Apple Butter Pork Loin With Pumpkin Pie Spices

Hello Darlings,

I know this has happened to you. You got this fabulous piece of meat (from the food market) and after getting it home you discover that you don't have all the ingredients to cook it. So, what do you do? Run back to the store and get the missing ingredients? Or, if you are done hunting and forging in the greater outdoors for the day, you just improvise.  The latter is the choice I made for roasting my pork loin.

I was out of yams, and we love pork loin with yams or sweet potatoes. However, all I had today were two medium size apples.  At first I turned to the web for a pork loin recipe that did not call for yams. I found a few, but I wanted the sweet taste that the yams, brown sugar and apples gave the roasted pork loin.

After looking at these wonderful recipes, I decided to wing it. Below is my pork loin alternative recipe for when the yams are missing.

Apple Butter Pork Loin With Pumpkin Pie Spices

Ingredients

One 4 lbs boneless pork loin roast
Salt
Butcher Ground Black Pepper
1/2 Cup Apple Butter
1/4 Cup Brown Sugar
2 - 3 Tablespoon Olive Oil
Pumpkin Pie Seasoning
2 medium apples,  sliced
Sunny D Original Fruit Juice


Directions

Preheat the roaster oven to 350 degrees F.

1.    Clean and slice the apples, then in a bowl mix them with a little olive oil
2.    Sprinkle apples with pumpkin pie seasoning, set bowl aside
3.    In another bowl spread olive oil all over the pork loin
4.    Next, season it with salt, butcher ground black pepper, pumpkin pie seasoning, and brown sugar.   Don’t be afraid to be a little heavy handed with the pumpkin pie seasoning.
5.    Spread apple butter over pork, and mix well with the other seasonings.
6.    Top with some more pumpkin pie seasoning, and black pepper
7.     Place pork on rack and surround with the prepared apples slices
8.    Also add the liquid from the pork and apple bowls.
9.    Bake for 1 hour in the preheated roaster oven. Check for desired doneness.
10.    Add a couple of small splashes of Sunny D to pork dripping and bask pork loin, once.
11.    Roast another 30 minutes or until pork loin is tender.
12.    Remove pork and apples from roaster oven
13.    Place them in a casserole dish; pour juice from roasting pan over them and cover.

Talk about a fabulous tasting piece of meat. This pork loin recipe did the job.  The apples were caramelized; the pork tender and juicy. The pumpkin pie seasoning with the brown sugar and juice made this recipe a favorable keeper.

I hope you enjoy it!

Chow, Darlings!


Download recipe here.

Granny's Fade

Hello Darlings,

For the past seven months I have been sporting the popular (mostly male) haircut called the fade. I really like this haircut because normally my hair when fully grown comes down to my shoulders and is very thick and heavy. Therefore, in this very hot Florida weather, my head sweats, and keeping a regular hairdo is difficult and costly.

The first time I saw the fade I knew I could wear it.  Normally a cut for men, I didn't think twice about getting it. At first, there was a little problem convincing my stylists that the fade was the haircut that I really wanted. Their main concern was that I would not like the sides cut down to hairlessness. However, once I showed the pictures of the style of fade that I wanted (there are many levels and styles), they were at ease in doing it for me.  Below are pictures of my most recent haircut.

I love it because it beats the heat and still looks stylish. Move over guys, Granny is here!

Chow, Darlings

Distressing The Cross

Hello Darlings,

I hope this early warm and breezes Saturday morning finds you either all shopped out from last night, or ready to grab up today's specials.

As for me I am relaxing today, but I wanted to share with you my completed makeover of the box crosses I found early this week while browsing one of our local thrift shops. Since they appear to have been molded with some type of acrylic and painted to look like wood carvings, I decided against re-staining and went with distressing instead.

BEFORE

To distress the box crosses I used the same color scheme of the lamps I repaired earlier this year, which is black and copper. I began by covering a portion of the inner frame, the leaves and the crosses with painter's tape.  Once that was done, I sprayed everything with a black satin paint and let them dry for a day.

After the black paint was dried, I removed the painter's tape, and hand painted the leaves, the inner frame, and the crosses with the metallic copper paint. Once the copper paint had dried about eight hours, I added a thin layer of the black paint, and let them set a half an hour. I then gently wiped away some of the black paint with paper towels to expose the copper paint beneath giving the frames their distressed look. 

AFTER

Again, I let the paint dry for a day, then brushed on some fast drying clear satin polyurethane to finish and set them aside for 18 hours.  Below is the finish project all nicely hung.

Although the satin finish looks more glossier than I intended, still I like the result. 

Until next time,

Chow, Darlings

They're A Go Again!

Hello Darlings,

Update:  Remember these chairs that I started to remake over. 

Well, I stopped, Actually I stopped working on all my projects. I knew that we would be moving, so I waited until after we had a bigger place with a backyard because I needed the space to work. Now that I have that space my chairs will get the remake over I want for them. The chair on the right is going to go through a major stripping job to remove the bad stain. Then it with its three companions with be stained in the same hue as my folding table.

Until next time,

Bye, bye Darlings

Designing With Branches

Hello Darlings,

Today I am posting my newest DIY project. I have become very fascinated with working with branches for wall hangings.  The photo below are of the simple wall hanging I made with a single branch, some colorful beads and feathers.

This project took me less than a week to complete including the time used to gather the supplies.

As you can see I like it so well that I surrounded it with four inexpensive religious prints on a west wall in the living room. I think the effect is very dramatic and striking when you walk in the front door and see it.

The photos below are of a larger wall hanging that is in progress.  The branch is 6 foot long, and it is made with macramé cords. Being in this beginning stage it looks a little ill designed. However, l am working on it in stages and will keep you up to date on its progress. 

When finished it will hang on the south side wall in the living room. I also like making dreamweavers and once this one is completed it will be the third one to hang in the house.

Finally, the photos below are that of a couple of antique looking religious wall carvings that I intend to restore and bring into this 21st century.  What I actually decide to do will be interesting. However, they look as if they were painted and then distressed. I am not sure this is something I want to do. What I actually decide to do will be interesting.

Click photos large view.

Until next time, good night and sleep tight,

Darlings.

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