* image These past few months have been busy for our family, especially since our oldest joined a local swim team. Between juggling our work schedules and balancing school with practices... we're all pretty wiped out. Although it's a lot of work, I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving. Preparing the holiday meal for our family fills my heart with joy, and I can't wait to get started. To make things easier for me, I don't deviate much from our first Thanksgiving as a family. The dishes I make are familiar ones, and the recipes for them live at my fingertips. Keeping the same menu year after year means I don't have to spend time researching recipes or planning a new one. Here are my tried-and-true Thanksgiving recipes, as well as my prep timeline for the big day!
Slow Cooker Asian-Inspired Pork over Soba Noodles with Bell Peppers and Snow Peas
When I came home from my morning spent working remotely at our local Panera (I needed a change of scenery), I decided to spend the rest of the afternoon working from the comfort of my favorite armchair. Problem is, now that I'm here, I'm fighting a sudden temptation to take a little catnap before dinner. To stay on track, I've turned to the task of sharing a new recipe with you.
You long-term readers might be surprised to discover that this new recipe, adapted from a recipe I pinned onto Pinterest a while back, involves pork. For those of you who don't know, pork isn't exactly my favorite protein out there. But Stephen likes it, so I add it into the dinner rotation every now and then to keep him happy.
That's marriage, right? 😊
Turns out, it was pretty darn tasty. I loved the crispness of the bell peppers and snow peas, and the heartiness of the soba noodles meant that a little went a long way. (In other words, we were living off of the leftovers for a few days.)
My version includes the following changes:
I used double the amount of ginger called for in the original recipe (we can't get enough of it);
I added a clove of garlic (to complement the ginger and add another layer of flavor);
I used 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper (because we can handle the heat);
I used boneless pork loin (the grocery store didn't have pork shoulder), which, of course affected the total cooking time.
The next time I make this dish, I'll probably cut the recipe in half so we're not stuck with more leftovers than the two of us can handle. Or, I'll freeze the pork with the sauce to defrost at a later point in time to serve with freshly cooked noodles and vegetables. Either way, we'll definitely be having it again.
Slow Cooker, Pork, Asian, Asian-Inspired, Soba
Asian, Asian-Inspired, Slow Cooker, Crockpot
Yield: 6 servings
Author: Taste As You Go // adapted from Real Simple
Slow Cooker Asian-Inspired Pork over Soba Noodles with Bell Peppers and Snow Peas
The crispness of the bell peppers and snow peas and the heartiness of the soba noodles allow a little to go a long way.
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 3 H & 15 MTotal time: 3 H & 25 M
