Memphis pork supper

I've never made a meal in the crock pot that was almost too big to fit inside, but that was the case with this interesting dish I decide to make. "Too much pork for just one fork," Dan says.

I found this little cookbook in the mall -- at one of those vintage poster shops that pop up around the holidays -- and it's a Family Circle slow cooker cook book, called "Family Circle's Carefree Crockery Cookbook." It's very '70s, not just in how it looks, but in recipes, too, which makes sense because it was published in 1976.

Now, while this recipe is called "Memphis pork supper," there's no fried peanut butter-bacon-banana concoction, or whatever it was that Elvis devoured! It's really an apple-onion-sweet potato-pork mixture, and it's quite good. There was quite a bit of liquid in the crock pot, so I served the pork with a slotted spoon and bread on the side.

Memphis pork supper (serves 8)

3 pounds boneless pork loin, trimmed of fat, cubed

3 pounds of medium-sized sweet potatoes, peeled and quartered

3 medium onions, sliced

4 medium-sized tart red apples, cored and sliced into rings

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 cups apple juice

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon leaf marjoram, crushed

1/4 teaspoon pepper

chopped fresh parsley (I used the Italian parsley left over from the Sicilian-style grouper)

1.) Trim the fat from the pork and brown it, in a little of that fat a few pieces at a time, in a skillet very quickly. Remove with a slotted spoon and put aside.

2.) Arrange the potatoes around the slow cooker; place the meat in the middle. Top with half of the onion slices and half the apple rings. Sprinkle with sugar. Repeat with a second layer.

3.) Combine apple juice, salt, marjoram, and pepper in a glass measuring cup or bowl. Pour over apple rings.

4.) Cook on low for 8 hours, or on high for 4 hours. Sprinkle with parsley before serving.

Need an idea for leftovers? Try this pork casserole with cornbread crust & mole sauce.