I know it has been over a week since I have blogged, but it’s been a rough, stressful, scary week. This blog post explains the source of the stress. I am SO pleased to announce, if you haven’t seen my Facebook announcement already, that Dr. Iverson was able to remove ALL of the tumor (and the small one on her hip) with clean margins, and rule out spread of the tumor!!!

Ali and I went to Petco after she got her stitches out

Since being given the news, I have finally been able to breathe and decompress, and actually enjoy my weekend off. I have done nothing but run, read, and spend time by the pool with my mother-in-law, Ali, and Cuan, her Uncle Doberman . That is why I have been a little bit absent. I am SO glad to be back, and to be SO relieved!

Today, I decided to throw some pork chops in the slow cooker with some stuff influenced by this recipe. I honestly did the Rachael Ray thing, and didn’t measure what I put in, so I will estimate the amounts of ingredients.

Fresh Squeezed Orange Molasses Pork Chops

6 to 9 thick cut pork loin chops

Juice of 4 freshly squeezed oranges

Juice of one apple (optional)

Zest of one orange

1.5 cups water

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup molasses

1/4 cup brown spicy mustard

2 cloves of garlic minced

salt to taste

Cooked white or brown rice to put pork over

I turned the slow cooker on low, and placed the chops ialong the bottom.

I used my juicer to juice the oranges and the apple.

Then, I poured the juice over the chops in the slow cooker, and added all of the other ingredients, including salt, to the mixture and stirred.

I let the chops cook for about 7 hours on low, then for an hour or so on high.

I cooked some long grain white rice in my rice cooker, put some in a bowl, and put one pork chop on top of it. Then, I put a few large spoonful’s of the juice over it.

The pork had great flavor! The only thing I would like to try is thickening up the juice so it turns into more of a sauce. Also, I think adding some veggies to the mix might be fun for next time. Not sure which veggies I’d use, though….any suggestions for either idea? I am by NO means as good of a cook as my friends Ari and Nicole, but they inspire me to try! So that is what was for dinner tonight. Healthy, full of lean protein, and fresh! You could also use brown rice (my hubby prefers white, so I made white.)

Have a wonderful and safe Memorial Day everyone!

Happy Trails!

Stacey