Slow Cooked Pork Loin with Sauteed Onions, Mushrooms, and Pasta

I like to buy whole pork loin from Sam's Club because its a lean cut that I can make a lot of different things with, and its usually right around $2 per pound.

This, this was phenomenal!! Must write it down.

Ingredients

A couple pounds of pork loin, or any cut of pork

8 oz. mushrooms, sliced

An onion, sliced

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups vegetable broth, or other broth

1-2 tsp. cornstarch

Cooked pasta (I used corn pasta to make it gluten free)

Some olive oil or canola oil

Cook pork in slow cooker on low for 6-8 hours. Removed from slow cooker, place in dish, cover & let rest.

Heat a few tablespoons oil in deep skillet. Add mushrooms a d onions. Cook about five minutes, stirring periodically, then add garlic. Cook a few more minutes.

Pull apart (or cut up) about half of the pork into bite sized pieces. Use other half in meal later in the week. (Or double all other ingredients and use all of the meat.). Add pork pieces to skillet. Pour over broth. Stir and cover for a couple minutes.

Meanwhile, put a couple teaspoons cornstarch in a small dish and add a small amount of water to make a thin paste texture. Stir until fully dissolved. Add mixture to skillet and stir. Allow to simmer for about 3 minutes.

Add cooked pasta. Stir. Simmer uncovered another minute or so.

ENJOY!!! IT'S DELICIOUS!!

My husbands opinion: Awesome! He's excited about the mushrooms!

My toddlers opinion: He ate the noodles and the pork. Lots of the noodles! He avoided the mushrooms, which was not surprising.

My opinion: This was excellent. The simmering made the pork super tender. The sauce was delicious. The noodles with the sauce and everything-yum! I get excited about making faux-creamy sauces since I can't have dairy. This wasn't a creamy sauce, perse, but reminded me of beef tips or stroganoff-type dishes my mom would make growing up. MUST make again someday.

Chicken leftovers!

When I reheated leftovers of the chicken with rice, I added so e sautéed red/yellow/orange peppers and some corn. It was delicious!

Chicken with Sautéed Onion over Rice

Typically I don't repeat many dinner recipes, and I've never kept a record of anything I've made. I am going to try to make it a habit of logging what I make, so if I want to make it again, I've got a quick reference.

Tonight: Slow cooked chicken with sauteed onions over rice

Ingredients

One bag (2.5 lbs.) frozen chicken breasts

One bottle Aldi brand (Tuscan Garden) Herb & Garlic 30 minute marinade

Two small/medium onions

Cooked rice

Place chicken breasts in crock pot. Pour over bottle of marinade. Cook until done. I cooked on low for about 8 hours. Pull out chicken breasts, place in a dish and cover with foil to let meat rest for about 5 minutes. Slice onions. I cut in half, then sliced about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Put some oil in skillet, a tablespoon or two, and when hot, add onion. Saute until onion is soft and some has started to brown.

Uncover and shred chicken. Add about 1/3 of chicken to onion, or enough to get to your preferred chicken/onion ratio. (Use the rest later in the week for sandwiches, tacos, adding to a casserole, etc). Stir and mix well. I added about 1/2 cup of the strained (used mesh strainer) juice from the crock pot to the chicken/onion mixture in the skillet to add moisture. Cook for a couple minutes. Serve over rice.

Note: No need to add any additional liquid if using the frozen bagged chicken breasts as they add up to 15% water to it. If using fresh or other chicken with less water, either add a bit of water or chicken broth or keep an eye on it while cooking to ensure enough liquid in crockpot.

Time: Aside from the 5 minutes it took to put chicken in crock pot and rice in rice cooker in the morning, this took 10-15 minutes to make. I cooked some frozen vegetables in the microwave while sautéing the onion for an easy side, and also served with fresh fruit.

<>My husband's opinion: Dinner was great!

My toddler's opinion: He picked around the onions, but otherwise ate the rice (a favorite anyway) and a few pieces of chicken.

My opinion: This recipe was good, probably not my favorite. It was easy and quick. Next time I might add in a bit more sauce that would soak into the rice. Possibly would add some cooked vegetables while combining the chicken and onions. This would also be good with other bottled marinades- lemon pepper, or a teriyaki sauce, for example.

Ashley's Guacamole

Typically, I just add some lemon or lime juice and some salsa to mashed avocado to make guacamole. A few weeks ago, I was at a potluck and a friend brought guacamole. It was excellent, and the recipe is simple. 2 avocados 1/2 tsp salt (kosher, optional) 1 Tbsp lemon juice 1/4 red onion, finely chopped Mash, mix, and eat!