Pork Shoulder with Mushroom Sauce

Confession time...I hardly ever use cream of anything soup. Or a crock pot. My mom rarely used the soup in her recipes so it never became part of my cooking repertoire. And I never even heard of a crock pot until I got married. So this was a leap of faith for me to try out a recipe using cream of mushroom soup and the handy, dandy gadget that busy moms love. The leap of faith was SO worth it! The pork turned out amazingly tender (we're talking fall-apart tender, here!) and the gravy was delicious. Hope you enjoy!

PORK SHOULDER with Mushroom Sauce

What you need:

                                                                                                          

1 (2- to 2½-pound) boneless pork shoulder

1 small onion, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons quick cooking tapioca

1 (10¾-ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup

½ cup apple juice

6-8 small mushrooms, sliced or 1 (4-ounce) can sliced mushrooms, drained

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon beef granules or 1 beef bouillon cube

1 teaspoon dried thyme

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

salt and pepper

hot cooked rice, noodles or mashed potatoes

         Make it happen:

                                               
1. Trim the majority of fat from pork shoulder.

2. Season all sides of pork shoulder with salt and pepper.

3. Place pork in 3½- to 6-quart slow cooker.

4. Top with sliced onions.

5. In a medium bowl combine the tapioca, soup, apple juice, mushrooms,Worcestershire sauce, beef granules, thyme and garlic powder.

6. Pour over pork.

7. Cover; cook on low heat setting for 8 hours or on high heat setting for 4 hours.

8. Cut pork into servings; serve gravy over rice, noodles or mashed potatoes.

            Makes 6 to 8 servings.

How Much Food Should You Store?

How much food should you store?

Okay, so this is the question that freaks most people out. If you consider a full year’s worth of food storage—we’re talking about the staples that will keep your family healthy for a long period of time should disaster strike, layoffs take away your income, or health problems leave you unable to work—a family of four needs several hundred pounds of food! OY!

So, instead of freaking out, break down a year’s worth of food storage into 3 months. That’s it. Now the numbers don’t look so bad. Here’s how to figure out the numbers:

Visit http://lds.about.com/library/bl/faq/blcalculator.htm and fill out the form (only two questions—I promise, it’s easy!) Then hit “calculate.” Voila, the food form below magically presents the amount of food that you would ideally store for one year for your family. But remember, DON’T FREAK OUT! Now, divide all those numbers by 4 and you will have the amount of food suggested for 3 months of food supply. Those numbers aren’t as scary, huh?

Now, figure out reasonably how much you can budget for food storage. If you can only spend $10 a month, that’s okay, just do it. Got a bigger budget? Great, just do it. The key here is to JUST DO IT!

Keep in mind, you want VARIETY. Don’t just focus on oatmeal and pasta! Add in a few cans of your favorite soups, boxes of cereal, and family favorite treats. If an emergency really, truly happens, you’re family will need to have a few comforts of home, including favorite foods. But remember, these foods are meant for storage (meaning they stay on the shelf for at least several months before being opened) not for immediate satisfaction! Post “food storage only” signs on the food, set booby traps, disguise the good stuff as something your family hates—whatever it takes to keep your food storage safe for at least a while….