Pork BBQ

Ingredients:
Roast
- 1 loin cut pork roast
- 1 large white onion
- 3 carrots
- 4 medium red potatoes
- 1 bulb anise
- Salt, pepper
- Worcestershire sauce
- Bar-B-Que sauce (see below, enough to cover roast)
- 1/2 c. water
- 2 tbsp flour

Sauce (~1 cup)
- 1/2 c. vinegar
- 3 tbsp. honey
- 2 tsp. salt
- 2 tsp. pepper
- 3 tsp. cayenne chili powder
- 3 tbsp. catsup

Cut .5 inch gashes in the loin, each about 1 inch apart. Rub in salt and pepper.

Line the slow cooker with potatoes, onions, and anise. Place pork in cooker and carrots along the sides.

Sprinkle the pork generously with Worcestershire - be sure to put some in slits. Pour Bar-B-Que sauce completely over roast putting into slits also. Pour water in bottom of cooker to prevent sticking and to cook the side veggies. Cook on high about 5 hours. Remove pork and vegetables and keep in separate containers.

Skim fat from remaining sauce. On the side, mix about 2 tablespoons of flour with 1/4 cup water until smooth. Simmer sauce, adding flour mixture until thick.

Pull meat off bone into small pieces, discarding fat and bone. Mix in sauce. This is delicious on buns or plate with vegetables.

This recipe is very loosely based on the following recipes from cooks.com:
http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1627,147166-243207,00.html (Slow cooker pork roast)
http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,1627,147172-225193,00.html (Pork Barbecue)

Chili-Cornbread Bake - Ready in 30 minutes!

Ingredients:

1 box Cornbread Mix for 6 muffins (I've had success with Jiffy and Marie Callender's)

1 Egg

1/3 Cup Milk

1 Can of Chili (I usually look for stuff that's low-fat but high in protein)

Directions (using a box of Jiffy mix):

1. Line a 9 x 5" or 8 x 4" pan with foil (for easy cleanup) and spray it with non-stick spray. Preheat the oven to 400 F.

2. Open the can of Chili and dump it into the pan.

3. Prepare the cornbread mix according to the directions on the box* and pour it over the chili in the pan. My box required 1 egg and 1/3 cup of milk.

4. Bake at 400 F for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted through the cornbread comes out clean. The box says to bake it for 15-20 minutes, but in the past baking for a few minutes more ensured that the bottom of the cornbread was cooked all the way.

*If you want to jazz up the recipe add 3/4 cup of drained corn to the mix with 1 chopped jalapeno and half of a diced onion. It'll do wonders.

Cost: ~$2.50 for 2 meals!