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Slow Cooker Pork Roast with Fruit


We are having our family Christmas celebration today. I decided to make a pork roast instead of ham since we’ll be eating ham at all of our other parties. This is a Betty Crocker recipe I found shortly after I got married. Every time I make it everyone loves it. Plus it’s super simple! That’s always good. I already put it in the crockpot this morning. It will be so tender by dinner time tonight. I’ll update with pics of the finished product later. For now I have pics of the roast just after putting it in the crockpot.

Slow Cooker Pork Roast with Fruit

1 medium onion, sliced
1 pork boneless loin roast (2 lbs.)
1 pkg. (8 oz.) dried fruit, chopped or 1 1/2 cups raisins (I used a combo of raisins and home dried apples, peaches and pears)
1/2 cup apple juice
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

Put onion in crockpot. Place pork on onion. Top with fruit. Mix remaining ingredients and pour over fruit. Cook on low 7-9 hours (until pork is tender).

Thin Pork Chops

I made another pork chop recipe last night that I got from my MIL. It’s really more of a concept than a recipe. The recipe is for thin pork chops, but you could use any cut. I used center cut. Justin and Rebecca loved it 🙂  I ate leftover beef…needs to be used up, and I wanted enough pork left for Justin’s lunch. I served the pork chops and gravy over brown rice.

Thin Pork Chops
1 Tbsp. EVOO
2-4 pork chops

salt, pepper, seasoning salt to taste
1 cup water

Gravy
2 Tbsp. flour
1/4 cup cold water

Heat EVOO in large skillet. Season chops. Brown chops on both sides – about 5 min. per side. Add 1/2 – 1 cup water to the pan. Cover. Cook over low heat for 1 hour. You may need to add water while it’s cooking if it all evaporates.

Remove chops from pan. Keep warm. Mix flour and cold water. Add a little at a time to the water in the pan, cooking until desired thickness…about 1 minute. Add extra water to thin the gravy/make more. Add extra flour/water mixture to make thicker.

Serve pork chops and gravy over rice or mashed potatoes.

Pumpkin Soup

I’ve been making a lot of things with pumpkin this month…but all sweet stuff. I decided to be brave and try something savory. I made pumpkin soup for dinner last night. I got the recipe from All Recipes and modified it a bit. I wasn’t sure any of us would like it. But we all did! Even Rebecca loved it. It definitely had good flavor. And it was super easy to make. I prepped it in the morning (cooked and pureed it) and then just simmered it for a bit at dinner time. I love prep ahead meals. And I think it really adds to the flavor to let it sit for a bit. I only made a half batch, and there isn’t much left. Next time I’ll make the full recipe. We had it for our main dish…a light, healthy fall meal…pumpkin soup and homemade bread with homemade apple butter. But it would be good as a first course/part of a meal for guests.

Pumpkin Soup

6 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 tsp. salt
4 cups pumpkin puree
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme or 1 tsp. dried thyme
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
5 whole black peppercorns
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg

Heat the broth, salt, pumpkin, onion, thyme, garlic, and spices. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 30 minutes uncovered.

Puree the soup with an immersion blender if necessary
Stir in the heavy cream.

Pumpkin Pancakes

Last night for dinner I tried a recipe from Heavenly Homemakers for pumpkin pancakes. One more pumpkin recipe to try 🙂 These were ok. But the like/dislike had nothing to do with the pumpkin. It was just a kind of weird pancake recipe. I think it was largely due to the butter in the recipe. The batter didn’t pour and spread out like a normal pancake. It just sat in a big lump. I tried spreading them out a bit, but they just kind of slid around on the pan. And then they didn’t seem to cook all the way through. The flavor was fine. Just not the light, fluffy pancake we’re used to. I did add a little sugar to the recipe to give it a little sweetness (about 3 Tbsp.). I used less butter than the recipe called for (if I try them again I’ll cut it out completely). And I tried soaking my flour (never tried that before). I don’t really know how to do that. I just mixed the flour and buttermilk and put it in the fridge until it was time to make dinner. Maybe that made a difference. Maybe I didn’t do that correctly. Anyway, I served them with homemade strawberry topping, whipped topping (for Justin) and walnuts. With all that yummy stuff on top they tasted just fine 🙂 Justin and I both thought they were fine, but nothing amazing. I did make a double batch, so now we have some pancakes in the freezer again. I debated between this recipe and one from Two Peas and Their Pod. I’ll have to try that one sometime with the cinnamon syrup. I bet they are really good!

*Edited 7/10/10 – Just realized I never updated this the last time I tried these. I made these a while back (a big batch to freeze), soaking them first. They turned out pretty good. I think I skipped the butter, which helped a lot. Just be sure to spread the batter well and don’t make them too thick.

Pumpkin Pancakes

1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cloves
1/4 tsp. ginger
1 egg
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
3/4 cup buttermilk
3 Tbsp. melted butter (I used 2 Tbsp…I’ll cut it out all together next time)
Butter for skillet or griddle
*I added about 3 Tbsp. sugar to a double batch
Whisk all ingredients together thoroughly. Heat skillet or griddle. Melt and spread butter over the surface to prevent pancakes from sticking. Pour 1/3 c. batter onto skillet for each pancake. Once bubbles begin to form, turn pancake over. Cook until golden brown. Makes about 8 pancakes. For my family of 6, I usually triple this recipe.

To soak grains:

Soak the flour in the buttermilk (or yogurt or kefir) overnight, then add the remaining ingredients the following morning before cooking.

Pork Chops and Apples

For dinner last night I pulled out an old recipe. I’ve been making this since before Justin and I got married. But I haven’t made it in a while. I don’t remember where I got the recipe…I think it’s Betty Crocker or Kraft. Very easy. And good. I’m not a huge pork fan. We never ate pork growing up (aside from ham or hot dogs once in a while). And it’s hard on my stomach. So I don’t make pork chops often. But Justin loves them. So I try to give him a treat once in a while. I serve this over rice. The apples/syrup in the bottom of the pan are really good on rice. And I like that it only takes 5-10 min. to prep. And doesn’t make a huge mess. This is for 2 servings. You could easily double or triple the recipe. You’d just need a bigger casserole dish. I always add extra apple, cinnamon and sugar so there is enough to put over the rice.

Pork Chops and Apples

1 medium unpeeld cooking apple, sliced (I use at least 2)
2 Tbsp. packed brown sugar (I adjust this depending on how many apples I use)
1/4 tsp. cinnamon (I adjust this depending on how many apples I use)
2 pork chops (I used center cut…any cut would work)

Heat oven to 350. Remove fat from pork. Coat skillet with cooking spray olive oil. Brown pork chops in skillet…about 2-3 min. per side. While pork is cooking slice apples. Place in the bottom of a 1 1/2 qt. round or oval casserole. Sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon. Place the pork chops in a single layer on top of the apples. Cover and bake about 45 min.

Pizza Dough and Sauce

I realized yesterday when I was looking for my pizza dough recipe on my blog that I’ve never posted it! I just posted the link to my cousin’s wife’s blog…I got both the dough and sauce recipes from her. So easy and so yummy!!

Pizza Dough

1 Tbsp. yeast
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 1/2 cups warm water

2 Tbsp. sugar
3 Tbsp. oil
1/2 Tbsp. salt
4 cups flour

Sprinkle yeast and 1 Tbsp. sugar over water. Let bubble (about 5 min.). Add 2 more Tbsp. sugar, oil, salt and flour. Let rise about an hour. Spread on pizza pan. Add toppings. Bake at 450 for 15-20 min.

This makes enough for 2 pizzas or 1 pizza and breadsticks. You can use some whole wheat flour in place of the all purpose flour.

Pizza Sauce

1/2 medium onion, diced
2-4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 Tbsp. EVOO
1 large can crushed tomatoes
1 Tbsp. basil
1/2 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. parsley
(or any seasoning you like)

Sautee onion in oil in a pot. Add the garlic. Cook a couple more minutes. Add tomatoes and seasoning. Cover and simmer over low heat 5-6 min.

Baked Egg Puffs

These baked egg cups use cooked squash as a thickener. It works so well! They are sort of like mini souffles. There was no way I would have  known that there was squash in the eggs. Definitely a keeper! I love that we got some extra veggies. 

Serve baked egg puffs with your favorite veggie and some homemade bread for a complete meal.

Baked Egg Puffs
 
5 large eggs
1/2 cup butternut or buttercup squash, pumpkin, or sweet potato puree
2 Tbsp. shredded cheese
2 Tbsp. tapioca flour or white rice flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
bacon, ham or sausage (optional add-in)
cooked broccoli or spinach (optinal add-in)
2 Tbsp. non-fortified nutritional yeast
 
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Coat 4 (1/2-cup) ramekins or coffee cups (I used my little glass pyrex dishes) with butter and set on a baking sheet.
 
In a large bowl whisk all the ingredients until combined. Divide the mixture among the ramekins or cups and bake until the tops are puffed up and the eggs are no longer runny in the center when pierced with the tip of a knife, about 20 minutes. Serve immediately.

Stuffed Buttercup Squash

Last week I bought some buttercup squash at the orchard. I had never had it before. I tried to think of a creative way to use it besides the usual way to roast squash. I decided to stuff it. I’ve never done that before. And I actually couldn’t find many recipes for stuffed squash…at least not many recipes that could serve as a main dish. So I came up with something on my own! A mix of quinoa, mushrooms, zucchini, pepper, onion, goat cheese and pine nuts stuffed inside a squash half. Then topped with grated parmesan. Wow! So good! Even Justin, who doesn’t like mushrooms, thought it was really good. He was amazed that I just came up with this on my own. We even ate some of the squash skin, it was that good. I had never done that before. And I was quite surprised by how good it is! And probably good for you. This is definitely something I’ll do again. And I’ll play around with different stuffings. A wonderful healthy, hardy, meatless fall dinner. Not only does it taste good, it’s very pretty too 🙂 Something fun to try with guests…everyone gets their own little bowl 🙂 I’ll try to write down approximate quantities. You could use any kind of squash for this. But buttercup really worked well. I just used a small squash…perfect for 2. We each had a half. To feed more you could stuff more squash or use a larger squash and serve quarters. You can use whatever veggies you have on hand too. I served it with some homemade apple pearsauce. Yum!!

Quinoa, Veggie and Goat Cheese Stuffed Squash

serves 2

1 small buttercup squash, washed, halved, seeds removed
1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 cup water
1/4 cup quinoa

1 small zucchini, diced
1/4 onion, diced
3-5 white mushrooms, diced
1/4 green pepper, diced
salt and pepper
3 oz. goat cheese
1/4 cup pine nuts
2 Tbsp. freshly grated parmesan cheese

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Prep squash. Place on baking sheet, cut side up. Sprinkle with salt. Fill pan with a little water. Tent with foil. Bake until squash is cooked (45 min. – 1 1/2 hrs. depending on the size).

While squash is baking, cook quinoa: boil water, add quinoa. Cover, cook on low for 12 min. Remove from heat, fluff with fork. Cover for 15 min.

Sautee veggies in small amount of EVOO. Season with salt and pepper.

Mix quinoa and veggies in separate bowl. Stir in nuts and crumbled goat cheese just before stuffing, reserving a little for topping.

When squash is cooked, remove from oven. Scrape up a little squash if needed to make room for the stuffing. Fill each half of the squash with half of the stuffing mixture. Top with a little more goat cheese and nuts. Place back in the oven for 15 min. Grate parmesan over top just before serving.

CA Chicken

This week I made it to a new meat market and picked up some chicken and bacon. And I had some avocado and swiss cheese to use up. So I decided to make CA Chicken for dinner last night. I’ve been making this for a few years now. We always love it! I can’t believe I haven’t posted the recipe yet. I guess it’s been a while since I made it last. Anyway, I don’t remember where I got the recipe. But it’s simple and very good! Sometimes I skip the bacon…depends what kind of mood I’m in 🙂 And we usually don’t have fresh tomotao on hand, so I just add a little salsa instead.CA Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
salt and pepper
1 small onion, sliced
2 avocados, sliced
2 tomatoes, sliced (I just used a little homemade salsa)
1 (8 oz.) pkg. monteray jack cheese, sliced (you can use whatever cheese you have on hand…I used swiss last night)
4 strips bacon

Heat oven to 350. Season chicken and wrap with bacon (I use a toothpick to hold it in place…just be sure to take it out before you eat :). Cook chicken and onion in a skillet or grill pan (be sure to give it a little time on each side so that the bacon cooks…it’s hard to get all parts of the bacon cooked/crisped). Top each breast with 1-2 slices of tomato, 2-3 slices of cheese and onions (all of the toppings are to your liking and what will fit on the chicken). Put in the oven for 15-20 min. When serving add a few slices of avocado and a sprinkle of salt.

Zucchini Enchiladas

For dinner on Monday I made zucchini enchiladas. I got the recipe from my SIL Shannon. This was so good!!! I made the sauce and the filling in the morning. Then assembled and baked at dinner time. I just used the tortillas we had in the freezer…4 Ezekiel and 6 flour. And there was still filling leftover. I added a little diced green pepper, tomato and roasted red pepper to the filling since I had some to use up. And I served them with sour cream, salsa and diced avocado. You definitely don’t miss the meat in this dish. Filling, great flavor and good for you! Definitely something I’ll make again. It made a lot, so there is enough for lunches, another dinner and some to have on hand in the freezer.

Black Bean, Corn, and Zucchini Enchiladas
Prepare the Enchilada Sauce a few days ahead of time, and refrigerate (I just made it in the morning).
Yield 8 servings (serving size: 1 enchilada)

1 tsp. canola oil (I used EVOO)
2 cups diced zucchini (from our garden)
1 (10-ounce) package frozen whole-kernel corn (organic)
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained (organic)
3 cups Enchilada Sauce, divided
Cooking spray
8 (8-inch) whole wheat tortillas (I used 4 (10″) Ezekiel, 6 (6″) flour) (use corn or other GF tortilla to make this GF)
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese, divided

Preheat oven to 350°.
Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 cups zucchini and corn; sauté for 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Remove from heat, and stir in beans.
Spread 1 cup Enchilada Sauce in the bottom of a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Spoon about 1/2 cup zucchini mixture down center of 1 tortilla; sprinkle with 2 tablespoons cheese, and roll up. Place seam-side down in baking dish. Repeat procedure with remaining tortillas, zucchini mixture, and 14 tablespoons cheese. Spread remaining 2 cups sauce evenly over enchiladas.

Cover with foil; bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Uncover; top with remaining 1 cup cheese. Bake, uncovered, for 10 minutes or until cheese melts.
　
Enchilada Sauce
Yield 3 cups (serving size: about 1/3 cup)

1 tsp. canola oil (I used EVOO)
1/2 cup diced red onion (I used yellow, from the farmer’s market)
1 tsp. minced garlic
1/2 cup organic vegetable broth (such as Swanson Certified Organic) (I used organic chicken better than bouillon w/ water)
1 Tbsp. chili powder

1 Tbsp. honey (locally made, I used a little more than this to balance out the spice for us)
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. salt
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes, undrained (I used petite diced)

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; sauté 5 minutes or until onion is tender. Stir in broth and remaining ingredients. Reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes.