This is another recipe inspired by something our friend John made and served to us. He makes a dish of sauteed chicken breast chunks served over rice, with zucchini and mushrooms (each sauteed separately) spooned over, and then poultry gravy ladled over all of it. It's a pretty good meal.
Now, I'll tell you this, because I tell John this too...although he's a he, he's also something of a diva in the kitchen. He does nearly all of the cooking for his family and he doesn't really like it when I take one of his ideas and make it my own. But I do it all the time and he just has to deal with it. So, if you were able to ask him, he'd say the recipe that follows is NOTHING like the one he makes, and not as good, either. To use John's own words, I have only this to say...
Whatever.
I took his meal and adapted it, not only to the foods I already had on hand, but also to the crockpot, so I could let the meat cook at camp while we were out doing other things. It could still be served over rice, but we voted for pasta instead. So, John's right, this isn't much like his original dish. But I have to give him credit for the idea.
None of us thought we were very hungry the day I made this at camp, but we ended up eating every last bite of it.
Crockpot Pork and Gravy with Veggies
1 pork loin roast (about 2 pounds) cut into 1-inch cubes
2 packets of gravy mix (pork or poultry, either will work) or equal amount of bulk gravy mix
1 small to medium zucchini, sliced into half-moon shapes
1 small to medium onion (I used vidalia), cut into large chunks
1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and cut into chunks
pan spray or a small amount of oil
1 Tablespoon butter
seasoned salt
cooked, drained pasta of your choice
Place pork and a generous amount of water in a smaller crockpot and turn on the HI. Let meat cook on HI for about 4 hours, or on LO for about 6 hours, or until tender.
When meat is tender, whisk in gravy mix, cover and let thicken. Ours turned out rather thin, but it still worked just fine. If you like a thicker gravy, use either less water in the crockpot or more gravy mix.
Meanwhile, saute the chopped veggies in a skillet over medium heat that has been sprayed with pan spray or coated with just a drizzle of oil. Add a little seasoned salt to taste. When the veggies start to get a little bit tender, add a Tablespoon of butter to the skillet, increase heat to high, and sautee until veggies begin to brown.
Spoon veggies over cooked pasta and top both the veggies and pasta with some of the pork and gravy mixture. Serve with fresh fruit and/or bread on the side.
