Some reason I was scouring the internets for new stuff and recipes. Pretty much if you look at my pantry you'll typically find cans consisting of chickpeas, tomato sauce, and Gandules (aka Pigeon Peas). So you can imagine what- outside of the inappropriate searches on my web browser- I was looking up. I came across Slow cooker Pork and Gandules Stew. Now this hits a couple of things- 1) first time for me using a slower cooker (at least that I could remember), 2) Gandules, 3) brand new, 4) healthy eating. I had been sitting on this recipe for a bit and with thoughts of Saturday (today) being a bum figured why not try it.
Prep work was started last night (Friday) as we all know (or should know) meat is best marinaded overnight. Actually had everything in stock outside of the pork tenderloin so was a short trip to Meijer. Typically speaking I think their meat selection isn't all that great. PAUSE. But considering was kind of short notice as I don't plan much they had what I needed. PAUSE.
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| Pork tenderloin looking kind of pervy |
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| What I strive to look like when I seasoned the meat. #SaltBae #NotCode |
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| Pork marinated and ready to chill in the fridge overnight |
Funny enough I had to ask questions to Karen about the slower cooker- not so much how to use it as all you do is plug it in and set it to the hours needed and walk away. It was more what goes in first- the vegetables, sauce, meat, etc. Probably resembled an episode of Worst Cooks In America on how stupid I felt asking. So if you're curious I went sauce/water, vegetables, then pork. Honestly probably made no difference at all because I ended up stirring/combining it more once it cooked for a while
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| Crock Pottery at it's finest. |
I did make some adjustments to the recipe as there may be some picky eaters in this household. Their names rhyme with Sharon and Silly. Left out the escarole/kale/spinach all together as they are not fans of it. Honestly don't really think that they would have added much to the stew outside of Being addicted to Adobo I use that instead of salt and pepper as I feel that does a better job getting more taste. I used mild jalapeños from a jar as they who shall not be named are spice sensitive. And then instead of 1 medium potatoes (assuming they meant a Russet) I went with yellow potatoes as I had those handy. As far as the celery I probably only used 1/2 a stalk...well let's say 3/4. It was an estimation as I thought a whole stalk of celery was excessive so only used a portion of it. I mean no one care about celery as its more filler than thriller.
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| The finished product |
8 hours later and what was the final verdict? Sharon and Silly really liked it. Needless to say I'm biased and much like TV cook shows you don't expect me to say anything else other than FANTASTIC or YUMMO. What's Salt Bae or as I call him Sparkle Chef's thoughts?
Super simple to make. I think if you're not into pork you could probably substitute chicken breast and it would come out great. Health wise for you folks watching your waistlines- it's only 180 calories for a cup and totally filling. Probably- which I saw the website show a picture of it- going to try at least one time for leftovers serving it over some rice. I had thought about having some fried plantains with it but having gone to Meijer I didn't do it as I think their plantains for whatever reason are terrible. Next time I go there I'll see where they import them from. Damn my high standards!
Keep on cooking!
-Reef-
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