What's in the pot?

Oh, it's one of those days that I am thankful that I have meals ready to go.
I did not pay attention to my schedule and it turns out I have a school meeting from 11-12, a friend to help from about 12:30-2, a second school meeting from 3-4:15, a son to pick up across town at 4:15 (yes, I have to be two places at once), a 6-8pm class with my kids at school, and a taxi service to provide at both 7 and midnight. (Yes, once again I have to be in two places at the same time).

So what the heck will my beloved family eat for dinner? If I didn't have it ready I might be tempted to order pizza, or worse, tell my husband he's on his own tonight. Phew! When I looked in my freezer I was set.

So what's in the pot?
A scrumptious pork stew.

This is a new family recipe and I try to at least triple it when I make it so I can add it to the freezer.



Tips:
I buy the big pork loin at our bulk store (Costco). I can get 15 pork chops and two roasts from this $20 cut of meat.
When I freeze, I always use gallon sized zip locks and write the name of the recipe and the cooking instructions on the bag.
*brilliant idea this morning: I will start freezing the bags in a bowl to make sure they are the right shape to fit in my crock pot. That way I can plop the whole frozen glob in and walk away rather than having to defrost.

Delicious on a chilly day...

A lucky find while searching online~
This recipe was a fluke for me. I was out of beef, but had decided I wanted to make stew anyway. Did a quick online search for pork roast stew and really hit the jackpot!

Ingredients

2 lb. boneless pork shoulder roast 
1 Tbsp. olive oil 
1 Tbsp. butter 
2 stalks celery, chopped 
1 large onion, chopped 
1 Tbsp. dried chives
1 tsp. dried parsley, crushed
1 tsp. dried basil, crushed 
1/2 tsp. dried dill weed
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1 26-oz. jar traditional pasta sauce
1 14.5-oz. can diced tomatoes, undrained
2 cups frozen whole kernel corn 
1 cup packaged peeled fresh baby carrots, halved lengthwise

Directions
Trim fat from pork; discard fat. Cut pork in 1- to 2-inch pieces.

In a 4- to 5-quart Dutch oven cook pork, half at a time, in hot oil over medium-high heat until browned, stirring occasionally. Remove from pan. Add butter to pan. Add celery, onion, chives, parsley, basil, dill weed, and black pepper; cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally.

Add pasta sauce, tomatoes, corn, carrots, potatoes, and browned pork to onion mixture. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, about 1-1/2 hours or until meat and vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally. Season to taste with salt. Makes 8 (1-1/3-cup) servings.

Tips:
Can be easily doubled, tripled,or quadrupled and extra servings frozen for another day.