Tangy Slow Cooker Pork Roast

I made this last night with a roast just over 2 lbs. It was really good. I added some cornstarch to the juices afterward (about 3 Tbsp to 1/4 cup of juices, then whisked it into the rest of the juices) to make a gravy/sauce for the pork and the pasta I served it with. It was simple, easy and delicious. I reduced the sugar, using brown instead of white, and increased the garlic powder. I also turned the roast a few times throughout, to make sure all of was soaking in the juices. I put a link to to original recipe below.

Tangy Slow Cooker Pork Roast

• 1 large onion, sliced
• 2 1/2 pounds boneless pork loin roast
• 1 cup hot water
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon ketchup
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 dash hot pepper sauce, or to taste

1. Arrange onion slices evenly over the bottom of the slow cooker, and then place the roast on top of the onion. In a bowl, mix together water, sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, ketchup, black pepper, salt, garlic powder, and hot sauce; pour over roast.
2. Cover, and cook on Low for 6 to 8 hours, or on High for 3 to 4 hours.

Campbell House Scones

I made these a while back, but haven't posted the recipe. They are so good, and easy. Similar to biscuits, but so much better, and (I think) easier to make. If you don't have buttermilk, you can always sour some milk by using 1 tsp. of lemon juice and adding milk to equal one cup. Let it sit for 5 minutes.

For beautiful easy to follow pictures check out the link.
Campbell House Scones

3 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup firm butter (1 1/2 sticks), cut into small pieces

1 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease a baking sheet, or line baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, soda and salt until thoroughly blended. Using a pastry blender, cut the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles course cornmeal. Make a well in the center of the butter/flour mixture and add the buttermilk all at once. Stir mixture with a fork until the dough pulls away from sides of bowl. With your hands, gather the dough into a ball and turn out onto a lightly floured board. Divide dough into four parts and lightly pat each part into a circle. Cut each circle into four parts and place the wedges on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until golden, about 12 minutes. Serve warm with honey.

Makes 16 scones.

Easy Barbequed Salmon

Here's another fabulous recipe from my new favorite recipe blog. This was so easy, and delicious! I've done it baked and barbequed. I prefer the BBQ version yum! If you bake it you can put it on aluminum foil. I bought a whole salmon, and cooked half of it (cut into fillets) with this recipe for Memorial Day.

Easy Barbequed Salmon
from The Cook Next Door


3 pounds of salmon fillets
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Place salmon, skin side down on grill--or place on sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil on grill. Mix remaining ingredients and use to baste salmon frequently. Cook until salmon changes color. Turn over and peel off skin. Baste frequently and cook until done, about 15-20 minutes.

Greek God Pasta

So I forgot to take pictures again. Oops! This was a pretty good recipe. It think it needed more cheese throughout, not just on top. I used more feta than that. I don't know how "Greek" this really is except for the feta cheese. I just used what ever pasta I had on hand - farfalle I think. I scaled the recipe back a little, because it made a lot. We had leftovers for a few days.

Greek God Pasta

• 1 (16 ounce) package whole wheat rotini pasta
• 1 (16 ounce) can peeled and diced tomatoes, drained
• 2 tablespoons chopped green bell pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped green onion
• 3 cups tomato sauce
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 cup sliced black olives
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 2 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add rotini pasta, and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain and pour into a deep casserole dish.
3. Stir tomatoes, green pepper, green onion, olives and tomato sauce into the pasta. Season with basil and oregano and mix until evenly blended. Sprinkle mozzarella and feta cheese over the top.
4. Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until cheese is melted and bubbly. Let stand for a few minutes before serving.

Black Bean and Corn Salad

OK, I'm trying something new here. I Haven't been really good about taking pictures of the meals I prepare. Lately I've been following a recipe blog that I love! I've been trying some of the recipes she has featured. She has inspired me to do more step by step pictures. So here is my first attempt to do so. I don't have a fabulous camera - just point and shoot, so the pictures aren't that great. Maybe this will convince me to invest in a better camera. Someday...

Black Bean and Corn Salad

• 1/3 cup fresh lime juice
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• 2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 1/2 cups frozen corn kernels
• 1 avocado - peeled, pitted and diced
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 6 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

1. Place lime juice, olive oil, garlic, salt, and cayenne pepper in a small jar. Cover with lid, and shake until ingredients are well mixed.
2. In a salad bowl, combine beans, corn, avocado, bell pepper, tomatoes, green onions, and cilantro. Shake lime dressing, and pour it over the salad. Stir salad to coat vegetables and beans with dressing, and serve.

So here's what I started with (minus the cayenne pepper - I forgot to put that in the picture). Notice I didn't use cilantro. Aaron doesn't like it. I sometimes substitute fresh parsley for coloring, but I didn't have any. Also, no fresh limes today, and I didn't have any frozen corn, canned worked just fine.

Dressing ready to go!

I drain and rinse my beans in my trusty colander. The corn goes in too!

Everything is all chopped

Mixed together with the dressing!

Pretty simple and very delicious!!!

Grilled London Broil

Aaron made this for Mother's Day. It was perfectly delicious!
The only changes I would make is to use less salt. He marinaded it for 6 hours in a plastic containter, then cut it into smaller pieces to put on the grill. (so that is not our picture, but from the Allrecipes.com website)

Grilled London Broil

• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon ketchup
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 4 pounds flank steak

1. In a small bowl, mix together garlic, salt, soy sauce, ketchup, vegetable oil, black pepper and oregano.
2. Score both sides of the meat, diamond cut, about 1/8 inch deep. Rub garlic mixture into both sides of the meat. Wrap tightly in aluminum foil, and refrigerate for 5 to 6 hours, or overnight. Flip meat every few hours.
3. Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat, and lightly oil grate.
4. Place meat on the prepared grill. Cook for 3 to 7 minutes per side, or to desired doneness

Brown Sugar cake

I got this recipe from one of the recipe blogs I follow. It was very simple, easy, and delicious. For more details check out her blog.

Brown Sugar Cake


2 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup butter
3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 cup sour milk (add 1 tablespoon white vinegar or lemon juice to the milk)
1 teaspoon baking soda

Cut together (like pie dough) brown sugar, butter, flour and salt. Set aside one cup of the mixture. To the rest of the mixture add egg, milk and soda. Spread in a 10x15 pan. Sprinkle rest of crumbs on top. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes. Serve with crushed strawberries and whip cream.

The blogger recommended serving it with vanilla ice cream, which would have been wonderful, but we didn't have any, and I had some whipping cream on hand. Too bad I ran out of strawberries after last night. Leftovers will have to be sans strawberries :(

I used a 9x13 pan. It worked, but the middle was a little underdone even after 35 minutes, so I would recommend using the right size pan.