Back to the slow cooker

My love for the slow cooker came about all from one simple recipe, and that is Pork in the slow cooker. Now that I think about it, that is not the most intriguing name for a recipe, but nonetheless it's wonderful. Simply take a pork shoulder, place it in the slow cooker with approximately 1 inch deep of water. Next, use Dale's Seasoning and use enough to just cover the meat and give enough room for the pork to soak. In a standard 3 quart slow cooker, I use anywhere between 1/2 the jar for seasoning to 3/4. It really depends on the size of the pork shoulder and how much vegetables you want to add. Take note, this seasoning is quite salty, so until you get the taste down, less is always more. Now for the veggies. Personally I like to put onion and red potatoes in with the meat but others enjoy squash and or carrots. Go with what you like and you will be very impressed with the Dale's Seasoning . They do make this seasoning in a regular non low sodium version, but since there is so much sodium to begin with, I try to stick with the somewhat healthier one of the two.

This recipe was something my Mom would cook quite often and I always enjoyed it. When I went off to college this is something that I could put together, turn on, and not worry about it until I was ready to eat dinner that night. This recipe is even better these days because I can come home and have dinner already cooked for me. (after work)

A few notes when cooking this. I like to put the 1 inch deep water in the crock pot first, followed by the meat. Next, I use the Dale's Seasoning followed by the veggies. Using red potatoes works really well since the red potato is the hardest of all potatoes and takes the longest to cool. Considering this dish can cook up to 10 hours, you don't want your potatoes to turn to mash. The potatoes also act as a paper weight of sort to hold the pork down to all the juices. Last I place the onions in and let the cooker do the rest. On occasions, I will season the shoulder with a simple over the counter meat tenderizer before placing in the slow cooker. As for cooking time, it really depends and I have learned you really can't over cook this. I like to let mine cook for at least 8 hours but have let it cook as long as 10. You really can't mess this recipe up, so give it a try. I am sure you will enjoy.

As this Food Blog continues, you will see more then just slow cooker recipes, but I just felt like sharing these for now. I will try to also post pictures of these dishes, but I haven't made this pork dish is a while. As for the Dumplins recipe I shared a few days back, I didn't feel pictures were really needed for that. Quite frankly, it's not a very photogenic dish.