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.

Curry Chicken Enchiladas

ALREADY HOME was released last week, and I’m thrilled to finally get the book into readers’ hands. Jenna, the heroine of ALREADY HOME is a chef who has lost her confidence in the kitchen. Her ex-husband, also a chef, made fun of her every time she tried something innovative, and she began to believe him when he said she had no talent. So she gives up her lifelong dream of being a chef and opens a retail kitchen store in her Texas hometown.


Through the course of the book, she’s challenged in more ways than she can count by the unexpected and unwelcome arrival of her birth mother. Through the turmoil, she rediscovers her love of adventurous cooking. I won’t go into details about how this happens because I don’t want to spoil the surprise. Let me just say there’s a first date involved, with a fabulous, handsome man.

One of Jenna’s innovations is Mexican/Indian fusion cuisine. In the book, she came up with a recipe for Curry Chicken Enchiladas. When I wrote that scene, these enchiladas didn’t exist, but I knew readers would ask me for them. So I came up with this recipe, and I have to say, it turned out even more delicious than I’d hoped! Enjoy!


Click here to read Chapter 1 and 2 of ALREADY HOME for free: www.alreadyhomenovel.com

Recipe: Curry Chicken Enchiladas

3 T olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno, minced (no seeds for mild, all seeds for hot)
½ t sugar
1 t cumin seed
2 T curry powder
1 bay leaf
½ t grated fresh ginger root
6 oz can of tomato paste
8 oz plain, unsweetened yogurt
½ C canned coconut milk
1 lb cooked chicken, cut into ¼-inch chunks
1 C cooked rice
¼ C cilantro
4 oz can of diced green chilies
4 oz shredded Monterrey jack cheese, divided
8 corn tortillas

Heat oil over medium heat. Sauté onion, garlic, and jalapeño until onion is translucent. Add sugar through coconut milk and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside ½ C of the yogurt sauce. To the remaining sauce, add the chicken, rice, cilantro, chilies, and half the cheese.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Wrap the tortillas with a damp paper towel and microwave for 30 seconds. Divide the chicken mixture evenly into the corn tortillas and place them seam-side down in a lightly greased 8-inch square pan. Pour the reserved yogurt sauce over the enchiladas. Cover and cook for 20 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with remaining cheese, and cook until the cheese has melted, about 5 minutes.

Serve with naan chips, peach salsa, and spiced chickpeas and tomatoes. More free recipes can be found at www.susanmallery.com/recipes.php.

(Confession: I forgot to take a picture, but the enchiladas looked like this stock photo I bought online. Next time I make them, I’ll get a picture. In the meantime, if you make them, I’d love for you to send a photo to my assistant at jenel@susanmallery.com.)