Breaking (into) Amish...

Eric, being German, likes sauerkraut and me, being from Northern China, likes sauerkraut.  So every now and then I like to make it.  Looking into recipes and thinking about what I can do with it, I decided to make a meal from Amish country-Lancaster, PA, pork and sauerkraut.  Luckily, my best friend is from, and lives, in Lancaster so I could get some tips from her on what to serve as sides and how the meal is usually eaten.  Even though it wasn't New Years Day, it still sounded good and simple enough that I didn't have to spend a lot of time on it.  It is probably the easiest thing in the world to make and comes out great. The ingredients are super simple:

pork loin

sauerkraut w/liquid

pepper

caraway seeds

applesauce

brown sugar

So basically, you put the loin into the crockpot.  Then season it with the pepper and caraway.  I chose to put applesauce in with the pork but it's not necessary.  A layer of applesauce went on first.

The kraut went on top of the applesauce and I sprinkled some brown sugar on top.  At this point, the lid went on and there it sat for 8 hours.  

I decided to serve this with mashed potatoes and some more applesauce.  I can't even tell you the last time I had applesauce but it was pretty good. 

After the 8 hours, the pork pulled apart beautifully.  The kraut,brown sugar, and applesauce from the pot had caramelized a little and the flavors really came together.  The best way to eat this was definitely to get a bit of everything in one bite.  All the flavors work really well together.  This meal was so easy and took maybe 5 minutes to put together.  It also made for great leftovers, which are a big thing in our house.