Slow Cooker Thai Peanut Pork and Sweet & Sour Carrots

If I already have 5 slow cookers (3 large and 2 small), is it overdoing it if I ask Santa for another?  They are a busy family's best friend. Just add the ingredients, set the timer, and forget about it until dinner. 

Since the main dish was cooking in the slow cooker, I was able to prepare this 10 minute side dish - Sweet and Sour Carrots.  To save time, I used a bag of baby carrots - no peeling required!

The missing piece to this dinner was the salad.  As I assembled the ingredients for the salads, I realized the bacon bits (my husband's guilty pleasure) was in one kitchen cupboard and the remaining salad toppings were in the pantry.  This created a lot of back and forth through the kitchen.  So, to solve the problem, I poured all of the bacon bits in the Lock n Lock Slender with 2 Way Flip Top. 

I can pour or scoop.  And with the double lock feature, I never have to worry about the lid coming loose.

Slow Cooker Thai Peanut Pork

Serves 8

3 pounds boneless pork shoulder roast
2 red bell peppers, julienned
2/3 cup teriyaki sauce
6 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 teaspoons crushed red pepper
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

For serving:

Hot cooked rice
Chopped green onions
Chopped dry-roasted peanuts
Chopped cilantro
Lime wedges

Trim excess fat from pork. Place pork and next 5 ingredients (pork through garlic) in an electric slow cooker. Cover with lid, and cook on low-heat setting for 8 hours. Remove pork from slow cooker, and coarsely chop or shred. Add peanut butter to liquid in slow cooker; stir well. Stir in pork.

Place a scoop of rice on each plate and ladle pork mixture on top of rice. Top each serving with the juice from 1 lime wedge, green onions, peanuts, and chopped cilantro.

Sweet & Sour Carrots

Serves 6

1 pound baby carrots, cut in half

1 medium green pepper, cut into 1-inch chunks

1 can (20 ounces) unsweetened pineapple chunks, undrained

1/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons cider vinegar

2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce  

Place 1 in. of water and carrots in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 7-9 minutes or until crisp-tender. Add green pepper. Cover and cook 3 minutes longer or until tender. Drain and set aside.

Drain pineapple, reserving juice; add enough water to the juice to measure 3/4 cup. Set pineapple aside. In a large saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch and salt. Stir in the pineapple juice mixture, vinegar and soy sauce until smooth. Bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened and bubbly. Stir in the reserved carrots and pineapple; heat through.