Chili Verde (Mexican Stewed Pork)

You all know how I feel about the Mexican food here in North Carolina.  It is simply horrendous.  Stuffing a Poblano Pepper with hamburger and Velveeta does not a Chili Relleno make.   There were so may choices for a true, authentic Chili Relleno smothered with ridiculously SCRUMPTIOUS pork green chili when we lived in Colorado....Hacienda Colorado, Los Dos Patrillos, Brewery Bar, just to name my favorites.  So, what's a girl to do??  Experiment and try a billion recipes until she comes up with a winner.  As far as pork green chili goes, this is a winner.  It is much thicker and much more meaty than the smothering kind, but OH SO FLAVORFUL!  We enjoyed this stuffed in flour tortillas and topped with cheese, sour cream, and lettuce.  My daughter (who comes by her obsession with Chili Rellenos honestly) made a cheese and green chili quesadilla and used it almost as a scoop.  Brilliant I tell ya! 
However you choose to eat it, just eat it.  It is spectacular!

Chili Verde, aka Mexican Stewed Pork
Recipe slightly adapted from:  Mel's Kitchen Cafe

• 2 TBSP vegetable or canola oil
• 5 pounds boneless pork roast, or boneless country ribs, trimmed of as much fat as possible
• Salt and pepper for seasoning roast.  I used salt and Montreal Steak Seasoning.
• 2 yellow onions, chopped
• 5 cloves garlic, finely minced or crushed
• 1 (15 oz.) can green enchilada sauce
• 3 (4 oz.) cans diced green chilies
• 3 (14 oz.) cans diced tomatoes with green chilies
• 1 beef bouillon cube (or 1 teaspoon beef bouillon granules)
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• ½ teaspoon black pepper

Cut the roast into 3-4 large chunks. Season the pork generously with salt and pepper on all sides. In a large heavy pot, the oil over medium heat until the oil is shimmering and hot. Add the pork, being careful not to crowd the pot (brown the pork in shifts, if needed). Brown the pork on all sides until golden and well-browned, about 30 seconds to a minute on each side. Leave the roast in the pot and add the onion and garlic. Cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring often. Place the pork and garlic and onions in the slow cooker. Stir in the rest of the ingredients to the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 8-9 hours. After the roast has cooked for the allotted time, remove the roast. Shred it into bite-size pieces and set aside, covered with foil to keep warm. Pour the remaining liquid and ingredients from the slow cooker into a large saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil on the stove, and simmer vigorously over medium-low or medium heat for 20-30 minutes, stirring often to prevent sticking or burning, until the mixture considerably reduced and thickened. DON'T SKIP THIS STEP!!!  Reducing the sauce is essential in deepening the flavor of the sauce.  Add the pork roast and sauce back to the slow cooker. Stir to coat the pork with the sauce. Turn the crockpot to low or high and allow the pork to heat through again. Serve with warm tortillas and desired toppings, such as sour cream, cheese, avocados, lettuce, tomatoes.

This recipe has been linked up at:
This Chick Cooks
Simply Sweet Home
Tidy Mom
The Country Cook
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3 Envelope Crockpot Chicken

I took the kidlets to go see the Smufs this weekend, or as my 4-year old likes to call them, the Smurps.   It has inspired a song...

"La, la, la, la, la, la it's so Smurfing hot...
La, la, la, la, la, la how can you Smurf the whole day long?
Sooo, la, la, la, la, la, la Smurf this Smurfing song!"

Sorry, the heat has left me a wee-bit-cranky and drained my song-writing mojo.
Moving on...

I tend to pick my meals lately based on how little heat it will create in the house which is why we spend most of the summer eating salads, grilled foods, and Crockpot meals. The recipe I am sharing today creates a flavorful, juicy piece of chicken cooked in a fantastic gravy....and did I mention it is silly simple?! You can throw this bad-boy in the Crockpot, go to the pool for the afternoon, and come home to a house that smells slap-your-sunburn GOOD!

3 Envelope Chicken
Recipe Source: Fantastical Sharing of Recipes

• 1 packet Ranch Salad Dressing mix
• 1 packet Italian Salad Dressing mix
• 1 packet chicken gravy mix
• 1 cup of water
• 4-6 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Place thawed chicken breasts in a cold Crockpot.
Combine the Ranch Dressing Mix, Italian Dressing Mix, and Chicken gravy mix with 1 cup of cold water. Stir to combine. Pour over chicken and cook on low for 4-6 hours or on high for 2-4 hours. Make sure and cook up some mashed 'taters, egg noodles, or rice to pour some of that fabulous sauce on!

This recipe was linked up at:
This Chick Cooks
Tidy Mom
Simply Sweet Home

Root Beer BBQ Pulled Pork Sliders

This isn't a new recipe...it has been around forever.  So, why has it taken me so long to try it?  Who knows...maybe it was the thought of using root beer.  However, it is the root beer that takes this BBQ Pork to a new level-o-yum!  For these IN-sanely hot days, this is a perfect crock-pot meal.  As a total bonus, it is silly simple as well as scrumptious. 
OK, going to go sit under the AC vent....keep cool everyone!

Root Beer BBQ Pulled Pork Sliders

• 3-4 lbs pork butt/shoulder. 
• 2 TBSP Montreal Steak Seasoning 
• 1 bottle (12 ounces) your favorite root beer.  Again, DO NOT USE DIET!!!  Seriously, seriously scary stuff happens when you heat all those crazy chemical sweeteners
• 1 bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce.  My favorite is Bullseye Original.  I just saw a big taste test thing for BBQ sauces and Bullseye Original took first place ;)  Yup, I know how to pick a winner, lol!
• Hawaiian Sweet Rolls for serving

Sprinkle Montreal Steak Seasoning over you pork roast.  Place in cold crock pot.  Add bottled root beer to crock pot, pouring around the roast to not disturb the seasoning.  Cook on low for 8 hours, or until it shreds easily.  Remove meat from crock pot and shred into desired sized pieces.  Drain and reserve liquid.  Add meat back into crock pot and add just enough reserved liquid to re-moisten meat, about 1/4 cup.  Add enough BBQ sauce to give meat a nice coating.  Let sit in crock pot on low until warm.  Serve on Hawaiian Sweet Rolls.

This recipe has been linked up at:
This Chick Cooks
Tidy Mom
Simply Sweet Home

Taco Soup

I know that everyone has a recipe for Taco Soup....and guess what, so do I! 
For those who may not have tried Taco Soup, it is kind of a lighter chili-ish type meal.  Perfect to serve with Corn Bread or Frito's, you can top it with any normal chili toppings.  It has a wonderful balance of flavors that is sure to please the kiddos as well as adults.
I particularly love that this is so easy, just open throw it in the crockpot and walk away....it makes a TON so perfect for large gatherings or for leftovers.
Speaking of, one of our favorite ways to use up the leftovers is for NACHOS...YUM!

Crock Pot BBQ Country Ribs with Beer Braised Onions

The.  Move.  Is.  Over.
Thank goodness! 
We are still in the midst of unpacking, but at least the kitchen is mostly there.  There enough to make dinner, which is a good thing because if I have to eat any more take-out, fast food, or sitting to eat looking and feeling all nasty and sweaty in a restaurant again....well, let's just say it would not be pretty!
Last month, while in my "CLEAN IT OUT" phase of the packing process, I made this super yummy dish with some pork country ribs I had in the freezer.  It is super easy, simple, and DELISH!  I used to make this meal all the time, but hadn't in a while.  In fact, I think the last time I made it was for my Dadu while my Mom was out of town and he LOVED, LOVED, LOVED it!  For those that know about my Dadu, you know that for him to eat anything aside from steak, macaroni and cheese, or fried chicken was an incredibly rare thing.
Even though this has some prep work involved before you stick it in the Crock Pot, it is well worth it!

Ingredients:

• 8-10 boneless country style pork ribs
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
• 1 bottle of your favorite bottled (or homemade) BBQ sauce, 18 ounces.   I use the original Bullseye.
• 1 large red onion, peeled and sliced
• 1 bottle of beer of your choice.  I used an Amber Ale.

Salt and pepper both sides of ribs to taste.
Heat a large skillet with olive oil over medium high heat.  Add ribs and allow to sear until caramelized and brown on both sides, working in batches.  Remove the ribs once seared and layer in crock pot, topping with BBQ sauce using the entire bottle.
Once all ribs are seared, add an additional TBSP of olive oil if necessary, and add onion slices.  Allow onions to cook until caramelized as well.  Very carefully, add beer to de-glaze pan, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan.  Turn down the heat to medium-low and allow to simmer until most of the liquid has cooked down by half or more, about 3-6 minutes.  Add onions to top of ribs and BBQ sauce.  Cover with lid and allow to cook on low heat for 6-7 hours. 
This is fabulous served over mashed potatoes!
ENJOY!!!

This recipe has been linked up at:
Mommy's Kitchen

Crockpot Pork Chops and Gravy

Our AC went out last night.  For some of you who are enjoying the amazing crisp air that fall provides, this may not seem like a big thing.  However, for those of you who are still experiencing this sweltering, unrelenting heat, there was sure to be a surge of panic in you when you hear me say "OUR AC WENT OUT LAST NIGHT!!!"
Luckily AC-Man is coming any minute now.  Sitting here feeling the heat in the house climb and climb to over 79 degrees now (at 10:00am), I am reminded how THANKFUL I am for crockpot meals.  Ahhh, to have comfort food without heating up your entire house or slaving over a store for hours and hours to produce such scrumptiousness.
This recipe was given to me by my friend Jill of Sublime Hodge Podge, who told me in no uncertain terms that I MUST make these and if I didn't experience these sent from heaven morsels, I would be doomed to a life of nothingness, blandness, bleakness....or something like that.  So, here you are....the worlds easiest Pork Chop and Gravy recipe.  Consider this your PSA for the day, try not to lick the crockpot while the heavenly aroma of the gravy starts wafting through your home!

Ingredients:

• 4 whole Bone-in Pork Chops
• 1 envelope Onion Soup Mix (1 Oz. Packet)
• 1-½ cup Chicken Broth....definitely use low sodium
• 1 can (10.5 Oz) Cream Of Chicken Soup....definitely use low sodium
• 1 envelope Dry Pork Gravy Mix (1 Oz. Packet)
• Optional - I added a can of drained mushrooms and a tsp of Italian Herb Seasoning

Place pork chops in slow cooker. In a separate bowl, mix remaining ingredients and pour over chops. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Serve with egg noodles, mashed potatoes, or rice to take advantage of all the yummy gravy.

This recipe has been linked up at:
Mommy's Kitchen
Eat at Home

Crockpot Chicken Parmesan

I don't know about you, but it another HOT one today!   What do you eat when it is so hot out?  At our house, we do a lot of grilling, dinner salads, and crock pot meals.  I was looking for a meal that I could make these crazy good, phenomenal breadsticks with, but didn't want to spend a lot of time on dinner (heat makes me feel like a lazy slug) and certainly did not want to have the oven going for more than the 15 minutes needed to bake the breadsticks.  After a quick search of recipes on my "things to try" list, I found this recipe for Crockpot Chicken Parmesan.  It went together in a snap and was a quicker cooking crockpot meal, which is good because I rarely have my act together in the morning to get dinner going.  Throughout the afternoon, the house was smelling INSANELY good and the taste certainly did not disappoint.  The chicken was cooked perfectly, and even though you could not longer see the cheese, you definitely tasted it.  Everyone LOVED it! 

• 2-4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
• 1/2 cup Italian Seasoned Bread Crumbs
• 1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese
• 1/4 t black pepper
• 1/4 t kosher salt
• 1 TBSP olive oil
• 1 egg, beaten
• sliced or shredded mozzarella cheese
• favorite jarred marinara sauce, I use Trader Joe's Tomato Basil Marinara

Spread the 1 TBSP of olive oil into the bottom of your crockpot stoneware insert.
Beat the egg with a fork in a separate bowl.
Mix the bread crumbs with the seasonings and the Parmesan cheese in another separate dish.
Dip the chicken into the egg, then into the bread crumb mixture, coating both sides with crumbs, cheese and seasonings.
Place the chicken breast pieces in the bottom of the crockpot.
Layer 2-3 slices or 1-2 cups of mozzarella cheese on top, depending on how much cheese you like.
Cover chicken and cheese with entire jar of marinara sauce.

Close lid and cook on low for 6-7 hours or high for 3-4. I cooked mine on high for about 3 1/2 hours and the chicken was perfect!
Serve with your favorite pasta.  ENJOY!


Recipe source:  A Year of Slow Cooking
This recipe has been linked up at:
Mommy's Kitchen Sunday Potluck

Crockpot Brown Sugar Chicken

I saw this recipe over at A Year of Slow Cooking.  I love, love, LOVE making meals in my Crockpot!  I feel so accomplished when I have my dinner taken care of at 10:00 in the morning.  When I saw this recipe and the rave reviews it received, I knew I wanted to try it.  This is one of those recipes you will just need to trust me on.  The taste is somewhat Teriyaki-ish and let me just say,  the sauce is killer!  ***update...I found that I like it better when you make the stir fry veggies seperately instead of adding them to the crockpot.  Also, if you have have a family divided (half like it spicy and the other half does not), take out some of the broth and mix in some Sriracha sauce and serve that to those who like it spicy!
Ingredients:

• 12 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, or 6 boneless, skinless breast halves (I used the thighs because I think it stays WAY juicier in the Crockpot)
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup lemon-lime soda (please, don't use diet.   When the chemicals in diet soda are exposed to heat, they do some pretty scary stuff)
• 2/3 cup vinegar (I used regular white, but the original recipe used White Wine)
• 3 cloves smashed and chopped garlic (I used those handy dandy frozen garlic cubes from Trader Joe's)
• 2 TBSP soy sauce (I found I needed a splash or two more at the end.  Taste it and see if you need more when it is done cooking)
• 1 tsp ground black pepper

Use a 4 quart Crockpot for this recipe. 
Plop the chicken into your crockpot. Cover with the brown sugar, pepper, chopped garlic, and soy sauce. Add the vinegar, and pour in the soda. It will bubble!
Cover and cook on low for 6-9 hours, or on high for 4-5. The chicken is done when it is cooked through and has reached desired consistency. The longer you cook it, the more tender it will be.
Serve over a bowl of white rice with a ladle full of the broth.  As I said, the broth is A-MAZING! 

A couple of notes:
~Don't put this together the night before.  The vinegar will marinate your chicken, bleck!
~Change it up by adding some veggies....stir-fry, carrots, broccoli, strips of peppers and onions, etc.
~If you want the sweet/spicy thing, add some red pepper flake or Sriracha.

This recipe is linked up at:
Mommy's Kitchen Sunday Potluck
Eat at Home
Tidy Mom
Simply Sweet Home

Cranberry Mustard Pork Tenderloin

This is BY FAR, my favorite pork tenderloin recipe to date. It is simple enough for a weeknight meal, but special enough for company. Pork tenderloin is a healthy and inexpensive cut of meat. I usually get the 2 pack at Costco, so I always have one waiting in the wings. Don't let the combination of ingredients or their simpleness freak you out, I think the flavor fairies do a little dance on this while in the crock pot because it turns into something SPECTACULAR!!! Please, please, please, listen to Siggy Spice and do yourself a favor, make this very soon!

Ingredients:

• 2 - 1 pound pork tenderloins. In case you have never bought them before, there is usually 2 in one pack.
• 1 can whole cranberry sauce, 14-16 ounce can, depending what your grocery store carries
• 1/3 cup Dijon mustard
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1/2 TBSP salt
• 1 tsp fresh ground pepper

Trim your pork tenderloin of any of the silver "stuff" that may be left on the meat. Rinse under water and place in a crock pot. In a medium bowl, combine cranberry sauce, mustard, brown sugar, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Pour sauce over pork. Put lid on crock pot and cook on high for 1 hour, then lower the heat to low setting and let cook an additional 4 hours.
ENJOY! Leave a comment and let me hear about your love for this delectable dish!

Recipe Source:  The Recipe Club

This recipe linked at:
 Mommy's Kitchen Sunday Potluck
This Chick Cooks
Eat at Home