Apricot-Glazed Pork Roast

I love a good crock-pot meal on a Sunday.  After wrestling with the kiddos at church it's always nice to not have to worry about most of dinner.

We bought some pork roasts in a 4 pack at Costco last month and I've been itching to use one.  I found the perfect and EASY recipe to use it with.  It calls for a 3-3.5 pound roast, but mine was 2 pounds and with 2 adults and 2 little kiddos it was the perfect amount for us.  Also, I used peach jam that I canned myself (yes, pat on my back-my second time making jam!) a few months ago and used that instead of Apricot preserves.  Delish!

Apricot-Glazed Pork Roast
1 3-3.5 pound boneless pork shoulder roast
1 18-oz. jar apricot preserves
1 cup chopped onion (1 medium)
1/4 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons Dijon-style mustard

Serve with:
3-4 cups hot cooked rice

Trim fat from meat if necessary.  Place meat in slow cooker.

In a bowl, mix together preserves, onion, broth, and mustard; pour over meat.

Cover and cook on low-heat for 10-12 hours or on high-heat for 5-6 hours.  Since my roast was smaller I  cooked on low for about 5 hours and then on high for an additional 1 1/2 hours.  Transfer to a plate and let it rest.  If you are getting dry roasts this could be why.  You need to always let your meat rest before cutting into.  This way your meat can absorb the juices back into it.  If you cut into your meat right away you lose all that juice.

After slicing I spooned some of my juice over my meat and then poured the rest of the juice into a bowl to go over our brown rice.  The juice is a nice blend of sweet and somewhat sour.  We had rolls (blog soon) and grapes and dinner was complete.  Delish!  This is a keeper for sure.

Crockpot: Pesto Meatball Stew

I love that this recipe is 5 ingredients in your crockpot, set it on low and by dinner it's so delicious and warming.

I adore my crockpot!  I'm pretty sure I got it for my wedding 14.5 years ago.  I love that the ceramic inside can be taken out and washed.  If you don't have one, that's ok I'll show you how to make this recipe on the stove because that's what I did.  My crockpot was being used for dessert (that didn't turn out as well as expected so I'm going to tweak it and then I'll share here).

If you don't have one, but want one then wait until Black Friday.  There are ALWAYS steals and deals on crockpots on that Friday.  I love Black Friday because I always feel like I'm getting such great deals and yes I'm crazy and wake up super early.  Good thing we have guests again this year!  I can't do Black Friday alone.  I need my hubby to split up the list with me and hold our spot in line, especially at Kohl's.  Last year we were in and out of Kohl's in 15 min.

Let me just say that the hubs, my daughter - 2.5, my son - 5, and myself loved this and ate almost all of it in one sitting.  We have one little serving left.  My daughter ate it all right up and wanted more. My son doesn't always love what I cook because he has texture issues.  He hates beans, mashed potatoes, really anything that is squishy.  After picking out the beans and convincing him that he had eaten the different parts before just not together he finally ate it and really liked it (not that he ever wants to admit he likes something new).  I think the meatballs will sell any kid on this recipe.

Ok, onto this fabulously EASY stew.

Pesto Meatball Stew
2 14.5-oz. cans Italian-style stewed tomatoes, undrained
1 16-oz. package frozen cooked Italian-style meatballs (32), thawed OR make your own using my recipe
1 15-19-oz. can canellini (white kidney) beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup basil pesto

For finishing after:
1/2 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese (2 oz.)

Add the tomatoes, beans, water and pesto to your crockpot.  Mix thoroughly together.

Add in your thawed meatballs.  Mix together.  Set your crockpot on low-heat setting for 5-7 hours or on high-heat for 2 1/2-3 1/2 hours.

Sprinkle each serving with cheese and serve.

Alternatively if you don't have a crockpot: Add all your ingredients together in a stockpot.  Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer and simmer for 2 1/2-3 hours.  We did it this way and it was so delicious!






Pesto Meatball Stew Printable Recipe

What to do with your pesto if you bought it especially for this recipe and have some leftover after this recipe?
Use it here or here

Taco Soup

It is getting cold and rainy here in Oregon.  What I do love about the weather getting chillier is it's the perfect weather for soups, stews and crock pot cooking.  I also love that crock pot cooking takes easy ingredients and turns them into something scrumptious.

This recipe is one I've had forever.  I'm pretty sure I got it from my mom.  I've been making it since college.  It's perfect for long, busy days, makes the house smell so yummy and the hardest part it browning the meat.

Just a quick side story.  My son who is so picky took one look at this soup and didn't want any part of it.  He does love meat and corn, but the tomatoes were psyching him out.  We explained that the tomatoes taste different when they are cooked then when they are fresh, but he didn't believe us.  After 2 fits of crying and us telling him it's the soup or nothing for dinner, he finally tried it AND LOVED IT!!!!  He doesn't like squishy textures and hated the kidney bean, but everything else was yummy!  Afterwards I asked him if throwing a big fit was worth it since he liked the soup and he admitted it wasn't.  Silly kid!

Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef or ground turkey
1/2 onion, chopped or 2 T. dried onion
1 16-oz. can kidney beans
1 16-oz. can whole kernel corn
1 15-oz. can tomatoes
2-3 teaspoons chili powder
1 envelope taco seasoning or 4 T. of taco seasoning
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
2 8-oz. cans tomato sauce
3 cups water

First up, brown the meat with the onions.  I didn't have an onion on hand so I added in some dried later on.  Do not add your dried onion here if using.  Either way works.  I usually make it with ground beef, but had turkey instead so made it that way.  Add it to the crock pot.

Now to add all the other ingredients.

Add the kidney beans, corn, tomatoes, chili powder, taco seasoning, and garlic salt.  If you only have dried onions on hand, then add it here.  I mixed it up afterwards just to distribute the flavors and to get a pretty pictures, but really you don't need to do that.

I didn't want this too spicy for the kids, so I only did 2 tsp. of chili powder and 3/4 pkg (or 3 T) of the taco seasoning mix.  It added enough flavor and wasn't spicy at all.

Add the tomato sauce and water.  Turn on low and cook for 2-6 hours.

Top with sour cream and cheese.  You don't have to, but yummy melted cheese is so delish in this.

Alternatively, if you don’t have a crock pot, cook in a stockpot over the stove.  Brown the meat and onions and then mix the rest of the ingredients together and bring to a boil.  Lower to a simmer and simmer for 2 hours.

Taco Soup Printable Recipe

Crockpot: 4-Hour Stew

There is nothing better than a yummy bowl of stew on a cold day. When we lived in AZ, my window of making soups and stews was pretty small, but in Oregon it's been cold and rainy since we moved here in December so it's been perfect for these recipes.


Make some yummy bread and it's so delicious.


Today's Ingredients:
2 lbs stew meat, cubed
2 cups potatoes (new, white or red), quartered
20 baby carrots, cut in thirds
1 (8 oz) package whole mushrooms - optional
1 (10 3/4 ounce) can cream of celery soup
1 (10 3/4 ounce) can cream of mushroom soup
1 soup can water
1 (1 ounce) envelope onion soup mix


This part is optional - you can brown your meat before adding to the crockpot. I haven't done that before and next time I think I'll just put the meat in raw. I just wanted to see if it added any flavor or tenderness and it really didn't.


Add your quartered potatoes.


I used three carrots instead of baby carrots, so either work. Did you know that baby carrots aren't baby carrots at all but just mature carrots shaped to make those little carrots. They are essentially the middle of carrots. You can read about it here.


The original recipe didn't call for mushrooms, but I love mushrooms and we had some leftover that needed to be used up and then I also bought another package so there would be enough. I didn't know how they would do, but they were so good and juicy. If you don't like mushrooms, leave them out.


Last add the meat. We only used 1 pound and I did feel the stew was a little sparse without it, but 2 pounds would have been too much. It was fine though especially since I had added the mushrooms.


Combine the soups, can of water and soup mix (I prefer Lipton over generic-I can taste the difference).


Pour over all the ingredients. Cook on high for 4 hours (hence the name) or low for 8 hours (that's what I did).


I don't know if it was because I didn't use enough meat or the mushrooms added some liquid while cooking, but the liquid was a little thin for me - I like a thick broth. Next time I'll only do 1/2 can water and see what the results are.

Seriously delicious!

4-Hour Stew Printable Recipe

Crockpot: Mexican Meatball Stew

Sorry for the absence, it's been a crazy week and my husband has been out of town.

Crockpot! Who doesn't love it? I love when I find yummy meals to make in it.


This stew is even better with homemade meatballs (recipe below).


Ingredients: (I love the simpleness of these ingredients)
2 14.5-oz. cans Mexican-style stewed tomatoes, undrained
2 12-oz. packages frozen cooked Italian-style turkey meatballs (24 total), thawed*
1 15-oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 14-oz. can seasoned chicken broth with roasted garlic*
1 10-oz. package frozen corn, thawed*

*One package of meatballs (beef) was a little more than $3 and I needed to buy 2. I decided to cook my own and freeze them for this stew and they are to die for. Could be used in spaghetti or anywhere else you need meatballs. I did not buy the chicken broth with roasted garlic since I already have tons of chicken stock. I just added a teaspoon of garlic powder and called it good. I had a mishap with my corn so I just added a can of corn. All of these changes worked out great - that's what I love about the crockpot, it makes anything work.


Dump in all the ingredients. Cook on low for 6-7 hours or high for 3-4 hours. I cooked mine on low for about 8 hours and added my meatballs frozen. They would have fallen apart if I had added them thawed so I think the original recipe is wrong in that regard. If using frozen corn I would also put it in frozen. Why thaw really?

It was definitely too spicy for my kids and I had set aside a few meatballs anyways for them before freezing. You could do 1 can regular tomatoes and 1 can mexican or just 2 cans regular diced tomatoes if you want.


Seriously so delicious and the meatballs made all the difference. I could eat a bowlful of these diddies all on their own!

Mexican Meatballs Stew and Meatballs printable recipes

Italian-style Turkey Meatballs - makes about 36 medium meatballs
1 small onion, grated
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 large egg
1/4 - 1/3 cup dried bread crumbs*
3 tablespoons ketchup
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 pound ground turkey
3 tablespoons olive oil

Directions
Add the onion, garlic, egg, bread crumbs, ketchup, parsley, Parmesan, Pecorino, salt and pepper to a large bowl and blend. Mix in the turkey. Shape the turkey mixture into 1 1/4-inch-diameter meatballs. Place on a large plate or baking sheet.

Heat the oil in a heavy large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs and saute until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. Turn off heat.

Alternatively you can cook them in the oven on 400 for 10-15 min.

After cooking, let them cool completely and place on a cookie sheet and stick in the freezer. Once they are completely frozen transfer to a freezer ziplock and use in your Mexican Meatball Stew or other crockpot meals. Even better - make a double batch!

*I did find that 1/4 cup breadcrumbs is not enough. Some of them were falling apart as I cooked them. I'm going to up the breadcrumbs to 1/3 cup next time as it was a pretty loose mixture. I'm also going to try cooking them in the oven next time and see if that will help keep them together better. A few fell apart in the crockpot, but freezing them first worked great in the recipe.

Crockpot: Five-Spice Pork Sandwiches

I bought this slow cooker recipe magazine since my slow cooker books are MIA since the move. I decided to try these pork sandwiches as something different than the usual pork slathered with BBQ sauce and cooked in the slow cooker (that is really delicious too or even chicken is yummy as well).

Today's Ingredients:
1 2 ½-3 pound pork shoulder blade roast
1 cup apple juice or apple cider
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 ½ teaspoons five-spice powder*
1 ½ – 2 cups shredded cabbage or shredded broccoli slaw - optional
6 – 8 hamburger buns (see recipe below for homemade ones)




A shoulder roast has more fat and a bone and is kindof tough - PERFECT for the slow cooker. Over time in the slow cooker the meat becomes really tender and perfect for all sorts of meals.

In a small bowl, combine apple juice (cider), soy sauce, hoisin sauce, and Five-Spice Powder. Pour over meat in cooker. Set to low and in 8-12 hours, this meat will be nice and juicy and have just a touch of Asian flavor. Once done, take out of cooker and let cool slightly. Shred and add in juices if needed.

I have had this Penzey's Chinese Five-Spice for awhile and haven't really used it and it was perfect. Here is the recipe for a Five-Spice blend you can make yourself, but if you don't have some of these ingredients (like me) it might be easier to just buy a Chinese Five-Spice Blend (cheaper too).

*Homemade Five-Spice Blend
In a blender or spice grinder combine:
3 tablespoons ground cinnamon
6 star anise or 2 teaspoons anise seeds
1 ½ teaspoons fennels seeds
1 ½ teaspoons whole Szechwan pepper or whole black pepper
¾ teaspoons ground cloves.
-Cover and blend to a fine powder. Makes about ½ cup.


I am NOT a lover of coleslaw in fact I hate it, but have come up with my own that adds a nice cooleness and crunch to BBQ sandwiches. You take either a broccoli or slaw mix and add in a little of your favorite buttermilk dressing and viola yummy coleslaw. Try it once and I'm sure you'll love it (Jordan was very skeptical the first time but loves it). I make mine with a little milk, light sour cream and Penzey's Buttermilk Dressing base and it's so good!

I also like to make homemade buns most of the time. They are denser than ones from the store and help make the meal more filling, they are oh so yummy and freeze well IF you have leftovers. My picky kids usually eat everything separate and love bread so this works well for their meal.

Homemade Hamburger Buns
1 cup milk
½ cup water
1 egg
¼ cup butter
4 ½ cups white flour or 2 cups wheat and 2 ½ cups white
1 pkg instant yeast
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 ½ teaspoons salt

1. If using a breadmaker, then layer ingredients in order and place on dough setting and skip to step five.
2. If making with a mixer or by hand then do the following.
3. In a small saucepan, heat milk, water, and butter until very warm.
4. In a large bowl, mix together 1 ¾ cup flour, yeast, sugar and salt. Mix milk mixture into flour mixture and then mix in egg. Stir in remaining flour ½ cup at a time, beating well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 min. Cover in a bowl and let rise for about an hour.


5. Divide dough into 12 equal pieces. Shape into smooth balls, and place on a greased baking sheet. Flatten slightly.


Cover, and let rise for 30-35 min.


6. Bake at 400 for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown.


To serve, arrange meat and cabbage. Serve cooking juices in individual bowls for dipping. See that little salad, I'll be posting about that soon!

Five-Spice Pork Sandwiches
Click on the link to open a PDF recipe. Once the link opens click on print and it will ask you what you want to do so tell it to open and then it will open in PDF. You must have Adobe Reader (free to install from Adobe's website) in order to print the recipe.