Cranberry Pork

I discovered this recipe on a Facebook friend's page and have made it several times since. We LOVE it. It is probably our family favorite right now.

Cranberry Pork Roast
1 (3 lb.) boneless pork loin roast, trimmed ***See note below
2 cans jellied whole-berry cranberry sauce
1/2 c. steak sauce
2 T. brown sugar
2 t. prepared mustard
4 T. water
4 T. cornstarch

Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray; place over medium high heat. Add roast; cook until browned on all sides. Place roast in 4-5 qt. electric slow cooker coated with cooking spray. Combine cranberry sauce, steak sauce, brown sugar, and mustard; pour over roast. Cover and cook on low heat for 8 hours or high heat 4-5 hours. Remove roast from sauce, cover and keep warm. Combine water and cornstarch, stirring until smooth. Slowly stir cornstarch mixture into sauce in slow cooker. Pour mixture (very carefully) into a 1 quart microwave safe glass dish. Microwave at high heat for 2 minutes, stirring after one minute. Serve roast with cranberry sauce.

***I have been using pork loin chops instead of the roast because they have been on sale and they were wonderfully in the recipe. I also never have steak sauce so I just mix up some ketchup and Worcestershire sauce to make a 1/2 cup mixture.

You really need to make this. It is so easy and the flavor is AMAZING! It is really good served with a side of couscous and a vegetable like sauteed spinach with fresh mushrooms, onions and balsamic vinegar.

The Best Part of the Thanksgiving Meal

In my opinion the very best part of the Thanksgiving meal is the dressing, stuffing...whichever you call it. My great aunt shared with me her recipe for the dressing many yearer recipe for the dressing many years back and it is what I use every year. It has never failed me and is always, always, always delicious and continues to be my favorite part of the meal. It also is really nice because it is cooked in the crock-pot making for one less thing to have to cram into the oven.

Crockpot Dressing
1 c. butter
2 c. chopped onion
2 c. chopped celery
1/4 c. parsley
2 cans mushrooms, drained (8 oz. cans)
12-13 c. bread cubes
2 well beaten eggs
1 t. poultry seasoning
1 1/2 t. salt
1 1/2 t. sage
1 t. thyme
1/2 t. pepper
3 1/2 - 4 1/2 c. broth

Melt the butter in a saucepan and sautee the celery and onion until tender. Add in the mushrooms. Add in the parsley, poultry seasoning, salt, sage, thyme and pepper. Pour over bread cubes. Toss well. Pour in broth to moisten. Add eggs. Mix well. Pack lightly into crockpot. Cover. Set on high for 45 minutes. Reduce to low and cook 4-8 hours.

New Recipes for the File

I made a couple of new recipes this week for the family and wanted to share them with you. I know we all need some encouragement in the area of cooking once in awhile. I was in a cooking rut again. I hate getting stuck there but this week I jumped out and my Hubby is so happy.

One of the things that I made was a Tomato Mozzerella Tart with Basil Garlic Crust. This was super, super good. It was very rich so I probably wouldn't make it alot, only when I need to a recipe for tomatoes and basil.

Today for lunch I made a WINNER that will be made more frequently. It was a Chicken Alfredo Pizza. It was superb! Hubby was grinning from ear to ear after biting into this delightful taste adventure. The next time I make it, I will:

1.) Make a roux at the beginning of the sauce. I will add flour to the butter so the sauce thickens up. She does not call for flour so the sauce was very runny. I added 1 T. of flour to the sauce and that worked. It thickened right up.

2.) Be sure to add spincach again. I added a layer of spinach after spreading the sauce and it made it even extra yummy. It also helped me think it was a little healthy!

Also I sliced some chicken breasts and sauteed them in olive oil with salt and pepper. They were delicious on the pizza and cheaper than buying the pre-made chicken slices.

I had a girl's day out on Tuesday with some really great friends and needed a crock pot meal for Hubby and the girl. I used another one from The Farmer's Wife. It was Crockpot Baked Ziti. It was really good. I do recommend making sure you have enough sauce. I used 26 oz. instead of the 32 oz. the recipe calls for and it needed more sauce. Don't skimp on the sauce. This was good and a great go-to recipe when I need something in the crockpot quick. I really like her blog. I found some great recipes that I want to try.

Then yesterday I was craving chocolate and remembered we had a container of chocolate frosting, so my daughter and I made a Wacky Cake. YUM! I love this cake because it isn't overly sweet and you don't need eggs or milk for it. It always turns out great.

Beef Stroganoff

This was sublime! Yum!!!! I have never made this recipe although it was sitting in my recipe box along with all of these other recipes I have never made. I am finding new joy in my recipe box! :) This is a keeper too. Hubby really liked this tonight for supper.

Beef Stroganoff
1 lb. sliced beef, steak, ground beef or meatballs
6 T. butter
2 t. worchestershire sauce
1 c. chopped onions
1 lb. sliced fresh mushrooms
2 c. beef broth
6 T. flour

Combine all in the slow cooker. Cook on low 8-10 hours. Add an 8 oz. cream cheese or 2 c. sour cream in last hour of cooking, and salt and pepper. Serve over noodles.

I used beef stew meat and Reemes noodles. Those are the ones in the frozen food section. I will never go back to cheap noodles. These taste like homemade. They are more expensive but WORTH every penny! They can be tricky to find, but look high and low. You will find them and they will be worth it. ;)

Golden Glow Pork Chops

I have had this recipe in my box for probably over a year but never tried it because...well because I haven't really cooked in forever. I made the same things over and over for my family when I did cook. So I finally pulled this recipe out and decided to make it. Boy was Hubby glad I did. He loved it and ate 3 of them. He even used it in his Facebook status. Ha. I will certainly be making this one again.

Golden Glow Pork Chops
5-6 pork chops
salt and pepper to taste
29 oz. can peaches (reserve 1/4 c. juice)
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 t. ground cinnamon
1/4 t. ground cloves
8 oz. can tomato sauce
1/4 c. vinegar

Lightly brown pork chops in pan on both sides, using salt and pepper to taste. Place in slow cooker. Place drained peaches on top of pork chops. Combine remaining ingredients plus 1/4 c. peach juice. Pour over pork chops and peaches. Cover. Cook on low 3-4 hours.

YUM! So easy!!!! I used sliced pork loin because it was on sale and it worked fine. I also used 1 t. pumpkin pie spice in place of the cinnamon and cloves. I am NOT a fan of cloves so this was more subtle and it tasted fine.

I highly recommend this for a great fall or winter meal. I made mashed sweet potatoes and homemade whole wheat bread to serve alongside.

Slow Cooker Beef and Black Bean Chili

This is turning into a recipe blog! Since our move I am certainly cooking much more and trying to expand outside of my usual recipes and things that I always make. I have enjoyed testing the new recipes as has my family enjoyed tasting them. I know I have mentioned it before but my absolute favorite recipe magazine is Everyday Food. Oh, I love it! I check it all of the time from the library and devour it from cover to cover. It always has great hints and tips. Typically the recipes are easy and use things that you have on hand. Sometimes there are some things that I have never heard of but that is fun too!

I do have to say one thing that I have enjoyed about living in our new area is going to the grocery and seeing all of those things that I could never find at my old grocery. The grocery that I typically go to here has a sushi bar, Mediterranean olive and hummus bar, every kind of mushroom you could imagine, Polenta and so on! It is pretty neat!

So back to my recipe that I found in Everyday Food. It is for chili and was a hit with my hubby. He really liked this one and again it was so easy!

Slow Cooker Beef and Black Bean Chili

1 lb. beef chuck cut into 3/4" cubes
1 can (15 oz.) tomato puree
1 c. dried black beans, rinsed
1 med. red onion, chopped (I used a regular yellow onion.)
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 T. chili powder

Combine all ingredients in slow cooker. Add 2 c. water, 2 t. salt and 1/8 t. pepper. Cover, cook on high for 6 hours or on low for 8 hours.

We topped it with some sour cream and shredded cheese. I also made the cornbread using brown sugar in the recipe. Yummy fall meal!

Yummy Roast Recipes

I am thinking that this is going to turn into a place for me to share my recipes with you rather than my crafting. I haven't crafted in forever because I never have time. I always have excellent intentions of sewing when the girls go down for their naps but then I am so worn out that I don't. That is also when I try to catch up on laundry and dishes and reading blogs. Ha! :) I do have to cook though. I have been really doing my best to cook more. I had gotten into such a cooking rut especially after our first daughter was born. I am slowly easing my way out of that rut. It had gotten so bad that one afternoon my hubby saw our crock pot out with a roast in it and asked, "Are we having company tonight?" Oops! :)

So, I have two recipes to share with you. I did not seek out permission (ok..it took me like a good two minutes to think of that word...wow! I'm tired!) to share these. I hope it is ok but I figure they were shared with me, so it is fine. :)

My sister-in-law shared the first with me. It is for Pot Roast. Oh if you don't have a crock pot, then these won't be so easy. Sorry!

Sister-in-Law's Pot Roast

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 bottle of Italian Dressing

1 Chuck Roast

Assorted Vegetables

Pour the soup and dressing into crock pot. Stir together. Add roast and spoon sauce over top. Cook on low 8-9 hours. Add veggies about halfway through cooking.

I used potatoes, carrots, onions and celery. Yum...the dressing add so much zip to the basic, boring pot roast. Loved this and so did hubby.

Now for Beef and Noodles...after we had our baby our church friends brought meals to us every other day for a month. God bless them! It was wonderful to not have to worry about getting groceries or cooking. Bliss! This is one meal that we got that I quickly sought out the recipe for. I made it for my family last night and it was a hit!

Old Fashioned Beef and Noodles

3 cans of cream of chicken soup

1 t. dried parsley

salt and pepper to taste

1 T. chopped onion

2 lbs. extra lean beef, cut into 1 in. cubes

2 (12 oz.) pkgs noodles

Combine all ingredients (except noodles) in a slow cooker; mix well. Heat on low for 8-9 hours. Prepare noodles according to pkg. directions. Stir into sauce. Serve.

I did use a chuck roast instead of the stew meat because it was on sale and much cheaper. After it was done cooking, I just took it out, shredded it and added it back into the sauce. And if you make this, use the Reames frozen noodles. They are just like homemade and worth the extra cost. Yum!

Also I did make those Jammin' Salmon Burgers and they are keepers. I bought the ingredients to make them again very soon. I had my in-laws over for those and everyone liked them. I also made Chili Roasted Sweet Potato Wedges. These get made ALOT in my house...and frankly to tell you the mistake I made is embarrassing. I make these all of the time...well being tired much more than I was 2 months ago, I grabbed the cayenne pepper instead of the chili powder. Oops! They were so SPICY...so I don't recommend switching the two when you make them!