Another one for the crock pot!

We tried another new crock pot recipe this week.  It turned out very, very well.  Even the littlest of the household proclaimed it “yummy.”

I am really enjoying this new habit I’ve accidentally started. We’re trying out a new crock pot recipe every week. 

And you know what I am really loving about it? The fact that my kids come home from school and the house is filled with the smell of whatever is cooking in the crock pot. They are already hungry and they start asking what's for dinner right away. By the time dinner is ready, they've been smelling it for 2 or 3 hours and they can't wait to dive in!

It works great for luring picky eaters into trying something new. Hee hee.

I’ll continue to share with you the recipes that make the cut in the house.  The ones we reject, I will save you from. How does that sound?

And, since I’m going to be doing this, I am going to have to get better about remembering to keep my camera close by so that I can take pictures of the dish as I go.  I totally forgot again yesterday. Oops.  So, you will have to trust me when I tell you this turned out really well. I’ll do better next time, I promise.

Since I'm so slack, I scanned the picture from my cookbook so you would at least have an idea of what it looked like. I am not one to try a recipe if I haven't seen a picture, so I figure this is better than nothing. It's a little grainy, but you get the idea.

Here is the recipe:

Slow-Cooked Pork Loin

1 boneless whole pork loin roast (3-4 lbs)
1 tbs canola oil (I used olive)
1 med onion, chopped
1 celery rib, chopped
1 envelope brown gravy mix
1 c water
1 c unsweetened apple juice
1/2 c unsweetened applesauce
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
Houston House Seasoning

1. Cut roast in half (I didn’t do this, mine was already in two pieces)
2. In a large skillet, brown roast in oil.
3. In the same skillet, sauté onion and celery until tender.
4. Add roast and vegetables to slow cooker.
5. In a small bowl, combine gravy mix & water.
6. Stir in other ingredients and pour into crock pot.
7. Cook on low for 5-6 hours.
8. Skim fat from cooking juices; thicken if desired (I didn’t)

And here are the few things I did differently than the recipe.

• I generously seasoned the roast with House seasoning before browning and again after I added everything to the crock pot.
• I used 3 celery ribs. One seemed like it would be lonely in the crock.
• I have a big giant thing of brown gravy mix (thanks Costco!) and so I used 2 tbs in what I made.
• I poured a little of the gravy into the skillet to cook off the fond on the pan and then poured that into the crock
• I poured the gravy onto each serving of meat as I fixed each plate. It was so good!
• We served with mashed potatoes and veggies.

I am looking forward to “repurposing” the leftovers. Wondering if it would do well in some BBQ or maybe Brunswick Stew.  SuperMan has an awesome Brunswick Stew recipe. Maybe one day I will sweet-talk him into letting me share it here.

Ok, that’s it for now. I hope you enjoy!