Update and a new recipe I tried

We've had a lot going on the last month. My Mom had a stroke last month--in fact I just looked and it was the day I last posted. She was in the hospital for almost a week then got to go home. She was very lucky that it was a small stroke. She has some speech loss but is working very hard in speech therapy to regain it. We also found out her diabetes was way out of control. This was a huge wake up call for all of us. I think it has inspired my sister and I to look at our lives and see what we can do now to prevent ourselves from getting to this point. We are both overweight and do not eat as healthy as we should. My brother is a fire fighter and in excellent shape. Hopefully he will continue with that trend. Anyways, my Mom is doing much better. She has started walking daily and changing her diet. Things are looking up!

We've all been spending time at my parents helping to get things set up and going in the right direction. Last week while I was there, I bought a Family Circle magazine and found some great healthy slow cooker recipes in it. I pulled out the page and decided to try a few of the recipes. This week I tried Italian Pork Roast. It was delicious! I served it with corn on the cob and rolls. I could see it served with rice or egg noodles too. Here is the recipe from Family Circle Magazine:

Italian Pork Roast (slow cooker)

Makes: 8 servings Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 1 minute
Slow Cook: 3 hours on HIGH or 5-1/2 hours on LOW

Ingredients

1 boneless pork loin roast (about 3 pounds), trimmed and tied
3 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes with basil, oregano and garlic, drained
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons low-sodium chicken broth
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 large green pepper, seeded and chopped
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1-1/2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

Directions
1. Rub pork with 1 teaspoon of the Italian seasoning and place in slow cooker bowl.

2. Scatter tomatoes around pork. Pour 1/3 cup of the broth in bowl; top with 1-1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and 1/4 teaspoon of the pepper. Cook 3 hours on HIGH or 5-1/2 hours on LOW.

3. Add green pepper to slow cooker for last 45 minutes of cook time.

4. Blend remaining 2 tablespoons broth, the cornstarch and balsamic vinegar. Set aside. Remove pork to a serving platter; keep warm. Strain liquid from slow cooker into a small saucepan and place vegetables around pork on serving platter.

5. Bring liquid to a boil over medium-high heat. Whisk in cornstarch mixture, remaining 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and black pepper; cook 1 minute. Spoon sauce over pork.

Nutrition Facts
Servings Per Recipe 8 servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories 242
Total Fat (g) 7
Saturated Fat (g) 3
Cholesterol (mg) 107
Sodium (mg) 460
Carbohydrate (g) 5
Fiber (g) 1
Protein (g) 37

Next week I'm going to try Asian ribs in the slow cooker. Neal and Kinsey both love ribs and Asian food so it should be a good combo.

The Party's over....

We had such a good time yesterday at my nephew's going away party. There was a lot of food, a lot of family and a lot of friends. There were toasts made, crying, and cake. Overall, a great time was had by all. He will be missed but we all know he will go on to better things! Good Luck Drew!

My Mom and I standing, my younger sister and brother are sitting.

Kinsey trying to fly with a whole bunch of balloons...lol!

Grannie

I love you Grannie and I'm going to miss you!

What a wonderful day

Kinsey wanted to go on a picnic today so we got our things ready and headed out. It was such a pretty day. I don't think the temperature got over 60 degrees but it was sunny.
We went to Two Rivers Park, had our picnic and then let Kinsey play on the playground for awhile. After that we decided to drive up to the ski run and look at the little bit of snow up there. The ski resort is supposed to open Thanksgiving weekend but I'm not sure that's going to happen unless they start making a lot of snow soon.
Next we drove up to Monjeau Lookout. It was so pretty but cold up there. We took a few pictures on the rocks before heading back down. Here are Kinsey and I sitting on top of the world.

Here are Neal and Kinsey.

And here is one of just Kinsey.