Roast Pork Loin and Sweet Potatoes

Photos for this meal coming soon!

Prep time: less than 20 minutes
Cook time: 90 minutes

This is probably the easiest meal I have ever prepared, and one of the tastiest. It's almost impossible to get wrong as long as your ingredients are fresh and you pay attention to the cooking time, and it's a year-round favorite at our house. We'll be serving roast pork loin, sweet potatoes, and toasted, buttered bakery bread.

Since this meal is designed to be a quick, easy dinner for the end of a long day, we're not going to make our own bread. If you have a couple of hours before dinner and very little energy, you should be able to spend less than 20 minutes in the supermarket on your way home and come away with everything you need for this delicious meal.

You will need:

• Whole, boneless pork loin - I use a 3-4 pound loin, figure 1/2 pound each
• Whole sweet potatoes - 1 per person
• Bakery bread - 1 loaf large enough for at least 1-2 one-inch slices each
• Salted butter (if you want the best flavor, accept no substitutes)
• Ground cinnamon
• Brown sugar
• 
  
• Baking dish or cast-iron skillet large enough to hold the pork loin
• Baking sheet (cookie sheet)
• Aluminum foil

Start by preheating the oven to 375 degrees Farenheit. Cover the baking sheets with aluminum foil for easy cleanup. Arrange the sweet potatoes one of the baking sheets, leaving room to add the bread later. Place the pork loin in the baking dish. Set the butter out on the counter to soften.

Once the oven is finished preheating, place the sweet potatoes on the bottom rack and the pork loin on the top rack.

Go about your business for the next 80 minutes or so, then slice the bread to about an inch thick and arrange the slices on the second baking sheet. Spread about 1/2 tablespoon of butter on each slice. At the 85 minute mark, place the bread in the oven to toast. At the 90 minute mark, turn off the oven and pull out the roast and potatoes; leave the bread in the oven for now.

Slice the roast pork loin in 1/2 inch slices, placing two or three on each plate. Slit the sweet potatoes open and press from each end until the centers start to "smush out" the slit, and garnish with a little brown sugar and cinnamon before placing one on each plate. Add a slice of your thick toast, and call the family together for a simple, beautiful, flavorful meal!