This week, I decided to get back into the habit of menu planning.  This was not a New Year’s resolution; it’s something I have been meaning to do for a long time.

I was having a hard time coming up with ideas, so I went to a Kraft Kitchens e-mail newsletter and started clicking on links.  I came up with a week’s worth of dinners, made a list, and went to the grocery store.

The first recipe I made was this Slow-Cooker Sweet and Sour Pork.  It uses barbecue sauce and chicken broth for the flavor.  I also added a little bit of the juice from the canned pineapple.

What You Need!

1-1/2 lb. boneless pork loin, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 onion, chopped
3/4 cup KRAFT Original Barbecue Sauce
1 can (14-1/2 oz.) chicken broth
1 can (8 oz.) pineapple chunks in juice, drained
1 green pepper, chopped
2 cups instant white rice, uncooked

Make It!

PLACE meat in slow cooker; top with onions.

ADD barbecue sauce and broth; cover with lid. Cook on LOW 6 to 7 hours (or on HIGH 4 hours).

STIR in remaining ingredients. Cook, covered, on LOW 30 min. or until rice is tender.

The recipe calls for a boneless pork loin, but I substituted pork chops because they were on sale for pennies on the dollar compared to the pork loin.  It required a bit more work, but the new kitchen shears I got for Christmas made quick work of that.

I like that the recipe calls for adding the green pepper near the end of cooking.  I never thought of doing that, but I hate how mushy peppers get in slow-cooker recipes.

Tip: cut up the peppers when you are putting everything else in the slow-cooker and put them in a container in the frige until needed.  That way, you only have to do veggie prep once and it’s easy-peasy to throw the chopped peppers, pineapple, and rice in a the end, without having to lug out your cutting board and knife again.

Both my husband and I liked this dish.

Sorry that I don’t have any pictures.  I didn’t realize I would like this so much that I would want to blog about it.