SLOW COOKER PORK CHOPS

I have been very busy this week. I worked the Chevron Houston Marathon race last Sunday in the major medical section and had an awesome time. Those athletes are a dedicated bunch of people. I don’t have any plans on running 26 miles at all. The stories they had to tell for why they were running were just amazing. I was just very glad to help them out at the end of their journey. Then I had to work several days, had several doctor visits on my days off, and then finally had to prepare for the big freeze for our area on Friday. I did however find time to put a few dinners in the crock pot. Some were new and some that are in my usual rotation. My doctor however told me my cholesterol was high and I gained a few pound this past year. I wonder if this had anything to do with my blog? So I think this year I will try to find recipes that are still quick and easy but low in fat and cholesterol. Hopefully there are some out there. I happened to find this one for pork chops that turned out really good and I used only a little olive oil and a lot of spices. The pork chops were fork tender and had a lot of flavor from the spices. I served them with some wild rice and a dinner salad had had my healthy dinner for the night. Now I had several pork chops leftover which I plan on shredding and adding some BBQ sauce and having BBQ quesadillas for supper one night. Can’t be good all the time. I figure maybe one healthy meal to one semi- healthy meal? Got to use up the left overs! Drop me a line if you have any healthy crock pot meals I could try. I’ve already got a few lined up but there are 56 weeks in the year and at least 1,095 meals to eat not counting snacks. 

 

INGREDIENTS:
4 thick boneless pork chops
¼ cup of olive oil
1 cup of chicken broth
2 cloves of minced garlic
1 tbs. of paprika
1 tbs. of poultry seasoning
1 tbs. of garlic powder
1 tsp. of dried oregano
1 tsp. of dried basil
Salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Spray the crock pot with PAM. Place the pork chops in the bottom of the pot. In a small bowl mix together the olive oil, chicken broth, and all the spices. Pour over the pork chops cover and cook on high for 4 hours.

 

SLOW COOKER LEMON GARLIC CHICKEN

I cannot believe it! Tomorrow is the anniversary of my first blog! This will be my 54th posting. I have succeeded with a least one of my many 2012 New Year's Resolutions. Tomorrow I think I will celebrate with my crock pot apple pie moonshine that I made about three and a half weeks ago. I'll let you know how it comes out. A friend of mine texted me this link for this wonderful lemon garlic chicken from Melissa @ www.number-2-pencil.com . It looked really good so I had to try it out. It was very easy to put together and I had everything in my cabinet and on my lemon tree outside for it. The only thing I did different was to use bone in chicken breasts instead of a whole chicken. The chicken turned out very moist and tender with just the right hint of lemon and garlic flavor. I even threw an extra pod of garlic in the pot to roast to throw in my mashed potatoes. Yumm! Dinner was awesome! I wished I had done more chicken than just 2 breasts. So give it a try. I think your family and friends will really enjoy it.  

 

                                               MY TREE STILL HAS LEMONS!

                                

INGREDIENTS:

1 whole chicken or 2-3 bone in chicken breasts

2- 3 heads of garlic
4 lemons
Fresh rosemary or any fresh poultry herb
All - purpose steak seasoning or salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS:

Spray the crock pot with PAM. Cut garlic pods in half and place in the bottom of the crock pot. Thinly slice the lemons and place them on the bottom along with some fresh herbs. Next season the whole chicken or chicken breasts with the steak seasoning and place on top of the garlic, lemons and herbs. Cover the top of the chicken with more sliced garlic, lemons and herbs. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PEACH COBBLER

Alright now this dessert did take a little prep time. I was originally alright with this but something went horribly wrong while it cooked for 4 hours. It came out a soupy mess. It was very tasty, but still soupy. So instead of throwing it away I decided to bake it. Here is where the Girl Scout comes out in me. Quick, I had to have a backup plan so as not to disappoint anyone. Everyone was waiting on dessert. So first I poured out all the juice and put the rest of the dessert into a 9x 13 pan. Then I mixed up some flour and cinnamon sugar and threw it on top followed by some melted butter. Turned the oven on 350 and let it bake another 30 minutes. It turned out pretty good. The dessert was saved! In looking back at the recipe the only thing I can think of is maybe the cornstarch was old and didn't thicken the sauce? Any way I will have to get more cornstarch and give this recipe another try. I think it would've worked really well if the juice had thicken up some. So I’m not going to rule this out as a total flop because it still tasted good. If anyone tries this before I get another chance please drop me a line and let me know how it works for you.

 4 hours in the crock pot

                                      30 minutes in the oven



INGREDIENTS:       

1 box of readymade pie crusts
3 29 oz. cans of sliced peaches
2/3 cups of sugar
2 tbs. of cornstarch
2 tsp. of cinnamon
½ cup of butter melted
Cinnamon sugar to sprinkle on each layer

 

DIRECTIONS:
 Spray the crock pot or put in a liner like I did for easy clean up. Desserts tend to be very messy. Drain the peaches and put the juice in a medium size saucepan. Add the sugar, cinnamon, and cornstarch to the peach juice. Heat until thick and bubbly. Add the peaches, stir and remove from the heat. Add half of the peaches to a 4-5 qt. crock pot. Then I thinly sliced the rolled pie crusts while they were rolled up. Then unravel the pie crust slices and scattered half of it on top of the peaches. Drizzle with half of the melted butter and sprinkle half of the cinnamon sugar on top of the pie crust. Then repeat the sequence for the next layer. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours.

CROCK POT BLACK EYED PEAS

Happy New Year everyone! I can’t believe 2013 is over. It was New Year’s Eve and I was taking a friend of mine to the airport when she figured out she couldn’t get her suitcase closed. Now mind you this was my friend who the previous New Year’s Eve talked me in to starting this blog. So as I waited for her to repack her bag she came out with HEB tortillas and a big ham bone. The tortillas found a spot but the ham bone was destined for the trash. Well I knew I couldn’t let a perfectly succulent ham bone go to waste so I quickly snatched it up and declared it for a new recipe I wanted to try.  Crock Pot Black Eyed Peas. Couldn’t be more perfect for New Year’ Day. So I stopped by the store on my way home and picked up the dried beans and cilantro and cooked the peas in the crock pot all night. So while I was waiting for 2014 to roll in my house smelled wonderful. I woke up the next morning at 5 am and wanted peas for breakfast. That was a first. They were perfectly cooked and the ham had fallen of the bone. I scooped them out of the crock pot, put them in a Tupperware bowl and took them took work. My co –workers were pleasantly surprised and we all enjoyed a little good luck for the New Year! I know this a little late for New Year’s Day but it’s never too late to try this recipe especially since we are experiencing this polar vortex. In Texas they have asked everyone to conserve energy. I did my part today by cooking in my crock pot instead of using my oven. Hope everyone stays safe and warm.  

 

 

INGREDIENTS:

½ lb. of black eyed peas
½ lb. of kidney beans
½ lb. of northern beans
1 can of corn
1 ham bone or 1 1/2 – 2 cups of cooked chopped ham
Salt and pepper to taste
½ cup of chopped cilantro
½ cup of chopped onions (optional if you don’t like onions)

DIRECTIONS:

Wash the beans and peas to get the dirt and any stones out. Then quick soak the beans and peas in boiling water for 2 minutes and allow them to sit in the hot water for an hour. After an hour pour off the water and add the beans and peas to the crock pot. Add your ham bone or cooked ham. Salt and pepper to taste, then add enough water to cover the beans and peas, Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Stir the corn, onions, and cilantro about 20 minutes before serving.