Pork Stew with Potatoes, Apples and Hard Cider

I doctored this recipe from Epicurious with DELICIOUS results!!
I skipped the pearl onions completely because 1) I don't really like them and 2) I think they are more trouble than they are worth. So proceed straight to the bacon! Because anything cooked in bacon is extra awesome...

Ingredients
5 slices of bacon chopped into 1/4- 1/2 inch pieces
Boneless Pork Shoulder, fat trimmed, cut into 2 inch pieces
Fresh sage
3 cups chicken broth
bottle of hard cider ( I used Hornsby's Crisp Apple)
4 yukon gold potatoes unpeeled, chopped
2 peeled, chopped fuji apples
Red wine
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons butter, room temp
1 tablespoon dijon mustard

Cook  bacon  in a pot and set aside on paper towels to drain while you cook the pork. In the same pot you cooked the bacon, cook the  pork shoulder (sprinkled with salt and pepper)  until browned.  Remove pork with slotted spoon and set aside. In same pot, brown shallots with fresh sage and pepper. Add chicken broth, hard cider, reserved bacon and pork. Add potatoes and apples.  (Note: at this point I gave the stew a whiff and it smelled crazy sweet from the cider so I added a healthy pour of red wine, because to me,  stew = red wine.)  Cook for 30-40 minutes (or longer if you want!).  Meanwhile, make a paste of the butter and flour in a small bowl. Add to the stew and stir well. Then add  the mustard. Cook for an additional 7-10 minutes. And voila! Amazing, hearty, thick pork stew.  It is a little time consuming but it is realllly worth it!
* I would have taken a picture of it, but we ate it all before I thought to snap a picture:)

Experimenting with Weaning

I have been slowly experimenting with weaning Callie. I'm in no hurry, since we are down to 2 feedings a day which is very manageable! Not like a couple months ago when she was still nursing so much! I bought some cow's milk for her and gave it to her a couple of times, mostly with a meal, not in replacement of a nursing session. So the other night I tried offering her the sippy cup instead of nursing before bed, just to see what she would do.
She took a couple of sips and placed the cup on the ground. Then she calmly walked over to my nursing pillow, looked up at me with the sweetest, most gorgeous smile ever and patted the Boppy a few times, as if to say, "no, mama, I want your milk." well, what could I say to that? What a cutie.