Slow Cooker Pork Roast

I recently became very close to my slow cooker.  We have officially bonded.  It was an arranged relationship, but we made it work.

 

This is one of those "throw together" recipes that would work for almost anyone that eats pork.  It was juicy and flavorful.  And easy.

 

 

Slow Cooker Pork Roast

 

2 teaspoons dried (or fresh, I'm not biased) rosemary

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 boneless whole pork loin roast (mine was about 4 pounds)

3 medium to large potatoes, cut into chunks

3 medium to large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

2 large sweet onions, cut into eighths

1/2 cup chicken broth (I used Better that bouillon)

 

Combine the rosemary, oregano, paprika, salt and pepper. 

 

Rub the spices over pork.

Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.

 

Place potatoes and onions in a 5 quart slow cooker.  Top with pork. 

Pour broth over meat.  Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or until meat and vegetables are tender.

 

Let meat stand 10-15 minutes before slicing.

 

While you are waiting, you might as well make some gravy.

 

Remove the veggies to a bowl and cover to keep warm.

 

In a medium saucepan, melt 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) of butter.  To the butter, add 1/4 cup of flour.  Stir.  Strain the liquid from the slow cooker into the saucepan, stirring all the while.  Cook until thickened.  Taste the gravy and salt to taste or add another 1/2 teaspoon of Better that bouillon.  Add about 1 cup of milk and heat through.

Roasted Pear Salad

I saw a picture of this salad on an ad for Marzetti Dressing.  It was so pretty, I had to try to copy it.  Now, I didn't use any Marzetti products...but you could.  I think it would be good for Thanksgiving or for company.  My kiddos LOVED it.  Two of them wanted another salad instead of the pasta and meatballs that I had prepared for the main dish.  Too bad that I didn't make extra - okay, I did, but I hid it in the back of the fridge for my lunch tomorrow.  Sue me.

 

 

Roasted Pear Salad

 

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar (I didn't measure, just drizzled)

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup blue cheese, crumbled

1/4 cup craisins (dried cranberries, dried cherries would work, too)

3 pears

balsamic dressing, about 1/2 cup

1 head butter lettuce or Boston lettuce

 

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

 

Place the pecans in a dry skillet.  Toast over medium heat.  When they start to smell good, they are done - it only takes about 1 minute.  Watch them carefully because they burn easily.  Once they smell good and "toasty", take them off of the heat.

 

In a medium bowl, combine the pecans, cheese and craisins.  Mix them up.

 

Slice the pears in half lengthwise.  Remove the core with a melon baller.  I also removed the stem and flower and hollowed out the strip up to the stem so that the stuffing stays on.

 

Place the pears, hole side up, in a baking dish.  Drizzle the pears with the balsamic vinegar.  Spoon the filling evenly between the 6 pear halves.  Bake, uncovered, for about 20 minutes.

 

Clean and tear the lettuce into bite size pieces.  Divide evenly among 6 salad plates.  Drizzle the lettuce with a little more than half of the balsamic dressing.

 

Place a pear in the center of each plate.  Drizzle a little more balsamic dressing on the pears.

Cooking without power

We live in Connecticut.  As many of you might have heard, on October 28th we had a little storm.  Her name is Sandy.  As a result, we were without power for 6 days (we just had power restored last night, November 3rd.)  We were truly blessed.  Our home was not damaged.  Our family is intact. We didn't have phones, Internet, or TV until Saturday night.  We didn't have the ability to get out of our road until Tuesday due to downed trees and wires.  We have a generator that powered our refrigerator, water pump, boiler (for hot water) and a few outlets.  We have cords of split, seasoned wood, thanks to some very industrious teenagers in August. 

 

We also, thanks to many wonderful people from our church, have a wood burning stove.  It was, finally, totally installed on October 28th, the morning of the day the hurricane hit.

 

*A little thank you shout out to Moroni Taylor and Bob Payne and all the muscle guys who picked up and carried in the very heavy stove.*

 

As a result, my meal preparation was restricted to a slow cooker or on top of the wood stove.  I felt very pioneer-y.  It was fun (not all of it, but might as well have a good attitude, amiright?)

 

Some meals were really good.  We won't talk about the others, not bad, just not noteworthy.

 

One of our favorite meals was a stew that I made out of leftover pot roast (see http://ahawker.blogspot.com/2012/08/pot-roast-super-easy-in-slow-cooker.html)

 

I chopped up the left-over meat, added the vegetables and gravy.  Because there wasn't enough gravy I punched it up.  I added a can (14 ounce) of beef broth and 1 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce.  I cooked all this on top of the wood stove.

 

This stew was served over toasted, buttered oatmeal bread. (http://ahawker.blogspot.com/2012/10/oatmeal-bread.html)

 

It was really good.  I might even do it again.  We're expecting a nor'easter on Wednesday.  Hmmm.

Oatmeal Bread

I may just have a new favorite bread.  This is it.  It is pretty easy, rises well, is moist, makes great sandwiches and you don't have to soak the oatmeal.

 

Yep.

New favorite.

 

 

Oatmeal Bread

makes 2 loaves

 

 

6 cups flour

2 cups rolled oats (old-fashioned oatmeal)

1/4 cup (half a stick) butter, softened

1 Tablespoon salt

1/4 cup brown sugar OR honey (I used honey)

1 Tablespoon PLUS 1 teaspoon instant yeast OR 2 packets active dry yeast

1/2 cup warm water

1 can evaporated milk plus enough water to make 2 cups

 

 

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the water, milk, honey/sugar and yeast.  Let sit for about 5-10 minutes.

To this add the remaining ingredients. 

Combine with a dough hook to make a shaggy dough.  Knead dough 5 minutes more until smooth.

 

Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl.  Flip the dough so both sides are oily.

Cover the bowl and allow it to rest for 1 hour.  It'll become quite puffy.

 

Divide dough in half.  Transfer 1/2 the dough onto a lightly oiled surface (my dough was oily enough that I didn't oil the surface) and shape it into a log.  Place the log in a lightly greased 9x5 inch loaf pan.  Repeat with the other dough.

Cover the pans with plastic wrap (lightly) and allow dough to rise for 1 hour, until it's crested 1 to 2 inches over the rim of the pan.  (It only took 30 minutes for mine.)

Bake the bread in a preheated 350 degree oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until golden brown and it sounds hollow when tapped.

Remove from pan to cool.

Mulligatawny Soup

I had never had Mulligatawny Soup until I moved to New England.  It is really good.  I love curry and the Indian flavors that are present in this soup.  When I googled the soup, I found out out that the translation of this word is "pepper water".  Cool.

If you wanted to make this soup vegetarian, substitute the chicken broth for vegetable broth, omit the chicken and add a cup or two of dried red lentils.  Should work.

Mulligatawny Soup

4 Tablespoons ghee or butter

1 1/2 pounds chicken, boneless, skinless, diced (I used tenders)

1/4 cup flour (omit if doing vegetarian)

2 teaspoons garam masala OR curry powder

2 cups small diced onions (about 1 large)

1 cup carrots, sliced

1/2 cup celery, sliced

2 Tablespoons garlic, minced

1 Tablespoon ginger, minced

2 cups Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and minced

1-2 cups potatoes, diced

1-2 cups butternut squash OR sweet potato, peeled and diced

2 teaspoons salt

3/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon curry paste

1 teaspoon curry powder

1 teaspoon coriander

1 1/2 teaspoons cumin

1 teaspoon turmeric

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

8 cups (2 quarts) chicken stock

1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained OR 1 cup diced fresh tomatoes

1 (14 ounce) can unsweetened coconut milk

1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar

3 cups steamed (cooked) white rice (I used basmati)

In a Ziploc bag, add the flour, chicken and 2 teaspoons of garam masala (or curry if you can't find garam masala.)  Shake it up.

In a large saucepan (this soup makes a lot), melt the ghee or butter.  When it is hot, add the chicken and start to brown it.

Add the rest of the ingredients down to the chicken stock.  I just add them as I chop them.  Saute for about 5 -10 minutes, until the onions are translucent and the spices are aromatic.

Add the stock and tomatoes.  Simmer until all of the vegetables are tender, about 10-15 minutes.

Add the coconut milk, vinegar and rice.  Simmer 10 minutes more.

Lovely.  Even better the next day.

Apple Pie Jam

My oldest kiddo is serving a 2 year mission for our church. (For more about that, see my earlier post http://ahawker.blogspot.com/2012/06/california-san-fernando-mission.html)  I miss him terribly.  He is my kiddo.  It sometimes feels like I severed a limb and sent it to California.  He, however, does not miss me in the same way (I don't think - he is not very verbose in his letter writing).  He is not supposed to.  He is having an adventure, doing things like serving others and growing up. *sigh*

How I still see my boy.

 

What he really looks like.

Apple Pie Jam is Joseph's favorite.  That is what I'm making today.  I almost didn't, but did anyhow.  It makes me happy and sad.  That's what kiddos do.

 

This jam is great on toast.  If you are creative, you could even make little pie crusts in a mini muffin tin and fill them with a spoonful of this jam. You could even warm it again and top vanilla ice cream with it, kinda like a reverse pie a la mode. Yummy.

 

 

Apple Pie Jam

makes about 8 8ounce jars

 

3/4 cup raisins

6 cups apples, peeled cored and chopped

Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon

1 cup apple juice, unsweetened

1 package regular powdered fruit pectin

9 cups sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

 

Prepare canner, jars and lids.

 

In a food processor, pulse raisins until finely chopped.  Set aside.

 

In a large saucepan, combine apples and lemon zest and juice and apple juice.  Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring frequently.  Reduce heat and boil gently, stirring occasionally, until apples begin to soften, about 10 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in pectin until dissolved.  Stir in raisins.  Return to high heat and bring to a boil, stirring frequently.

Add sugar all at once and return to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly.  Boil hard, stirring all the while, for 1 minute.

Remove from heat and stir in cinnamon and nutmeg.

Ladle hot jam into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch of headspace.  Wipe rim.  Center lid on jar and screw band down until finger tight.

Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.  Remove jars and listen for the "ping".  Cool and store.

Kiwi Jam

This whole blog started with me blogging about canning and preserving.  I do it all the time.  It's fun and it gives me a sense of accomplishment to see all the fruits (pun intended) of my labor.

 

Sometimes, when I buy fruit, my kiddos eat it up sooooo fast.  Other times, not so much.  That is what happened with a bunch of kiwis that I bought.  My kiddos like kiwis.  They eat them - usually.  Not this time, however.  So here I was, in my kitchen, staring at a pile of uneaten, quickly ripening, kiwis.  I didn't want to toss them in the bin.  That's a waste of money.  If they were bananas, I would be making banana bread.  If they were berries, I would be making jam.  If they - wait a minute.  Jam?  Kiwi?  Never seen it.  Never done it.  Cool!

 

Kiwi Jam was born.

It's kinda sweet-tart and very refreshing.

 

It looks a little creepy on bread - perfect for right before Halloween.

 

 

 

Kiwi Jam

this made 10 - 8ounce jars of jam

 

4 cups crushed peeled kiwifruit

1 1/3 cups unsweetened pineapple juice

2/3 cups lime juice

2 packages regular powdered fruit pectin

6 cups sugar

 

Prepare canner, jars and lids.

 

In a large saucepan, combine kiwi, both juices and pectin.

Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring frequently.

Add sugar all at once and return to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly.

Boil hard, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.

Remove from heat and skim off foam.

Ladle hot jam into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch head space.  Wipe rim.  Center lid on jar and screw the band down finger-tight.

Place jars in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.  Remove from water onto a towel on the counter and wait for the lovely "ping" from the jars sealing.