CrockPot Pork Chow Mein

Ok so I like pork.....a lot.
I also like my slow cooker....a lot.
So sue me.


Here's another one of Stephanie's recipes....and my doctoring of it.
The base serves about 8...leftovers can be frozen!

• 1-2 lbs of meat, either pork or chicken (I used 1 pork tenderloin)
• 2 cups of water
• 2 chopped yellow onions
• 2-3 cups of chopped celery
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 3 T molasses
• 16 oz can sliced water chesnuts, drained
• 6.5 oz can bamboo shoots, drained (couldn't find these this time...but definitely want to use them next time)
• 1 cup bean sprouts
• 1 chopped red bell pepper
• salt and pepper to taste
• olive oil
• spaghetti or chow mein noodles (I used 2 packets of Chinese style noodles I found in the vegetarian section)

1. Put meat into crockpot....even frozen (have I mentioned I love my CrockPot?)
2.  Add the chopped onion and celery, and two cups of water.
3. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for 4. (Mine cooked for 8 on low and then turned to warm for the rest of the time until I was ready)
4. Shred meat carefully with two forks.
5. In a glass bowl, mix the cornstarch, soy sauce, and molasses. Mix to get rid of the little clumpy balls of cornstarch, set aside.
6. Chop up the red bell pepper, and add it to the crockpot.
7. Open the bamboo shoots (darnit!) and water chesnuts, drain liquid, and add remaining content. Add bean sprouts.
8. Stir in the sauce mixture.
9. Cover crockpot again and cook on high for about an hour, or until flavors have melded and the added vegetables reach desired tenderness.
10. Before serving, cook pasta according to package instructions.
11. When the pasta reaches the al dente stage, drain it and set aside.
12. Heat some olive oil in a large frying pan or wok.
13. On high heat, toss the cooked pasta in the olive oil and salt, allowing it to sizzle a bit and get a tiny crust on some of the noodles.
14. Serve the noodles with the crockpot vegetables and meat.