Pumpkin Pie Almonds

Fall is here!

So, I've made a promise to myself to actually MAKE the recipes I pin on Pinterest. Beginning tonight!

Yes, I made these at 10:30 tonight, but that's what happens when your husband works retail hours - baby boy wakes up at 8am, husband doesn't get home until 10pm...needless to say, we have long days in our house!

That's why I'm making nuts and yummy salsa mixes (I'll post about that later) at 10:30 at night :)

 I made these tonight: Pumpkin Pie Almonds

Can I just tell you how amazing the house smelled while they were roasting?! AH-Mazing. They taste pretty spectacular too - probably dangerous that I'll be at home with them all day tomorrow!

 I used "Dark Amber Maple Syrup" instead of the Agave Nectar. They came out perfect.

 To my lovely friends and family: expect these as holiday gifts ;)

Slow Cooker Love

So, I'm in love with my slow-cooker. I always feel like a domestic goddess when I come through the front door and smell a delish meal cooking away in my slow-cooker! I feel even better when my husband comes home and comments about how wonderful dinner smells - makes me feel like a proper 1950's housewife (which, by the way, I'd love to be...:)

I also love Taste of Home magazine. If you've never tried their magazines, I highly recommend them - they're a collaboration of all the nation's best "grandmother-like" chefs. Of all the recipes I've tried, and all the editions I've bought (which is A LOT - I have an entire shelf full of these magazines), I've only had a couple recipes turn out lack-luster.

So, when I find Taste of Home slow-cooker recipes, I'm on cloud nine! This recipe is one of those gems. My husband loves Asian-inspired food - if he could eat yellow curry every night, I think he'd be in Heaven - I, however, would be out the door, as I can only handle the smell for so long!

Anyway, the following recipe is wonderful and has been requested, so here it is:

Thai-Style Peanut Pork

2 medium red peppers, julienned
1 boneless pork shoulder butt roast (3 lbs) **I used Pork Tenderloins for the 2 of us
1/3 c teriyaki sauce
3 T rice vinegar
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 t crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 creamy peanut butter
1/2 c chopped unsalted peanuts
4 green onions, sliced
cooked rice

1. Place peppers in 3-qt slow-cooker. Cut roast in half and place over peppers. Combine teriyaki sauce, vinegar, and garlic and pour over pork. Sprinkle with red pepper flakes. Cover and cook on low for 8-9 hours or until meat is tender.

2. Remove meat from slow cooker. Shred meat with forks when cool enough to handle (**I did not shred the tenderloins). Reserve 2 cups of cooking juices (**I did not have much over 2 cups in the slow-cooker, so I simply ignored this step and left all juices in the slow-cooker). Stir peanut butter into reserved juices.

3. Return pork to slow-cooker and cook until heated through. Serve with cooked rice. Sprinkle with chopped peanuts and green onions.

(The English major in me wouldn't feel right until I cited this recipe, so here it is:
"Thai-Style Peanut Pork." Summer Slow Cooker Meals. Taste of Home Magazine. (2011).)