A meaty meal: Honey Parmesan Pork Loin, Roasted Baby Potatoes are a perfect winter pair

With the recent cold snap in temperature and our family's busy activity schedules, I had an urge to get out our Crock-Pot. OK, I'd be lying if I didn't say it also helped that pork has been on sale a lot lately.

I saw a few variations of a pork roast recipe floating around on Pinterest, so I decided to give it a try for myself. Looking at the ingredient list, I wasn't quite sold that it would be my next new go-to dinner, but I figured it had two ingredients in it that almost guaranteed my kids would at least try it: "Honey" and "Parmesan cheese" are magical words in my house.

Honey Parmesan Pork Loin is our latest, greatest busy weekday meal saver. My favorite part about it is it's also good enough to become a "company is coming" meal saver.

To make the pork loin, place a three- to four-pound roast in the Crock-Pot. Top it first with honey, then with Parmesan cheese, soy sauce, dried basil, oregano, garlic and cracked black pepper. The pork can cook on high for six hours or low for eight to nine hours.

Once the pork has cooked long enough, turn the temperature to "warm," or if you have a smarter type of Crock-Pot like I do, it will automatically change the temperature to low and put it into warming mode for me. I actually like to allow enough time for this to happen because I find it helps to tenderize the roast. That will create a pork roast so tender it falls apart when the fork touches it.

One of the main reasons I like this pork so much isn't because of the honey or the Parmesan. Well, it sort of is, but it's mostly because of the sauce.

Once the meat is done, remove it from the Crock-Pot and place it on a serving platter. Then, pour the sauce left in the bottom of the cooker into a saucepan and boil over high heat until it is reduced by half.

When it reaches that point, whisk together white wine or chicken stock with two tablespoons of cornstarch and two teaspoons of sugar. Add that mixture to the sauce reduction and bring it back to a boil so it will fully thicken. This sauce is delicious with rich flavors from the reduced soy sauce, sweetness from the honey and the nutty warmth of the Parmesan cheese. Pour the sauce right over the top of the roast, and it is then ready to be served.

Sides

In my house, I like to serve this with a nice, bright steamed broccoli, which can be ready in five minutes in the microwave.

I also like to serve it with Roasted Baby Potatoes. Even though that might seem like a bunch of additional work right after I just got done telling you all about a meal that I use to save time, the potatoes can be prepped in the morning and just placed in the oven when you get home.

To make the Roasted Baby Potatoes, you simply place one to two pounds of small, baby potatoes in a resealable plastic bag. Add olive oil, cracked black pepper, kosher salt, crushed red chili flakes and crushed fresh garlic to the bag. The potatoes can then be stored like this for up to two days in the refrigerator.

When you are ready to roast them, heat your oven to 400 degrees and roast them for 45 minutes. If you don't count the oven time, they are pretty quick. Just try to think of the cook time as "Get out of your smelly hockey stuff and shower" time or, my personal favorite: "Mom wants 30 minutes to herself to relax" time.

Honey Parmesan Pork Loin

3-4 pounds pork loin

¾ cup honey

¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese

¼ cup soy sauce (I used La Choy brand because it is gluten-free.)

1 teaspoon cracked black pepper

1 tablespoon dried basil

1 tablespoon dried oregano

4 cloves garlic, fresh, minced

2 tablespoons cornstarch

½ cup white wine or chicken stock

2 teaspoon sugar

Place the pork loin in the slow cooker. Turn heat to high. Top with honey and Parmesan cheese. Next, add the soy sauce, black pepper, basil, oregano, and garlic. Cook on high heat for 6 hours or low heat for 8-9 hours.

When ready to serve, remove the pork loin from the slow cooker and place on a serving platter. Pour remaining liquid into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Continue boiling until sauce is reduced by half.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together cornstarch, white wine, and sugar. Add to sauce and bring back to a boil. Pour sauce over the pork loin before serving.

Roasted Baby Potatoes

3 pounds baby potatoes, skins on, washed

⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon olive oil

2 teaspoons kosher salt

2 teaspoons cracked black pepper

½ teaspoon crushed red chili flakes

4 cloves of fresh garlic, crushed

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Place all ingredients into a resealable plastic bag. Seal the bag and gently shake until combined. Pour onto a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 45 minutes or until outsides of potatoes are crispy and the middles are soft.