What's for Christmas Dinner? Day 25

We wanted to try something new and nice but easy for dinner.

We didn't have any visitors coming on Christmas Day. . .so we had. . .

Pork Roast with Apples and Onions

I found it here from the Pioneer Woman.

The recipe is below.  I made a few changes for ease, they are in red

Prep Time: 15 Minutes

Cook Time: 2 Hours
Difficulty: Easy
Servings: 8

Ingredients

PORK
■3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
■1 whole Pork Shoulder Roast (also Called Pork Butt)
■Salt And Pepper, to taste
■4 cups Apple Juice
■1 cup Beef Stock
■3 whole Apples, Cored And Cut Into Wedges (I used Red Delicious)
■3 whole Medium Onions, Sliced  (I only used 2)
■1 whole Bay Leaf

WILD RICE
■2-1/2 cups Wild Rice
■4 cups Water
■3 cups Chicken Stock
■1/2 stick 4 Tablespoons Butter
■1/2 cup Chopped Pecans

Preparation Instructions

OPTIONAL: Saute onions until brown. (Or you may just add them raw to the roast.)  I just added mine raw.

To make the pork roast, heat olive oil in a large pot over high heat. Salt and pepper pork roast, then sear on all sides to give it some color. Reduce heat to low. Add apple juice, apple slices, onions, and bay leaf. Cover and simmer for 3 hours. (Or you may place in a 300 degree oven if you prefer.)  I did sear my pork roast, but then I just put it and all the ingredients into the crock pot and cooked for about 5 hours on high and 1 hour on low.  Then I didn't have to hassle with it.

Toward the end of the cooking time, make the rice: melt butter in a medium saucepan. Add pecans and saute for a couple of minutes. Add wild rice and liquid, then bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until all liquid is cooked out.  I just cooked some wild rice and did not do this but mostly because of a time factor.  I thought it sounded delicious.
When the roast is done, remove the roast, apples, and onions to a platter. Raise heat to medium-high (to high) and boil liquid, reducing it until thick and rich.  I removed the roast and dumped the sauce into a saucepan to boil and reduce.

Spoon thick sauce over the roast, then cut the roast into slices. Serve with apples, onions, and wild rice.

It was delicious! 

The kids loved the rice and the pork (and a little sauce on the rice).  They did not like the cooked onions and apples :).  Joe and I liked it all