Healthy Family Lunch

In my quest to be more French, I have been making a big Sunday lunch so, as a family, we can eat leisurely, spend time together, have fuller bellies, and then enjoy a small dinner later on.  However, Sundays are the earliest day of the week for me as I need to prep my Sunday school classroom and have choir practice all before our 8:30 am church service.  That means if I want to have a nice lunch prepared, I need to pull out my trusty crock pot.  This past Sunday I made Apple-Cranberry Pork Roast that I adapted from my new favorite cookbook, Fix it and Forget it:  Big Cookbook.  I threw everything in the crock pot at 6:30 am, right before I ate breakfast, and it was ready to go for lunch at 12:30 pm!  Right before serving, I quickly sauteed some spinach and garlic for a healthy side dish.  I am sending this recipe over to Michelle at What's Cooking for her Healthy Family Dinners which is the January theme for Monthly Mingle.  Isn't the picture pretty too?  Another one of my hubby's.  Enjoy!

Apple-Cranberry Pork Roast with Homemade Apple-Cranberry Sauce by Joie de vivre.  Adapted from Fix it and Forget it:  Big Cookbook

Ingredients:

2 lbs. pork tenderloin

2 Tbls. olive oil

3 c. low sugar apple juice

3 Granny Smith apples, peeled and chopped, or just chopped if you like a more rustic applesauce with the peels

1 c. frozen cranberries

3/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

Directions:

1.  Heat a skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the olive oil and brown the pork tenderloin on all sides.

2.  Add the pork tenderloin to the insert of a 4-5 quart crock pot.  Add all the other ingredients.

3.  Cover and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours.

4.  Remove pork tenderloin and let rest 5 minutes on a cutting board before cutting.

5.  Remove apples and cranberries to a bowl with a slotted spoon.

6.  Mash apples and cranberries adding liquid from the crock pot as necessary to achieve desired consistency.

7.  Serve apple-cranberry sauce alongside sliced pork.

Sauteed Spinach with Garlic by Joie de vivre

Ingredients:

10 oz. spinach, washed and dried

1-2 cloves garlic, finely minced

1-2 Tbls. olive oil

balsamic vinegar.

Directions:

1.  Heat a large pot over medium-high heat.  Add olive oil and saute garlic for about 30 seconds. 

2.  Add the spinach and stir with tongs until completely covered with oil.  Cover the pot for 2-3 minutes to let the spinach wilt.

3.  Remove the spinach and sprinkle lightly with balsamic vinegar.