Cranberry Pork Roast

I came across a blog of a woman who made an ambitious New Year's resolution to use her slow cooker everyday for an entire year: A Year of Slow Cooking. Since we have an unnatural relationship with cranberries and a pork loin in the freezer, I thought this would be a good one to try.

I made my homemade cranberry sauce the night before (because canned cranberry sauce is just sacrilege). I also added one cup of mushrooms to the pot. The pork loin was amazingly tender, and the cranberry/onion, sweet/savory combination was fantastic! The blog-stress is completely right: you can experiment with the cut of meat. You can dress this dish up with some crusty bread or a green salad, and it's good enough for company!

Cranberry Pork Roast
from A Year of Slow Cooking

2-3 pounds beef or pork roast or stew chunks [Bonnie note: I used a pork loin]
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 c mushrooms, sliced
2 tablespoons soy sauce
16 oz can of cranberry sauce (or 2 cups homemade!)*

Use a 4-quart slow cooker. Plop in the meat, and add the onion and soy sauce. Pour in the entire can of cranberry sauce over the top. Do not add water.

Cover and cook on low for 7-9 hours, or on high for 5-6. If you are cooking on high, you may need to "help" the meat break apart by taking it out an hour or so before serving by cutting it into chunks, then returning to the sauce.

Serve with slotted spoon.

* I buy a metric ton of fresh cranberries during the holidays, and freeze them to use throughout the year....otherwise good luck finding fresh cranberries in May!