It’s Monday morning. Staying in bed would be great, why is the weekend so short? For most of us Mondays are busy. But now that the days are longer it seems as if dinner time creeps up quickly and how many nights have you been scrambling to get dinner on the table before 8 pm? Well I have a solution for you. Get out the Crock Pot! If you don’t have one think about getting one, it will make getting dinner to the table easy and quick. You won’t have to spend much time in the kitchen and your house will smell delish.

For starters are are some Slow Cooker Tips

1. Let the meal equal the pot – The only time I have had poor results with a slow cooker is when I haven’t put enough food into the pot. When the pot is too big, food can tend to scorch and dry out. I actually have two slow cookers now – one for meals just for me and Roger (a 2-quart), and one for when I know all the kids will be home or I am making a meal with leftovers to be used in the following night’s dinner (a 6-quart).
2. You can overcook – Everyone says, “Just throw it in the pot and forget it!” Well, that’s true – to a point. You do what to make sure that to pay attentions to timing on your meal so that it doesn’t dry out.
3. If you are always going to be arriving home after a meal should be done cooking, you may want to consider getting a slow cooker with a probe thermometer. Our big pot has one of these handy little gadgets and can be programmed to stop cooking when the meat reaches a pre-determined temperature.
4. Use a non-stick cooking spray on the inside of your pot to make clean-up easier.
5. Meats don’t brown in the slow cooker, so if you do want your meats browned, do it before you put it on the pot.

What you should serve your troops!

Citrus-Glazed Pork Roast

I love pork roast in the slow cooker for several reasons – it doesn’t get dried out, you can cut it to size in order to have just enough to feed your troops.

Ingredients:

1 (3lb.) boneless pork loin roast

2 garlic cloves, minced

½ tsp. dried thyme

½ tsp. ground ginger

¼ tsp. pepper

1 T  vegetable oil

1 c.  chicken broth

2 T  sugar

2 T  lemon juice

2 T  soy sauce

1 ½ tsp. orange zest

3 T.  cornstarch

½ c.  orange juice

Directions:

Cut roast in half.

In a small bowl, combine the garlic, thyme, ginger and pepper; rub over roast.

In a large skillet over medium heat, heat the oil and brown the roast on all sides.

Place roast in a 5-qt. slow cooker.

In a small bowl, combine the broth, sugar, lemon juice, soy sauce and orange zest; pour over roast.

Cover and cook on low for 4 hours or until a meat thermometer reads 160 degrees F.

Remove roast and keep warm.

In a saucepan, combine the cornstarch and orange juice until smooth; stir in cooking juices. Bring to a boil.  Cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.

Serve with the roast.

Now you just need a side or two. Steamed veggies, mash or roasted potatoes, fruit salad and dinner is served!