Crock-Pot Honey Apple Cinnamon Pork Loin

Crock-Pot Honey Apple Cinnamon Pork Loin 

I found this recipe on Pinterest and I was shocked by how easy it was! The original recipe can be found here.

Prep: 20 Minutes  Cook: 7 hours

Ingredients:
Thawed Pork Loin, 2.5-3 pounds
3 sliced apples
Honey - Approximately 4 Tbsp.
Cinnamon- Approximately 2 Tbsp.

Directions: 

Slice the apples. 

Place the apple slices from two apples into the bottom of
the Crock-Pot.  Sprinkle them with cinnamon. 

Slice the pork loin into 1/2 to 3/4 inch sections.
(Use a different cutting board for the pork loin than
what was used for the apples to prevent food contamination). 

Drizzle honey into the slits. 

Place the apple slices in the slits and drizzle
the whole thing with honey. 

Put the loin in the Crock-Pot, cover with the remaining apples, and sprinkle the whole thing with cinnamon.  The recipe does not require the addition of water to the Crock-Pot.  I was a little apprehensive about this, but I went ahead and left it in there without adding water.  The loin, apples, and cinnamon do make a lot of juice and it never came close to drying out the Crock-Pot. 

Cook on low for seven hours or until the internal temperature
of the loin reads 145 degrees with a meat thermometer.

Almost done! It smells delicious!

The final product!

The inside of the loin after cutting a slice off. 

We had a friend of ours drop off a few zucchini from his garden, so I thought I would use it with the pork loin. I decided to try and bake it, and it turned out pretty good! First, you will want to preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Then slice up the zucchini. I tried to slice the zucchini into even slices, but as you can see that didn't work out too well. Next, I lined a baking pan with waxed paper, then I put a thin layer of olive oil on the baking sheet. I then put the zucchini on the baking pan and used a basting brush to coat each slice in olive oil. Next I sprinkled the slices with sea salt, ground pepper, rosemary, and sage. You can probably use any spice you want on this and it would be delicious.  Next I put it in the oven for 20 minutes, then served it with the pork loin and a biscuit. 

Mmmmm!

I was disappointed that I couldn't find any nutritional info for this recipe, if I can come up with it I will be sure to post it.

After trying the loin, Adam did make the comment that he thought it was a little dry.  When serving it up for him, I asked if wanted any of the juice poured over the pork loin on his plate and he declined that offer.  However, I did spoon the juice over the pork loin on my plate and I didn't think it was too dry.

When I do this recipe in the future I will marinate the loin overnight in a honey, apple, and cinnamon marinade to ensure the loin is not dry when it is done. Another option would be to poke holes in the top of the loin with a fork and spoon the juice from the bottom of the Crock-Pot over the loin every couple of hours.

Now, wasn't that just too simple?  Let me know what you think and if you have any suggestions for improvement. Enjoy!