One of my favorite things I have in my kitchen is my slow cooker, much like many other people. I like that it allows me to embrace my lazy side, but still gives you tasty little creations. I also like that it naturally allows you to keep the moisture and tenderness of foods without having to add a ton of oils or fats to compensate.
Lately, I've been on a savory food kick .. part embracing winter, part using what I have bought for my budget for the month.
I created this one to get some of the extra stuff out of the fridge to make way for next months shopping trip. And at about 329 calories per serving (pork and quinoa) and a whopping 29 grams of protein, I'm a happy (and full) lady!
So lets begin ...
Makes 5 servings
Ingredients
-Boneless pork roast (mine was approx. 1 lb? .. I adore from Costco the pork loin that includes pork chops, pork roast, and a sirloin roast as well .. you get a TON for under $20 typically!)
-1 cup raspberries (I used frozen due to it being winter ... and it was leftovers from my smoothie recipes)
-1 tsp fresh thyme
-1 tsp fresh rosemary
-3 sliced sage leaves
-1 tsp EVOO
-1/2 cup balsamic vinegar (one of the best parts of this recipe)
-1/2 tbsp dijon mustard
-6 minced garlic cloves
-1/4 tsp pink himalayan salt (or sea salt)
-1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
For the Quinoa
-1 cup dry quinoa
-1 tsp "Better than Bouillon" .. I used beef for this round ... feel free to go wild and use chicken or veggie
-1 tsp thyme
1. Turn your slow cooker on "low" and spray with a non stick cooking spray (or Misto that thing ... goodness I love my Misto)
2. Throw everything in ... I put my meat and berries in full on frozen. No defrost!
I like to coat the roast with all the ingredients to help let the flavors saturate and keep it tender
3. Cook on low for approx 6 hours ... I had off that day, so after 6, I switched it over to "warm" while I started the quinoa and had a glass o' red. It was in for a total of about 8 hours and did totally fine.
4. Cook your quinoa per directions ... 1 cup quinoa typically needs 2 cups of stock ... I always throw in a splash of EVOO. At this time, also throw in your thyme.
5. While the quinoa was cooking, I felt like an au jus style sauce would be nice too for the meat. I love the contrast of the sweet raspberries with the acidy tang of balsamic, so I scooped about 1/4 cup of juice from the slow cooker and reduced it on high heat for approx 3-5 min.
6. Serve. It was dude approved ... the fiance man had high remarks for it :)
Nutritional Information:
Calories: 329
Fat: 11.2
Saturated Fat: 2.7
Polyunsaturated: 0.2
Monounsaturated: 2.2
Trans: 0
Cholesterol: 74.3
Sodium: 131.1
Carbs: 28.4
Fiber: 3.2
Sugar: 5.3
Protein: 29
Iron: 19.7%
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