Orange-Apricot Pork Roast

We're back! After covering 2 weeks, 1400 miles, pounds upon pounds of food that probably shouldn't have been eaten, family, friends, a wedding, several parties, and a food-poisoned Caroline, we're ready (willingly or not) to get back to the real world. Which, of course, includes cooking for myself again- it really is nice to have mom make dinner every night...

To be quite honest, I had grand plans to cook all last week, but never felt much inspiration in the kitchen. I'm blaming it on the fact that I haven't actually felt a pang of hunger since before Thanksgiving. I have a hard time coming up with something creative when I'm still full from breakfast, lunch or dinner. Yesterday, however, my sister, her husband, and mine needed to eat something. And this pork roast is what they got.

When my dear mother bought me a slow-cooker as an after-Thanksgiving gift, I was quite delighted. The crock pot that I had been using was ok (and probably fantastic during its glory days), but the low/high function had broken, cooking all of my meat super fast...and making it super dry. I thought it was just me- maybe slow cooking meat just wasn't my forte. But I was wrong. It was most definitely my old crock pot because the pork roast I made today literally fell apart when I tried to spear it with my fork.

Orange-Apricot Pork Roast
Recipe by Kelly
Pictures by Kelly

1 3-4 pound pork roast*
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup apricot preserves
3/4 cup orange juice
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon rosemary

1. Preheat oil in a large skillet on medium high heat. Rinse and dry pork roast; then rub with salt. Sear meat on all sides until light brown. 
2. In a small bowl, combine orange juice, preserves, pepper, rosemary and garlic.
3. Arrange onions on the bottom of slow cooker. Place pork roast on top of onions. Pour juice mixture over the top. Cover and cook on low heat 7-8 hours (meat should easily fall apart). 

*I used a pork rump roast.