family & food fridays! {pork loin with cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes}

For today's 'Family & Food Fridays!' I'm going to share about the meal I made for my dad's birthday last Friday. I really enjoyed preparing this meal and how little time it actually took to make. Like I've said before, anything that gets me in the kitchen is a winner in my book!

The main course was a pork loin and I found the recipe right here on Pioneer Woman. This recipe was so easy I couldn't believe it. It literally took approximately 35 minutes from start to finish! Yay!

I really wish I would have taken better pictures but to be honest, my kitchen was in shambles with pots and pans and food everywhere. So I'm going to have to opt for the one from the dinner table. It doesn't do it the least bit of justice but take it from me, it was GOOD. Very tender, juicy and just very very good.

 

Next, I made the cranberry sauce that went along with the pork loin and it was pretty darn good too! I didn't make my own batch of cranberry sauce simply because I didn't have the time but it turned out great with the canned stuff. I went ahead and added two cans instead of the 1/4 cup the recipe calls for. The reason is because the sauce just seemed too thin because of the chicken stock so in went more cranberry sauce. Very good!

After that was the Berry Tossed Salad that my SIL gave me. She's made it plenty of times for family gatherings and I've always been a fan of it.  The dressing that goes along with it is simply delish and I highly recommend making it to go along with it. 

This is the picture from 4th of July because the one from dinner was a bit blurry!

And lastly, I made these mashed potatoes also from Pioneer Woman they were very well received!  These are definitely not something you'd make everyday or even every week but when you do, eat'em up real nice because they are so tasty!




And that's it! It all tasted so good and it really took no time at all! From beginning to end it probably took an hour and a half and that's pretty good for someone who never cooks or even is organized in the kitchen!


I think I may be getting the hang of this cooking thing!


Family Activity:


This Saturday we're taking Evan to Half Moon Bay where they have several pumpkin patches and activities for kids. I'm very excited to spend the day as a family and get some great shots of all the pretty fall colors and Halloween fun!


Now it's your turn! What did you make this week, something old or something completely new to your family? Did you do anything as a family? Do you have any plans to head out to your local pumpkin patch? I'd love to hear!


Happy Friday everyone!

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