As my regular readers already know, this month I have been trying to live off the food already in my pantry and freezer, and only spend $25 per week to keep my family of 5 afloat.

This is only week one and so far I’ve had no trouble, but I did run into one stumbling block.. I wanted to make pulled pork and I had NO bottled barbecue sauce in the house! OH THE HUMANITY!

Today I’m introducing a fun new challenge that I have started and recruited about 100 other bloggers to join me.  It is a bi-monthly recipe challenge where I challenge us all to come up with a recipe using a specific ingredient or technique (think “Chopped” but a lot easier.)  It will be held on the second Wednesday of every other month.. and we're calling it the “Ultimate Recipe Challenge”

This month’s theme ingredient (since it is March.. and in honor of St. Patrick’s Day) is:  POTATOES


White, red, sweet, fingerling, yukon gold or even powdered mashed.. ANY potato counted.  Plus the dish could be sweet or savory, a entree or a side.. Heck, even a dessert!   But there had to be potatoes in it somewhere.
My submission for this challenge was:

Slow Cooker Cheesy Ham and Potato Gratin

I’ve share some brussels sprouts recipes before (a LOT of brussels sprouts recipes) but today’s is a good one!  Plus it is pretty easy.  You par-cook the sprouts in the oven first, and finish them in the pan so you don’t have to stand there and watch them the whole time.

I have to laugh, because when I was trying to title this recipe, I couldn’t get the Simon And Garfunkel song** "Scarborough Fair" out of my head. I mean, come on! The ingredient list is the title of their album!

And since I’m a dork, I decided just to roll with it.  I think the songwriter was onto something, because that flavor profile is perfect when paired with a pork loin roast.

The recipe is super simple (and a basic modification of Paula Deen’s Herb Crusted Tenderloin).  Baking it for a short period on high heat forms a crust and then reducing the temperature and finishing the pork on low helps keep the pork moist while cooking it all the way through.  You can use a tenderloin with this recipe instead of a full loin roast, but be sure to reduce the cooking time!


Rosemary & Sage Herb Crusted Pork Loin
Boneless Pork Loin Roast (2-4 pounds)

For Flashback Friday today I am sharing my favorite slow cooker recipes.  (Actually..I still call it my "Crock Pot" even though I know that is a trademark.. but I also call them "Q-tips" and "Kleenex.") Anyhow.. A Crock Pot is so versatile and makes it so easy to have dinner ready if you aren't actually around to make it.

I like to use my slow cooker in the summer since it helps keep the kitchen cool because you don’t have to turn on the oven. In the summer I mostly do recipes like bar-ba-que and meat entrees.  On the other hand, I also like to use my slow cooker in the fall and winter because the days are so short and I like not wasting any daylight hours preparing dinner.   In the colder months I tend more towards soups and stews.  I've posted quite a few of the recipes I use on the blog and I thought it would be great to round them all up.

So let's get this party started.

Any long term follower of my blog will know I have become a HUGE fan of brussels sprouts, and anyone who knows me in real life knows that is a SHOCKING fact because I am not usually a fan of anything green.

But since I learned a few tricks in preparing them, they are now one of my 'go to' veggies of all time! Yes.. OF ALL TIME!!  Therefore, for today's flashback friday I thought I would share a few awesome Sprout recipes.  Since if you haven't tried them prepared with brown sugar and bacon, well.. you are doing it wrong.

The key to a good sprout is to not have them be mushy.. since mushy is bleck.  Crispy is great (Hey I can even choke down Kale if it is crispy.)