Food, Glorious Food (and a great recipe to boot)

First, before I get to the tasty stuff - make sure to comment on our last post to enter our giveaway!

Okay, so I must admit that our family went to see a production of "Oliver" recently, so the title of this post just kind of popped into my head. We've posted before about all the great goodies at our boutique. Click here. People - it just keeps getting better. We have Kathy Buhler's seriously amazing chocolate/caramel dipped pretzels, caramels, and pecan logs. We have Linda Tabish's chewy, gooey chocolate turtles. Then there are Diane Wiscombe's gigantic peanut butter cups. Maudine Thomas is doing her fabulous brownies and cookies. If things go smoothly, Lauri Glauser may just bring some of her freshly baked sweet rolls, spicy gingerbears, or to-die-for creme-filled chocolate cupcakes. Joan Gregory's perfect-for-the-holidays green and red pepper jellies will be there waiting for you. Oh, and don't forget that oh-so-sensationally creamy tomato basil soup. New this year will be Sandra Farish's decadent gourmet dessert toppings. And the inspiration for the recipe I'm going to share with you will be there, too. I'm talking Tagge's Famous Fruit jams and salsas. Here's the story:

Earlier this year, I just happened to be at a local grocery store at just the right moment to take advantage of a great buy on pork roast. The next Sunday morning I was trying to decide just what to do with it - the usual prep just wasn't doing it for me that day. I got out a crockpot cookbook that had not seen the light of day for a very long time and started thumbing through it. I came across a recipe that sounded like it just might be a winner, but two things here - a) I didn't have all the ingredients on hand, and b) anyone who knows me is aware that I can seldom leave a recipe alone - I pretty much always make changes no matter what. This recipe called for 1 jar of apricot jam. I only had 1/2 of a jar. Amazingly enough, I actually had dijon-style mustard. Anyway, I remembered that I did have some of Tagge's peach salsa in my storage room. Let me tell you - the finished dish was fabulous and instantly became a family favorite. I've made it several times since and it always gets rave reviews. In fact, I made it yesterday and I'm kicking myself for not taking a picture to share with you. I strongly recommend that you pick up some of Tagge's yummy food items at the boutique and then make this for your family. I call it -

SWEET AND SAVORY CROCKPOT PORK ROAST

1 pork shoulder roast (3-4 pounds)
1/2 jar Tagge's Famous Fruit apricot jam
1/2 jar Tagge's Famous Fruit peach salsa
2 Tablespoons honey dijon mustard
1/4 cup chicken broth (or 1/4 cup prepared chicken bouillon)
1 large onion, quartered and sliced
1/8 - 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper (depends on your family's taste)

Place the roast in your crockpot (I highly recommend using a crockpot liner bag). Put everything else on top and mix it just a bit. Cook on low for 10-12 hours or on high for 5-6 hours. Place your finished roast on a serving platter and then pour the juices into a gravy boat to be served over rice. We like to cook equal parts rice and barley - a nice, unique texture.

So easy, so tasty!

Again, don't forget to comment on the giveaway post. You would love to have either of the necklaces! Encourage your friends to enter also - we can't do another giveaway until we have 20 comments and two winners in the first one. We have some more really great things to giveaway!