Recipe: Slow Cooker Boneless Pork Chops

Happy Friday everyone! Dropping in real quick today to share a delicious recipe that works great for a busy weeknight meal.
Kinda embarrassing to admit, but I had never made boneless pork chops before. And I rarely make bone-in pork chops because I usually over-cook them and they come out tough.
But Publix recently had boneless pork chops on sale, so I thought I'd give them a try.
My past experience with tough meat made me think that possibly cooking them in the Crock Pot would yield a more tender meat. Boy, was I right!
These were fork tender and so flavorful!

Here's the recipe:

Savory Slow Cooker Pork Chops

Ingredients:

• 4 Pork Chops (I used boneless, but I'm sure either one would be great)
• 1/4 cup EVOO
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1 tablespoon poultry seasoning, I used McCormick's
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Spray Slow Cooker with non-stick cooking spray.
2. In a bowl (or straight in the Slow Cooker), whisk together all of the ingredients
3. Cut a small slit into the middle of each pork chop and place in the Slow Cooker.

4. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours, or low for 6-8 hours. Periodically baste the pork chops with the liquid.

I served these over mashed potatoes and the boys went crazy for them! They are seriously so flavorful. I did however forget to take a finished photo - sorry! But trust me, it's delicious.

I will warn you though, when it's cooking, it's a pretty strong garlic/paprika smell. So if you don't want your house smelling like that all day, I recommend plugging your Slow Cooker in on your porch. That's what I do when I'm cooking something particularly fragrant, and it works great! :)

Hope you will try this recipe sometime next week and let me know how it turns out. Maybe even send me a photo. ;)

Recipe: Taco Soup

Today is one of those wall-to-wall days when the moment my feet hit the ground this morning, I knew there would be little slowing down.

On days like these, I always look for a recipe that can be assembled quickly, ahead of time, and that requires minimal clean up.

Enter...Taco Soup.

This recipe is so simple, it's not even really a recipe. But I thought I'd share it just in case you have a busy day lined up this week and still want to serve your family a hearty meal at the end of the day.

Taco Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. ground beef or chicken
• 1 envelope of taco seasoning
• 1 can sweet corn, drained
• 1 can pinto beans, drained
• 1 can kidney beans, drained
• 1 can black beans (Do not drain)
• 1 can of petite diced tomatoes (Do not drain)
• Shredded cheese
• Fritos or Tortilla chips

*Optional ingredients: Sour cream, cilantro, green onion, jalapeno slices

Directions:

1. Brown your meat in a skillet (I like to use ground chicken for this recipe and I cook it in a non-stick skillet with a tablespoon or two of coconut oil... and no, it does not taste like coconuts, it's just a super healthy alternative to vegetable oil).

2. Spray your slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray and dump in all the canned ingredients plus the taco seasoning. Then add in the browned meat. Stir everything around until all the ingredients are swimming happily together in their slow cooker hot tub.

3. Cook on low for at least 3 hours, but up to 6 hours will make it even better.

I like to really pile on the toppings with this recipe. I add sour cream, diced green onions, shredded cheese, diced jalapenos, and even Fritos! If you don't have Fritos, tortilla chips make great "spoons" for dipping. 

Hope you enjoy this recipe on your next busy day. As for me, I'm off to help with math homework, finish the laundry, prep for our Cub Scouts meeting, and entertain two rambunctious sweet boys the rest of the afternoon. Is it 5 o'clock yet? Ha.. ha..ha.,.

Mouthwatering Slow Cooker Pork Roast

Hello everyone! I hope you had a fantastic weekend.

We spent most of ours bouncing around from one birthday party to the next. In total, we celebrated FIVE birthdays in one weekend. Phew! That's a lot of celebrating.

Today, I wanted to share a delicious recipe that I came across last week when trying to figure out what to do with the pork loin roast I had purchased because it was on sale.

I am pleased to report that my entire family loved this recipe and the leftovers were just as yummy. This would make a super easy weeknight meal, or could be dressed up with some fancy side dishes and made for company. Either way, I hope you'll give it a try next time pork loin is on sale at your grocery store.

Mouthwatering Slow Cooker Pork Loin

Ingredients:

As simple as this may seem, the only ingredients are:

• Approx. 2 lb. pork loin roast
• 3 tablespoons of soy sauce
• 1 packet of dry onion soup mix
• 3 tablespoons of minced garlic
• 3/4 cup dry red wine
• 1 cup water

Directions:

Just like the ingredients, the directions are super simple!

1. Pat your pork loin roast dry and place it inside a greased slow cooker.

2. In a bowl, combine soup mix, red wine, water and soy sauce. Mix to combine, then pour over the pork loin, turning to ensure the entire roast is coated with the liquid.

3. Spread minced garlic on the top of the pork.

4. Cover and let cook on low for 10 hours, or high for 6-8 hours depending on the weight of the pork.

5. Once it is fork tender, shred the meat and serve with the remaining sauce.

I served ours with a huge pan of roasted vegetables. It was the perfect compliment to the pork.

I hope you and your family enjoy this recipe as much as we did.

I'll be back later this week with some fun St. Patrick's Day ideas. Stay tuned!

Recipe: Slow Cooker Chicken Sausage & White Bean Stew

I'm still coming off my Valentine's weekend high.

I gotta say... I love my kids with all my heart and soul... but spending a weekend alone with my man was just what the doctor ordered.

We went out to dinner and then attended an amazing concert...

We slept in, drank second-cups of coffee, lazed around the house, did random errands with no time limits or children yelling, "WHERE are we going now?!?" or "Are we done yet?!?!"

It was a weekend full of adult "me time" where we did whatever we felt like doing, Quite nice, I gotta say.

My love showered my with my favorite flowers on Valentine's morning:

And I got him a new cheese platter/cutting board, hand-fired with a very inside joke... don't ask... it would take way to long to explain. :)

It was a wonderfully relaxing weekend, and I was super excited to hug my babies (can I still call them that??) on Sunday. But as all holidays are... this one passed far too quickly, and now we're back to the real world. :)

And since the week is in full gear, I thought I'd share a very quick, SUPER easy, family-friendly weeknight meal with you.

My boys love this so much, and I love it too because it's healthy, takes minutes to assemble, and it is comfort food at its best.

Here's my recipe for Slow Cooker Sausage & White Bean Stew:

Ingredients:

1. (2) Cans of Cannellini beans
2. 3/4 - 1 cup chicken stock (homemade preferred of course) :)
3. al fresco chicken sausage I chose the sundried tomato version, but they are all delicious! And I love that I can pronounce and understand all of the ingredients on the label (chicken meat, sundried tomatoes, basil, etc. - NO by-products or fillers!)
4. Pasta - shells are my top choice for this dish, but penne or bowtie works great too.
5. Parmesan cheese and any Italian herbs of your choosing

Directions:
1. Thinly slice the chicken sausage (it's already fully cooked, so you don't need to saute it unless you want to), and place it in the bottom of your sprayed Slow Cooker. Then generously drizzle with EVOO.

2. Drain & rinse the cannellini beans and dump them on top of the sausage.

3. Sprinkle with any Italian herbs of your choosing. I did some dried thyme, garlic salt, and basil.
4. Pour 3/4-1 cup of chicken broth on top until it almost covers the beans.
5. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for up to 6 hours.
6. Cook pasta and then ladle the sausage/bean mixture on top of the pasta and top with shredded Parm.
7. ENJOY!!

I love serving this with roasted broccoli and a dry white wine. It's a crowd pleaser for sure. And one that you'll want to come back to any time it's chilly outside and you want some savory comfort food.

Cheers everyone!