For His Master's Veneration: Slow-Cooker Casserole

Thursday, January 21, 2021

Slow-Cooker Casserole

Here is an easy hearty meal with the best red sauce you'll ever make! You'll be so glad you learned this easy trick. Pork and beef, mushrooms, and dry pasta all cooked in the pot while you do other things.

Pork steaks and smokie links. Some onion, stewed tomatoes, and raw egg noodles all cook themselves.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 package of smokie links

3 thick cut pork steaks

1 small can tomato paste

1 large onion, chopped

2 teaspoons dried Italian herb mix

Two 28-ounce cans stewed tomatoes

salt and pepper

½ lbs egg noodles

Freshly grated Parmesan or pecorino

Directions:

Wipe out the slow cooker and spray, set on low.

Chop the onion and set in the cooker as a bed.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the oil and lightly brown the pork steaks. Do not crowd. About 6 mins per side.

Remove them to a cutting board.

Cut off the bones and as much of the fat as you can. Cut the rest into bite sized chunks.

Add to the cooker along with the sausage links.

Add the Italian seasonings to the oil left in the skillet and let bloom for about 2 mins.

Spoon in the can of tomato paste and cook, stirring, until brick red, about 1 minute. Add the un-drained cans of stewed tomatoes to the skillet and stir, loosening any brown bits on the bottom.

Pour this sauce over the mix in the cooker and sprinkle with salt & pepper.

Cover, cook on low until the pork is very tender, about 6 hours.

Taste test at the 5 hour mark, if it is bitter, add some chopped carrots. Now is the time to add the mushrooms. Stir in the noodles, making sure they are completely covered so they cook for the final hour.