Autumn Inspired

Traditionally, turkey is the go to for Thanksgiving but to accompany a themed weekend, which I will mention in a minute, I decided to make something different. Ham is another staple for various holidays, so I figured pork would work just fine. Here is what I consider a perfect pork roast recipe, great for Thanksgiving or any time!

My kids enjoyed this because the sweetness of the fruit paired nicely to the pork. Fall is apple and cranberry season, and while I used dried cranberries, feel free to try fresh ones!

What You’ll Need

• a boneless pork loin, I used one that was a little over 3 pounds
• dried cranberries
• raisins
• an apple
• ground mustard
• apple juice
• lemon juice
• ground ginger
• salt and pepper

This is really a simple dish as it mainly requires throwing it all together and allowing the crock pot or slow cooker to do its magic. 

Let’s Cook

Get your crockpot ready, I would suggest at least a 5 quart slow cooker. In a bowl, mix the lemon juice, cranberries, raisins, apple juice, and mustard, and set it aside. Next, cut the roast in half and rub the salt, pepper, and ginger into into the 2 halves. Place the roast halves into the crockpot and pour the mixture on top. Allowing the roast to just sit a minute to “marinate”, cut up the apple. You can dice or slice it, that is up to you. Place the apple around the roast and cover. Cook on low for 5-6 hours.

Check temperature and when done, transfer to a serving plate and allow to rest for about 15 minutes. Slice and serve with some fruit and juices.

Notes:

• I’ve made this a few times and you can do all cranberries or all raisins if you prefer. It will be a little different but not in a bad way. You could also try dried apricots, which I think would work nicely.
• Raisins can have a lot of added sugar, try to get a brand that has no added sugar.
• For those that like to rub actual mustard on pork prior to cooking it, feel free, just omit the ground mustard.
• You could add more apple, I have added up to 3. This just gives more fruit with the meat and doesn’t change cooking or flavor.
• Cooking for a regular dinner, this would pair well with rice!
• Don’t have a crockpot, I would suggest getting one and as new tech is coming out, crockpots are getting a makeover. If yours is older, you might want to think about an upgrade. There are some with locking mechanisms for travel, some that have a casserole feature, and some that allow for multiple things to be cooking. Here is a 4+ star list of crockpots. I would suggest grabbing one with a locking lid that is at least 5-6 quarts. If you’re like me at all and looking to buy American made items, check out this crockpot by 360 Cookware. It isn’t a traditional crockpot but it is versatile, and can be used in the oven up to 500℉. It seems to be the only U.S. made crockpot on the market that I can find, and I have only become recently aware of them. I hope to buy one in the near future… they are a little more pricey.

Harry Potter Inspired Food

So, as I said this dish was for a themed weekend, which was our 2020 Harry Potter weekend, well it was Thursday-Sunday and over Thanksgiving. I wanted to make dishes that you would feel would be served at Hogwarts and not just the butterbeer inspired sweets. The movies and books, especially the early ones, revolve around the table and food quite a bit, and so we opted to make the weekend about some yummy food too!

Of course, we did have some butterbeer items, but as the event happened over Thanksgiving, I also wanted to make some hearty dishes that would most definitely have been served at Hogwarts or at the Weasley’s. This perfect pork roast recipe fit the bill! Don’t forget to print it below!

For more Harry Potter food, click here!

Thanksgiving and Beyond

While this would make a nice change at Thanksgiving, it would really be great anytime, especially during the fall and winter months. For our Harry Potter Weekend/Thanksgiving meal, we paired this with Mashed Cheesy Cauliflower au Gratin, Maple and Bacon Glazed Brussel Sprouts, and Cranberry Meringue Pie. It was fantastic!

I am planning on blogging about each Harry Potter Weekend, the food, the activities, and the gifts… yes gifts, I can’t help it. This year, 2024, will be our 5th year… so it has become a tradition! Stay tuned, but until then for more fall/Thanksgiving posts and ideas, head here!

If you make this, I would love to hear about them! Comment below or head over to Instagram or Facebook, share your pics, and tag me @bemandfam… I’d love to see them!

Don’t forget to pin this for later and if you like Pinterest, I am there too!

Happy Thanksgiving!

BEM and Fam 🙂

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Print

Fruited Pork Roast

Fall flavors, perfect for any dinner, special occasion, or guests!

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American, British,, Canadian

Keyword: crockpot, easy, fall, harry potter, holidays, Kid approved, pork,

Author: Bettina Zabel

Ingredients

• 1 pork roast at least 3 pounds
• 2-3 tbsp lemon juice or juice of a fresh lemon
• 1 apple chopped, diced, or sliced... your choice
• ½ cup dried cranberries
• ½ cup raisins no added sugar
• ½ cup apple juice
• ½ tsp ground mustard
• ¼ tsp. ground ginger
• ½ tsp. salt
• ¼ tsp. pepper

Instructions

1. Mix the lemon juice, cranberries, raisins, apple juice, and mustard, and sit it aside.

2. Cut the roast in half and rub the salt, pepper, and ginger into into the 2 halves.

3. Place the roast halves into the crockpot and pour the mixture on top. Allowing the roast to just sit a minute to “marinate”, cut up the apple.

4. Place the apple around the roast and cover. Cook on low for 5-6 hours.

5. Check temperature and when done, transfer to a serving plate and allow to rest for about 15 minutes. Slice and serve with serve with some fruit and juices.

Recipe Notes

• I’ve made this a few times and you can do all cranberries or all raisins if you prefer. It will be a little different but not in a bad way.
• Raisins can have a lot of added sugar, try to get a brand that has no added sugar.
• For those that like to rub actual mustard on pork prior to cooking it, feel free, just omit the ground mustard.
• You could add more apple, I have added up to 3. This just gives more fruit with the meat and doesn’t change cooking or flavor.
• Cooking for a regular dinner, this would pair well with rice!