Food goodness

This is good in enchiladas, tacos, burritos, etc. 1 3-4 lb pork butt 4-6 citrus fruits, juiced - I like to use juice of a grapefruit, two oranges and a lime 1 t cumin 1 t chili powder 1 t onion powder 1/2 t garlic powder 1/2 t oregano 1/4 t cayenne 1/2 t salt 1/4 t freshly ground black pepper Trim most of fat from pork cut but leave a little for flavor and cooking moisture. Juice the citrus and pour into the ceramic vessel of slow cooker. Mix spices together uniformly in a small bowl. Use fingers to pat the spice rub all over the pork until completely used up. Set pork in citrus juice in slow cooker. Cook for 8 hours on low. Shred pork and toss with liquid.

So...I had some bratwurst in the freezer, and these cooked apples in my fridge. This was super quick. from "time for dinner" In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, brown brats (or whatever sausages you're using) on all sides. Remove, reduce heat, and add a little olive oil and a sliced red onion, 1/4 head of red cabbage (shredded), and the cooked apples (sliced). Saute until the cabbage wilts. Add some of the leftover cooking liquid from the apples, along with a few Tbsp. of cider vinegar. Turn the heat up, add the sausages, and cook through.

Braised pork So, back to the cookbook from G. I made this braised pork, which was a huge hunk of meat. It was enough for dinner for the four of us, and then 3 more meals. I portioned it up and put two in the freezer and one in the fridge for a recipe later in the week. adapted from "time for dinner" one 5 to 6-pound pork shoulder 1 garlic clove 2 Tbsp. paprika 6 Tbsp. olive oil 2/3 c. orange juice 1/3 c. lemon juice Stab deep slits with a knife into the pork shoulder. In a small food processor or on a cutting board, make a paste from the garlic, paprika, and 2 to 3 Tbsp. of the olive oil and smear over the pork. In a Dutch oven set over medium high heat, brown the pork in the remaining olive oil. Add the orange and lemon juice and cover. Bring to a boil, then simmer until internal temperature of the pork is 140 degrees, about 1.5 hours.

Truth is, we haven't been make a lot of earth-shattering recipes lately. Sometimes we fall back on old favorites -- like braised short ribs -- and other times we just fall back on quick and easy. This seems to be the season of quick and easy. Lucky for me, I got a couple new cookbooks for my birthday, and so I'm back in the kitchen. With quick and easy. This is adapted from the "Crockpot Slow Cooker Best-Loved Recipes," which Gaby and Katie picked out for my birthday. 4-6 boneless pork chops 4-5 medium apples, sliced (the recipe calls for Golden Delicious, but I used gala) 3 Tbsp. brown sugar 1 tsp. cinnamon 1/2 tsp. salt Place pork in crockpot. Cover with apples. Combine brown sugar and salt in a small bowl; sprinkle over apples. Cover; cook on low for 6-8 hours. (definitely 8 if you start with frozen pork, like me)

Adapted from the Neelys I made a batch of this to use next weekend when I will be making pulled pork for 24 people at a family reunion. I wanted to make a double batch but didn't have enough ingredients on hand at home tonight. If I make another batch later in the week, I might try reducing the apple cider vinegar just a bit to see if I like it better that way. It's definitely good this way, but it is vinegar-y. I cut back on the sugar from the original recipe, as recommended in many of the comments, so that may have contributed to the strong vinegar tang, too. I may continue to play around with this recipe, but it's a good starting place. You could also throw this in the crockpot for a few hours instead of simmering on your stovetop. Ingredients 2 cups ketchup 1 cup water 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar 5 tablespoons light brown sugar 1/2 tablespoon fresh ground black pepper 1 tablespoon dehydrated onion 1/2 tablespoon ground mustard 1 tablespoon lemon...

From Rick Bayless's Mexican Everyday I've also used this recipe with a whole chicken instead of pork. I'd love a tip about how to keep track of all the tiny little bones of a chicken in a slow cooker. Serves 6 1 1/2 pounds red skin or Yukon Gold potatoes, each cut into 6 wedges 1 1/2 – 2 pounds boneless pork shoulder, cubed (I used 1 1/2” cubes) 2 oz (about 8) dried guajillo chilies (stemmed, seeded, and torn so they lie flat) 1 – 15oz can diced tomatoes (preferably fire roasted) 4 garlic cloves, peeled and halved 2 tsp dried oregano 2 Tbs Worcestershire sauce salt 1/2 C (loosely packed) chopped cilantro for garnish 1/2 C diced white onion 1. Set the potatoes over bottom of slow cooker and top with pork. 2. Heat med. (8-inch) skillet over medium heat. When it is hot, toast the chilies – about 10 seconds per side. Any smoke means they are burning. Put in blender. 3. Add tomatoes w/ juice, garlic, oregano, Worcestershire, a generous 1 1/2 tsp. Salt, and 1 1/2 C water. Blend u...

from Real Simple, February 2011 Geoff and I had this last night. Even if pork isn't your thing, the sweet potato hash is particularly good, and worth making to suit some other entree. Serves: 4 Hands-on time: 25 minutes Total time: 25 minutes (Note: it was more like 30-35 minutes for us) Ingredients 1 pork tenderloin (about 1 1⁄4 pounds) 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon olive oil 1 teaspoon chili powder kosher salt and black pepper 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup 2 medium sweet potatoes (about 1 pound), peeled 2 large shallots, chopped 1 5-ounce package baby spinach, chopped hot sauce (optional) Directions 1. Heat broiler. Place the pork on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. Rub with 1 teaspoon of the oil, the chili powder, and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Broil, turning occasionally and basting with the maple syrup twice, until cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes before slicing. (Note: our pork was in the oven for a longer period of time, and when we pulled it...

Adapted from: Brad Kamer I don't like sauerkraut, so I'm not one to do the traditional Lancaster-county pork-and-sauerkraut New Years meal. BUT.... I will do the pork part. :) I made this pulled pork for a group of friends for gaming night tonight. You could certainly use a bottled BBQ sauce instead of making your own, but it really only takes a couple of extra minutes, and you probably have all the ingredients in your pantry already. The sauce in this recipe is a thin, vinegary sauce, which is what I like on pulled pork. You can top it with a thicker sauce at the end if you want. 1 Medium or large Sweet Onion, Chopped 3 Pounds Pork Shoulder, Trimmed of Fat 1/2 Cup Ketchup 1/3 Cup Worcestershire 1/3 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar 1 Tablespoon Ground Mustard 1 Tablespoon Garlic Powder 1/2 Teaspoon Smoked Paprika 1/4 Cup Brown Sugar Dash Red Chili Pepper Flakes (I used Aleppo pepper) Dash of kosher Salt and freshly ground black Pepper Method 1. Place chopped onions in bottom of cr...

This is in the slow cooker right now. You can eat it over rice with some veggies (like we plan to do) or make some sort of lettuce wraps. Get some fresh rice paper at the Asian store and wrap it in that! I bet it's even good in a whole wheat tortilla. 1 giant pork roast -- mine was about 8 pounds, I think ginger -- a lot. I used the stuff in the squeezy tube, because I had it and it was easy. If not, just get a huge piece and grate it up. 6-8 cloves garlic, smashed 1 bottle hoisin sauce, 12-15 ounces -- again, get thee to an Asian market. Hoisin sauce is cheap there, and you can buy it in big bottles. Plop that pork roast in the slow cooker. Put the grated ginger (or the squeezy ginger) on top. Throw in the garlic cloves. Pour the hoisin on top. Cook for 10 hours, or until the pork is able to be shredded with 2 forks. (Freeze all the extras, and you've got a couple meals!)

Adapted from: Annie's Eats I'll be honest - I didn't measure anything. I just opened a zip-lock bag, poured in all of the ingredients, zipped it up and let it marinate all day while I was at work. I cooked the pork chops in a skillet on the stovetop, but the original recipe calls for grilling them. At any rate, the marinate is really good and Todd told me 3 times that we have to remember this marinade because it was so good. 2/3 cup soy sauce 1/4 cup rice vinegar 1/3 cup brown sugar 3 cloves chopped garlic dash of ground ginger (use fresh ginger if you have it) pork chops Mix all ingredients together in a plastic bag. Add pork chops. Marinate in refrigerator for a few hours or overnight. Remove pork chops from marinade and cook with your preferred cooking method. If you want to, you can pour the marinade into a saucepan and boil it for a few minutes and then use this to baste the pork chops as they cook, or reduce to a sauce for the chops. Or not, if you don't w...

Adapted from the latest issue of Cooking Light . We had some friends over for dinner tonight and managed to throw this together along with a spinach salad with herbed goat cheese, apples and sugared walnuts and chocolate pudding cake for dessert. Did I mention that I made this in my electric pressure cooker b/c my stove blew up yesterday and threw sparks at me whilst blowing every fuse in our house. 3 times. Seriously. That aside, this was really good and I can hardly wait to have leftovers tomorrow. 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, divided 8 ounces hot Italian sausage 1/2 cup chopped onion 1 pound cremini mushrooms, sliced 2 large garlic cloves, minced 1 (14.5-ounce) can no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained S&P to taste 2 cups evaporated milk (or 2 cans plus a little water) 3 cups water 1 cup uncooked polenta 4 ounces goat cheese 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt Heat a heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons oil to pan; swirl to coat. Remove sausage fr...

When I was pregnant with Katie and craving burritos every other day, we ate a lot of Chipotle for dinner. Gaby decided she did not want a kids' quesadilla, thank you very much, and would eat the same thing every time we went -- carnitas burrito, hold the beans, lettuce, and cheese. Every single time. We don't eat Chipotle much these days, mostly because I don't crave burritos every other day. But when we do, she still gets the same thing. Every time. A while back I came across a recipe for carnitas you could make in your slow cooker. I figured I'd give it a shot, and see if mine was as good as Chipotle's in the eyes of my very discerning 7 year old. Well, she ate two tacos that night, and patted her belly when she was done and said "that is really good meat, Mom." So I guess it passes the inspection. The original recipe is here , but I didn't measure much of anything. Here's how I did it. Put one 1 fresh ham (probably about 9 pounds) in slow cooker...

Don't have a smoker but want to have tasty ribs? This way works pretty well. from Alton Brown 2 full racks/slabs (about 4 1/2 pounds) baby back pork ribs Kosher salt 6 tablespoons Rub Number Nine, recipe follows 1/2 cup orange juice (not fresh squeezed) 1/2 cup margarita mix 1/3 cup honey 1/3 cup ketchup 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 1 teaspoon espresso powder or instant coffee powder 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper Place each rib rack on a sheet of extra-wide, heavy-duty aluminum foil. (The foil should be 4 inches longer than the ribs on either end.) Season racks liberally with kosher salt and sprinkle each rack with 3 tablespoons of the rub. Turn the ribs, meat side down, and tightly seal each foil pouch. Place on a half sheet pan and refrigerate overnight. The next day, heat the oven to 250 degrees F. Combine the orange juice and margarita mix in a liquid measuring cup. Open 1 end of each pouch and evenly divide the liquid between the 2 pouches. Reseal...

And by biscuits I don't mean the kind that comes in a can. Not that my mom didn't do that growing up but they don't taste the same. Not bad, just different. And if your grandma is anything like mine, she's been making this "recipe" for like, 60 years and doesn't follow a recipe. She does it by feel. And that, my friends, is why it has taken so long for me to post this. I have watched her many times and taken notes and then gone home and tried it myself and...well, let's just say it took me a while to get it just right. Now that I have I happily share it with you. Admittedly, I did adapt the biscuit recipe slightly but otherwise, this is as close to replicating Grandma's recipe as I'm going to get. This is not a low-fat dish (duh) and I really only make it about 3 times a year. But it is so good that you'll be thinking about biscuits for the rest of the day. For the biscuits: 2 C self-rising flour (I happen to keep a sack in the fr...

From: my mom's friend Diane Diane always brings this rice dish to pot-luck events, and now people request it every time so she couldn't do something different if she wanted to. 1 can chicken broth 1 cup rice 1/2 c. vegetable oil (I would try a little less) 2 Tbsp soy sauce 1/2 tsp salt 2 c. chicken, pork or tuna, cooked and chopped or shredded 1/4 lb bean sprouts (or 1 can) 1/4 lb mushrooms (or 1 can) 1 jar pimientos, optional Add enough water to chicken broth to make 2 1/2 cups of liquid. Cook rice in broth according to directions. Combine oil, soy sauce, salt and mix together well. Stir into hot rice. Cover and chill. Stir in remaining ingredients before serving. (I think if you're using fresh mushrooms you would probably want to saute them quickly before adding.)

Geoff and I had this last night, and it was really good. We used 2 pounds of pork tenderloin, since that was the packaged weight, and we didn't feel like reserving 1/2 pound for some other use. More leftovers! Two 12-ounce pork tenderloins, cut into 2-inch lengths and pounded 1 inch thick Salt and freshly ground pepper 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1 large onion, very thinly sliced 1 tablespoon grainy mustard (we used a coarse ground dijon) 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill (we used more, because I had some that needed to be used) Buttered noodles, for serving (we served it with roasted sweet potato) Season the pork with salt and pepper and dust with flour. In a medium, deep skillet, melt the butter in the olive oil. Add the pork and cook over high heat, turning once, until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Transfer the pork to a plate. Add the onion to the skille...

This was really, really good and not that hard to make. adapted from Simply Recipes 2 Tbsp olive oil 1 pound sliced button mushrooms 1/4 cup chopped red onions 3 large garlic cloves, chopped (or through the garlic press) 1/2 cup dry white wine 1 cup chicken stock 1/2 cup heavy cream 1/4 cup bourbon whisky Salt and pepper 1 large egg 2 Tbsp water 4 pork chops 2 cups fresh bread crumbs granulated garlic vegetable or peanut oil Sauté onions, garlic, and mushrooms in 2 Tbsp of olive oil in a large skillet on medium high heat until the mushrooms are browned - about 10-15 minutes. Add the wine, increase the heat to high, and boil down until the liquid is reduced to almost a glaze, about 4 minutes. Add the chicken stock and bourbon, boil until reduced by two thirds. Add the cream and simmer several minutes until the sauce thickens. Whisk an egg and 2 Tbsp of water in a shallow baking dish. Dip chops egg mixture, then breadcrumbs (seasoned with garlic), c...

I made this last night to use up some of the leftover pork in my freezer (from the girls' birthday party). It was easy to put together and pretty tasty. I think it'd be good with leftover chicken, too. adapted from this recipe 2 c. cooked rice 1 1/2 pounds leftover roast pork, cubed 2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of mushroom soup (cream of broccoli would be good, too) 1/2 cup sour cream or plain yogurt 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 1 teaspoon curry powder 1 (10 ounce) package frozen broccoli, thawed Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, mix together the cubed pork, rice and broccoli. Stir in the soup and sour cream/yogurt, then season with pepper and curry powder. Transfer to a 9x13 inch baking dish, and cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes in the preheated oven, until evenly heated through. Remove the aluminum foil for the last 5 minutes in the oven.

My cousin Dana makes apple cinnamon pork chops and they always sound so good, and I have apples from picking with Gwen this weekend, so I asked for her recipe. It uses canned apple pie filling. Which is fine and all, but doesn't make use of the beautiful apples I have in the house. So I made my own recipe. 4 pork loin chops 4 Tbsp. butter 6-7 apples, peeled, cored and thickly sliced 1/2 c. apple cider 1/2 c. brown sugar 1/2-1 tsp. nutmeg 2 tsp. cinnamon In a skillet, melt butter. Add sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, let caramelize for about 2 minutes. Add apples stir to coat with butter and sugar mixture. Add apple cider. Cover with lid, simmer for about 15 minutes. In a large pan, heat about 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil. Brown pork chops on both sides. Add apples, and simmer until apples are tender and pork chops are cooked through.

From: Serious Eats I made this cherry sauce today, which we will use later in the week with pork chops for dinner. I get home pretty late many days, so it's just easier to prep as much as I can on Sunday, and then Todd can throw things together and reheat or assemble as needed during the week. Plus, I love coming home to dinner already made. :) I'm sure you could use this with whatever your regular pork chop method is. We usually just cook them in a skillet on the stove top. I'll put the whole recipe here, but I was mainly posting it for the cherry sauce. I tried it straight out of the pan, and it was delicious. Not as sweet as many store-bought sauces and other recipes I have tried. The red wine gives it a great flavor, and I love the honey. Yum! I should have made a double-batch, I think. ** This serves 2 ** 1 cup cherries, pitted 3 tablespoons water 1/4 cup dry red wine 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar 3 tablespoons honey 1 teaspoon thyme leaves, chopped 1/2 te...