Crock Pot Ribs

Once upon a time, I had a winter time hankerin' for some ribs...

Usually I am all for grilling in the snow, but today I wanted to stay toasty warm.  Remembering some of the tricks I learned over the years, I devised a plan!  This aren't your grill's ribs.  These fall apart as they come out of the pot, and essentially make pulled pork.  There is no toughness and they are lip smackin' good!  Tonight, I served them along side some fresh green beans and cornbread!

Crock Pot Ribs 
Yields 3 generous servings

Ingredients
Approximately 9 country style pork rib ends
1 jar barbecue sauce
3 tablespoons vinegar
2 - 3 quarts of water

To Prepare the Ribs 
1. Place the ribs in a large pot and cover them with the water and vinegar.

2. Boil them over medium-high heat for approximately 1 hour.
3. After the ribs have cooked, place them in a crock pot and top them with barbecue sauce.

4. Cook them on high heat for approximately 1 1/2 hours.

It really is as simple as that!  They disappear every time I make them, and they are really good the day after, too!

Poop Soup

On Wednesday, after our "huge" snow storm, I was craving soup!  It was as if I knew what was coming when I was at the grocery store the Sunday before and picked up a bag of dried, mixed beans!  When I was a little girl, my mom used to make a red soup called Poop Soup, which is more commonly refer to as Navy Bean Soup.  It used to be a treat we would only indulge in a few times a year, but we all looked forward to it with our mouths drooling.  The two day process was torture!

When I came across the dry bean mix in the grocery store, I realized that it had been years since we had it, and I could not resist the temptation.  When snow arrived on the weather forecast, it was destiny!  I just want to mention, that if you do not want to go through the process of soaking beans, you can always mix wet canned beans that have been drained instead.  This will also cut your process down from 2 days to 1!  I have also included the recipe for my great grandmom's dumpling recipe, which I make with this. 


Poop Soup
Yields 10 large servings...aka enough to feed the entire state of Rhode Island.  There is enough with this amount of ingredients to reserve half and freeze it for another day!

Ingredients 
1 lb 13 oz bag of dried bean mix (Again, you can replace this with canned beans that have been strained for a shorter prep time!)
56 oz of tomato puree
1 pound of diced ham (You can replace this with a pork butt or kielbasa.  Normally we do use a pork butt.)
Salt and Pepper to taste

To Prepare the Soup 
1. The night before you make the soup, place your dried beans in a strainer and wash them with cool water.

2. Place them in a large bowl with plenty of water and leave them to soak over night.  Even though you have washed the beans, the water will still turn colors because of the beans reconstituting.

3. The next day strain the water from the beans and start boiling them in 2 quarts of water.  Make sure there is enough water to cover the beans plus some!

The reconstituted beans will be slightly plump and a little softer.

4. Boil the beans for at least 1 hour.

5. Chop the ham and add it to the pot of water and beans.  If you are using a pork butt, I would recommend leaving it whole and adding it to the pot!

6. Right after adding the ham, add 56 ounces of tomato puree to the pan and turn it down to low heat.
7. Cook for another hour on low heat. You can salt and pepper to taste during this step, or let everyone season their own bowls!

Approximately a half hour before serving, prepare your dumplings!

Great Grandma's Dumplings
Yields approximately 2 cups of dumplings

Ingredients
2 cups flour
1 cup milk
1 tsp salt
3 tsp baking powder

To Prepare the Dumplings
1. Turn the soup up to medium heat so it is simmering and on the verge of boiling.

2. Blend all of the dry ingredients together.
3. Add the milk and gently fluff the batter together with a fork.  The dough should not completely come together.  If you force the ingredients, your dough will not rise properly in the soup!

4. Drop the dough into the soup by the spoon full.

5. Cover the pot with a lid and forget about it for about 20 minutes or until the dumplings have risen and puffed up!

Apple Pork with Butter Browned Cauliflower

It only seems fitting that October is National Pork Month, especially given that is goes oh so well with apples!  I like pork chops and applesauce, but wanted to kick the presentation up a level a few years ago.  Combine that with a crock pot, and you get this recipe!  It looks beautiful, the meat pulls apart easily and melts in your mouth, and is beyond simple to prepare! 

Pork Loin with Apples 
Yields 6 generous servings


To Prepare the Pork
1. Place a pork tenderloin in a crock pot on medium heat.  I put mine on at 9 a.m., and it was ready to serve at 5 p.m.  It was browned on the bottom, and was very moist!  Your pork will not dry out, since all of the juices are recycling in the crock pot!
2. 30 minutes before you want to eat or serve, pour the pork juices out of the crock pot.

3. Pour a can of pre-made apple pie filling over the pork and cook on high until you are ready to serve!

See, I told ya it was going to be simple! 


This cauliflower is something I recently heard about while the tv was on and I was in another room.  It sounded like something that would taste savory and hearty, and would be warm and filling...and let me tell you, it did not disappoint!  I could not get enough, and in all honesty, I wish I had made a double batch!  It was nice and warm, the cauliflower was soft, but still had a little of its crunch, and the butter toned down the overwhelming cauliflower flavor.  To quote Julie Powell (author of Julie & Julia) "Is there anything better than butter? Think it over, any time you taste something that's delicious beyond imagining and you say 'what's in this?' the answer is always going to be butter. The day there is a meteorite rushing toward Earth and we have thirty days to live, I am going to spend it eating butter. Here is my final word on the subject, you can never have too much butter."  I could not agree more!

Butter Browned Cauliflower
Yields 4 servings

To Prepare the Cauliflower 
1. Start melting 8 tablespoons of salted butter (1 stick, or a 1/2 cup) in a frying pan over medium heat. 

2. While the butter is melting and heating, cut a head of cauliflower into bite sized pieces.
3. Once the butter is hot and melted, add the cauliflower.

4. After a few minutes, stir the cauliflower, and let it continue to cook.
5. Keep cooking and stirring the cauliflower until it turns golden brown.
6. Strain the cauliflower and serve!

Pecan Encrusted Pork Cutlets with Salted Apple Caramel Cream Sauce

Fall is, by far, my favorite season, and with that comes the flavors of fall!  I have always been a fan of pork and apples, but wanted to put a new spin on it this year.  Salted caramel has been something I have been encountering a lot this year at restaurants and in recipes, and wanted to marry that flavor with the pork and apples.  The pecans add the right amount of savory and nutty flavor to balance out this sauce!  I hope you enjoy this as much as I did!


Pecan Encrusted Pork Cutlets with Salted Apple Caramel Cream Sauce 
Yields 4 - 5 servings


To Prepare the Sauce
1. Add 2/3 cup of heavy cream to a sauce pan on VERY low heat.  The burner should barely be on!
2. Add 2/3 cup of T. Marzetti caramel dip to the sauce pan.  T. Marzetti is the most commonly found brand of straight forward caramel dip.  You should be able to find it with the apples in the produce department of your grocery store!

3. Add 1/2 a teaspoon of sea salt to the pan, and gently stir all of the ingredients together until the color and texture is even.

4. While the mixture continues to cook over low heat, slice 1 Granny Smith Apple into very thin slices.  They should be approximately 1/8 inch thick, but no thicker than 1/4 inch!

5. Add them to the sauce pan and continue to simmer it and occasionally stir it over low heat while you prepare the pork!

To Prepare the Pork
1. Put 1 pound of pecan pieces on a piece of parchment paper on your counter or a table.

2. Using a rolling pin, break down the pieces just a little bit more by rolling them and pressing down with some force.

3. Spray a little non-stick cooking spray into a glass casserole dish. 
4. Take a pork cutlet and press it into the pecan pieces.  Do this to both sides, and then place it flat in the casserole dish.  I used 1 pound of pork cutlets! 

5. After all of the cutlets are coated and in the dish, bake them in the oven at 350 degrees for approximately 40 minutes.

To Serve
1. Plate your pork cutlet and top with a little bit of the sauce!

I served mine along side green beans and some homemade smashed red potatoes!  It was beyond delicious...all I had hoped for and more!

Pulled Pork Tacos with Apple Slaw

A few months ago, my sister and I went to Applebee's.  We are HUGE fans of the trio platters, and were beyond intrigued by their pork tacos.   They were AMAZING!  Now, it can be very expensive to go to Applebee's every time one of us gets a hankering for these delicious nibbles, so I decided to bunker down in the kitchen tonight until I got it darn close to right!  I kept my coleslaw on the "chunkier" side...I really don't like uber mushy slaw, but if you do like the uber mush you can cut down the veggies more than I suggested.  Anywho, hope everyone enjoys! 

Pulled Pork Tacos with Apple Slaw
Yields 3 servings (2 tacos per person)


To Prepare the Slaw
1. Halve a small head of red cabbage and remove the core (the white stem-like part).

2. Shred half of the cabbage with either a knife or grater.  If you want to save time, or just don't like shredding, you can find pre-shredded red cabbage in the produce section of your grocery store!

3. Shred 1 red apple (or cut it down to shred sized pieces).  I opted for a Honey Crisp apple!  If you don't like apples, you have other options: pineapple, shredded oranges or mandarins, even diced peaches would work!

4. Shred 1 cup of carrots, or again use pre-shredded found in your grocery store produce section.
5. Mix all three of these ingredients into a bowl and set aside.

To Prepare the Slaw Sauce
1. Add a 1/2 cup of mayo to a bowl.  I used light mayo and it did not change the flavor of the sauce in the end, so you can use either regular or light mayo!
2. Add 2 tablespoons of vinegar to the bowl.
3. Add 2 tablespoons of sugar to the bowl.
4. Add a 1/4 teaspoon of salt to the bowl.
5. Add a 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper to the bowl.
6. Blend all of the ingredients well and pour over the Apple Slaw.  Mix it well and put it in the fridge.

To Prepare the Pulled Pork
1. Pull the Lloyds BBQ Pulled Pork containter out of the fridge.
2. Open the container, and pour into sauce pan.
3. Heat over medium heat.
Ok, so I couldn't fight the sarcastic directions there, but in all honesty, we used Lloyds Pulled Pork at our house all of the time. It's quick and easy, and not to mention, delicious!  If you are not a fan of pork, they also have a pulled chicken and pulled beef option.  It comes in a little red tub (that is microwavable and resealable), and can be found in the meat department of your grocery store.  If is usually near the pre-made mash potatoes and pre-sliced deli meat.  Quick. Easy. Delicious...done!

To Serve
1. Put the pork in taco shells of your choosing and top with the apple slaw.
2. Garnish with limes (which are really yummy if you squeeze them over the tacos), and I served mine along side some Zataran's Rice Pilaf.

Fall Blend Pork Stir Fry over White Rice

So, I know some of you may be put off by some of the ingredients you will see listed below, which is why I am going to talk about them and what to expect out of them!  This was actually my first experience cooking with these ingredients, and was pleasantly surprised!  I figured I was going to spend my night cursing, knife in hand, and finally getting dinner on the table at midnight.  Jicima - Jicima tastes a like a combination of celery, onions, and a hint of apple and is crunchy like a watercress.  Despite its outside appearance (rugged, tough, and brown), it is very easy to cut through and peel.  Chayote Squash - Chayote is a squash that is native to Costa Rica, and almost resembles a green tomato or tomatillo.  This, again, peels easily and the meat of the squash has a texture similar to a pear.  It tastes very much like a mild apple.  All of the veggies and fruit I bought for this dinner were surprisingly inexpensive - which is ALWAYS a plus!

Fall Blend Pork Stir Fry over White Rice 
Yields 5 generous servings

To Prepare Pork 
1. Slice 3/4 pounds thin cut, boneless pork chops into 1 inch long, 1/2 inch wide cubes
2. Pan sear in olive oil in a frying pan

To Prepare Veggies
1. Peel jicama and cut into 1/4 inch slices.  Cut these slices into 1 inch squares
2. Thinly slice 2 red pears, leaving the peels on
3. Grate 1 cup of carrots, or you can buy pre-grated carrots to save some time and energy
4. Dice 2 shallots
5. Peel 1 chayote squash and cut into half inch cubes

Bringing It Together
1. Add the shallots to the pork and olive oil.  Cook them down until the shallots just start to brown
2. Add the remaining veggies and fruit
3. Continue to cook for 10 minutes

Sauce
1. Combine a 1/2 cup of vinegar with 3 tablespoons of honey
2. Blend well and pour into frying pan
3. Cook all ingredients together for approximately 10 more minutes, or until the pears are just starting to lose their peels and have become soft
4. While the stir fry is finishing cooking, prepare your white rice

The stir fry tastes best when served over the rice.  Be sure to serve a little extra sauce over the rice and stir fry when you plate your meal!