Orange Glazed Pork Roast

Here is the Pork Roast I made the other night with the Yummy Roasted Red Potatoes.  This is an adapted recipe from one I had and one my Mom gave me that night.

Here's what you need:

3 Lb. Pork Loin Roast
1 Tbs. Olive Oil
3 garlic cloves, peeled and cut in half
4 - 5 sprigs fresh Thyme
1 stem fresh Rosemary, 6" long
salt and pepper

Orange Glaze:
1/2 cup orange marmalade
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1 Tbs. fresh ginger grated
1 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce

      

Preheat oven to 375 degrees (or if you cooked the Roasted Red Potatoes, the oven is already on 375).

Liberally salt and pepper the roast on all sides.  In a dutch oven (I usually use a 3 or 5 quart one - ovenproof) heat 1 Tbl. Olive oil over med-hi.  When the oil is hot, sear the meat on all sides.  Usually a couple of minutes on each side.  The meat will release from the pan when it is ready to be turned otherwise it will stick and you'll feel like you're pulling against the pan.

         

Place the rosemary, thyme, and garlic in the pan around the roast (I cut the rosemary in half) and roast, uncovered, in the oven for 45 minutes.  I put this on the shelf below the potatoes and roasted them at the same time.

While the meat is roasting put the orange glaze together.  After 45 minutes baste the pork roast every 5 minutes with the orange glaze for the next 15 minutes or until done.  Internal temperature should read 145-150 degrees.  Let sit (tented with foil) for 15 FULL minutes for the juices to redistribute in the roast.

        

Here is the Yummy goodness that came out of the oven.  Carve and serve with Roasted Red Potatoes.

I had at least 1/3 of the glaze left over because I only had a 2-1/2 pound roast on hand so I put the leftover glaze in a pan and brought it to a boil on the stove and served it on the side as a sauce with the roast.

Serves 4 -6

Enjoy!

~Hugs~

Michelle

Here's the handy printable - Orange Glazed Pork Roast

Roasted Red Potatoes

I warned you didn't I?  About the potato addiction...  Well these are a family favorite that my dad made up several years ago and my brother and I have adapted the original recipe until we got what we thought was perfect.

Breakfast Potatoes

Well if you didn't already know I am in LOVE, LOVE, LOVE with potatoes and try to weasel them into as many meals as I can.  Both my kids also LOVE potatoes, but unfortunately, my husband doesn't.  We have NO clue what happened to him because potatoes should be given their own food group as far as we're concerned!  These are my all-time favorite breakfast potatoes and they are nothing fancy but have really good flavor and are super easy.  It took me many years to perfect these potatoes.

Onion Party Dip

Here is one of the dip mixes most requested for me to bring to parties and family get togethers.


Here is what you need:

1 tsp. dried chives
2 Tbl. dried minced onions
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. dried parsley
1-1/2 Tbl. granulated beef bouillon
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1 cup mayonnaise (Best Foods  or Hellmann's NOT Miracle Whip)
1 cup sour cream

        

Stir the seasonings well and add to the mayonnaise and sour cream.  Stir until completely combined.

Refrigerate at least 2 hours.  Serve with chips, veggies, or pretzels.

Serves - 2 Cups

Enjoy!

~Hugs~

Michelle

Here's the handy printable - Onion Party Dip

Dill Dip

As some of you may know, I have a side business called Michelle's Mixes where I put together Gourmet Homemade mixes for Cookies, Muffins, Dinners, Dips, Rubs, etc. and sell at craft fairs.  Well I can't decide if I really want to continue to do this so I thought I would go ahead and share some of my favorite and most purchased item recipes with you.  These make great gifts and with the holidays coming, you too can give the gift of something homemade and really make the recipient feel special.  I am starting up my Holiday crafting and food making so you will be inundated with new and wonderful recipes and craft ideas.  So, I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Here's what you need:

2-1/2 tsp. dried dill weed
2-1/2 tsp. dried minced onion
2-1/2 tsp. dried parsley
1-1/2 tsp. Beau Monde Seasoning
1 cup mayonnaise (Best Foods NOT Miracle Whip)
1 cup sour cream

       

Stir seasonings well and add to the mayonnaise and sour cream.  Stir until completely combined.

Refrigerate at least 4 hours.  Serve with chips and/or veggies.

Serves - 2 Cups

Enjoy!

~Hugs~

Michelle

Here's the handy printable - Dill Dip

Halloween Flower Hair Clip

Last week I was looking at one of my favorite blogs, A Cuppa Tea With Me, and noticed that Lisa had posted the cutest hair clips that she made for her Nieces and I thought ooooohh, Jessica would love something like that.  I amended the pattern because I can't draw anything from scratch and I used my Cricut to cut out a flower to copy onto the felt.  I thought the whole process was pretty easy and will definitely be using it in the coming months for more Holiday hair clips.  The original design on Lisa's blog is here.  You should definitely check out Lisa's blog to see her beautiful creative work.

        

I used the "Walk in my Garden" cassette for my Cricut and cut out a daisy.  I then traced it onto two pieces of felt using a highlight for the black and a Sharpie for the orange.  I used a Back Stitch to stitch around each petal with the opposite color so that it would "POP".

           

Then I stacked them on top of each other, giving them a little twist so the petals are offset, and stitched a black button into the middle of the orange flower and added a hair clip to the back.

           

Here is the finished Halloween hair clip in Jessica's hair.  She wouldn't let me take one farther away because she didn't want her face on the blog.  Silly girl!

I hope you enjoy seeing and trying these projects as much as I enjoy making them.

~Hugs~

Michelle

  

First attempt at hand embroidery

Here is my first attempt at hand embroidery in about 30 years.  I remember when I was in my early teens my mom would buy these yellow iron-on transfers and we would embroider on our clothes.  I have been wanting to get back into it for a while now and after seeing all the great work on the blog sites and internet I decided to give it a whirl.  I went to Jo-Ann's and Michaels looking for embroidery designs as well as online.  I found quiet a few books for coping designs and a few iron-ons in the stores.  I found most of my new designs at Polka & Bloom and Twin Stitchers.  I am looking forward to showing you all my progress as I get into my crafty mode.  I also purchased a light box and washable pens at Jo-Ann's for coping all the designs.  It was really easy and especially for someone like me, who's stick figures won't even make a public appearance, it was a success.

Here are the before and after pictures:

         

I used a Back stitch on the whole design except for the eyes where I used a French Knot.

           

Not too bad for a first project.     Tada!

~Hugs~

Michelle