Mississippi Pot Roast

 

This is THE only roast recipe you really need, in my opinion. If you're looking for a hearty pot roast served over mashed potatoes on a Sunday afternoon, this is it. Picture and recipe from The Country Cook--I owe her!! Try this recipe with chicken next!! You won't regret it!!
 

Ingredients

• 1 3 lb chuck roast
• 2 tbsp olive oil or vegetable oil
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1 packet ranch dressing mix
• 1 packet dry onion soup mix
• 1/2 cup salted butter 1 stick
• 8 peperoncini peppers (find by the pickles/salad dressings)

Instructions

1. Heat up a large skillet on high.
2. Add oil to hot skillet.
3. You want it really hot here to brown or "sear" the beef quickly.
4. Take a paper towel and make sure you dry both sides of the pot roast.
5. Season with a little bit of salt and pepper.
6. Once the skillet is nice and hot, add the roast.
7. Allow the roast to cook for about 2-3 minutes until it is golden brown.
8. Using tongs, flip the meat over and sear the other side of the roast for another 2-3 minutes.

9. Transfer meat to slow cooker.
10. Sprinkle packets of dry ranch dressing and onion soup mixes over pot roast.
11. Top with a stick of butter then place peppers on and around roast.
12. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.
13. Take two forks and start shredding the meat.
14. Discard any big fatty pieces.

Recipe Notes

You can skip the browning step if you are in a rush, or just don’t feel like it. (I always do just because I make a huge roast). If you prefer, you can cut up the peppers and stir those into the meat mixture for an extra kick of flavor.

Serve with mashed potatoes.

Kalua Pork

Picture and recipe from Le Creme De La Crumb. Haven't made an easier recipe in the crockpot yet and hard to match how amazingly delicious it was, too! Definitely keeping this recipe on hand! Perfect for large families or a crowd--shred this over rice, on tacos, in soup, on rolls, salad, whatever!

Ingredients

• 1 4-pound pork shoulder roast (or similar roast, size can vary a bit too)
• 1 tablespoon liquid smoke (you can find this in almost any grocery store)
• 1 tablespoon Himalayan pink salt (sold in most grocery stores)

Instructions

1. Lightly grease your slow cooker with nonstick spray. Pierce the roast all over with a fork. Place in slow cooker.
2. Pour liquid smoke evenly over the roast, then sprinkle with the salt.
3. Cover and cook on low for 8-12 hours. (For a larger roast you'll need closer to the 12 hours)
4. Uncover, pull pork apart with 2 forks. Serve alone or you can serve it over rice, in tacos, salads, and more!

Notes:

If you want to use a really big roast you can double the liquid smoke and salt and keep the extra meat stored in an airtight container in the fridge all week long for incredible leftovers and quick fix meals!

Cafe Rio Sweet Pork

For those of you familiar with Cafe Rio, they have amazing food...this pork was always my favorite type of meat to order. We moved to a state that doesn't have Cafe Rio, so I've had to recreate it! This tastes VERY similar to the real thing! Super easy--give it a try! This recipe comes from the amazing Oh Sweet Basil!

Ingredients

• Pork Shoulder/Butt -3 to 4 pounds
• 1 Old El Paso Sauce Packet (Roasted Garlic
• 1 Cup Root Beer (A&W)
• 2 Cups Light Brown Sugar

 Instructions

1. Place the pork in a slow cooker. Mix the sauce, root beer and brown sugar in a bowl and pour all over the pork. Cook on low for 6 hours, remove the meat and shred (it should be quite easy and tender). Place the meat back in the sauce and cook on low for an additional 2 hours.
2. Serve immediately.

Crock Pot Ribs

This is one of THE easiest meals to make and one of the most delicious!

Country style pork ribs (bone-in or boneless)
BBQ sauce (We prefer Sweet Baby Ray's)

*Throw ribs in crock pot and cover with sauce. Cook on low 6-8 hours.
*When ready to eat, remove from crock pot and place on a foil-lined baking sheet. Pour more sauce on top. Broil 3-5 minutes, so the sauce can caramelize. Enjoy!

Ranch House Crock Pot Pork Chops

O.M.G. these are amazing! Best pork chops I've had yet and by far the easiest! Definitely a new favorite at our house! Thanks to Picky Palate for the recipe!

6 pork chops, 1/2 inch thick
1/2 packet dry Ranch Dressing Seasoning
10 oz can Cream of Chicken Soup

*Place pork chops, Ranch seasoning and soup into a medium sized crock pot over high heat for 4 hours or low heat for 6 hours.

Cafe Rio Pulled Pork

The Girl Who Ate Everything has done it again--this recipe is A.MAZ.ING! Give it a try, it's way easy, too! The only thing is I will probably add a little less root beer next time...

7-8 lbs. pork roast (Do a 3-4 lb pork roast if you are just doing your family)
4 cups root beer
5 (8oz) cans tomato sauce
4 T molasses or honey
3 tsp. minced garlic
½ tsp. salt
2 - 3 cups brown sugar
pepper to taste
4 tsp. cumin

Recipe Note: The above sauce makes a ton! So if you have a 3-4 lb pork roast, half the sauce.

Salt and pepper roast and cook in crock pot 8 hours or overnight on low in water. In the morning remove the roast from the crockpot and pull apart with fork, removing fat. Drain all the water in the crockpot. Don't overshred the pork or it will turn mushy. Add the rest of the ingredients to the crockpot and add shredded pork. Cook another 4 hours in crockpot on low. Serve as a burrito, over rice, on a salad, or even on a bun!

Creamy Cauliflower Soup

I love fall for so many reasons, but one of them is that it's the time for SOUPS! I love making healthy soups that even my husband will eat! This one is chucked full of veggies and our dinner table was very quiet with all the busy mouths gobbling it right up! I didn't have my camera when we were eating this, so no picture.

1 head cauliflower or 16 oz. frozen
1 c. sliced carrots (I substituted with a can of corn)
3 Tbsp. dried minced onion
1 Tbsp. chicken bouillon granules
2-1/4 c. water, divided
2 c. 2% milk
1 can condensed cream of potato soup, undiluted (I used cream of chicken)
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
4 tsp. cornstarch
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1 c. cooked, cubed chicken, optional

*In a large saucepan, combine the vegetables, onion, bouillon and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 6-8 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

*Stir in the milk, soup, garlic powder and nutmeg. Combine the cornstarch and remaining water (1/4 c.) until smooth; gradually stir into soup. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until slightly thickened. Stir in cheese until melted and chicken to warm.

Perfect Pulled Pork

This is the BEST pulled pork! It is a little spicy, though, so you may want to tone it down if you have little ones. Enjoy! I promise you'll love it!

5 lbs boneless pork butt shoulder (I have also used a boneless picnic pork)
1-1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
2 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. water

*Combine all seasonings and rub evenly over roast. Place meat in a slow cooker. Add water. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4-5 hours or until pork is very tender.

*Place pork on large cutting board or platter and let rest for 10-15 minutes. Pull, slice or chop to serve. Serve in buns with BBQ sauce. (We also like it in tortillas or over salad).

Cider Pork Chops

Pork chops are one of my husband's favorite meals but I try to limit buying them to when we have company. These were a HUGE hit with our family this week! I served them w/ rice (half brown, half white) and broccoli.

2 Tbsp. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
4 bone-in pork loin chops (7 oz. each)
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 c. sliced celery
4 green onions, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
1 c. apple cider or apple juice

*In a large ziploc bag combine the flour, salt and pepper. Add pork chops and toss to coat. In a large skillet, brown chops in oil. Remove and keep warm.

*In the same skillet, saute the celery, onions, garlic and thyme for 2-3 minutes or until crisp-tender. Return pork to the pan. Add cider. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 7-8 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 160 degrees.

Creamy Sausage Potato Soup...Variation

Remember the original creamy sausage and potato soup recipe? Well it's almost the same, I just added a few different ingredients and it's awesome!
5 medium red potatoes, chopped (leave peeling on)
2 cubes chicken bouillon
2 cans corn, drained
Small can evaporated milk
1 lb. pork sausage, "pork & bacon" kind
2 c. broccoli
*Put potatoes in large pot and fill water just above potatoes. Add chicken bouillon and broccoli. Boil, uncovered, about 15 minutes, or until tender.
*Meanwhile, cook sausage; drain. Add to potatoes when finished cooking.
*In a blender mix corn and evaporated milk; add to potatoes.

Italian Pork Roast with Roasted Potatoes

This is a great meal for company or something fancy, or just because. It tastes great and pork roasts go on sale a lot (I bought this one for $4.00), so stick one in your freezer and save it for this recipe!
2 lbs. boneless pork loin roast
3 Tbsp. Italian seasoning
4 medium potatoes, cut into wedges
1/4 c. Italian salad dressing

*Rub Italian seasoning over the surfaces of the roast. Place roast in shallow pan and roast in oven at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Place potato wedges and Italian dressing in Ziploc bag, seal bag and toss to evenly coat wedges.
*Add potatoes to roast and return to oven for 20-30 minutes or until internal temperature of roast reaches 155-160 degrees and potatoes are tender. Remove from oven and let rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing.

Ginger-Maple Pork Chops

SOOO good! Prep/Total time: 30 minutes
4 boneless pork loin chops (6 oz. each)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 egg
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 c. dry bread crumbs
3 Tbsp. butter

SAUCE:
1/2 c. maple syrup
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
2 tsp. cider vinegar
1/8 tsp. ground ginger

*Sprinkle pork chops with salt and pepper. In a shallow bowl, beat egg and ginger. Place bread crumbs in another shallow bowl. Dip chops in egg mixture, then coat with crumbs.
*In a large skillet, cook pork in butter over medium heat for 5-7 minutes on each side. Remove and keep warm.
*Add the remaining ingredients to the skillet; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until slightly thickened. Serve with chops.
Yield: 4 servings

Lemon & Pork Patties

This is my new FAVORITE dinner! You should definitely try it out soon! My husband finished off all of them and there weren't any left for him to take to work! Also, you can store these in the freezer for later.
1 lemon
2 cups lean ground pork
2 green onions, finely chopped (left these out...gross!)
1/2 tsp. dried sage
2 tsp. soy sauce
salt
black pepper
2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter
1-1/4 cups chicken stock
2 tsp. cornstarch
*Finely grate the rind from the lemon into the ground pork and mix together with the onions, sage, and soy sauce.
*Season with salt and blakc pepper, then shape into 8 thin patties. Dust each one lightly with flour.
*Heat the butter in a large nonstick skillet and fry the patties for 5 mins on each side. Keep warm.
*Blend 1 Tbsp. of chicken stock to a paste with the cornstarch, then stir into the chick stock and heat until thickened. Add 2 tsp. of lemon juice and heat until thickened. Serve over the patties. (This sauce is TO DIE FOR!) I served these patties with rice.

Moist & Tender Oven-Baked BBQ Ribs

Pork ribs go on sale A LOT in grocery stores, and anytime my husband goes to the store with me he's on the lookout for some cheapies....I don't really care for ribs so he usually just broils them, nothing fancy. I decided to surprise him by making them a little fancier (but easy as pie), and I actually ate two they were so good!

4-6 boneless beef or pork ribs (cut recipe in half if you only have a couple)

1/4 cup salt

1/4 cup sugar

2 (18 oz.) containers BBQ sauce (next time I will do a flavor instead of just original to give it more zing)

Paprika to taste (I put about 1/2 tsp)

*Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Mix salt, sugar, and paprika. Roll each portion of meat in mixture. Place in baking dish with about 1 inch of water (or enough water to go up halfway on ribs).

*Bake for one hour. Remove from oven and turn meat. Bake one hour more. Remove from oven; drain water and add BBQ sauce. Increase heat to 400 degrees and bake 30 more minutes. Remove and serve!

Maple-Glazed Pork Chops

These are amazing; they have a very unique taste. And the ingredients are probably all lying around your kitchen right now!

1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp pepper
2 bone-in pork chops (7 oz. each)
1 Tbsp maple syrup
1-1/2 tsp butter, melted
1-1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
*Combine first 5 ingredients; rub over chops. Place in a greased 11x7 baking dish.
*Bake, uncovered, at 425 for 20 minutes.
*Combine remaining ingredients; pour over chops. Bake 5 mins longer, or until meat juices run clear.

Pear Pork Chops (With Cranberries)

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 Tbsp. dried thyme

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

4 boneless pork loin chops (1/2 in. thick and 5 oz. each)

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 medium pear, cut into wedges

Handful of cranberries (optional)

*In large, resealable ziploc bag, combine the flour, thyme, salt, and pepper. Add pork and shake to coat.

*In a large skillet, cook chops in oil over medium heat for 6-8 mins on each side, or until meat juices run clear. In the same skillet, saute pear until tender and serve with pork. (I experimented and added cranberries to the skillet with the pear slices. Cook them until the skin "pops" open. They added a great flavor and made the dish look so pretty!)

*This is SUPER easy. Great with steamed veggies and potatoes or rice. YIELD: 4 servings (2 for us; they were so good we finished them all!)

Capri's Yummy Pork Tenderloins

Wendy is full of great recipes!!

Preheat oven 450
Purchase a large pork tenderloin... 1-1/2 lbs or so
Place tenderloin on rack in shallow roasting pan (or on a rack over a cookie sheet to catch the juice drippings from the pork)
Combine 4 Tbl Brown sugar,
2 Tbl Dejoin mustard,
1-1/2 tsp Paprika,
1/2 tsp ginger
*Spread 1/2 the mixture over the tenderloin and bake for 15 minutes
*Spread the remaining mixture and bake for addtional 15-20 minutes

Salsa Topping:
Finely chop one Red and one Green peper
Add 2 Tbl Green onion
2 Tbl Brown sugar (or more to flavor)
*Combine with 1/2 can of crushed pineapple
*Let the pork stand 5 minutes and serve with the salsa.
*I made two tenderloins when I took these pictures, just fyi.