Thanksgiving is a time to give thanks for what we have, spend time with family, and eat great food.  But what is one to do with all those leftovers?  In our case, the leftovers included a veggie tray with carrots, broccoli, grape tomatoes, peas in the pod, and celery.

I've been on a slow cooker kick latey, and realized that we had a 2 pound pork roast in the freezer, so here's what I did...

I sprayed the inside of the slow cooker with non-stick spray. You could use butter, oil, or another method here to make cleanup easier.  I then put the thawed pork roast in the slow cooker and sprinkled it with salt and pepper.

To use the vegetables, I chopped the celery up and cut the tomatoes in half.  I then added the carrots, broccoli, and chopped vegetables to the slow cooker.  To round things out I cut some onions and added those as well.

Since all slow cooker recipes need a liquid component I used part of a recipe for Tangy Pork Chops from the Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook: Feasting with Your Slow Cooker cookbook.  I combined 2 tablespoons each of Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, a tablespoon of lemon juice, and 1/2 cup ketchup.  To add a little more flavor I added 2 cloves of minced garlic and a beef bullion cube.  I added this to the slow cooker and set it to cook for 4-6 hours.

My plan is to make a tangy gravy using cornstarch/flour and the liquid from the slow cooker, slice the roast, and serve it along with the vegetables over rice.

We cooked the pork roast and vegetables for 5-1/2 hours and verified that it was done with a meat thermometer.  I then removed the roast and vegetables, and, per my plan, added cornstarch to the liquid from the slow cooker to form a gravy.

The roast had a very nice brown color, was tender, and had a very slight hint of tangy flavor.  The vegetables were done to perfection, having accepted a lot of the tangy flavor from the liquid.  The gravy was quite tangy, and that was drizzled over the rice/vegetable/pork.

Beth (my wife) considered the experiment a success, saying "you can make that anytime you want!"  The next time I do this recipe I plan to use pork chops or, if all I have is a roast, slice it into thin pieces.  I'd also hold the vegetables until the last hour or so of cooking.  These changes would help the pork accept more of the tangy flavor, while ensuring the vegetables don't take on so much.

Don't be afraid to experiment in the kitchen!  The worst that can happen is that it doesn't turn out exactly as planned - and you'll learn something in the process.

Bon Appetit!