DES MOINES, Iowa — With nights getting cooler and leaves changing color, nothing warms up fall evenings and brings families together like a favorite meal. Even with demanding schedules, you can still bring a delicious dinner to the table with the help of America's favorite protein, pork, and a classic kitchen ally, the slow cooker. To promote family mealtime and inspire creativity in the kitchen, the National Pork Board has teamed up with Good Housekeeping and its Food Director, Susan Westmoreland, to encourage Americans to revisit and share their favorite fool-proof one-pot wonders.
"With the slow cooker and pork, it is so easy to prepare family favorites that get everyone around the table," said Westmoreland. "Plus, since pork pairs well with so many flavors, home cooks can experiment with different ingredient combinations to find the next family favorite."
For example, looking to redefine a classic stew? Try the surprisingly simple, Asian-style Simmering Pork Shoulder recipe featured in the new The Good Housekeeping Test Kitchen Cookbook: Essential Recipes for Every Home Cook, which is available now. This irresistible pork dish is cooked in a fragrant combination of soy sauce, dry sherry, fresh ginger and orange peel.
Juicy, tender and packed with flavor, pork features many versatile cuts that can be easily prepared in a slow cooker. Cuts from the loin such as a roast or chops are a delicious, lean choice for your next slow cooked meal.
Calling All Pork Crock-Stars!
Many families have their own secrets to meal success. To ignite and share inspiration for the 2011 slow cooking season, the National Pork Board is hosting the second annual "America's Next Pork Crock-Stars" contest. Along with Westmoreland, America's pork producers are inviting all home cooks nationwide to show off their unique twists on classic slow-cooker recipes for a chance to win big, including $2,000 and a six-month supply of pork. Entering – and winning – is as easy as one, two, three:
•Step 1: Starting today, submit an original slow cooker pork recipe at www.PorkBeInspired.com into one of four categories: Pork Chili, Soups and Stews; Pulled and Barbeque Pork; Pork Roast; and Pork Inspiration (miscellaneous category).
•Step 2: Rally friends and family to help vote for your recipe. Pork fans will determine the 20 finalists, five in each of the four categories.
•Step 3: One finalist in each category will ultimately be crowned one of "America's Next Pork Crock-Stars" by a panel of judges, including Westmoreland and last year's Pork Crock-Star winner, Linda Cifuentes.
Winning Inspiration
Turn kitchen inspiration into a winning entry by submitting a recipe to the "America's Next Pork Crock-Stars" contest today. For official rules and regulations and to try the Simmering Pork Shoulder recipe, and hundreds of others, visit www.PorkBeInspired.com.
In addition, to celebrate the "America's Next Pork Crock-Stars" contest, the National Pork Board is giving away a free slow cooker and $25 worth of pork every day throughout the month of October. Be sure to "like" Facebook.com/PorkBeInspired and follow @AllAboutPork on Twitter for your chance to be one of the lucky daily winners.
About the National Pork Board
The National Pork Board has responsibility for Checkoff-funded research, promotion and consumer information projects and for communicating with pork producers and the public. Through a legislative national Pork Checkoff, pork producers invest $0.40 for each $100 value of hogs sold. The Pork Checkoff funds national and state programs in advertising, consumer information, retail and foodservice marketing, export market promotion, production improvement, technology, swine health, pork safety and environmental management.
Source: National Pork Board