Cooking It Up McConnell Style

Somedays I wonder how my mother ever did it- three kids, clean house and always had a smile on her face.

Everyone told me “Your life will completely change- just you wait.”

Yeah life has changed around the McConnell household…my house isn’t as spotless as it usually is, Charlie hasn’t been fishing in 1 week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks…..I haven’t been to town once without my pea pod, our regular routines that we were so accustomed to has been thrown out the window (we are on Baby Caston’s schedule now), BUT there is one part of our lives that hasn’t changed- cooking.

Cooking might be a little more challenging at times now, but we always make time to cook together (when we can) and eat around the dinner table.

I still made the time to cook our neighbors holiday goodies this year, we find time to cook homemade meals every night, and I still find time to dabble with new recipes- like this one!

Honey-Mustard Pork Roast with Bacon
By Giada, Food Network
Pork:
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard (recommended: Maille)
2 tablespoons honey
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1 (3 1/2-pound) center-cut, boneless, pork loin roast
12 slices bacon (about 1 pound)

Salad:
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
5 cups (5 ounces) baby arugula

For the pork: Put an oven rack in the lower 1/3 of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
In a small bowl, add the Dijon mustard, whole-grain mustard, honey, garlic, and rosemary and mix together until smooth. Arrange the pork in a 9 by 13-inch baking pan and spread the mustard mixture evenly over the pork. Starting on 1 side, lay a piece of bacon, lengthwise, on the pork. Lay another slice of bacon on the pork making sure to slightly overlap the first piece. Continue with the remaining bacon, until the pork is fully covered in bacon. Using 3 pieces of kitchen twine, secure the bacon in place. Roast for 1 hour. Cover the pan, loosely, with foil and roast for another 10 to 20 minutes until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the pork registers 160 degrees F. Remove the pan from the oven and transfer the roast to a cutting board. Cover the pan with foil and allow the pork to rest for 20 minutes. Remove the kitchen twine and slice the pork into 1/2-inch thick slices.

For the salad: In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice and oil until smooth. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Put the arugula on a large platter and drizzle with the dressing. Arrange the pork slices on top and serve