Roasted Pork Loin

Our weather has been all over the place this winter.  We go from cold and snowy to warm and sunny in the blink of an eye.  Friday, it was almost blizzard-like conditions and yesterday it was a bright sunny day and most of the snow has already melted.  It is supposed to snow again tonight and into tomorrow and then will clear up again the next day.  We Coloradans don’t know how to dress or to how to eat on these wacky winter days.  It goes from salad weather to roasting weather from day to day.  This unpredictability, though is one of the things we love about our beautiful Rocky Mountain State. You just never know what to expect.   The best thing you can do is to be prepared for whatever may come your way, at any given moment.  When cooking and meal planning, it is always best to have your refrigerator and your recipes stocked and ready to go for a little bit of anything and everything.  When it so snowy and blustery, it was the perfect time to have the oven on for a warm, inviting, roasted pork loin.  I served it with roasted vegetables and roasted sweet potatoes, and a cold, crisp chardonnay to make the meal perfect.

I gave the pork loin a bit of a Spanish personality by rubbing it with cumin, paprika and chili lime seasoning, along with salt & pepper and olive oil.  This is real easy, and real delicious too.  Pat the pork loin dry with a paper towel and rub the seasonings generously all over the meat, making sure to thoroughly coat it.  Let it sit in the refrigerator for at least 3-4 hours before cooking.

Sear the meat in a hot skillet with cooking oil, making sure all the sides are browned and it forms a bit of a crust  all around.  Cook for about 4-5 minutes per side.

Preheat the oven to 375* F.

Spray a baking pan with cooking spray and place the meat in the pan.  Make sure the oven is hot before placing the meat in the oven, placing it in the center of the oven.  Roast the meat until the internal temperature reaches about 145* F and the juices are clear.  Then take it out and let it set for about 10 minutes before cutting.  The amount of time will depend upon the size of the pork loin.  I had a 2 lb piece of meat and I roasted it for about 40 minutes.

Once my meat had been cooking for about 20 minutes, I added the vegetables and the sweet potatoes and cooked them all together.

For the sweet potatoes, I used up some more of my cinnamon butter that we brought home with us from our nephew’s wedding, and tossed in some chopped pecans.  Apple Cinnamon Coffee Cake with Caramel Sauce  It was a real simple, tasty way to make the sweet potatoes and went perfectly with the meal.  It was a simple, hearty meal, but it was perfect for a cold, blustery night.  Food does not have to complicated to hit the spot.  it just has to be good.  Sometimes, simple is best.

You may have noticed this label La Petite Tour in a lot of my pictures.  It is an inexpensive, very tasty wine that is a perfect everyday chardonnay.  It has hints of apples and melons and is currently one of my favorite everyday whites.  it goes with just about everything.