Use Veggies Instead of Jam!

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Pucker Up: Slow Cooker Pork and Sauerkraut

Ever since Atticus started eating, he loves all things briney, tangy, tart, and sour. Anything that makes his lips pucker and his body shudder. He’s the kid that delightedly sucks on lemons, bites into cornichons, and licks fingers dipped into balsamic vinegar. I was looking for something new to promote this odd prediliction and landed on sauerkraut. Pork and saurkraut to be exact.
A little background. Sauerkraut is a German fermented cabbage. And trust me, it tastes way better than it sounds. True, I’ve been eating it as long as I can remember since pork and saurkraut is an important part of my family’s Pennsylvania Dutch history. According to tradition, if pork and sauerkraut is your first meal of the New Year it will bring good luck to you and your family.

Savory Slow Cooker Beef Stew Made Quick and Easy

The economy is making me more conscious of how I shop, what I buy, and what I cook for my family on a daily basis. We’re still able to eat organic by thoughtfully planning meals, making extra to freeze in individual portions so we have lunches to take to work and school, eating less meat to reduce food costs, and making a commitment to eating our leftovers. And there’s one kitchen tool that I’ve found essential: the slow cooker. It turns making things like this beef stew into something I can do with my eyes closed (literally!).

A few mornings a week, while I’m packing Atticus’s lunch and downing enough caffeine to cope with his fun new 5:30 am wake-up time (anyone with any advice on that?), I toss the ingredients into the slow cooker. By the time I get home from work, a healthy dinner is ready, the apartment smells like home, and I can relax around the table with the family. Focusing on what really matters. Like whether Atticus got any time-outs at school or peed his pants.