My husband and I recently were married and we received an item off our wedding registry that I have been without for WAAAAYYYY too long: a crock-pot. Might seem silly to some, but to me - it was an amazing gift.
Working all day and still being able to put a good, healthy and delicious dinner on the table for my family is challenging. However ... throw a crock-pot into the rotation and you have one of life's little small miracles.
At least this is how I feel. I love being creative and I love doing different dinner meals so by having this crock-pot I am able to really spice up my regular weekly dinner menu plans. I love that concept and I'm so very happy that I can start.
Okay ... so I'll get off my crock-pot (soap) box for a moment and get down to the goods. After all, that's why you are here right? (or possibly for my witty jokes?)
Here we go ... what are you going to need for this?
- Pork Loin
- 1 jar of light Soy Sauce
- 2 cups of orange juice
- 2 bell peppers
- 2 white onions
- 1 clove garlic
- Ginger, (fresh preferably - just use your micro-plane grater to grate into your meal)
- 1 lemon (plus the zest)
- Salt
- Pepper
- 1 tablespoon honey
Start off by throwing in your pork loin into the bottom of your crock-pot. Slice the onions and bell peppers and toss in. Then take a fair amount of garlic, (I am a HUGE garlic lover so I used 5 cloves) peel and mince and toss in. Grate some fresh ginger into the crock as well. Now we are going to add our liquids. Pour in your orange juice and soy sauce. I used about 3/4's of the soy sauce.
The beauty of the crock-pot is that you can put it all in and forget about it.
So here we are, fresh in the crock-pot and ready to get delicious. Place the setting on low and allow to cook for about 5 hours.
Once your house starts smelling amazing you know it's probably about time to check your pork. At this point I could pull out the pork and start shredding with a fork. This made everything that much more delicious. Not only am I smelling the goodness, but now I'm able to actually see it in real time.
Do you see how it just simply shreds itself? I used two forks, but I bet if you talked really nice to it it would probably shred itself. I pulled it out of the crock and shred it a bowl. Then I discarded the majority of the liquid as I really didn't need all of it. Even though it almost made me cry to see the goodness go away. But I digress .....
Once shredded, put back in the crock-pot and make sure you have enough liquid to simply cover the mixture. Now we are going to add some more goodness. Salt and pepper to taste, the zest of a lemon and then the juice.
Now ... to add something sweet .... about a tablespoon of honey. That's right - pour it straight in.
Now, mix together. Keep the crock-pot on low and then we are going to let it all simmer together for about another hour. Just to really allow the flavors to all come together.
Here is our final look as we replace the lid and then wait until it's time to dig in. It's hard to not taste ... so as an amateur chef I suggest tasting at this point. (at least two bites - you want to make sure you got it right)
We took some fresh Kaiser Buns from the bakery and paired our sandwiches with salad. Cut the rolls in half and then drain off the liquid as you place a heaping spoonful onto your sandwich bun.
Oh. My. Yes .... it was a major hit. And honestly ... it was super simple. Perfect to do this before work and allow to cook all day; come home, shred and then wait to enjoy. Or ... do this on a perfect lazy Sunday where you can smell your way through the day. Either way you choose - you win. Your family wins. Your friends win as they get to drool over the pictures you post and the goodness that you explain to them in every detail as you put it in your blog .... oh. That's me.
No matter how you do it - just enjoy dinner with your family. That's the whole point. Follow me along on this blog and you can also follow me on Twitter, Instagram, Google + or even Facebook. #HomeForDinner
Cheers.
~Jacqui
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