RECIPE: Slow Cooker Pork Loin

This one "pot" meal  is one of the favorites around Lil Raisin Acres! Put it on in the morning, go about your chores, and a hearty dinner awaits you in the evening!

INGREDIENTS:

Pork Loin, medium sized
4-6 Potatoes (depending on size/type), thinly sliced
2 Stalks Celery, chopped
1/2 Medium onion, chopped
1 can Mushrooms, drained
1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup, undiluted*
1 packet Brown Gravy Mix, unprepared
2 cloves Garlic, minced
Rosemary, Thyme, Salt, Pepper to taste

Layer potatoes, celery, onions, garlic and mushrooms in the bottom of the slow cooker and place loin on top. Pour condensed soup, dry gravy mix, and spices atop of the loin and vegetables. Cover and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours, until potatoes are tender and loin slices easily. Makes about 4 servings.

*Store bought soup can be substituted for preservative free:
Cream of Soup

INTRODUCING: Daisy and Opie!

We'd like to welcome our newest residents Daisy and Opie to Lil Raisin Acres! They are 8 mos and 7 mos old respectively Pygmy/Fainting crosses. We couldn't decide which of these cuties we wanted, so we took both! We picked them up Saturday afternoon before the big blizzard hit!

They still need quite a bit of human socialization, but are warming up quite nicely to us. Daisy will sit quietly on our laps, while Opie is a little more independent and curious, and would rather be exploring. They are about as big as they are going to get, other than perhaps gaining a little more weight we were told. They are about 1/4 the size our boy Deenis was!

Baa is being a little ornery, which was unexpected. She was clearly lonely, but now doesn't seem to want to be bothered, and headbutting the little guys a bit. I remember her and Deenis getting into it a little the first week or so, Pecking order and all that...

Anyone in the Hillsdale Co. MI area looking for small companion goats, contact R and J Farms. Jessica is extremely knowledgeable and honest, and the pricing is very reasonable. Lots of adorable, healthy looking little fellas to choose from!

You'll be seeing a lot more of these little guys in the future!

DEHYDRATING: Onions and Garlic

Onions and garlic are in just about everything- soups, sauces, meat marinades and rubs... Dehydrating your own at home is a simple, money saving process!

Onions and garlic are dehydrated much in the same way as mushrooms - there is no need to blanch them before drying. You will process the raw produce depending on what end product you'd like- Whole? Minced? Powdered? I personally prefer simply slicing them, and drying whole for versatility. 

Be warned that some people find the scent of drying onion and garlic overpowering! (Personally, I like it!) You may choose to set up in a room with the door shut, or in a garage on warmer days.

PROCESS:

Bulb Onions, Leeks and Garlic:

Set dehydrator on 135 degree vegetable setting for bulb onions and garlic. 

Slices: Slice onion/garlic about 1/8" thick. No need to separate the individual rings.  8-10 hours process time (save time on prep, but longer time in the dehydrator).

Minced: You may either chop the raw onion before placing in the dehydrator (a food processor works well), or dehydrate as above, then crush into smaller pieces as needed. 6-8 hours process time.

Powdered: Use a rocket blender to grind dried product into powder.

Be aware that onion will not re-hydrate to original texture. I do not recommend using re-hydrated onion slices on sandwiches and burgers!

Green Onions and Chives:

Set dehydrator on the 95 degree herb setting for bunching onions and chives.

Slice into 1/4" long pieces. Process for about 6-8 hours.

Store all your dehydrated produce in clean glass jars with an airtight lid. For a longer shelf life, you may add an oxygen absorber to the jars, or use a food saver with jar attachment!

*For large batch onion processing, I recommend using a mandoline slicer and/or food processor. We use a Norpro Mandoline Slicer and a Hamilton Beach 8-Cup Food Processor .