Welcome
Thanks for joining us for week two at The Askew Crapper. I am most surprised
at my fellow columnists for the variety of witty and entertaining articles
that they presented for all to read. Keep up the good work. I am also
astonished at the number of people who stopped in to take a peek. Hopefully
this week will fare as well as week one.
A Little About Me
Having to take care of a one-year-old baby girl is tough. Between the
constant messes and even more constant meddling in things I am surprised I
have even found time to write this column. This past week Maleah would only
eat macaroni and cheese and weenies along with the ever popular scrambled
eggs and potatoes. That girl is something else. One week she loves mashed
potatoes and the next week she spits them out and throws them on the floor,
giving me yet another mess to clean up. When will it ever end? Oh, the joys
of raising a picky child!
Terms To Know
To sear is to brown meat quickly over high heat in order to prepare it for
further cooking.
Tip Of The Week
This week it seems that I have had a request for a pork roast. I love to
cook meats in crock pots/slow cookers so it is not traditionally a roast,
but more of a braise. The crock pot is ingenious. Since I live in the south,
Texas to be exact, it gets mighty hot during the spring and summer months.
Much too hot to turn on the oven. I love creating recipes that can be made
in a slow cooker. Meats are always sinfully tender and extremely flavorful.
The only problem many people encounter when using a slow cooker is
overcooking. Vegetables can become wilted fragments of what they once were
and meats can just fall apart. So proper cooking times are important and
staggering the times to place ingredients are necessary in order to achieve
success with any slow cooker recipe. Never rely on the time in a recipe. Use
the time given only as a guideline in determining doneness. Your senses are
a much better gauge to telling you if something is done or not. Learn to use
and trust your eyes, nose, ears, taste, and sense of touch to further help
you with preparing wonderful one pot meals in your crock pot.
Recipes Of The Week
I had other things planned for this weeks recipes but that all changed when
I had an actual request! Oh the delight I feel in being able to please
someone, even if it is only one person! I hope you try it and like it. Feel
free to use the oven for this recipe if you do not own a crock pot. When
making the sauce be sure to taste the juice before adding the cornstarch, it
may be too salty and need some additional water before thickening.
Garlic Pork Roast
3 or 4 pound pork loin; trimmed and cleaned
5 cloves garlic, sliced
salt and pepper
3 tablespoons oil
1 package dried onion soup mix (Lipton's is good)
2 cups water
1 small onion; sliced 1/4 inch thick
4 large potatoes; peeled or unpeeled, quartered, and cut into one inch
wedges
1 to 2 tablespoons of cornstarch
1. Cut several slits into the pork
and insert the garlic pieces into the holes.
2. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat.
3. Generously season the pork loin with salt and pepper.
4. Add oil to hot pan.
5. Sear meat on all sides and remove the meat to the slow cooker.
6. Add the water and soup mix to the pan and bring to a boil.
7. Pour over the pork loin in the slow cooker.
8. Cook on high for about 3 hours while turning the roast several times in
the liquid.
9. Remove the pork and add the potatoes and onions then replace the pork on
top of the vegetables.
10. Cook for an additional 3 hours or until everything is done.
11. Remove the pork and vegetables to a serving platter and strain the juice
into a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Taste to make sure that it is seasoned
well. If too salty add water.
12. Add cornstarch mixed with water and boil another minute. Use this as a
sauce to accompany your meal.
I am not sure where the following recipe came from, but I do know that is
wonderfully delicious and quite simple to prepare. My aunt makes it for
special occasions and family gatherings and it is usually the first thing to
disappear.
Banana Pudding
8 ounce package of vanilla instant pudding mix
2 cups milk
1 can sweetened condensed milk
8 ounces sour cream
8 ounces whipped topping
1 box vanilla wafer cookies; crushed
2 or 3 bananas; sliced or diced
1. Prepare the instant pudding by
package directions only use 2 cups milk instead.
2. Fold the sweetened condensed milk, sour cream, and whipped topping into
the vanilla pudding.
3. Layer most of the crushed vanilla wafer cookies in the bottom of a dish
(save some for the top) and cover the cookies with the banana pieces.
4. Top with the pudding mixture and sprinkle the remaining wafer crumbs on
top for garnish. |
