Parmesan Pork Roast [crockpot]

Why does holidays have to be crazy?

I guess it's not necessarily the holiday itself it's all the things that come with it (like school Christmas programs, recitals, church parties, etc.) and then all the things that happen that you aren't expecting.

For example:  this cutie broke his wrist the morning we were trying to go out of town for Thanksgiving.

He's trying to be brave here.  He really wanted to play outside with his cousins but his arm was bothering him.  He gave it a good effort though!

When we have crazy days I pull out my crockpot and try to make my life a little bit easier.  I love pork roasts because they are so versatile and go with pretty much anything I can find.  We all loved this version and it was so easy the hubs threw it in for me and it turned out great.

Parmesan Pork Roast [crockpot]

(click here for printable version)

1 boneless whole pork loin roast, about 4 pounds

2/3 c. grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 c. honey

3 Tbsp. soy sauce

2 Tbsp. dried basil

2 Tbsp. minced garlic

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1/2 tsp. salt

2 Tbsp. cornstarch

1/4 c. cold water

1.  Cut roast in half and place in a 3-qt. slow cooker. In a small bowl, combine the cheese, honey, soy sauce, basil, garlic, oil and salt; pour over pork. Cover and cook on low for 5-1/2 to 6 hours or until a meat thermometer reads 160°.

2.  Remove meat to a serving platter; keep warm. Skim fat from cooking juices and transfer to a small saucepan. Bring liquid to a boil. Combine cornstarch and water until smooth. Gradually stir into pan. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Slice roast and serve with sauce.  Enjoy!

Source:  It's A Keeper

Sweet Balsalmic Pork Loin

 11.11.11

Pretty sweet day!

So many exciting things today.  Harry Potter Part 2 comes out and oh my the weddings taking place today--I don't know how they can compare to the Harry Potter but hey...!

I just want to give a shout out to my hubby, not only did he arrange this photo shoot (bless his little heart--I had come in from the back room and he had gotten it out of the crockpot, arranged it in the dish, poured the sauce over it, and then set it out so I could take a picture!), he is being the dad, mom, chauffeur, cook, cleaner, and provider today.

I am off to cabin with some lady friends for a "girls weekend".  We stay up ridiculously late watching 80's and 90's flicks, eat too much fun, and laugh like crazy.  Sounds perfect doesn't it!

Anyways, he is holding down the fort and is amazing!

This pork was also amazing.  I love the simplicity of throwing it in the crockpot and wallah!....deliciousness.  We all loved this pork, including the picky child, and it's is perfect for an easy, fast, go-to, yummy meal.

Sweet Balsalmic Pork Loin

(click here for printable version)

Pork:

2 pound boneless pork loin roast, trimmed of large fat pockets

1 tsp. ground sage

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 clove garlic, finely minced or crushed

1/2 c. water

Glaze: 

1/2 c. brown sugar, light or dark

1 Tbsp. cornstarch

1/4 c. balsamic vinegar

1/2 c. water

2 Tbsp. soy sauce

1.  In a small bowl, combine the sage, salt, pepper and garlic. Rub the spices all over the roast. Place the pork roast in the slow cooker and pour in the 1/2 cup water. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Near the end of the cooking time for the roast, combine the ingredients for the glaze in a small saucepan and bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce and let the mixture simmer, stirring occasionally, until it thickens.

2.  Remove the pork from the slow cooker, shred and place on a platter or plate. Drizzle the glaze over the pork and serve.  Enjoy!

Source:  Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Pork Tenderloin with Peach Salsa

 I love when school starts.  My kids are usually quite excited to go back and I am excited to be back into a schedule and a routine.  It also means that fall is coming, my favorite season.  

But there are certainly some disadvantages.  One of the things I dread is the dropping off and picking up.

The past couple of years I have been carpooling with another mom but now that doesn't work so I feel like we are at the school constantly just waiting and waiting and waiting.

It doesn't help that I have to drop the older three off at 8 and then my youngest at preschool at 12:30 then it's pick up the older three at 2:45 and then the youngest at 3:45.  Arghhh...lines!

I would feel a lot better if people had line etiquette.  I have such a hard time not yelling at those certain individuals that think that their time is more important than yours and zoom ahead of you in the lane that the school has told us repeatedly not to use for dropping off or picking up.  They usually then hold everyone up because they are not following procedure.  So frustrating.

Then there is the feelings of being in a line in general.  I always feel like I am going to be holding someone up so I prepped my kids everyone morning on the way there with things like "get everything in your hands", "be ready to jump out quick", or "don't forget your lunch".

Then when we pull up it's "go, go, go".  I don't know why lines make me feel this way, it's stressful and I should probably chill out but so far everyday is the same way.  Maybe by the time school is half way through the "line etiquette breakers" will stop being so pushy and I will stop stressing out.  Well at least we can hope anyway.

On to this pork tenderloin.  There is nothing stressful about this.  It is very easy and quick to put together and the peach salsa is amazing.  It adds a wonderful flavor to the pork and is perfect for any peaches you have hanging around.

Pork Tenderloin with Peach Salsa

(click here for printable version)

Salsa:

2 peaches, pitted and diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

¼ cup red onion, diced

1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely minced

Small handful cilantro, minced

Juice of ½ a lime

Pinch of coarse salt

Pork:

1½ lb. pork tenderloin

Salt and pepper

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1.  To make the salsa, combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and mix well to combine.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

2.  To make the pork, preheat the oven to 375˚ F.  Season the pork with salt and pepper.  Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Sear the pork in the skillet, rotating, until evenly browned on all sides.  Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake until the internal temperature registers 160˚ F on an instant read thermometer.  (Alternatively, heat a grill to medium-high.  Oil the grates.  Add the pork to the grill and cook, turning so the sides are evenly browned, until the internal temperature registers 160˚ F on an instant read thermometer.)  Remove from the oven, tent with foil, and let rest 15 minutes before slicing.

3.  Serve the warm slices of pork topped with the peach salsa. Use additional salsa with chips or on rice. Enjoy!

Source:  Annie's Eats

Smothered Pork Chops

Today we are celebrating a birthday at our house today.  Nope it's not me (that is coming up soon though, yeah!). It's my oldest child.  He turned eleven very early this morning, yep it was an all nighter.  But that's okay he was sure worth it!

I seriously can't believe I have an eleven year old.  What happens to time when you become a parent?  Not only are all your brain cells sucked out, time flies by you without you hardly realizing it.  Totally not fair!

This guy though has been waiting "forever" for his birthday and he is so excited that it's finally here.  He is like me in many ways.  He loves to read, he is very good at school, has great aspirations (hopefully all his come true), is quite quirky (okay that trait really comes from his dad), and he loves meat.  A carnivore...just like his mom.  

When I made these delicious pork chops the other night, he kept saying he had died and gone to heaven, they were that good.  I love it when he compliments my cooking, which he does quite often and to his friends regularly.  He also keeps asking for this meal.  I mean what could get better than pork chops with bacon, all covered in an amazing sauce.  

Nothing much at our house anyways.  Plus it is cooked in the crockpot, perfect for summer!

Smothered Pork Chops

(click here for printable version)

5 slices bacon, chopped

6 bone-in pork loin chops, about 3/4-inch thick

Salt and Pepper

2 yellow onions, peeled, halved and sliced into 1/2-inch thick half moons

1 t. plus 1 T. light brown sugar

1/4 c. plus 2 T. cold water

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 t. dried thyme

3 c. low-sodium chicken broth

1 T. soy sauce

2 bay leaves

1 T. cornstarch

1 T. cider vinegar

2 T. fresh parsley, chopped

1.  In a large skillet over medium heat, fry bacon until lightly browned, about 5-6 minutes. Transfer bacon to a plate lined with paper towels, leaving the drippings in the pan. If you have more than 2 tablespoons drippings, drain the excess. If you don’t have quite that much, supplement with canola oil. When the bacon is cool, transfer to a small bag or tupperware and refrigerate until later.

2.  Heat the skillet with the drippings over medium-high heat until rippling and hot. Meanwhile, pat pork chops dry with paper towels and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook pork chops until they are golden brown on each side, about 2 minutes per side, cooking them in batches in the skillet if your skillet isn’t big enough to hold all six at a time in a single layer. When golden on each side, transfer the chops to the slow cooker and repeat with remaining pork.

3.  Pour off all but 1 teaspoon of fat from the skillet; add onions, 1 teaspoon brown sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 cup water to empty skillet. Using a wooden spoon, scrape browned bits from bottom of the pan and cook over medium-high heat until onions are soft, about 4-6 minutes. Stir in garlic and thyme and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Pour onion mixture over chops in the slow cooker. Add broth, soy sauce and remaining 1 tablespoon brown sugar to skillet, bring to a boil and add bay leaves. Pour mixture over onions in slow cooker.

4.  Cover slow cooker and cook on low until pork is tender, about 8 hours (or cook on high for 4 hours).

5.  When ready to serve, carefully transfer chops to serving platter with a large spoon and tent with foil. Discard bay leaves and pour liquid through a mesh strainer into a saucepan, reserving the solids. Transfer solids to a food processor or blender with 1 cup liquid and blend until smooth. Stir the blended mixture back into remaining liquid in the saucepan. In a small bowl, mix cornstarch and remaining 2 tablespoons water together in a small bowl and stir into sauce. Cook over medium heat until thickened and bubbly, about 5 minutes. Stir in vinegar, season with salt and pepper, pour over chops and sprinkle with reserved bacon and parsley. Serve.  So yummy, enjoy!

Source:  Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Chipotle Pulled Pork with Cilantro Pesto

Thursday is Cinco De Mayo.  Yeah!  

I love the food associated with this fun holiday and this deliciousness would be an amazing addition to your party or for dinner.  It uses great mexican ingredients (chipotle peppers, cilantro).

I know most people are familiar with chipotle peppers but hey I live in rural Idaho and we don't exactly have a large selection of grocery items here nor do most of my friends cook with these little ladies.  So if you are wondering where they are at--they are in the mexican food aisle in the grocery store, little can labeled "chipotle peppers in adobo sauce."  

I have had several recipes that I have really been wanting to try so when I finally remembered to buy some chipotle peppers I knew what I would make.  For Easter we had Ham with chipotle glaze and then I had some chipotle peppers left over so I made this delicious pulled pork.

As a side note: if you have left over chipotle peppers, pulsed the peppers in your food processor and then freeze them in ice cube trays to use later.  You can also do this with the sauce that they sit in.  It works awesome later.

You pair this delicious sandwich with this amazing cilantro pesto and it is a perfect combination!

The chipotle peppers have a smoky flavor with a hint of spiciness.  My kids even enjoyed this pulled pork, not to mention you can throw it in the crockpot and let it cook all day.  Perfect for a party! 

If you need other amazing Cinco de May foods we love this Spanish Rice and this Rotel Dip.

Chipotle Pulled Pork with Cilantro Pesto

(click here for printable version)

1 whole large onion

1 whole Pork Shoulder/Butt, 5-7 lbs

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 can (11 oz.) Chipotle Peppers In Adobo Sauce (on the Mexican Food Aisle)

24 oz. of Dr. Pepper 

2 T. brown sugar

1.   Peel the onion and cut it into wedges. Lay them in the bottom of a large crockpot.  Generously salt and pepper the pork roast, then set it on top of the onions.  Pour the can of chipotle peppers over the pork, including the sauce. Pour all of the Dr Pepper over the peppers and roast. Add brown sugar to the juice and stir in.

2.  Cook for at least six hours, on low, turning roast two or three times during the cooking process. Check meat after six hours, it should be completely falling apart, use two forks to test. If it’s not falling apart, cook for another hour.

3.  Remove meat from crockpot and place on a cutting board or other work surface. Use two forks to shred meat.  Put meat in bowl and pour another ½ cup of cooking liquid over the pork.  Let sit until ready to serve.

Cilantro Pesto

1 ½ c. cilantro, washed and chopped

½ Jalapeno, chopped (and seeds removed if you want to tame down the spiciness)

¼ c. almonds

¼ c. olive oil

1.  Place it all in your food processor and blend until smooth. Serve immediately on pork sandwiches.

Source: Pioneer Woman & Indigo's Sugar Spectrum

Pineapple Chipotle Honey Glazed Ham

Easter...ahhh yummy food.

When Easter rolls around I know I have two things to do:

One, have another excuse to make some delicious food and two, work in my yard.

As I have mentioned before I love to work in my yard and garden but (and that's quite a big but, no pun intended he, he, he) I have to get over the hurdle of getting out there.

I mean come on it's Idaho.  The weather is still very cold and the wind blows like the dickens (by the way any idea on how that phrase came about?  just wondering).  Which all leads me to not going outside unless I absolutely have to.  No reason to freeze my ears off if I don't have to.

I continue to look out my window in my nice warm house watching the dandelions creep ever bigger (who are my nemesis) and the grass grow ever taller.

I know I should be out there, for heavens sake, I really want to be out there but all of it signifies 6 months of weed pulling, lawn watering, grass mowing, vegetable harvesting, and flower fertilizing.

As much as I want to be out there I haven't brought myself to do it.  Even being the last one of the street to not mow their lawn hasn't gotten my out there yet.  Maybe tomorrow...or maybe not, but in the meantime at least I am fulfilling one of my things to do.

I know ham is so cliche for this time of year but this glaze is so perfect.  Lightly sweet but with a touch of smoky flavor.  The chipotles give it the nice smoky, spicy flavor that complements the sweetness perfectly.  I was a little worried about my children liking it but it's not spicy at all just absolutely delicious.  So try something different with your ham this year. 

Pineapple Chipotle Honey Glazed Ham

(click here for printable recipe)

1 (20 oz) can pineapple with 1/2 the juice drained out

2 Chipotle peppers, with seeds

1 c. honey

1 t. fresh grated ginger

salt and pepper, to taste

1.  Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Put all ingredients in your food processor until pureed and smooth.

2.  Place your ham fat side up in a roasting pan.  Pour 1 c. water in bottom of pan and drizzle 1/2 c. pineapple glaze over ham.  Cover tightly with foil and bake according to directions on package (mine was 20 minutes for every pound).  Save the rest of the glaze for later.

3.  When ham has one hour left of cooking time, put the leftover glaze in a saucepan and bring to a slow simmer over medium heat, let simmer 5 minutes, stirring frequently.  Remove ham from oven and drizzle the rest of the glaze over entire ham.  Return to oven, uncovered, and let finish cooking.  Remove from oven, slice and serve warm.  Enjoy!

Source:  A Southern Fairytale

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Peter's Ribs

Any of you rib fans out there?  I really like ribs, at least if they are cooked right.  I have struggled to find a recipe that is worth all the work.  This one is from one of my husband's co-workers, Peter,  and we have made them twice this summer, and this last time for my birthday.  They have wonderful flavor, are tender and totally worth the work.  They are awesome for a BBQ and perfect for a guy party (that's what my husband says anyway).

2 slabs pork loin ribs (baby back ribs)

Rub:

8 T. brown sugar, tightly packed 

3 T. kosher or sea salt

1 T. chili powder

1 t. black pepper

1 t. thyme

1 t. onion powder

1/2 t. cayenne pepper (or less if you don't like it hot)

Braising Liquid:

1 c. white wine (look for seasoned cooking wine in the vinegar section)

2 T. white wine vinegar

2 T. Worcestershire sauce

1/3 c. apricot jam

2-3 cloves garlic, chopped or mince

1.  In a small bowl, mix all the rub ingredients thoroughly.  Place each slab of ribs lengthwise on its own oversized sheet of heavy duty aluminum foil, shiny side down.  Rub them down with the rub mixture, using all the seasonings.  Wrap lengthwise.  Refrigerate overnight.

2.  Preheat oven to 250 degrees.  Mix braising liquids in a small saucepan.  Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring until smooth and jam is dissolved.  Place ribs in a cookie sheet slightly too small to contain the ribs, you want the ends to overhang slightly.  Open one end of foil wrapped ribs and pour 1/2 of braising liquid in each, making sure to distribute the garlic evenly.  Close end of foil and tilt package back and forth to make sure braising liquid covers ribs completely.  Cook in oven 3-4 hours or until ribs are done.  You know they are done when the bone can be turned easily.  Pour the braising liquid back into the saucepan and add 1 c. brown sugar.  Bring to a boil and cook until thick syrup is reached.  Meanwhile cut up ribs into 2-3 rib portions.

3.  When thick syrup is obtained, coat the ribs individually and BBQ over medium-low heat until the glaze sets.  Repeat as desired.  You want the ribs to be thickly coated and the the glaze caramelized.  Serve.

Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

OHHHHH MMMMYYY!!!!!  This pork is that good.  My sister-in-law came to visit with a friend so we decided to splurge for dinner one night and I made this.  I have been wanting to make it for awhile but I was a little worried about all the flavors but they go so well together that the result is perfect.  This is a keeper recipe, more than a keeper it is one to pass around, make for people and eat all the time (okay maybe not then you might get sick of it but...you get my point).  I really hope you try it because we absolutely loved it, it was even awesome as leftovers!

1 large pork tenderloin (I got mine at Costco and used only half)

8 oz. cream cheese

1 jar roasted red peppers

1 pkg bacon, cooked and crumbled

1 pkg dry pesto seasoning

1 bunch spinach leaves, fresh

Olive oil

Salt & pepper

Paprika

* Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.  Unroll your pork tenderloin and pound it very flat (and I mean very flat, it might take awhile).  Once you have a nice, flat surface area spread your cream cheese all over the top.  Lay the roasted red peppers over the cream cheese and then sprinkle on the crumbled bacon.  Evenly sprinkle the dry pesto over all the pork and then lay the spinach leaves on top (the amount is totally up to your taste). 

Then roll (like a cinnamon roll) or fold (either way works, we were lazy and just folded it together) and tie shut with kitchen twine in several places. 

 Rub the outside with olive oil, salt, pepper and paprika and place on a grease baking dish or cookie sheet (you might have to cut it in half to make it fit).  Bake 60-90 minutes or until pork is cooked through.  When done, slice and serve.

* Found the recipe here.

Polynesian Porkchops

This was a recipe that came from an idea from my friend Tara. I tweaked it, mostly because I don't ever have luck with porkchops that are cooked on the stove so I either BBQ them or crockpot them.  Does anyone have the secret to porkchops on the stove?  A lot of recipes I keep are ones that my kids love (which is usually anything with meat, they are meat lovers!  I think it's that farm genes I passed on) and this was one the kids had thirds on, so hope you love it too.

6 bone-in pork chops

1 t. garlic, minced

1/2 onion, sliced

1/2 green pepper, sliced

1 can pineapple chunks

1 can cream mushroom soup

4 T. soy sauce

2 T. honey

*  In medium bowl, combine garlic, mushroom soup, soy sauce and honey.  Layer pork chops in crock pot.  Layer onion, pepper and pineapple on top of pork chops.  Pour soup mixture over vegetables and cook on low for 5-6 hours.  Serve with rice.

Apple Juice Porkchops

I don't know about you, but sometimes I need something quick and very easy for dinner.  This is so easy to throw in the crockpot and it turned out very moist and juicy.  Because we love apple with our pork; sauteed apples, applesauce, apple juice, etc., I decided to throw these ingredients together.

4 bone-in porkchops

3 c. apple juice

1 T. minced garlic

* Put porkchops, apple juice and garlic in crockpot and cook 6-8 hours on low.  Serve with rice or mashed potatoes.  Also very good to shred and put on sandwiches.

Crockpot Country Style Spareribs

If you haven't noticed, we eat a lot of meat at our house.  Growing up on a farm, there was always meat at our table.  It wasn't considered a "real" meal unless somekind of meat was in there somewhere.  Between my parents buying a entire cow every year and raising our own meat chickens (that was my job), we never wanted for meat.  I hope this isn't grossing anyone out, I apoligize and hopefully you will still try my recipes, but here is another meat recipe.  We found it on allrecipes, tweaked it a little bit and absolutely loved it.  We ate the entire pot. 

5 pounds spareribs (note:  spareribs are pork and short ribs are beef)
3/4 c. maple syrup
3/4 c. course-grain mustard
1/2 c. brown sugar, packed
2 t. tabasco sauce
2 t. soy sauce

* Put spareribs in crockpot.  In medium bowl, whisk together syrup, mustard, brown sugar, tabasco (you can adjust this to the level of spiciness that you want) and soy sauce.  Pour over spareribs.  Cook for 6-8 hours, turning and coating with sauce every couple hours

Honey Glazed Ham

I have been searching for different kinds of glaze for our Christmas Ham this year.  We tried our first one yesterday (from allrecipes.com). It had great flavor, mildly sweet and very simple ingredients.

5 pound Ham

1/8 c. whole cloves

2 c. honey

2/3 c. butter

1/4 c. corn syrup

* Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  In a double boiler (or a glass bowl over a pan with water, making sure the water doesn't touch the bottom of the bowl) melt honey, butter and corn syrup and whisk until smooth.  Keep warm while ham is baking.

* Place ham on foil lined baking sheet.  Cut small slices all over ham and push in whole cloves.  Brush glaze on ham with pastry brush.  Place in oven for 1 hour 30 min.  Baste the ham with warm glaze every 15 minutes.  During the last 4-5 minutes of baking, turn on your broiler to carmelize the glaze.  Remove from oven and let rest a few minutes before slicing.

Brined Pork Chops with Apples

This recipe is slightly involved but is so worth it.  The apples taste absolutely delicious with the pork.

Brined Pork Chops with Apples

(click here for printable version)

Brine:
4 c. apple cider
4 T. kosher salt
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 t. red pepper flakes (opt.)
6 bone-in porkshops, 1 inch thick

*In large bowl, mix all ingredients except porkchop. Add porkchops. Cover bowl and refrigerate for at least 3 hours and up to 1 day.

* Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Remove porkchops from brine and blot dry. Melt 2 T. butter in large frying pan over medium high heat. Add porkchops and cook 3-5 minutes, or until well-browned. turn and brown other side for 3-4 minutes. layer in 9x13 pan and bake until barely pink inside, 25-30 minutes (we put them on the BBQ instead).

Sauce:
3/4 c. apple cider
3/4 c. chicken broth
1 T. butter
2 T. whole grain mustard
1/2 c. sour cream

Sauteed Apples:
3 large apples, peeled, cored, cut into 1/4 inch pieces
2 T. butter
2 T. cider vinegar
1/4 t. salt

*  While pork chops are cooking, make the sauce and apples. 
 
* To make sauce, pour apple cider into hot pan used for porkchops, scraping up browned bits from pan with a wooden spoon. Add chicken broth and turn heat to high. Boil until liquid is reduced to about half, about 8-10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in butter and mustard. When sauce is no longer bubbling, stir in sour cream. Season with salt and pepper, if wanted.

* To make apples, in medium frying pan over medium heat, cook apples in butter, vinegar and salt. Cook about 6-8 minutes or until apples are soft and golden, but not mushy.
* Remove pork chops from oven and spoon generous amount of sauce over each and top with sauteed apples.

Shredded Pork Tacos

This recipe comes from my friend Erica.  It is a huge favorite and so easy to make.  It reminds me a lot of Cafe Rio pork.

3-4 lb pork roast

2 c. salsa

2 c. brown sugar

* Put roast in crockpot.  Mix salsa and brown sugar together and pour over roast.  Cook for 6-8 hours on low.  Before serving, pull apart with two forks and let sit in salsa mixture for half hour.  Serve with your favorite taco toppings: cheese, sour cream, lettuce, tomatoes, etc.  It's that easy.  Go great with Spanish Rice.