Crock Pot Sunday

Being that there was still football this weekend, we decided to stay in and make dinner and dessert in the crock pot.And it was glorious.

Here’s what we made!

Crock Pot Pork and Beans
(from http://busycooks.about.com/od/porkentreerecipes/r/cpporkbeans.htm)

Prep time: 10 minutesCook time: 8 hours
Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients
6 boneless pork loin chops, trimmed of excess fat
1 onion, chopped
2 large cans of pork and beans
1/3 cup ketchup
3 tbsp of mustard (or more to taste)

Preparation
In a 4 quart crockpot, combine onion, pork and beans, ketchup and mustard and stir to blend.
Add pork chops to crockpot, pushing some down into the bean mixture.
Cover crockpot and cook on low for 8 hours, stirring occasionally, until pork is tender.

We ended up shredding the pork, which made it kind of a stew-like consistency, but it was still delicious.
And I’d recommend putting salt and pepper on each side on the pork chops before they go in the crock pot, to give them a little more flavor.

 

Old Fashioned Slow Cooker Baked Apples
(from http://www.southernplate.com/2011/09/old-fashioned-slow-cooker-baked-apples.html)

Ingredients
4-5 Apples (whatever will fit in your slow cooker)
1/2 Cup water

For Each Apple you’ll need:
2 Tablespoons Dark Brown sugar
1 Tablespoon dried cranberries or raisins
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon and 1/8 teaspoon allspice (just a smudge of allspice)
1 Tablespoon (or pat) of butter

Instructions

1. Core each apple and peel a small strip from around the top of each one (about 1 inch). Place in bottom of slow cooker.
2. Combine brown sugar, spices, and dried cranberries in a small bowl and stir until well combined.
3. Stuff each apple with filling, all the way to the top, pressing down with your finger to make room for more filling. Top each one with a pat of butter.
4. Pour water into bottom of slow cooker.
5. Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours or high 3-4 hours, or until tender. Serve on their own or with ice cream. Also great over oatmeal.

We didn’t have cranberries or raisins, but it turned out really well still without them.

And now we’re all super full of delicious, warm football food.  🙂
Try it yourself!

Swedish Meatballs

This recipe is courtesy of Jeff’s Grandma Baumann.  From everything I’ve heard, she was quite the cook, and from every recipe of hers that I’ve tried, it just confirms it.  These are a Christmas staple in the Anderson house, and I made them last week, as Jeff was craving them.  🙂

Swedish Meatballs

Ingredients

2 lb ground beef
1 lb lean ground pork
1 cup dry bread crumbs
1 cup milk
2 eggs, slightly beaten
2 tbsp onion, finely chopped
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground allspice

Directions

Have the butcher double grind the beef and pork (we found at Jewel it comes this way), or mix and grind in the food processor.  Add all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix well.

Cover a jellyroll pan with parchment.  Roll small meatballs and place on parchment.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 mins or until browned.

Makes about 96 meatballs, which according to the recipe is 12 servings.

You can serve with any kind of sauce, but I recommend some lingonberry jam.  Delicious!

Italian Breaded Pork Chops, Honey Glazed Carrots, and Ice Cream Bread

I was more ambitious yesterday in the kitchen than I’ve been in a week or so, so you get to enjoy the (recipe) fruits of my labors.  I actually made the ice cream bread first yesterday, but I’m going to put the recipe last so you get more than dessert.  🙂

Main course I modified a bit, because it’s a recipe that I’ve done before.  I made the pork into medallions, as you’ll see in the picture, instead of keeping them as chops.  I found the pork stays more moist and is easier to eat that way.

So, onward!

Main Course: Italian Breaded Pork Chops
(allrecipes.com)

Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients

3 eggs, lightly beaten
3 tbsp milk
1 1/2 cups Italian seasoned bread crumbs (I made my own by blending regular bread crumbs with Italian seasoning)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (you can use the stuff in the container, you don’t have to grate yourself)
2 tbsp dried parsley
2 tbsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
4 pork chops  (I’ve used 2 cut in half, or pork medallions.  Actual pork chops tend to be kind of thick.)

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 325 degrees F

2.  In a small bowl, beat together the eggs and milk.  In a separate small bowl, mix the bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese and parsley.

3.  Heat the olive oil in a large, oven-proof skillet (if you don’t have one, that’s fine, just use a regular skillet.  I’ll explain later.)  Stir in the garlic and cook until lightly browned.  Remove the garlic, reserving for other uses (or chuck).

4.  Dip each pork piece into the egg mixture, then into the bread crumb mixture, coating evenly.  Place coated pork chops in the skillet, and brown about 5 minutes on each side.  (until golden brown)

5.  Place the skillet in the preheated oven.  If you don’t have an oven-safe skillet, transfer the pork to a casserole dish large enough for them, then place in oven.  Cook for 25 minutes, or to an internal temperature of 160 degrees F.

They should look like this (if medallion style):

 

Veggie: Honey Glazed Carrots

This one’s rather short, because I glanced at a recipe by Sunny Anderson and did it on the fly.  These are done in no time at all.

Ingredients

Can of carrots, sliced
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp honey
1/2 tbsp lemon juice
salt and pepper

Directions

1.  Cook can of carrots in their own juice in a medium saucepan.  They will become tender.  Drain off liquid.

2.  Add the butter, honey, and lemon juice, cooking until the carrots are coated.  Cook about 5 more minutes for a glaze to form.  Finish with salt and pepper, and serve.

 

And now the piece de resistance, which Jeff can’t stop eating –

Dessert: Ice Cream Bread

Yes, I stole this liberally from The Hungry Housewife, because she’s so amazing.  And this recipe is so fool-proof even I got it to rise, and I am not the best baker on the planet.  And you should read what she wrote for the entry on Ice Cream Bread anyway, because it’s hilarious.
…Anyway.

Ingredients

2 cups of ice cream, any flavor, softened
1 1/2 cups Self-Rising flour (Self-Rising flour is for every 1 cup flour, add 1 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt.)

Directions

1.  Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.  Spray and flour an 8×4 loaf pan, or line with parchment paper.

2.  In a medium bowl mix the ice cream and flour together until just combined.  Scoop into the pan and smooth out.

3.  Bake for about 45 minutes, or until a toothpick stuck in the loaf comes out with a few crumbs stuck to it.

4.  Remove from pan and allow to cool.

I used Cookies and Cream ice cream, and it was AWESOME.  I cannot say enough how good a balance between ice cream and bread this is.  You’ll just have to try it for yourself.

Behold, the loaf in all its glory:

 

 

That’s about it for this time.  Next week I think I’m going to try an American Goulash I saw Michael Symon make on The Chew.  🙂