Maple-glazed Stuffed Roast Pork

I mentioned the other day that I’d been trying to cook more since the holidays.  I’m averaging a brand-new recipe each week so far, and I think that is a pretty reasonable goal to keep up with.

The first try was a cranberry chicken dish that Jim said he like well enough for me to make again, but that I didn’t like well enough to bother to post the recipe for you.

But.

BUT.

The second attempt was my New Year’s Day dish of Maple-glazed Stuffed Roast Pork, and let me tell you, I loved it SO much, it may very well replace our Thanksgiving turkey in 2010.

Because I love you, I’m letting you in on the fun:

2 Tbsp. butter
1   apple, chopped
1-1/2 cups hot water
1 pkg.  (6 oz.) stuffing mix
1 pork loin (2 lb), butterflied
2 Tbsp.  maple-flavored or pancake syrup
2 Tbsp. mustard
1 tsp.  chopped fresh rosemary

Heat oven to 350ºF.

Melt butter in large skillet on medium heat. Add apples; cook and stir 3 min. or until crisp-tender. Add water and stuffing mix; cover. Let stand 5 min,; mix lightly.

Spoon stuffing mixture onto cut-side of meat to within 1/2 inch of edge. Roll up, jelly-roll fashion, starting at one of the short ends. Place seam-side down, in roasting pan sprayed with cooking spray.

Bake 1 hour. Mix syrup, mustard and rosemary; spread over meat. Bake 20 min. or until meat is done (160°F). Let stand 15 min. before slicing to serve.

Yum, yum, yummy, yum, yum.  Yum.  And again, YUM.

I misread the packaging label on the pork I picked up, and got lucky with TWO separate pieces of meat, so I just butterflied and pounded out them both, and passed one along to our neighboring bachelor roomies.  (Let’s just say, they both LOVED it, too.)

The only deviations I made from the written recipe was that I used a ground coarse mustard rub instead of the jarred condiment type, and that I used a basil seasoning, since I didn’t have rosemary on hand.

You’ll have to leave me a comment if you try this recipe – I’d love to know if you find it to be a hit like we did.

Bon appetite!