Two Meals in One

When I make a pork loin roast, I like to make extra meat so I can make pork gravy over rice later that same week or freeze for a future quick meal starter. It makes for two quick, easy, and delicious meals.

Pork Roast Recipe
5-6 lbs pork loin, cut into two pieces* (half will be for pork gravy over rice)
potatoes (1-2 medium potatoes/person) 
carrots (4 baby carrots/person)
2 stalks celery, cut in half
1 tsp. seasoned salt (I just generously sprinkle it over the meat)
2 tsp Italian seasoning or 1 tsp rosemary
2 bay leaves
pepper
Water

Place potatoes, carrots, and celery in the bottom of your crockpot. Cover vegetables with water. Place pork loin on top of vegetables. Sprinkle with spices. Cook on high for 5-6 hours, or 8-10 hours on low. If your meat is frozen when you start, you may need to cook it for a longer period of time.**  The meat should be fall apart tender and vegetables fork tender. Remove the celery and discard before serving. Shred the leftover pork loin and store with the broth for pork gravy.***

Additional Notes:
*I cut the pork loin into two pieces so that the meat cooks all the way through in the same amount of time as the vegetables need to cook. This is especially important if your meat is frozen. If you have one large loin frozen, you can also cut it in half once it is thawed in the crockpot. It may just need a little extra cooking time if you do this.

**I typically start with frozen meat. I put the crockpot on high in the morning before I leave for work and it automatically switches to warm after 5 hours. By the time I come come at 4:00 it is perfect. I turn off my crockpot and leave it in to stay warm.

***I like to put the shredded pork and broth together into a ziplock bag. I either put it into the refrigerator or the freezer depending on how quickly I plan to use it.

Pork Gravy Over Rice
1 1/2 C uncooked brown rice
3 C water

cooked pork loin, shredded
1 1/2 C pork broth
2 T butter
2 T flour
1 C sour cream or strained, plain, nonfat yogurt
1 C shredded cheddar
salt and pepper to taste

Cook rice and water according to package directions. Bring shredded pork, broth, and butter to a simmer in a large skillet. In a small bowl whisk flour and a small amount of water to form a paste. Add a small amount of the hot broth from the pan to the flour mixture. Whisk flour and broth until smooth. Add more broth to make the flour mixture thin with no lumps. Whisk flour and broth mixture into the pan of pork and broth. Allow to simmer until slightly thickened. Reduce heat and add sour cream and shredded cheese. Stir until melted. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Serve gravy over prepared rice.