As I mentioned earlier this week, The Motherhood has partnered with Costco and the National Pork Board to promote National Pork Month. I was assigned with the task of creating a pork recipe with Kirkland Signature Boneless Sirloin Tip Roast. And there is like a contest against other pork recipe creating bloggers. Don’t think I haven’t taken to talking smack on Twitter.

I don’t post recipes much for two reasons. One, I can’t take a decent food picture to save my life. And two, I don’t really create recipes. I follow recipes like nobody’s business. And if I do say so myself, I am an awesome cook. But although I am getting better, I pretty much believe recipes are made to be followed exactly. Creativity in the kitchen isn’t my strong suit.

But thankfully I married a man who never met a recipe he didn’t alter drastically. He is also one of those people who can open up our fridge, spot 3 seemingly unrelated ingredients and make something awesome. Well except when he attempts baking. Despite SEVERAL disasters he still does not believe me when I tell him baking requires a recipe.

So when I told him that we had this challenge and that I would look for some recipes for inspiration, he was appalled. WE WOULD NOT BE CONSULTING ANY RECIPES. He would come up with something all by himself. ALL BY HIMSELF!!!

I would be annoyed but MAN what he came up with was amazing.

First we need to get on the same page with terminology. One of our favorite things to have for dinner is breakfast food. This is know as brinner. Mmmmm…….brinner. So if you like brinner then you will love a roast that tastes like you are eating breakfast. You’ll see that he invented a dry rub that transforms the roast with flavors like that of breakfast sausage, and it’s paired with a sweet chutney that has apples, syrup, and bacon in it. BACON. It’s pig with a side of pig!

Brinner Roast with Apple Maple Chutney

• 3 T. ground roasted fennel seeds
• 1 T. salt
• 1 t. black pepper
• 1 t. dried rubbed sage
• Boneless Sirloin Tip Roast
• 12 redskin potatoes
• 3 strips of bacon
• 4 apples, peeled, cored and finely chopped
• ½ t. cinnamon
• 4 T. maple syrup

Mix together the first four ingredients. Apply rub evenly to outside of pork roasts. Brown roasts in pan on all sides.

Wash and halve the potatoes. Place in the bottom of the crockpot. Place roast on top of the potatoes.

Cook on low for 8 hours.

30 minutes prior to dinner, cook bacon and chop it into small pieces. Simmer apples and bacon in approx. 3 T of bacon fat until apples begin to break down. Add cinnamon and maple syrup and simmer on very low heat for five minutes.

Slice pork and serve with chutney.

We served it to some guests and they loved it. I couldn’t get enough. This will DEFINITELY be made again. Brinner!!

Now would you like to win a $25 Costco gift card?

Simply leave a comment with your favorite way to serve pork. The winner will be drawn on Thurs. Oct. 20th. Good luck!!

Disclosure: This post was compensated by The Motherhood, Costco and the National Pork Board. But the recipe is mine all mine. Okay…..my hubby’s.

My family has had a long love affair with Costco. I remember when I first discovered them back when I lived in Chicago. I felt like when I walked through the door angels began singing. It was awesome.

Then I had kids and the magic of Costco grew. I could buy all sorts of things in bulk. We could almost get a meal by walking around the all the free samples (and I was always suckered into buying something they were sampling). And then for our real meal we could all eat for next to nothing in the food court. Plus they are always playing some sort of kid’s movie in the TV section that can entertain my kids for hours. It is like Disney World in there.

It is honestly one of the only shopping places that I enjoy taking all my kids to. We make it an “experience.”

So when Costco and the National Pork Board partner together to celebrate National Pork Month it only makes sense that we celebrate with them. Each week at Costco, during the month of October, a different cut of pork is highlighted and on sale. This week the sale is on Kirkland Signature Boneless Sirloin Tip Roast making it under $1.75 a pound. That is not to shabby for the old food budget. Especially because I seem to always end up spending way more than I planned at Costco (not cause of the prices mind you, it is those darn samples- I am powerless).

Later this week the hubby and I (ok mostly the hubby) will be creating a great recipe with our pork in the crockpot and posting it for you to enjoy. I may also have a little Costco giveaway up my sleeve.

If you want to take advantage of this week’s savings feel free to head over to Costco’s “In the Warehouse” for preparing tips on how to prepare their feature cuts. Or check out PorkBeInspired.com for some great recipe inspiration.

Can’t wait for this big reveal!

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by The Motherhood, Costco, and The National Pork Board for sponsoring my efforts during National Pork Month!

I menu plan every week. And I do most of the cooking. But something happens in the summer and everything breaks down. I get lazy in my menu planning. I get even lazier with the cooking. I could blame the heat or the lack of routine. Or it could just be that I am super lazy and just hide it better during the rest of the year. Actually I am not sure I ever really hide the lazy.

Let’s go back in time a bit. When I was first married, pre menu planning, I used to drive my hubby nuts calling him at like 4:45 and asking him to pick up the 3 things I needed for the recipe I had found at 4:43 and decided to make for dinner tonight. He was DELIGHTED to spend the end of his day in the grocery store. Delighted.

So we don’t want to remind him of those days during my lazy days of summer. Partly because I have him fooled that I am a superstar wife. Partly because I have a Groupon expiring this week for a facial and the only time they can get me in is right at the kid’s bedtime. And we all know how delightful putting the kids can be. It ranks JUST under going to the grocery at the end of the work day.

So my summer trick is this. At 4:15 when you realize you haven’t planned dinner grab some sort of meat out of the freezer. Anything will do. Grab some sort of veggie from the crisper. Then when the hubby comes home from work you say, “Babe!!! You get to grill tonight!!!”

Men LOVE to grill right? I mean WAY more than the grocery store and bedtime. It is like a REWARD to come home and grill. There is fire and meat and…..well I would do it just to get outside and escape the children for a minute.

So let’s recap. I don’t have to cook. Hubby gets to play with fire. I get to get a facial post dinner. In the words of an amazingly wise philosopher, “I’m Winning!!”

Starting August 1st, when you watch the featured video on the Hillshire Farm Facebook page, you can download a $.55 Off coupon for any Hillshire Farm product. Then, if you post the offer on your Facebook Newsfeed or enter three friend’s email addresses, you will have the opportunity to upgrade to a larger coupon for $1 Off.  How’s that for another win-win? (P.S. Hillshire Farms meat is awesome on the grill)

This is the first in a series of four sponsored post for Hillshire Farms. I am being compensated for my participation in this campaign but as always all opinions and stories are all mine