Slow-Cooked Honey-Soy Pork and Potatoes

You can print this recipe and lots more at www.susanmallery.com/recipes.php! Last week, I went to Book Expo America in New York. Normally when I go on a trip, I let my husband fend for himself as far as meals. After all, he’s a grown man and perfectly capable of feeding himself. However, this was my second trip in less than a month. I had also traveled to Texas on book tour for ALREADY HOME just two weeks earlier.

Nothing says “I love you” to most men like meat and potatoes. My slow cooker was just the ticket. I could make a pork roast for us to share on Sunday, and he could eat leftovers on Monday and Tuesday. That’s two days’ worth of loving feeling.

Since the roast was in the slow cooker, I had time to pack, unpack, and repack on Sunday as I obsessed about what to wear in New York City, the most fashionable city in the U.S. (I was going to say “in the world,” but that seemed presumptuous. Paris or Milan would likely take top honors. I’ve never been to either; New York is intimidating enough.)

What I love about the slow cooker is that you get the credit for making a home-cooked meal with much less hassle. Throw everything in and then ignore it for eight hours. I did make some gravy right before serving, so that was about ten minutes of work. This meal would be even easier if you made packaged pork gravy. I served the roast with a ready-made salad from the grocery store. Big thumbs-up from the man.

Recipe: Slow-Cooked Honey-Soy Pork and Potatoes

¼ C soy sauce
2 T honey
1 t black pepper
1 pork roast, about 4 pounds
3-4 potatoes, cut into fourths
1 large onion, sliced thick
2 T flour
Salt and pepper

Throw the potatoes and onion slices on the bottom of the slow cooker. Place the pork roast, fat side up, on top of the vegetables. Mix together the soy sauce, honey, and 1 t black pepper. Pour over the roast. Cook on low for 8 hours.

To make the gravy, remove the pork and vegetables to a platter. Pour the liquid through a strainer into a measuring cup. Add enough water to make 2 cups of liquid. Let sit for 5-10 minutes. Preheat a heavy-bottomed, small saucepan on medium heat. Skim 2 T of oil from the top of the liquid and heat up in the pan until shiny but not smoking. Sprinkle 2 T of flour on the oil, stir. Add about a quarter-cup of the liquid to the flour mixture. Stir well, getting rid of lumps. Add another quarter-cup of liquid and stir well. Continue until all of the liquid has been added. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Simmer until the gravy is the desired thickness. Salt and pepper to taste.