Slow Cooker Cranberry Pork

This recipe comes from Taste of Home Magazine Dec/Jan 2004. I decided to start looking at old recipe magazines in the current month from previous years. The search has paid off!

Slow Cooker Cranberry Pork
1 boneless rolled pork loin roast (3-4 lbs)
2 T vegetable oil
1 can (16 oz) whole cranberry sauce
3/4 c sugar
3/4 c cranberry juice
1 t ground mustard
1 t pepper
1/4 t ground cloves
1/4 c cornstarch
1/4 c cold water
Salt to taste

In a Dutch oven, brown roast in oil on all sides over medium-high heat. Transfer to a 5-qt. slow cooker. Combine the cranberry sauce, sugar, cranberry juice, mustard, pepper and cloves; pour over roast. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Remove roast and keep warm.
In a saucepan, combine cornstarch, water and salt until smooth; stir in cooking juices. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Serve with roast.

NOTES: (I should call this section, "How I Really Made It") I didn't brown the roast, because in my opinion, slow cooking should be super-easy and browning is an extra step I hardly ever do. I didn't have cranberry juice, so I omitted that and the sugar, since I just figured it was to make the cranberry juice taste good. I used 1-1/2 cups of homemade cranberry sauce instead of canned. I added 1/2 cup of water to the slow cooker for some liquid. And I didn't make the gravy, I just served it with the chunky cranberries on top.