The Working Mom's Best Friend

Or, perhaps I should call it the Busy Person who wants to get a hot meal on the table but doesn't want to spend all day in the kitchen's best friend...Either way...it's the crock pot!  My crock pot is one of the most utilized appliances in my kitchen, coming in just behind the coffee pot!

I "crocked" 2 meal this week and I was glad I did when snowy weather and slick roads got me home later than usual and I could walk in to dinner already made!

Wednesday night I made a Balsamic Garlic Porkloin

I started with a marinade of 4 cloves of minced garlic, 1/4 c balsamic vinegar, 1/2 c water, 1/2 c sugar and a 1t of molasses and a sprinkling of rosemary (I mixed the sugar and molasses in a separate small bowl before adding it to the marinade.

Next I rubbed salt, pepper and dried mustard all over the porkloin on both sides

I threw it all in the crock pot and set it to low for 10ish hours.

I served it with steamed broccoli and I had enough left for lunch the next day and then some!

Thursday I adapted a Swiss Steak recipe that my co-worker, RRJ gave me.

I had a round steak that I dredged in flour and Penzey's Bicentennial Rub before I seared it on all sides.

I chopped up some onion and carrots and sauteed them in the same pan that I seared the steak in

After those started to cook, I added 1 c of water to the pan and a packet of brown gravy.
I dumped the meat, carrots and onions plus a jar of the tomatoes I canned this summer, cream of celery soup, and a small can of mushrooms into the pot and cooked on low all day.

It turned out to look a bit like beef stew. We served it over mashed potatoes. S & E loved it!

It made enough for us to freeze the leftovers for another meal in a few weeks!

I must say that I am finding that writing this blog is just the creative outlet that I was looking for. I am currently curled up on my couch with a blanket and a cup of tea (vanilla sleepy time) and writing about something I love, it's a great way to wind down my evening.

This weekend, we have plans to visit Brewery Vivant with our neighbors and I am spending a few hours on Saturday baking with my mom and aunt, I am sure I will have plenty to write about.

Thanks for reading and please let me know if you try any of my recipes and how it turned out!