Recipe ~ Slow Cooker Pork Loin Roast Stew

I get tired of roasts. They are just boring sometimes. I sometimes want something more cozy, comforting. Less dry....

So this time I decided to try a slow cooker stew. I found some good recipes (like this one that I AM going to try when I get some squash), but ended up using several as a reference and tweaking, as usual.

Potatoes and onions in the Crock-Pot
photo courtesy of Raige Creations

I started with using the same ingredients I would with a roast.

Ingredients: Potatoes, onions, carrots, meat. 

I cut up the potatoes and onions and popped them into the Crock Pot dish.

Meat
photo courtesy of Raige Creations

I got a Pork Loin Roast, it seemed like a better deal, and tried to cut off some of the fat. Leave a little, it adds to the flavor. 

Cut that into cubes, about 2 inches square-ish.

The supporting cast
photo courtesy of Raige Creations

Then I assembled some spices and the juice needed to make it more stew-like, and added them along with the carrots. 

Ingredients: broth (about 1/2c), cooking sherry (about 1/4c), thyme, crushed red pepper, Italian seasoning, garlic. 

(I didn't actually add the garlic when I made it, but as we were eating it, I thought garlic would have been good to add.)

I only had chicken broth, so that is what I used. Perhaps a beef stock would have been better.

Ready to start cooking!
photo courtesy of Raige Creations

I added everything to the Crock-Pot, turned on low and set to cook for 7-8 hours. 

I thought that a stew would be excellent with beans, and we happened to have Pinto Beans in the cupboard.

Pinto Beans, or your favorite beans,
make this stew even more hearty.
photo courtesy of Raige Creations

I added the beans about 30 minutes before it was done because they were canned. You could use dry beans, soak them as directed, and put them in at the beginning.

Ingredients: Pinto Beans, Wondra flour

The Wondra flour I also added toward the end, mainly because I didn't think of it sooner. I realized the stew needed to be thicker, so Wondra to the rescue!

My favorite go-to thickener - Wondra!
photo courtesy of Raige Creations

Now, if you have read any of my other recipes, you know I don't usually measure. In fact, the only thing I measured here was the liquid because the liquid is important in slow cooking and stews. 

Here again, I didn't measure the Wondra. I just added it little by little, stirring until it blended it each time, until I thought it was thick enough. 
(I know I know, you shouldn't lift the lid on a slow cooker....blah blah blah, but I did anyways and then let it cook another 30 minutes or so, so the meal was not ruined....)

Pork Loin Roast Stew
photo courtesy of Raige Creations

I encourage you to tweak your own versions. Next time I make this I will undoubtedly tweak it some more.

They boys added more hot sauce to it, and hubby complained there was no rice to go under it in his bowl, so these are ideas to add next time too.

In the end it was the hearty, yummy, comfort food, and it wasn't boring. 

I would love to hear any slow cooker stew recipes you love! Share in the comments.