Serving Up {Pork}: Balsamic Pulled Pork

I am a bit of a sucker for shredded meat done in the slow cooker.
I love the ease of it.
I love the quantity of it.
I love the flavor of it.
So you can bet when I see a recipe in pinterest-land for pulled pork....flavored with a balsamic vinegar bbq sauce...done in the crockpot that I am going to be trying it out.  I have a bunch of slow cooker pulled pork recipes but this one has it's own unique flavor, and a tasty one at that.

I initially served this on buns, as the recipe called for, complete with coleslaw (but without pickles) and it was great.  The leftover was used as filling in tortilla wraps (yum) and also consumed as a pizza topping (also yum).  If there had been any remaining I think it could have also been great on a salad.  Try it out and let me know what you do with it.  I know I will be making it again and am always looking for delicious variations.

One Year Ago: Moist Zucchini Brownies
Two Years Ago: Ranch Vegetable Dip
                         Strawberry Lemonade Quencher

BALSAMIC PULLED PORK     
(recipe from Better Homes & Gardens)
printable version

2 1/2 - 3 pound boneless pork shoulder roast
1 cup chopped onion (1 large)
3/4 cup chopped green pepper (1 medium)
1 tsp. dried thyme, crushed
1/2 tsp. dried rosemary, crushed
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 cup balsamic vinegar
3/4 cup ketchup
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbs. Dijon-style mustard
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1/4 tsp. salt

Trim any visible fat from meat. If necessary, cut meat to fit into a 3 1/2- or 4-quart slow cooker. In the cooker, combine onion and sweet pepper. Add meat; sprinkle with thyme and rosemary. Pour broth over meat.  Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 9 to 10 hours or on high-heat setting for 4 1/2 to 5 hours.

For barbecue sauce, in a medium saucepan, combine vinegar, ketchup, brown sugar, honey, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, garlic, black pepper, and salt. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 20 to 25 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring occasionally.

Transfer meat to a cutting board. Using two forks, pull meat apart into shreds, discarding fat. Strain vegetable mixture, discarding liquid. Return shredded meat and strained vegetables to cooker. Stir in barbecue sauce. If using high-heat setting, turn to low-heat setting Cover and cook for 1 hour.

To serve, spoon meat mixture onto bun bottoms. Top with coleslaw and pickles. Add bun tops.

Serving Up {Beef}: Shredded BBQ Beef

Can you believe that when I was growing up I did NOT like anything that had BBQ sauce on it?  What was I thinking?  I think I am definitely making up for that in my later life.  I mean, nothing says summer like a messy, drippy BBQ beef sandwich.  And this recipe, with it's made from scratch sauce, is a great way to kick off summer.  

This is one of those "everyone in the family is happy to eat it" meals.  We seem to have a few more of those as my kids get older, but still, with seven eating (if everyone is home) trying to please everyone is tricky.  Having all 7 THRILLED is priceless! 

And the added bonus - I threw mine in the slow cooker to keep the heat out of my kitchen and the results were just as delicious as when I have cooked it in the oven.  It's always a bonus when it can be done in the slow cooker!

One Year Ago:  OREO Ice Cream Cake

                           Mom's Corn Bread

SHREDDED BBQ BEEF     

printable version

1 boneless beef chuck roast (approx. 4 lbs.)

3 Tbs. cooking oil, divided

2 large onions, chopped

1 cup ketchup

1 cup beef broth

2/3 cup chili sauce

1/4 cup cider vinegar

1/4 cup brown sugar

3 Tbs. worcestershire sauce

2 Tbs. prepared mustard

2 Tbs. molasses

2 Tbs. lemon juice

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp. peper

1 Tbs. liquid smoke, optional

In a large dutch oven, brown roast on all sides in 1 Tbs. of the oil.  Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, saute the onions in the remaining oil until tender.  Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Pour the sauce over the meat.***

Cover and bake at 325 degrees for 2 hours, then turn the roast over and bake for another 2 hours or until the meat is very tender.  Remove the roast and shred and then return to the sauce until ready to serve.

Serve on kaiser rolls or buns.

***At this point you could tranfer it all to a slow cooker and cook on low for 8-10 hours, or until the meat shreds easily.

Serving Up {Chicken}: Honey Bourbon Chicken

With the warmer weather of summer now upon us (we've only had short glimpses of summer, truth be known), it is really nice to fall back on crock pot recipes so that I don't have to heat up the entire kitchen.  I also find myself using the crock pot frequently on Sundays, at least with our current church schedule, so that dinner is ready when I walk in the door at 4:45 p.m.

This recipe was a pinterest find that was very well received by the entire family.  But to feed the entire family I had to use more than the 1 pound of chicken that the original recipe called for.  The first time I made it we had guests over for dinner so I tripled the chicken amount to 3+ pounds and then doubled the recipe for the sauce.  I still felt that there was more sauce than was needed, which was a waste of ingredients in my book.  So as I wrote this recipe, I wrote the amounts for the sauce as the original recipe called for but would suggest using 2-3 pounds of chicken to that amount.  There is still PLENTY of sauce and then you don't have to cringe when sauce is thrown out (or am I the only one that hates to waste honey at it's current price point?).

One Year Ago: Baked Oatmeal
                          Cream Cheese Enchiladas

HONEY BOURBON CHICKEN
(recipe from Real Mom Kitchen)
printable version

2-3 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs (chicken breasts could be substituted but thighs are more moist)
salt and pepper
1/2 cup diced onion
1 cup of honey
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
2 Tbsp. canola oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1-2 Tbsp. cornstarch
hot rice
sesame seeds, optional

Salt and pepper the chicken and place in your crockpot.  Place the onion on top of the chicken.
In a medium sized bowl, combine honey, soy sauce, ketchup, oil, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Pour mixture over the chicken in the crockpot.  Cook on low for 3-4 hours.

Remove chicken from crock pot and slice into strips and set aside.
In a small bowl, combine 1 Tbsp cornstarch with 1 Tbsp water. Pour the sauce from the crock pot into a small saucepan over medium heat.  Add the cornstarch mixture, stirring to combine.  Heat and stir as it thickens.  If the sauce is not thick enough repeat with another tablespoon of the cornstarch/water.

Place the chicken back in a serving dish and pour the thickened sauce over it and and stir well to coat.
Serve chicken over cooked rice and sprinkle with sesame seeds (optional).

Serving Up {Pasta}: Garlic Chicken Farfalle

As I am sorting through all of my recipes (the purpose of this blog, lest I forget) I am a bit shocked at how many of our frequently made recipes are pasta dishes.  I guess we really like us some pasta!  I hope what they say about pasta being bad for our diets isn't really true or else I am in big trouble.  Maybe I have some Italian in me deep down and that accounts for my affinity for all things al dente.

This recipe is delicious!  Pasta, chicken, bacon, cream - how can you possible go wrong?  I frequently will double the chicken as I cook it in the crock pot so that I end up with twice as much chicken as I need and I will then freeze half of it for later use.  Because the chicken cooks all day in the crock pot (easy!), putting dinner together only requires the boiling of the pasta and about 10 minutes to make the cream sauce.  Toss it all together and viola!

GARLIC CHICKEN FARFALLE     

(recipe from Becky Higgins)

printable version

3-4 chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)
1 (12 oz) Lawry’s mesquite marinade with lime juice
16 oz. Farfalle pasta 

1 c. heavy whipping cream 

2 to 3 cloves garlic, crushed 

1 Tbsp. pepper

1/2 c. butter 

1 lb. bacon, cooked & crumpled 

1/2 c. shredded Parmesan cheese 

Place chicken in a crock pot and pour bottle of marinade over it.  Cook on low for 6 hours. When cooked, remove from crock pot and shred it.  Set this aside. 

Prepare the pasta by boiling it until al dente.  Drain.

In a small saucepan, melt the butter; add the garlic, whipping cream, pepper, parmesan cheese, and crumpled bacon. Whisk together on low heat for 3-4 minutes. 

Place pasta in a large bowl.  Pour butter/whipped cream mixture over the pasta and add the shredded chicken; gently toss.  Prior to serving sprinkle a bit more shredded parmesan cheese on top.

Serving Up {Pork}: Shredded Sweet Pork

This week I am on vacation to visit my family in Utah.  You can bet large sums of money that at some point while there I will be eating a gigantic Pork Barbacoa burrito from Cafe Rio and will finish the entire thing in one sitting.  Because it's just that good!

Now I know that I am not the only person completely obsessed with Cafe Rio's Pork Barbacoa because there are a TON of copycat recipes out there in the blogosphere.  Most of the recipes for the pork involve cooking the pork in soda.  I'm not a big soda fan (okay, I am totally and completely against it) and so I was happy to find this copycat recipe that didn't call for the can of soda.  The result was still sweet and delicious pork which is the most important ingredient when making a Cafe Rio Sweet Pork salad or burrito.  Stay tuned over the course of the week for the rice and dressing recipes.  By this weekend, you too will be enjoying deliciousness to blow your mind!

SHREDDED SWEET PORK    

(recipe from The Sister's Cafe)

printable version

3 lb pork roast
1 c brown sugar
1 c Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp powdered ginger
1 tsp salt
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp garlic powder
2 Tb dried minced onions

Cook all ingredients in a crock pot on low all day (aboutt 8 hours).
One hour before serving, remove roast and shred it. Dump out all cooking juices and place shredded pork back into crockpot and add…

1 c brown sugar
1 c red enchilada sauce

Turn off the crock pot and replace the crock pot lid until ready to serve.

Serving Up {Soup}: Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup

I love soups.  I really love soups.  I have been known to serve soup in July in Las Vegas - not because it was cold but because I was simply craving soup.  Now that we are living in the Northwest we have more "soup weather" days which I have been taking advantage of.  There is nothing like a yummy, warm bowl of soup and some crusty bread smeared thick with butter.  Perfect meal in my book!

I had a favorite homemade Tomato Soup recipe for a number of years, yet I am guilty of trying new recipes even for things that I already have a "perfect" recipe for.  That is how I stumbled onto this recipe.  I marked it because I liked the idea that it was a slow cooker recipe - yet the first time I made it I hadn't left enough time to utilize the crock pot so I made it on the stove.  It was LOVE at first bite.

The only thing that I have been known to do differently (other than I usually make it on the stove top) is to put small batches of it into my blender when it is all done and blend it down so that no chunks remain.  I personally am a fan of the chunks but I get outvoted by the masses at my house, so the chunks have to go.  If you choose to do the same, be aware that if the soup is too hot when it is put in the blender it tends to "explode" in the blender.  So only put a cup or two into your blender at a time.  It takes a bit longer but in the end is it's a better option than cleaning tomato soup from cupboards and the ceiling - ask me how I know :)

SLOW COOKER TOMATO BASIL PARMESAN SOUP     Pin It
(recipe from Good Things Utah)
printable version

2 (14 oz) cans diced tomatoes, with juice
1 cup finely diced celery
1 cup finely diced carrots
1 cup finely diced onions
1 tsp dried oregano
1 Tbsp. dried basil
4 cups chicken broth
½ bay leaf, ½ cup flour
1 cup Parmesan cheese
½ cup butter
2 cups half and half, warmed
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper

Add tomatoes, celery, carrots, chicken broth, onions, oregano, basil (if using fresh oregano and basil, if using dried oregano and basil add it in the last hour of cook time), and bay leaf to a large slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW for 5-7 hours, until flavors are blended and vegetables are soft. About an hour before serving prepare a roux. Melt butter over low heat in a skillet and add flour. Stir constantly with a whisk for 5-7 minutes. Slowly stir in 1 cup hot soup. Add another 3 cups and stir until smooth. Add all back into the slow cooker. Stir and add the Parmesan cheese, warmed half and half, salt and pepper. Cover and cook on LOW for another hour until ready to serve. Serves 8.

Serving Up {Sandwich}: Slow Cooker Italian Beef Sandwich

I admit that my children are picky eaters.  I routinely have at least one child declare that dinner is "disgusting".  Every day.  No matter what is served.

This recipe is not only delicious but it is one of the few meals that EVERYONE in our little family eats with a smile - and frequently requests are made for seconds.  Because of that, and because it's ridiculously easy (thank you crock pot), I have delivered it on more than one occasion to a neighbor in need of dinner.  I figure if it passes our household taste test then it's safe to serve to just about anyone.

 

SLOW COOKER ITALIAN BEEF SANDWICH     Pin It
(recipe from Melanie B.)
printable version

1 ½ cups beef broth
1 cup water
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. onion salt
1 tsp. dried parsley
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 bay leaf
1 0.7-ounce package dry Italian-style salad dressing mix
1 5-pound chuck roast

Combine water, beef broth and all seasonings. Whisk to combine.

Place roast in slow cooker and pour salad dressing mixture over the meat. Cover and cook on low for 10-12 hours or on high for 4-5 hours. When done, remove the bay leaf and shred the meat with a fork*; if you shred the meat ahead of time and allow it to sit in the juices, it will absorb more juice/flavor.

Serve on crusty rolls.  Frequently my husband will add a smear Dijon on his roll which is a nice flavor.  Our favorite addition (my husband and myself anyway) is to top our beef with coleslaw for an added flavor burst and a bit of a crunch.

* My tip for shredding cooked meat (beef or pork or chicken) is to use your potato masher.  It makes the task much faster than the two fork method.