Recipe Review from 12/11/2017

I'm posting this a week late - work and stuff got insane and it was Thursday when I realized I completely missed Monday's recipe posting.  So I'm back posting a bit.  I think we did Chinese take-out one night too somewhere in there...  Sesame chicken! Yum!

The Meal Plan
Sat (L)  out    (S)  Pork and Hominy Stew
Sun (L) leftover chili  (S) Pork and Hominy Stew
Mon (yoga)  leftover stew
Tues (yoga)  leftover stew
Wed - slow cooked Bolgonese with spaghetti.
Thurs (yoga) leftover stew
Fri (yoga) leftovers stew

Lunches - leftover Quinoa and Roasted Red Pepper Chili
                 chicken salad wraps


Pork and Hominy Stew (ATK Slow Cooker Revolution)
If you've been following my blog, you'll know that I'm a HUGE fan of this cook book.  If you're new to my blog and a fan of slow cookers - go get this cook book!
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This was one of the simpler slow cooker stews to pull together, where I only needed to do a quick saute on the onions and seasonings.

My note:  America's Test Kitchen uses a microwave to soften the onions/carrots/celery and to bloom the spices;  I don't have a microwave and so I saute the "old fashioned way" on the stovetop. 

Simple ingredients for a great tasting stew:  pork, onion, hominy, chicken stock, spices are all slow cooked for a great Tex Mex dish.

This makes a lot, and I did end up freezing about four servings for a later date.  Recommended.


Slow Cooked Bolognese (ATK Slow Cooker Revolution)
A bit of a departure for me in making a meat based spaghetti sauce, but I was looking for something different for pasta, something that could be made ahead of time, and was fairly easy.  This America's Test Kitchen recipe hit all those requirements, surprisingly. 

A combination of 3 lbs of meat (a blend of beef, lamb and pork - but I just did pork and beef), crushed tomatoes, bread soaked in cream, sauteed onions/celery/carrot all combined in a slow cooker then left to do it's thing for 9-11 hours on low. 

I did cook this overnight so I wouldn't have to putz with morning assembly.  Not having had a lot of bolognese, I think this was tasty enough if a bit on the bland side.  I served this over whole wheat spaghetti, regular spaghetti, cavatappi, and polenta.  I think the polenta was actually my favorite.   As I noted, *I* found it a bit bland, and added a sprinkling of Alleppo pepper.  Yum!

So if you need a pot of pasta sauce for a crowd, for some upcoming Italian dishes, or need something to freeze, go find America's Test Kitchen Slow Cooker Revolution and give this a try  I don't think you'll be disappointed.