Leftovers into Yummy Pork and Noodles

Last night I made a Pork roast in the oven with chicken broth, onions, celery and a few carrots. I also made a gravy using some the juice from the pot after it was out of the oven. I made plenty of gravy so with my leftovers, I poured the extra gravy in with my veggies and broth and I shredded my meat using a fork and a knife to cut off any fat and added it to the mix. Clean up was simple I just threw it all in the fridge in one large storage container. 

Today I placed egg noodles in the bottom  of a crockpot with my mixture from last night on top. I had to add a little more juice as the noodles will soak up a lot while cooking. I would have preferred more cooking stock or broth but I was all out from the night before so I added some chicken bouillon powder and water. If you need just a little more moisture, follow the bouillon instructions of once cup of water per 1tsp of powder.  

I placed the crock pot on low for 8 hrs and stirred anytime I was in the kitchen (not because it needed it but because it's what I do).

Okay here is where the proof that I am NOT a professional chef: I added way too much water so I added some sour cream to thicken it up after a few hours. An hour later I still wasn't happy with how soupy it was so I made a little gravy by melting butter and 1/4 cup of flour in a saucepan. I then used the moisture from my crockpot to make a little gravy. I let it cook just as I would gravy and poured the mixture into the crockpot. That helped a lot and the sour cream made a nice creamy color that will go perfect over mashed potatoes. 

Just before dinner time I boiled a large pot of water and placed my peeled and quartered potatoes in the pot. I boiled until the potatoes were soft and a fork easy pierced the potato. 

Next I drained the water, added a couple tablespoons of butter and milk and mashed. If too thick for your taste, add milk. I wanted mine kind of dry and chunky so the adsorb some of the gravy from the pork and noodles. 

Last I prepared plates by one scoop of mashed potatoes and one large scoop of pork and noodles poured over the top. 

Yum Yum! 

Pork Pot Roast for the Lazy Wife

I have no idea what time the hubby is going to be home tonight. He has to move round bales and deliver hay for his father's customers on his way home from work. His famous last words were "shouldn't take too long". So I need a dinner that is flexible for serving but not a ridiculous amount of calories as I cheated on my diet and had a Latte and coffee cake this afternoon. 

I have several friends that think I'm superhuman because I can create a big wholesome meal like their moms used to make but they do not believe me that it is no big deal! This recipe is for you. 

I started with a 3 lb Pork roast. I choose a loin as it was on sale this week at the grocery store. It makes a lot of leftovers which is great but I can even shred some of my leftover meat for supper tomorrow night for bbq pork sandwiches or stew etc I haven't decided yet. 

Next I rubbed the meat with whatever seasonings sounded good at the time. I had some Italian seasoning leftover from another recipe so used that, onion flakes, garlic, salt and pepper. Pretty basic stuff. Sometimes I will use Cajun seasoning or something a little spicy for a kick of flavor but tonight I'm going to make a small batch of gravy because that's what he likes best and Cajun tastes a little funky with gravy. 

<<<(Variation if you like a well cooked crust/color on your roast- I want to use my leftovers for a soup or sandwich so I want the whole thing soft and skipped this step) --- use 2-3 tbsp of olive oil on bottom of a pan or you can use your Dutch oven. Place on a burner and cook each side to preferred color. Remember this is not cooking the meat internally just adding color to the end product. Now continue on to the recipe below. >>>

Next I put the roast in a large Dutch oven. I added chicken broth (just enough to go about half the height of the roast), some veggies I had in the fridge for myself as the hubby won't touch them. Carrots, celery, onion tonight. You can add anything you think will taste good or no veggies at all. Finally I added some peeled potato halves to the liquid so they would be nice and soft by dinner time with making another dish to wash.  

Next I placed the covered Dutch oven in the oven at 275 degrees. I can cook this for about 3 hours but I start checking my meat temperature at about 2 hours to make sure it isn't over done. You want to remove from the oven at about 140 degrees internally and let it sit for at least 10 mins to finish cooking. It must be 145-160 degrees internally to be safely cooked. Anything more than that will just dry the meat out. 

You can either serve sliced with the veggies and potatoes on the side or you can make a quick and easy gravy in a skillet to pour over your dinner. 

Gravy: 1-2 tbsp of butter melted in pan. Add 3 tbsp of flour and mix well over medium high heat. Slowly add some of the juice and drippings from the roast and mix well. Keep stirring and add the leftover chicken stock to the pan a little at a time. Here you want to use a little judgement on the thickness of gravy you prefer. I like my gravy a little runnier for roast than I do for breakfast gravy so I'll add a little more stock/broth than someone who likes it thick. Whatever you like, add enough liquid (slowly) that it is runnier than you prefer. Here is a good opportunity to add some spices. I like using the same type of spices I used on my roast for consistent flavor but salt and pepper to taste are most important. Remember the broth you use will naturally be fairly salty so be careful to taste test before getting too crazy. Stir and cook for 5-10 mins until it reaches the consistency you like on medium heat. If it thickens too quickly, add more liquid and lower your temperature. 

Serve and enjoy!!