Slow Cooker Parmesan Herb Pork Loin with Chunky Tomato Sauce

For whatever reason, I tend to shy away from making pork or ham.

So when my friend and I were having our cooking marathon, I figured it was a good time to add one in for some variety.

We found this Southern Living recipe for Slow Cooker Parmesan Herb Pork Loin with Chunky Tomato Sauce on myrecipes.com. I couldn’t resist a freezer friendly slow cooker meal, especially when it’s served over pasta!

(Please excuse the quality of these photos. This recipe was too good not to share, even with crummy photos!)

Ingredients:

• 3 small onions (~2 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion)
• 1 large carrot (~1 cup chopped carrots)
• 1 large fennel bulb (~1 3/4 cups chopped fresh fennel bulb)
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup red wine
• 1 (28 oz) can whole tomatoes
• 1 (14.5 oz) can crushed tomatoes
• 1/4 cup chicken broth
• 3 1/3 teaspoons salt, divided
• 1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper, divided
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh oregano, chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
• 2 (1.5 lb) boneless pork loin roast
• 1 (16 oz) box spaghetti, cooked according to package directions

If prepping ahead of time, chop your onions, carrot, fennel bulb and garlic cloves and add to a large zip top bag. Refrigerate until ready to use. Reserve the fennel tops for garnish, if desired.

When ready to cook, add 2 tablespoons olive oil to a large saute pan over medium high heat. Add the bag of chopped veggies (onions, carrot, fennel, and garlic) and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until tender.

Increase the heat to high and stir in the 1 cup wine. Bring to a boil. Boil, stirring occasionally, for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the liquid reduces by half.

Pour the mixture into your slow cooker. Add the can of whole tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, chicken broth, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper to the slow cooker, stirring to combine.

In a medium sized bowl, stir together the parmesan cheese, chopped rosemary, chopped oregano, chopped parsley, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon black pepper.

Rub this mixture on all sides of the two pork roasts, pressing to adhere.

Add the pork roast to the slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours. Cook pasta according to package directions about 30 minutes before the pork will be finished.

When finished cooking, carefully remove the pork from the slow cooker and let stand on a cutting board for 5 minutes.

Spoon the sauce in the slow cooker over the pasta. After 5 minutes, slice the pork and top the pasta with the pork.

I really loved this recipe! The chunky tomato sauce with tender pork was perfect over pasta!

It makes a ton of sauce, so you can also freeze some of the sauce on its own to have for future dinners.

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