Pork Roast With Apple and Onions and Picture Catch Up

On the plate:  Pork roast with apple and onions, sour cream mashed potatoes, and green beans a la Alexander

Soundtrack to cook to:  Christina Aguilera's Back to Basics 1 and 2


After being away for the weekend and having the daylight savings time change (Alexander is still operating an hour behind...yikes!), I've finally gotten caught up on sleep and am getting back into the swing of things.
I know I cannot be "on" all the time, so we've been eating pizza (no worries, it's a "healthy" kind of pizza with all organic veggies and whole wheat crust - Naked Pizza, this household loves it!).  Last night we had "inventory reduction" night in which I looked in the fridge, grabbed a couple things that had been there for a while, and made a dinner out of them.  My friend Jocelyne was visiting, so she got to partake in the dinner as well. :)  We had beef hot dogs (uncured - no preservatives) and sweet potato fries that were seasoned with rosemary.  Delish!!  I love making sweet potato fries, because all you do is cut, season, and cook.  They're so simple and sooooo good. :)
Before I get into what's for dinner, here's a little update on some quality Alexander pictures and videos:

Alexander playing the piano.  This picture was
courtesy of Kristen - she watched Alexander while
I was in Indiana and Joseph was working at the hospital.

Playing with his trains like a big boy. 

He's recently liked sitting on things...a lot...
including his toys.

Ravenous!!

Me and my friend Katie at our friend Erin's wedding
reception.  Sadly to say, this is the only picture that I
got from that evening.  It was so nice to see friends and family!

Playing at the playground.

All bundled up and ready to accompany Oscar
on his walk.

Playing around with leaves.

Alexander playing around during music class.

Mommy's back and playing at the park with
Alexander after music class.

He loves to swing!

I love his toothy grin and those dimples!

Relaxing and thoroughly enjoying a movie.

Rolling around and getting ready for his
18 month check up.
Statistics:
91st percentile for height
87th percentile for head circumference
79th percentile for weight

Alexander chit-chatting during his 18 month check up

Playing around in the doctor's office.

*Phew!*  Alexander had his 18 month check up today and the doctor seems pretty pleased with his progress.  He only had to get 1 shot *double phew!* and was a trooper when he got it.  He didn't shed one tear.  That's m'boy!
Now onto the food.  I've been perusing my favorite food blogs to find some inspiration and was intrigued by making a pork roast.  I like things clean and simple and that's pretty much what the recipe is!  You chop, drop, and then let it simmer.  Sounds good to me!

Here's a shot of the pork roast before it got sent to the oven to cook for 3 hours:

I chose to use a nice pork tenderloin - it's much more lean.

Look!  It's saying, "Peek-a-boo!"

After popping this bad boy into the oven, I decided to take Oscar for a walk and Alexander to the park.

"Hey mom!  Let's go!" 

Aren't the trees just gorgeous?  They're practically glowing!

Intoxicating :)

Little man, playing around

What's this face?  Hilarious! :)

After playing around in the park, we got home and were immediately hit in the face with the sweet smell of apples and onions.  Amazing!
Here's a shot of the beautiful pork tenderloin, onions, and apples after they've bubbled away:

Well, hello beautiful!  Where have you been the past 3 hours?

We like balanced meals in this household, so I decided to make some of my sour cream mashed potatoes.  I use fat free sour cream, salt, pepper, a little shot of skim milk, and add it all to some cooked potatoes.  Delish!
Then for the vegetable addition, I had some green beans that I needed to finish up, so voila!  Green beans a la Alexander (green beans with extra virgin olive oil and lemon pepper herb - the way Alexander likes it).  *Disclaimer:  I totally meant to take a picture of the potatoes and the green beans, but after I started serving myself...I couldn't help myself and completely started pigging out (apologize for the pun).
Report:  Absolutely fantastic!!  The onions and apples permeated through the tenderloin so beautifully.  Each bite was so moist and sweet and paired beautifully with the crunch of the green beans and the the starch of the potatoes.  Grand slam!!  Lol...the dinner table was absolutely quiet this evening.  You know a meal is good when no one is talking and the only sound that you can hear is the munch, smack, and crunch of mouths chomping down on the food.

It's great to be back home!  Until next time...

Love and kisses,
Nikki