Navigating the kitchen, I once found, can be challenging for those of us with autism. But it doesn’t have to be. With the right equipment and a simple recipe, cooking, I’ve discovered, can become an enjoyable and rewarding experience. In this post, I’ll explore how one can create a delicious pork stew using a slow cooker, easy for those seeking more independence in the kitchen.
- 500g pack of diced pork
- Potatoes (250g per person or 2 small per person, 1 medium-sized per person, or 1 large for 2 people)
- Carrots (100g per person)
- 1 onion
- 4 teaspoons of gravy granules
- 1 Oxo cube
- Worcester Sauce (15ml/1 tablespoon)
- Mushrooms (added about 1 hour before the end of cooking)
1. Prepare the Ingredients:
- Wash and scrub the potatoes, carrots, and mushrooms.
- Peel and chop the potatoes, carrots, onion, and mushrooms.
2. Layer the Ingredients in the Slow Cooker:
- Place the diced pork at the bottom of the slow cooker.
- Add the chopped potatoes, carrots, onion, on top of the pork.
3. Make the Gravy:
- In a jug, mix 4 teaspoons of gravy granules with half a pint of boiling water.
- Crumble the Oxo cube into the gravy mixture and stir until it forms a thick brown texture,
4. Add the Gravy Mixture:
- Pour the gravy mixture over the layered ingredients in the slow cooker, ensuring it just covers the diced pork.
5. Add the Worcester Sauce
- Add 15ml (1 tablespoon) of Worcester sauce to the mixture.
6. Cooking Time:
- Set the slow cooker to either low for 8-12 hours or high for 6-8 hours.
7. Cooking Tips:
- Keep the lid on throughout to prevent drying and burning.
- Place the slow cooker on a heatproof surface, such as granite or marble, and ensure it's a few inches away from a wall.
- Aim to fill the slow cooker to about 1/2 to 3/4 full for optimal cooking.
8. Adding Mushrooms:
- About 1 hour before the end of the cooking time, add the chopped mushrooms to the slow cooker.
9. Serving and Storing Leftovers:
- Once cooked, serve the pork stew piping hot.
- For leftovers, cool the stew to room temperature before storing.
- Leftovers can be refrigerated for a few days or frozen for longer storage.
Cooking doesn't have to be complicated, especially with the convenience of a slow cooker. By following these simple steps, this is an example of how you can create a hearty and flavourful pork stew that's ideal for consumption after a long day at work. Embrace the joy of cooking and enjoy delicious meals with ease.
Embarking on a culinary journey, inspired by a lesson from a recent kitchen mishap, I sought redemption in the form of a delightful Chicken Tikka Masala. Join me as I guide you through the steps, rectifying the oversight of the previous day when I used meat instead of diced chicken, missing an important addition of […]
Sensory overloads are where certain stimuli like light, sounds and smells are too much for us to process. And those of us with an autistic spectrum disorder can find these situations especially testing. Below are measures that I find can be useful when reducing the effects of sensory overloads. Quiet rooms These can be useful […]
Welcome to my new website Stephen’s Evolution, and my very first blog post. I am brand new to the blogging world, so I apologize if anything isn’t totally clear to you. Reading, and writing weren’t exactly my strengths during my education, but we all have our own strengths and limitations, don’t we? Growing up, I […]
