Crock Pot Pork

This recipe is loosely based on a couple of recipes I found online. I'd gotten a boneless pork loin but wasn't feeling the love for my normal recipe so I looked around and cobbled something together. I served it with plain, shredded cabbage and it was amazing.

Ingredients:

• 2 to 3 pound boneless pork loin
• 4 to 5 cloves roasted garlic
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 t sage leaves
• 1 t rosemary leaves
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• Pepper to taste
• Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1/4 cup brown mustard
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1 cup beer 

Directions:

1. Mix the dry ingredients together in a small bowl, not including the cranberries or garlic
2. Add the brown sugar, mustard and honey to the bowl and mix well
3. Pour some of this mixture into your slow cooker and put the pork on top
4. Top the pork with the remaining mixture
5. Sprinkle the cranberries and garlic around the pork
6. Add the beer
7. Cook on low for about 6 to 8 hours or until you can shred the meat easily with two forks
8. Shred the meat and enjoy!

Sunday Dinner Pot Roast

I never actually made pot roast as a Sunday dinner but you could, very easily. Actually you can make this for dinner almost any day you have about 30 minutes of prep time in the morning. Your slow cooker does the rest.

Ingredients:

2 ½ pounds beef or chuck roast
2 T flour
2 T olive oil
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped (I prefer white onions)
6 to 8 baby bella mushrooms, quartered
1 C carrots, peeled and diced into large chunks
4 cloves garlic, put through a press
1 sprig fresh rosemary or 1 t dried rosemary
Several sprigs of thyme—strip the leaves into the slow cooker OR 1 t dried thyme
2-3 T tomato paste
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes; reserve some of the juice in a small bowl
2 C red wine, like Merlot (boxed is fine)

Directions:

1. In a sauté pan, heat the oil over medium heat.
2. Put the roast into a large plastic bag along with the flour. Keeping the bag closed, shake the bag until the roast is lightly coated with the flour.
3. Sauté the roast in the pan until browned on all sides.
4. Meanwhile, put the onions, carrots and garlic into your slow cooker.
5. When the meat is browned, place it on top of the mixture in the slow cooker.
6. Add the mushrooms to the sauté pan and sauté until done.
7. Put the mushrooms in the slow cooker.
8. Add the herbs.
9. Add the tomatoes and all the juice except what you’ve put in the small bowl.
10. Stir the tomato paste into the reserved tomato juice and then add to the slow cooker.
11. Cook on high for about six hours or on low for eight to ten hours.
12. Cut the meat into pieces and serve with the juices and veggies and possibly the roasted potatoes.
13. Enjoy!