A Cozy Day

Beauty.

It was a cozy day today.  Cold, breezy, and cloudy outside.  Warm and comfortable on the inside.  I had a lot of laundry and ironing to take care of this morning.  And while doing my chores I put our Sunday pork roast into the oven to keep the house warm and smelling good.  I say this often but I think it's true - a home needs to have good smells coming from the kitchen.  Even long after whatever it is you've cooked or baked, the aroma lingers for hours afterwards that gives a calm and nostalgic feel just like Mom or Grandma would have done.  Here is how I make my pork roast:

SLOW COOKED OVEN PORK ROAST

Place a 2 - 4 lb. pork roast in pan (I bought two for leftovers).  Add 1 cup water and 1 can beef broth (see below).  Top with seasonings - salt, freshly ground pepper, paprika, celery salt, and garlic powder - again, no specific measurements) along with 1 bay leaf and 1 pat of butter.

If this looks like a lot of liquid, it's okay.  This roasts in a 300 degree oven for 5 hours and it needs the liquid as it will cook down.  Plus, I will re-heat this tomorrow for our Sunday meal and it needs to re-heat in the delicious liquid to keep it moist.

Also, I know I have mentioned this before, but I often use this product:

when the recipe calls for beef broth and I've been very satisfied.

For tomorrow's meal, I will serve the pork roast with baked sweet potatoes, green salad, and these:

BLUEBERRY MUFFINS

3 cups all purpose flour

4 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

Toss these together in large bowl - mix well.  Set aside.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Prepare muffin tins with spray or liners.

2 eggs

1 cup granulated sugar

Whisk together until well combined.  Add:

1 cup milk (buttermilk preferred)

1/2 canola oil

1 tsp. vanilla

Again, mix well and fold the wet ingredients into the dry, mixing everything by hand being careful not to overmix.

Fold in 1 1/2 cups to 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries.

The batter will be thick and lumpy.  Pour into prepared tins.  Top with coarse sugar if you'd like (we like) and bake at 425 degrees for 5 minutes and then about 15 minutes at 375 degrees.  Cool for 10 minutes.  Store these at room temperature in airtight container for up to 5 days or freeze up to 3 months.

Some cooking shows don't like it when the blueberries "bleed" throughout the batter.  It doesn't matter to me.  I just called them Blueberry Swirl Muffins.  : )

That is it from here.  Thanks so much for dropping in and I hope you have a wonderful Sabbath tomorrow.