Pork and Lentil Stew

This is another of those rambling recipes without definite measurements, but it turned out pretty well, and for stews definite measurements are not really a requirement.

First I cooked a bag of lentils on the stove in water.

While that was happening, I put some sliced boneless pork chops in the oven at about 375 degrees.

They were kind of laid out in a fanned line, to fit in the 9 by 12-inch casserole dish I was using.

I roasted the pork until the color looked good (until the fatty bits were brown and crackling)

Then I trimmed most of the fat off (I kept the brownest bits to add to the stew), cut it into bite-sized pieces and put it all in the crock pot.

I added the cooked lentils, water and all. (Lots of vitamins in that water!)

Then I heated up some frozen onions in the pork casserole dish in the oven (after pouring off the broth), not completely cooked, just enough to brown the edges a bit, then dumped the onions in the crock pot too.

Then I added soem seasoning. Some minced garlic, a little salt, some black pepper, about a tsp of dried thyme, some hot pepper sauce, and a big bag of turnip cubes and greens (frozen).

By this time the fat had risen to the top of the pork broth, so I skimmed that off and added the broth to the pot.

After the turnips and greens were cooked, I added some balsamic vinegar and malt vinegar (about 1/4 cup in total).

I think tomatoes would make a great source for the acidity, replacing the vinegar, but I can't have them.

Then I let it cook quite a while until the house smelled fantastic.

It made 9 lunch servings for Oscar, and a bit of supper for me :-}