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Minimalism from a Biblical Point of View —

Biblical Minimalism is "a complete, whole-person release of anything unlike Jesus, a letting go of everything that hinders us from following Him wholeheartedly and single-mindedly, and a relinquishing of all that brings us under bondage to this earthly, very temporary life." Cheryl E. Smith

Friday, July 17, 2020

How to Stretch a Pork Roast

 "Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful."
1 Corinthians 4:2


Living a life of Biblical Minimalism causes us to see the necessity of being frugal, good stewards over what God has entrusted to us.  Never before in our generation have we seen the need of this more than now.  The coronavirus pandemic has caused the whole world to stop, take a pause, and reconsider what needs to be changed about our way of living.  

Today, I am sharing an excerpt from a recent Homespun Devotions post because it really fits into what it means to live a frugal, simple life of Biblical minimalism.  

"One thing I've learned over 32 years of marriage is how to be frugal in the kitchen, and one of the neatest ways that allows me to call forth my creative side is by challenging myself with making meals that will feed my little family and me for more than one meal.  The goal is to always stay in competition with myself to see just how many meals one dish can stretch into!  😂

Upon leaving a comment over at Deborah's blog, "The Beautiful Matters" (by the way, I love, love, LOVE her blog ~ you should check it out and subscribe - she published a beautiful book review of our book recently ~ you can read it HERE), it came to my mind that I should share here what I was sharing in that comment.  So, here goes!

First, though - I'm sorry I am not one of those super-talented foodie bloggers.  I have no photos of the food to show, but I can promise you that these recipes work, they will stretch your grocery dollar until it screams, and you will hear lots of "mmms" and see smiling faces at your supper table!

One of the ways I cook something that stretches into feeding our family of three for nearly a week is by starting out with cooking a pork roast in the crock pot.  

I season the outside of the pork roast with my "go-to" seasoning combination.  I use this blend for SO many recipes.  Here are the stars of the show:

Seasoned Salt 
(I used to only buy Lawry's, but I have found that the Aldi brand is just as good and usually less expensive.)
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Black Pepper
Note:  I also sometimes add paprika or even steak seasoning, (depending on what I am cooking) to this "go-to" seasoning.

So, after I rub the outside of the pork roast with the above seasoning combination, I put it in the crock pot (fat-side down), and I take the handle of a wooden spoon and poke holes all over the roast, making sure to twist the spoon handle to make the holes bigger.

Next is where an amazing secret comes in concerning cooking a pork roast!! 

The liquid I pour over and around the pork roast is ~ not water, but apple juice!  The apple juice permeates down into the holes and flavors the pork as it cooks, and oh, my!  Let me just say that it takes this already delicious dish to a whole new level.  It also makes your gravy a beautiful golden color and gives it a distinctive flavor.  (recipe below)

And, here is how I start stretching a pork roast into enough to feed us for about a week:

Meal #1 from cooked Pork Roast

~ Pork Roast, Mashed Potatoes, Gravy, Corn, and Green Beans ~

After the roast is done, remove the meat from the crock pot, leaving the broth behind.

Cut the meat into servings and place it on a pretty meat platter.

Strain the broth by putting a colander over a large bowl and pouring the broth from the crock pot into the colander, making sure to sift out everything but the luscious, rich broth.  Set the strained bowl of broth aside.

Then, make homemade gravy, just like this:

Start out by melting one stick of butter in a large saucepan.

To the butter, add some flour to make a nice, rich roux ~
(Sorry, I don't have the exact measurement on the flour - I use the old-timey Tupperware scoops, and it usually takes about 2 to 3 of those heaping scoops to one stick of butter.  The general rule for a roux is equal parts fat and flour.)

To the roux, add the "go-to" seasoning mix above (to taste) and stir the butter, flour, and seasonings together until everything is smooth.

Then, pour the entire bowl of broth into the roux and stir vigorously.  You will want to have your heat up pretty high during this process.  Let it bubble, and stir continually until the mixture starts to look like real, homemade gravy.  Oh, my goodness!  This is SUCH good gravy!  It thickens to a beautiful texture, and the taste is just amazing!  If any remaining lumps bother you, you can use an immersion blender to break them up.  (I LOVE my immersion blender!)

For this meal, I also make homemade mashed potatoes, canned corn seasoned with butter, and 2 cans of green beans.  I pour the 2 cans of green beans into a pot, add two beef boullion cubes, and let them cook until all the water is cooked off (about 10 minutes or so).

After this original pork roast meal, the creative fun begins!  From that leftover pork roast, the following recipes spring forth!

Meal #2 from cooked Pork Roast

~ Open-faced Pork Roast Sandwiches ~

Toast two pieces of bread, while heating a portion of pork roast and gravy, separately, in microwave.

Butter the toast, then layer the pork roast on the buttered toast.

Pour the warm gravy over the open-faced sandwich.

Serve with some of the leftover mashed potatoes, corn, and green beans, if desired.

Meal #3 from cooked Pork Roast

~ Pork Ranch Barbecue Nachos ~

Ingredients:

Cool Ranch Doritoes
Shredded Cheese
Can of Chili Beans, heated
(I pulverized the beans with an immersion blender as I heated them, but you could also smash them with a fork or potato masher.  Chili beans are what we had on hand, but you could also use refried beans or some other type of canned beans.)
Leftover Pork Roast, reheated
Diced Tomatoes
Sour Cream
Ranch Dressing
Barbecue Sauce
Diced Onions (if desired)

Spread a layer of Cool Ranch Doritoes on a dinner plate.

Spread shredded cheese over the Doritoes.

Spread warm chili beans over cheese.

Spread warm pork roast over beans.

Shred another layer of cheese on top of the pork roast.

Top with diced tomatoes, dollops of sour cream, onions (if desired).

Squirt ranch dressing in a criss-cross pattern over the top.

Squirt barbecue sauce in a criss-cross pattern over the ranch dressing.

You could also add jalapeno peppers, black olives, pico de gallo, salsa, or any other toppings you'd like.

Meal #4 from cooked Pot Roast

~ Barbecue Pork Sandwiches ~

Ingredients:

Leftover Pork Roast
Barbecue Sauce of your choice
Hamburger Buns
Butter
Bag of Cole Slaw 
(Pre-shredded mixture of cabbage & carrots.  We always put ours through our chopper to blend extra-fine.)
Mayonnaise
Vinegar
Sugar

Sandwiches:

Heat leftover pork roast in a saucepan & slather with barbecue sauce while heating.

Butter top and bottom of each bun and brown in a skillet, butter-size down.

Assemble sandwiches by placing a portion of barbecue pork on each bottom bun, then topping meat with cole slaw.  (Recipe below.)

Cole Slaw

Place shredded cabbage mixture in bowl.

Mix mayonnaise, vinegar, and sugar in small bowl.
(I apologize that I do not measure.  I just put about 2-3 large dollops of mayonnaise in a bowl, with a dash of vinegar, and about 2-3 teaspoons of sugar.  I keep stirring and taste-testing and adding sugar/vinegar it until it tastes "right" to me.  😕
I know ~ but this is the country way of doing things and the way Mom taught me to cook!)

Pour mayonnaise, vinegar, and sugar dressing over the cabbage, and voila!  You have cole slaw!

Note:  This slaw is SO good - it takes me back to when I was growing up and Mom, Dad, and I would go into country restaurants and they would serve cole slaw with Captain's Wafers crackers before the meal.  Does anyone else remember that?  

Meal #5 from cooked Pork Roast

~ Cold Pork Roast Sandwiches ~

Slather a slice of bread with mayonnaise and pepper.

Place cold pork roast on bread, and top with second slice.

Yummy and so, so simple.

Meal # 6 from cooked Pork Roast

~ Must Go Soup ~

Ingredients:

Gravy
Mashed Potatoes
Corn
Green Beans
Pork Roast
Half & Half
Any other leftover cooked veggies from refrigerator
You can also add any canned veggies that don't require a long cooking time

Dump all into a large pan and heat slowly.  When meat and veggies are warm, top everything with Half & Half until all is covered to a creamy, liquid consistency.  The leftover mashed potatoes and gravy give this soup an amazingly rich base that morphs into a delicious, velvety soup.

Again, I wish I had taken photos of all of this at each step, but I failed to do so.  I was too busy enjoying the process of creating wonderful things for my little family to eat.  

I hope you can find something in this post that will spark a new creative and very frugal adventure in your own kitchen cooking for the ones you love most in the world!

Let me know if you try any of these recipes!  May God bless you as you seek to live a Biblically minimal life!

6 comments:

  1. Girl, I can stretch a meal too. Learned from the best, my granny! So funny...I made pulled pork in my electric roaster this past week at the beach for my family. Of course I made a blend of seasonings from home to carry with me and rubbed that roast down good and let him sit for 24 hours. And yes...I used apple juice in my pot while cooking the pork roast. It was so tender and juicy! I love cooking with apple juice. Thanks for sharing sweet lady. Hugs and blessings, Cindy

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    1. Your granny sounds like a precious soul! I am so happy you all had a great time at the beach and could enjoy your home cooking while you were there! I had your post up on my laptop ready to read and had computer issues and didn't get to read it. I am heading there now! Hugs and blessings to you, too, sweet friend!

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  2. Great suggestions, I am on a tight budget so this is helpful :)
    I am the winner of your book from the drawing on Marilyn Moseley's blog. I don't see a place to mail you my address, but if you will visit my blog on my profile page there is a link to my email. Once you email me, I'll be able to reply with my address. I'm looking so forward to reading your book. God bless you and have a lovely week.
    Connie :)

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    1. I am glad it helped you, Connie. I certainly understand being on a tight budget, and it is amazing how the Lord is teaching me how to stretch every cent. It has become something that is quite enjoyable to me. We got your book out in the mail to you yesterday. I truly hope it will be a blessing to you. God bless you with a wonderful weekend!

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  3. I love pork roast. I usually get a large one at Walmart and cook it in the crockpot or electric roaster and its good for several meals.

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    1. We love it, too, Regina. We love beef roast, too, but it is so expensive. I love it when we find a good deal on one, and I may just share some recipes for that and also how we stretch it, too!

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