Christie O's Crock Pot Balsamic Pork with Onions

I am so excited to share this delicious meal with you! 

It is called Crock Pot Balsamic Pork with Onions and I found it on a blog that I love and read regularly called Average Moms Wear Capes.  In just a few words, Christie is an energetic and enthusiastic Florida Gal who wears a variety of caps (and capes) with the labels Mom, Runner, and Writer, to name only a couple.  I always look forward to getting her blog posts in my inbox.

This dish is just too good not to pass along... and it all comes together so easily that you will want to make it again and again.   It is the season for crock pots, so get yours out, wipe off the dust and get cooking!

Start with a pork roast, some onions, dark balsamic vinegar, water, salt and pepper... layer them in the crock pot....



Cook it all up for a few hours... then thicken and sweeten the sauce and serve.  It's just that easy!

 

The Captain loves potatoes so I spooned some of the sauce over them like gravy.  Delicious.

 

 

 

And I had mine with some kabocha squash.

 

The pork is so succulent and so tender after cooking in the crock pot all day, and it just falls apart when removed.    We had the leftovers the next night with some rice and veggies.  Next time I will make a larger batch and freeze the leftovers... there are pork loins on sale at one of my local markets this week and I am on my way to get some.

 

Please check out the recipe and instructions as Christie wrote them  and when you comment there, please tell her I sent you... and then go plug in your crock pot!

 

And for my Weight Watchers friends... I didn't calculate the N.I. of this dish.  The numbers are going to depend on the kind of pork roast you use, and the number of servings  you get out of the recipe.  My pork roast was only very lean and about 1 pound so I halved the ingredients and it made 4 ample servings.  I would think you should get at least 8 servings out of the ingredients Christie describes... and the P+ value would be approximately 7 or 8 for the pork, onions, and sauce.  Very reasonable.

 

Are you a crock pot fan? 

 

Do you say 'slow cooker' or 'crock pot'?

 

Another Banana Omelet

You already know that I am quite enamoured of the Banana Omlet recipe that I posted recently.

I have been doing a bit more experimenting with it, trying to find a way to make it a little less calorie-laden and came up with something pretty good. 

On days when I want that higher protein breakfast, I will still make up my original recipe, but this one is great for those mornings when I want just a bit of something before heading off to my busy day.  It is very tasty... and the banana flavor is much more apparent than in the orginal Banana Omelet.

Give it a try, I would love to know what you think.

I made it this way for The Captain and me, but of course you could halve the ingredients and use a smaller pan.  I served it with a bit of soynut butter on the top.

And if you have a frozen banana, great, just make sure it is thoroughly thawed before you start mixing.  Don't use too high a heat setting - the sugar in the banana will burn fairly easily.

 



Another Banana Omelet
Makes 2 servings

• 1 medium banana
• 2 eggs
• Dash of cinnamon

1. Mash the banana well and mix in the eggs and beat till frothy.
2. Pour mixture into a skillet that has been coated with non-stick spray and set over MEDIUM heat.
3. Sprinkle with cinnamon.
4. Once the edges of the omelet are a bit dry and cooked, cover and let sit till the eggs are cooked through, about 5 minutes.
5. Fold in half and serve.

Per serving.
Weight Watchers P+ = 3.
Calories 129 ; Protein 7g; Carbohydrate 14g; Fat 5g; Fibre 1g.

Beat the eggs and mashed banana till frothy.  I used my immersion blender.

 

Sprinkle with cinnamon.

Fold to serve.

 

With a bit of nut butter and some fruit and toast. 

 

 

Printable Recipe

 

Do you think this is something you would make?  If you do, I would love to know if you liked it.



Melanie's Prize Winning Apple Pie Baked Oatmeal

I recently found a recipe that one of my fellow Fitfluential Ambassadors, Melanie, developed for a Quaker Oats Contest... and I thought it looked and sounded too good to pass on.  It is an Apple Pie Baked Oatmeal.

It does take a few minutes to assemble and get into the oven, and it has to cook for 45 minutes, so this is not something you are going to do on a busy workday.... but on a weekend, yes, do give it a try.  And once it is made up, it keeps in the refrigerator for a couple of days and can be re-heated on those mornings you are in a hurray.  Always nice to have something quick.

Since I have had to start outfitting my kitchen, almost from scratch, I haven't purchased any pie plates yet... so I used a glass cake pan to make up Melanie's Apple Pie Baked Oatmeal... but I am going to share my pictures with you anyway. 

Chopped apples, oats, nuts and spices.

 

The wet ingredients added with the dry.

 

And poured into a prepared baking dish.

 

After coming out of the oven.  Smells wonderful!

 

A 1/6th serving....

with a bit of yogurt and syrup for The Captain.\

 

And mine is a 1/8th serving... not that much smaller really.

 

I did make a couple of small changes... I substituted walnuts for pecans, and I used coconut oil in place of vegetable oil. I did use a sugar free syrup, too, to keep the calorie count down for me and the other Weight Watchers who will want to make this dish.  Minor tweaks and I know you will want to visit Melanie's blog, nutritious eats, for the recipe and instructions for this delicious Apple Pie Baked Oatmeal... and also see her beautiful photos!

 

For my Weight Watchers friends who like to know how things shape up nutritionally, I am going to share the N.I. for the pie the way I made it up, noting my substitutions in the ingredients as described.

 

Per serving of 1/8th of pie, not including topping.

Weight Watchers P+ = 5.

Calories 194; Protein 5g; Carbohydrate 23g;  Fat 10g; Fibre 3g.

 

Per serving of 1/6th of pie, not including topping.

Weight Watchers P+ = 7.

Calories 259; Protein 7g; Carbohydrate 30g; Fat 13g; Fibre 4g.

 

By the way, I just found out that Melanies' recipe won the contest.  Congratulations, Melanie!

 

Are you an oatmeal fan? Have you ever tried baked oatmeal?