Here are a couple of recipes that we have tried over the last couple of weeks that were oh so good. The Sweet and Sour Pork was originally  posted about a month ago at Elizabeth's Clothesline but her blog is no longer there (if you are out there somewhere new please let me know so I can visit). It was too delicious to let fade into Internet ether. If you are still out there Elizabeth- thank you for originally posting it.

Sweet and Sour Pork

Place ribs in an ungreased 5 qt slow cooker. In a large bowl combine the remaining ingredients. Pour over ribs. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours. Thicken the sauce if desired.

My Notes:  I actually used a pork roast because there were some marked down packages at the store making it cheaper than the country style ribs the recipe calls for.  I cubed it up and fried the meat in a little oil just long enough to brown the outside then added the veggies for just a moment more then put them in the crockpot along with the pineapple (seperated from its juice. I combined the remaining ingredients (including the juice from the pineapple )and used that  to deglaze the frypan to make sure all the good crispies made it into the crockpot.

Teriyaki Pork Roast

Place roast in crockpot. Combine all other ingredients except cornstarch and water and pour over roast, turning to make sure entire roast is coated. Cook on low 7-8 hours. Remove roast and keep warm. Combine water and cornstarch in  saucepan stirring until smooth. Add juices from crockpot and bring to boil. Cook, stirring, until thickened, about 2 minutes . Serve with roast.

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Two recipes to share, both based on what was recently on sale or marked down.

Crockpot Steak

Put steaks in bottom of crock pot. Add two cans Golden Mushroom soup. If so inclined you can also add onions and mushrooms. Cook on high at least 6 hours, until the meat  falls apart. Serve over cooked egg noodles.  - My mom used to use regular Cream of Mushroom soup but my hubby prefers the Golden Mushroom so that's how I make it now.

This is an old favorite from a cookbook from the 70's:

Pork Marengo

Source: BH&G Crockery Cooker Cook Book

• 2 lbs. boneless pork shoulder,cut into 1" cubes
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 2 Tbsp. cooking oil
• 1 16oz. can diced tomatoes (I  use two because we like extra sauce)
• 1 tsp. instant chicken bouilon
• 1 tsp. dried marjoram, crushed
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme, crushed
• dash pepper
• 1 3oz. can mushrooms stems and pieces
• 1/3 cup cold water
• 3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
• Hot cooked rice.

In a skillet brown the pork and the onion in batches in hot oil.  Drain off flavor fat   (I actually never do)Transfer meat and  onion to the crockpot. Put tomatoes, bouillon, marjoram, salt, thyme and pepper into skillet and stir together scraping browned bits off the bottom. Pour mixture over pork in crockpot. Cover, cook on low 8-10 hours. Turn to high heat settings and stir in drained mushrooms. Blend flour and cold water together until smooth. Pour into pork mixture. Cook, uncovered, on high heat 15-20 minutes until mixture thickens, stirring occasionally. Serve over rice. Serves 6-8.

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Visit Sandra at Diary of a Stay At Home Mom for more great slow cooker links

The I  need to put something in NOW version: Throw into the crockpot enough boneless skinless thighs to feed your crew (frozen if you forgot to defrost.)  Top with 3 cups(more or less) pizza sauce . Cook on low 6 hours if using thawed meat, 8 hours if using frozen (or you can cook about an hour on high and then turn it down but be careful because pizza sauce will burn if left on high). About 30 min.  before serving remove the meat and stir in 6oz. cubed cream cheese. After the cheese has been stirred in smooth add the meat back in and finish cooking . Serve over cooked noodles with parmesan cheese.

If you are not in a rush you could add chopped onions, pepper and sliced olives (sauteed if you really have the time to spare). Next time I also want to try mozzarella cheese instead of the parmesan.

As moms with lots of kids will understand it is often good economical sense to open a #10 can. In my experience if you need three or more "normal" size cans it is cheaper to go with the #10 even if you end up throwing all the rest away. I try not to throw anything away which results in some creative experiments sometimes. Thus this recipe. (Oh- and I was in a hurry. It was Sunday morning  and we were running late and I had to throw something in fast so we could eat after church. )Despite it all my husband, who cringes when he sees the slow cooker, loved it and said he  definately wanted to have it again. Go figure.

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