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Sorry this post is a little late, I was a little out of it last week. This year PH and I hosted Easter dinner at our house. I always like having family gatherings in our home, it's part of the reason we bought this house, it's a great space for parties. Of course, clean up afterwards is always a hassle, but I love having family in my home where we can laugh and make memories. Plus, its so much easier with a tiny one to have the event in your home. You can still stick them in their own bed for nap time and you don't have to deal with an overtired baby crying the whole way home because she doesn't understand why you won't hold her when she doesn't want to be in her car seat.

Anyway, my mom and discussed beforehand what we would have for dinner. My SIL isn't a huge fan of ham. She always tells us not to plan a meal around her preferences, but I am not a huge fan of ham either, so I was happy to opt for something else. We discussed lamb, but that can be so expensive. Well I had pork loin in my freezer, so I suggested we have that. My mom had some in her freezer so we each made one. She did a completely different recipe for hers, so it was nice to have options. Maybe she will share her recipe here.

I decided to make this Balsamic Brown Sugar Pork Roast. I had seen a recipe for something similar, but with bourbon. Well, I don't drink alcohol, and I know they say it burns off in the cooking, but alcohol is also expensive to buy and since I'm on unpaid leave at work. I decided to work with what we have. I thought Balsamic vinegar would pair nicely with brown sugar for that sweet and sour flavor. PH really loves the sweet and sours, and he asked me later if we could make that sauce and put it on everything. Balsamic Brown Sugar Everything! I don't know about necessarily putting it on EVERYTHING, but this Balsamic Brown Sugar Pork Roast was certainly a hit!

At the end of the dinner when we were cleaning up, there was only a small portion of this Balsamic Brown Sugar Pork Roast left!

The great thing about this recipe is how the meat really falls apart. You could make balsamic brown sugar pork roast pulled pork sandwiches if you end up with any left overs!

Balsamic Brown Sugar Pork Roast

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      You may be wondering why I call this Poor Man's Tamale Pie.  Well, I had it in my head to try making a tamale pie in the Crock Pot, but I realized I didn't have olives or peppers, and I didn't want to go to the store, so I just came up with a delicious tamale pie sauce with what I had on hand!  If I say so myself, it came out really, really good!  My husband even ate some for breakfast yesterday because he liked it so much! It is not too spicy and the cornbread topping is less like a bread and more like polenta.  Here is the recipe, click the button: 

Here are the tips on how I did it, just click on the photos:

     If you have olives and bell peppers, you can add those to the sauce as well.  I am fine without olives.  The cream corn was a happy accident, I thought it was whole kernel until I opened it.  It worked great.

Here are tools I used to make this tamale pie! You can click on them to purchase them.

      Speaking of great cooking, I have talked to you before about Panna and I have shown you some of their recipes,  here and here for example.  It amazes me how the little tips I have learned from the recipes and lessons I have followed on Panna have stayed with me as I cook, such as adding more oil on the side of the pan to give it time to heat up before it hits the food in the pan.  Now, Panna is offering classes in specific types of cooking, such as bread baking, food from Israel and how to cook pasta!  If you sign up for the entire website, these classes are free!  The videos I have followed with the master chefs on Panna have been so easy to follow and a lot of fun.  The results have been spectacular!  Check out what they have to offer here! Before long you will be cooking like the bakers on the Great British Bake-off! (Love that Show!)

       Yesterday I gave you my recipe for Blackberry Lemon Bars.  Well, not only were blackberries on sale, a couple of days later, blueberries were on sale!  Whoot! Lemons and blueberries go together just as well as blackberries and lemons do.  Around my house, we love a nice warm dump cake, and I thought I would just mix it up in the crock pot for a nice rainy day warm dessert.  Here is how I did it, then click on the button for the recipe!  Once again, the zester gets a workout, and this time I used the citrus squeezer.

         This is so fruity, you may be tempted to eat it for breakfast.  I am not judging.  It is just very hard to stop eating it.  The lemon brightness with the blueberries is just perfect!  It is super easy to make, so I hope you give it a try!
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