Quick & Easy!

I recently had a request for an easy weeknight dinner, and I pretty quickly settled on this Herb-crusted pork loin roast & vegetables.  It's quick & easy enough for a weeknight, and special enough for a Sunday dinner.  The bonus is that your whole meal is in one pan - how great is that?!  The pork sits on the vegetables & potatoes that you have placed in the bottom of the roasting pan, so they brown in the drippings from the pork.  To die for!  Make sure you do not overcook your pork.  The roasting time of this recipe depends on the size of your pork (this one calls for 4lb pork loin roast).  I cook mine to 140 degrees on an instant read thermometer, then I tent it with aluminum foil & let it rest for 10 minutes.  It will finish cooking as it sits.  I promise.

Now that school is back in session, I look for these types of dinners to ease the daily stress.  Many of our afternoons are spent at the barn riding horses and we don't get home until 5:00, so I need delicious dinners that are quick.   Look for a lot more of these recipes in the near future, because I'm on a mission to create them.  This one is for Jean and everyone else who is in need of a wonderful dinner that is easy, delicious & your whole family will love! 

Herb-Crusted Pork Loin Roast & Vegetables

1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 T stone-ground mustard
1 T minced fresh garlic
1 T minced fresh thyme
1 T minced fresh sage leaves
2 tsp minced fresh rosemary leaves
1 boneless pork loin roast (4 lb.)
kosher salt & black pepper to taste
6 large Yukon gold potatoes, quartered
6 carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces
6 whole shallots, peeled

Preheat oven to 400.
Pat vegetables dry & scatter them in the roasting pan.  Stir together butter, mustard, garlic, thyme, sage & rosemary in a small bowl.  Dry outside of pork roast with paper towels, then rub top & sides with the butter mixture.  Season roast with salt & pepper; place buttered side up in the roasting pan on top of the vegetables.  Roast meat & vegetables in oven until pork reaches internal temperature of 140 degrees on an instant read thermometer, about 40 minutes.  Remove pork from pan, tent with aluminum foil & allow to rest 10 minutes.  Toss vegetables in pan & return to oven to continue roasting while the pork rests.  Slice pork & serve with vegetables.

You can make this recipe even quicker by cutting up the vegetables & refrigerating them the day before.  Make sure to keep the potatoes in a bowl of water to prevent browning.  Mix the herb butter & chill (allow the butter to soften before putting it on the roast).