Crock Pot Asian Pork with Mushrooms

Crock Pot Asian Pork with Mushrooms
Adapted from Skinny Taste
2 LB lean boneless pork sirloin roast (AKA pork center rib roast, pork center loin roast)
Salt and fresh ground pepper
Non-Stick oil spray
1 Cup low-sodium fat free chicken broth
1/2 Cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/3 Cup balsamic vinegar
3 TBS honey
1 TSP hot sesame oil
1 TSP Chinese five spice powder
3 Cloves garlic, crushed
1 TBS fresh ginger, grated
8 OZ sliced mushrooms (half shiitake, half white)
1/4 Cup chopped scallions for serving

While I love coming home from work and cooking a nice meal, there are some nights I'm just way too tired to even lift my knife.  That's why I'm so excited to use my new slow cooker.  Now, I can come home to a delicious-smelling apartment with a healthy meal all ready to go!  

I don't eat a lot of pork, but I will definitely be making this again.  The meat comes out incredibly tender and flavorful.  The key to creating great flavor is to sear the meat before adding to the slow cooker, so do not skip this step!  

This will last an entire week, so you can get really creative with the leftovers.  I served over rice noodles the first night, then stir-fried with vegetables and served over rice the next.  

Season pork on all sides with salt and pepper.  Heat a skillet on medium-high heat, spray with oil and brown pork on all sides for about 7-8 minutes. 

In the crock pot, combine the broth, soy sauce, balsamic, honey, sesame oil, five spice, garlic and ginger; add the pork and set the slow cooker to 8 hours on low heat (I prepared the sauce the night before and seared-off the meat in the morning before work).

30 minutes before the timer goes off, remove the pork and set aside to rest.  Add the mushrooms and continue cooking on low for 30 minutes.  In the meantime, shred the pork.

When the mushrooms are tender, reserve 1 cup of the broth.  Add the shredded pork back into the crock pot.

Serve over noodles with some of the reserved broth and scallions.