Sweet & Tangy Pork Chops

6-8 boneless pork chops

salt & pepper

1 green pepper, cut in strips

1 medium onion, chopped

1 can (14 ½ oz) stewed tomatoes

½ cup ketchup

2 Tblsp. Cider vinegar

1 Tabsp. Lemon juice

¼ cup brown sugar

2 Tblsp. Worcestershire sauce

Place pork chops in slow cooker with salt & pepper. Add green pepper,, onion & tomatoes. Combine ketchup, vinegar, lemon juice, brown sugar & Worcestershire sauce. Pour over vegetables. Cover & cook on high for 3 hours or low for 5-6 hours. Good over rice or noodles or mashed potatoes. Use liquid as a sauce.

Scalloped Potato and Pork Chop Casserole

6 med size potatoes, pared & sliced

½ tsp. salt

1/8 tsp pepper

3 Tablsp. Flour

1 large onion, sliced

3 Tablsp butter

1 can cream of celery soup

½ cup milk

6 large loin pork chops

Crease a casserole dish & put in half of sliced potatoes, sprinkling with half of seasoning & flour over the potato slices. Dot with butter. Add remaining potatoes, seasoning, flour and onion. Dilute cream of celery soup with milk & pour over potatoes. Place pork chops on top of potatoes & season to taste. Bake in 350 degree oven for 2 hours. Serves 6.

Pork Chop Casserole

6 Pork chops

6 carrots

½ can milk

6 sliced potatoes

1 can cream of mushroom soup

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brown pork chops on top of range. Put into greased, casserole dish & add potatoes, carrots, soup & milk. Bake 1 hr at 350 degrees.

Pork Mushroom Casserole

1 ½ lb. ground pork

1 ½ cups milk

¾ cup chopped onion

1 cup Velveeta cheese-sliced

2 cans cream of mushroom soup or

1 can mushroom & 1 can celery (creamed)

6 cups sliced potatoes

Salt & pepper to taste

Put potatoes in greased 8x12 pan. Add soup which has been mixed with milk, onion, salt & pepper. Add browned, drained pork to soup mixture. Pour over potatoes & top with cheese. Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees.

Ham & Potato Casserole

2 pounds of hashbrowns, thawed and uncooked

1/4 cup melted butter

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 cup of grated cheddar cheese

2 cups of sour cream

Ham (leftover from a ham dinner is best, but you can cut up a ham steak)

Topping:

1 1/2 cups crushed corn flakes

1/4 cup melted butter

Combine ingredients and mix thoroughly. Top with topping. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes.

Recipe from Leanne Paxton

Carnitas

I spent some time looking a different recipes and ended up trying this one from Our Best Bites. I have made a few changes to match our tastes. I'm still working on a slaw recipe but will share what I did for this first attempt. I'll update once I feel like I have *the* slaw recipe.

For the Carnitas:
3 1/2 to 4 pounds boneless pork butt roast (aka pork shoulder)
2 cups water (enough to just cover the pork in the pot)
1 white or yellow onion, peeled and halved
5 cloves of garlic, smashed and peeled
2 limes (just the juice)
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon dry oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 bay leaves
1 orange, the juice and the rind
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper

1.  Place the oven rack in the lower middle position and preheat the oven to 300 degrees.

2.  Cut the pork into about 2 inch chunks. Place the pork in a heavy lidded pot like a Dutch oven. Add enough water to cover the pork. Add: Onion, garlic, lime juice, red wine vinegar, oregano, cumin, bay leaves, salt, pepper, orange juice and orange rind. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally.

3.  Cover the pot and transfer to the oven. Cook for 2 hours, or until the pork falls apart when poked with a fork. When the pork is fork-tender remove from the oven.

4.  While the pork is cooking, prepare a rimmed baking sheet by lining it with aluminum foil. You will transfer your pork to this for the final stage.

5.  Remove the orange rinds, onion, and bay leaves. Transfer your pork to the lined baking sheet with a slotted spoon and set aside to cool.

6.  Return the pot to the stovetop and bring the liquid to a boil over high heat. Boil for 8-15 (I went for about 20) until the liquid is thickened and a little more like a glaze. You want to reduce the liquid down to about 1 cup.

7.  Use your fingers to pull apart/shred the cooled pork pieces. You can remove any fat (although it does add nice flavor so I do recommend leaving some) or tough/chewy/veiny bits while you do this. Spread out in an even layer on the baking sheet and drizzle with the reduced liquid. Turn your oven broiler on high and broil the pork for 5-8 minutes or until the pork starts to brown and the edges become crispy. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and use a spatula to flip the pork. Return to the oven and broil for another 5-8 minutes. 4 minutes on each side was good for us.

Versatile Marinade for Barbecued Meats

We've had a new grill for a while--a Big Green Egg--and since we purchased it, I've been experimenting with marinades. I've settled on one that works really well with pork, chicken and beef.

Ingredients:

1/4 c. light soy
1/4 c. olive oil
1/4 c. red wine vinegar
1 tbsp fresh ground black pepper
1 tbsp good italian seasoning
1 tbsp garlic powder (or 2 cloves fresh-pressed if you prefer)
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp smoked paprika
1 tsp chipotle chili powder
1 tsp sea salt

Mix everything up into a slurry and pour into a large zip-lock bag containing 1 to 1.5 pounds of your favorite barbecuing fare. Seal well, and then gently massage the bag. Let it sit in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, turning it every hour (or so) to make sure all of the contents are getting a good soak. Grill to your liking.

~David

Marinated and Braised Pork Chops

We like to cook and, as such, we don't use a lot of prepared foods; favoring cooking from scratch. There are, however, a few exceptions. One such exception is a preserves product we found on one of our bi-monthly treks to Costco. We usually only buy bulk items there, but every so often, we stumble on products that are just too good to pass up. In this case, it's a peach, mango and orange "More Fruit" preserves by E. D. Smith. I have no idea if this product is available elsewhere, but if you can find it, buy it; it's uber-yum.

Marinade ingredients:

2 1" thick center-cut, boneless pork chops
1/2 tsp. each of ground ginger,  and dry mustard*
1/4 tsp. each of ground nutmeg, ground cloves, garlic powder
Salt and pepper
1/2 low-sodium soy sauce
1 tbsp. olive oil

Towel dry the chops and then rub in olive oil. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and rub in a nice layer of spice mix on both sides. Place chops in a plastic bag and add soy sauce. Marinate for at least two hours (I usually do 4 or more).

Take the chops out 30 minutes before you're ready to cook them to allow them to come to room temperature.

Pre-heat your oven to 325f.

Additional ingredients:

1/4 c. soy sauce
1/4 c. water (tepid)
1/2 c. E. D. Smith Peach, Mango, Orange More Fruit (or your favorite preserves)
2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. olive oil


Heat an oven-safe cooking dish (I use a 5 qt. Le Creuset round french oven) over a medium to high flame. When hot, add the butter and oil and then, after a few minutes, add the chops. Brown on both sides for about 2 minutes or until the chops begin to caramelize. Add the water and soy to de-glaze and then add half of the preserves to the top of each chop. Cover and bake for 20 - 25 minutes, or until the internal temperature is between 160 - 170f.

Serve with your favorite sides (we like roasted red potatoes with salt, pepper and rosemary and roasted asparagus).

Enjoy!

~David

* Coleman's dry yellow mustard is the best I've used.

Roast Pork with Fall/Winter Vegetables

1 2 to 2 1/2 pound boneless pork loin (sirloin) roast
1 large russet potato
1 large sweet potato or yam
3 large carrots
2 medium apples (your choice)
2 Tbps olive oil
1 1/2 c. apple juice
Italian seasoning*, garlic (either fresh, 4 nice clove cut in half or dried powder) nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste
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Pre-heat your oven to 325.

Cut up the vegetables into 1/4 inch by 1 inch pieces and place into a bowl. Put aside.

Dry well and then salt and pepper the roast.

In a heavy, oven safe casserole**, heat over high heat for a few minutes. When hot, add the olive oil, turn down the heat to medium hot, and then add the roast and brown it on all sides until it shows a nice caramel color. Remove the roast from the pot and then de-glaze with about a half-cup of the apple juice. Return the roast to the pot, season with italian seasoning, garlic, nutmeg (1/4 tsp. will do). Add in the vegetables, more salt and pepper, and the remaining apple juice.

Cover and bake for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until the pork reaches a safe 170 degrees (f).

Remove the roast and set aside to rest. Remove the vegetables and leave the juices in the pot. Heat the pot over medium high heat to a boil and thicken with either flour and water or corn starch and water (your choice). Season to taste.

Slice the roast and serve with the vegetables and thickened gravy. Enjoy with a nice bottle of wine.

(Keep forgetting to snap a photo. Will do so next time.)

Notes:

I first starting making this dish a few years ago. I didn't use a recipe (I rarely do) as I have enough formal training to invent, and that is my passion. But it does take me a while to get my recipes consistent enough to post for you.

* Regarding italian seasoning, our favorite is Morton & Basset brand. If you can get it where you live, it's well worth it!

** Regarding cookware, we have fallen in love with our Le Creuset pieces. We only have a few that we purchased at an outlet. The one I use for this recipe is the 5 1/2 qt. round french oven. This stuff cooks beautifully and I wouldn't trade it away for anything. I know what you're thinking: Man alive that stuff is expensive. It is indeed, but it will last several lifetimes if properly cared for and we baby them and treat them like family.

Meatballs

Ingredients:

3/4 c. plain breadcrumbs
3 oz. milk
1 large egg + 1 egg yolk
2 tsp. olive oil
1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 tsp. granulated garlic powder (or to taste)
1 - 2 tsp. dried Italian herb mix (or your favorite seasonings)
1 lb. each ground beef (80% lean), pork, and veal (you can substitute ground turkey thigh meat for veal, since veal is hard to get; it's just as tasty)
1 1/2 tsp. salt (or to taste)
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/2 c. freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
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Add the first seven ingredients to a large mixing bowl and lightly whisk together. Let this sit for a couple of minutes.

Add the remaining ingredients and mix until everything comes together and looks uniform.

Using a small cookie dough scoop, scoop the mixture and then roll in your palms. Add to a sheet pan lined with foil and oiled with olive oil. A sheet cake pan will hold nearly 60 meatballs.

Cook under a broiler for 15 - 20 minutes until they're nicely browned and cooked through. No need to turn.

Use as you will. We add them to homemade marinara sauce. But they're also good in a sweet and sour sauce, or as Swedish meatballs.

Feel free to play around with the seasoning. I might try ginger, garlic and Chinese five spice powder with a bit of Sriracha next.

Yield: Approx. 100 meatballs. Eat some now; freeze the rest.