Slow cookers can be unsung kitchen heroes any time of the year, but particularly during the colder seasons. That’s because slow cookers take on one-pot meals with ease. A person simply places all the ingredients inside the crock, then returns in eight hours or so to a completely cooked meal.
Certain recipes, including stews, lend themselves well to the slow-cooking method. While beef is often associated with stew, plenty of proteins can take the place of beef, including pork.
This recipe for “Golden Harvest Pork Stew” from “Crock-Pot 365 Year-Round Recipes” (Publications International, Ltd.) by the Crock-Pot Kitchens utilizes pork and combines it with potatoes, carrots and corn for a stew that some may even mistake for a chowder.
Golden Harvest Pork Stew
Makes 4 servings
1 lb. boneless pork cutlets, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, divided
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 medium Yukon gold potatoes, unpeeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 cup chopped carrots
1 ear corn, broken into 4 pieces, or 1/2 cup corn
½ cup chicken broth
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon dried thyme
Chopped parsley
Toss pork pieces with 1 tablespoon flour; set aside. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add pork; cook until browned on all sides. Transfer to slow cooker.
Add remaining ingredients, except parsley and 1 tablespoon flour. Cover; cook on low five to six hours.
Stir ¼ cup cooking liquid into remaining 1 tablespoon flour in small bowl. Stir flour mixture into stew. Turn slow cooker to high. Cook 10 minutes or until thickened. Adjust seasonings, if desired. To serve, sprinkle with parsley.
