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.