for Oats!

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