It's beef...I promise!

Last night we had our first freezer meal from the shopping trip and the weekend from Hades that it took to prepare it all. It was so nice to let something thaw overnight and the next morning just throw it into the crock-pot and let it cook all day. The hardest thing I did was prepare rice and steam a few cups of sweet green peas for a side. I also made drop biscuits on the side. Actually, I just measured the ingredients and my six year old made drop biscuits. Not surprisingly, her biscuits were much prettier than mine and she managed to make 12 large biscuits from a recipe that claimed to only make nine. My child obviously has cooking skills! (She DID NOT get that from me!)

This recipe was called Pork & Veggies and I got it from a website for freezer cooking. I included the link with the recipe below. This is one of the several websites I used and I LOVE some of the website owner's recipes. I altered this one a bit to match our tastes, but I can't go without giving credit where it is due!

I honestly was expecting this one to turn out with a soup type consistency. I'm not sure why I assumed this as there is not much liquid in it to begin with. The consistency reminded me of a stir-fry once it was finished. When paired with the rice, it pretty much resembles a stir-fry in consistency. The taste is not like a stir-fry, but it is very good.

I thought this was going to be an absolute "Family Favorite", but my kids proved me wrong. Here is a sample of last night's dinner conversation:

Andrea: Mommy, was is this?
Me: It's beef.
Andrea: It doesn't look like beef! (frowns disapprovingly and pokes her food with a fork)
Jake: It's CHICKEN! (He's two so everything is chicken for him!)
Andrea: It's not good. I'm not hungry. It's something nasty.
Me: It's beef! I promise!

Andrea finally tried her food about thirty minutes later and said it was okay. The kids did, however, eat their rice. I guess starch rules supreme in our house! Even though the kids disapproved, Russ and I really enjoyed the meal and he took leftovers today for work. I even split this recipe into two separate freezer bags and had leftovers from just one bag so I was pleasantly surprised. I'm very happy we get to try this recipe again over the next month. I'm sure my kids will be thrilled as well!

In the recipe below, I will write the original recipe ingredients I left out in parentheses. That way, if you want the stuff we took out included, you will have the instructions for it! Also, I'm fully aware the recipe says pork roast below. I accidently grabbed a rump roast at the store so that's the reason for the mix-up!

Happy cooking!


Pork & Veggies
(from http://www.lovingmynest.com/learning-activities/cooking/freezer-crock-pot-recipes/)
1 lb Pork Roast, cut into 1/2 inch strips
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, slicked
4 carrots, sliced
(1/2 lb fresh mushrooms, sliced)
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1.5 T apple cider vinegar
1 t salt
2 t Worcestershire Sauce

Combine ingredients in a large zip top bag, freeze. Thaw contents of bag and place in a slow cooker. Cook on low 6-8 hours. Serve over hot rice. Serves approximately 5-6 people.