Elementary Chef

Time to dust off that crockpot and make something other than turkey! My husband loves pork chops, and this family-friendly recipe is always a hit!

Crockpot Pork Chops Italiano
1-2 pounds pork chops or country-style ribs
1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes
1 Tablespoon dried basil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 bell pepper, minced, optional

Brown the pork, then add to the crockpot with remaining ingredients.
Cook all day on medium, or 4-6 hours on high.

Yes, I’m still in a crockpot frame of mind! Here’s one of my favorite stand-bys!

Savory Turkey Breast

6 1/2-pound bone-in turkey breast, thawed if frozen
1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 c.)
1 medium stalk celery, chopped (1/2 c.)
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. coarsely ground pepper
1 tsp. chicken bouillon granules
1/2 cup water

Remove gravy packet or extra parts from turkey breast. Place onion, celery and bay leaf in cavity of turkey. Place turkey in 5-quart slow cooker. Sprinkle turkey with salt and pepper. Mix bouillon and water until granules are dissolved; pour over turkey. Cover and cook on low heat setting 8 hours or until juice of turkey is no longer pink when center is cut. Remove bay leaf. Serve turkey now.

It’s turning chilly. And chilly weather, in my opinion, requires at least one pot of soup a week. One of my favorite things to make this time of year is bean soup. I get this love from my mother. She made bean soup so frequently that some of the kids in our neighborhood (who liked eating at our house) came to the conclusion that we must be down on some really hard times. (I think in reality, she was probably trying to discourage their nightly trips to HER kitchen!)

I still remember my grandfather adding ketchup (or is it catsup?) to his soup. And yes, I admit, I sometimes do it, too. I think I like this particular recipe because it calls for tomatoes. I also like the mix of herbs.

Here’s a super-easy bean soup recipe using, what else?, your crockpot! It goes great with corn muffins.

Bean Soup

1 package (20 oz.) 15- or 16-dried bean soup mix, sorted and rinsed
1/2 lb. smoked beef sausage ring, cut into 1/4-inch slices
1 large onion, chopped (1 cup)
10 cup water
1 1/2 tsp. dried thyme leaves
1 tsp. salt
1/s tsp. pepper
2 medium carrots, shredded (1 1/3 cup)
1 can (14 1/2 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained

Mix all ingredients except carrots and tomatoes in 5- to 6-quart slow cooker.
Cover and cook on high heat setting 8 to 10 hours or until beans are tender.
Stir in carrots and tomatoes. Cover and cook on high heat setting about 15
minutes longer or until hot. Yields 12 servings.

I have been sick this week. It’s a bit early in the season yet for that, but it hit me. And made me once again grateful that God created Crockpot cooking. Here’s a slightly complicated recipe that I dearly love. 15 minutes of prep work. 9 hours of cooking. Then a borders-on-gourmet dinner when you get home! This particular recipe involves mostly meat. If you’re like I was, you’ve mainly used your slow cooker for soups, chowder, and chili. But, believe it or not, with the right recipes, you can have just about any dish waiting and ready when you get home at night! Indeed, after you try this pork roast recipe, jump over to this post for a great old-fashioned pot roast recipe!

Pork Roast with Creamy Mustard Sauce

2 1/2- to 3-lb. pork boneless sirloin roast
1 Tbsp. Vegetable oil
3/4 cup dry white wine or chicken broth
2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 medium carrots, finely chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 small shallot, finely chopped
1/4 cup half-and-half
2 to 3 Tbsp. country-style Dijon mustard

Trim excess fat from pork. Heat oil in 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat.
Cook pork in oil about 10 minutes, turning occasionally, until brown on all sides. Place pork in 3 1/2- to 6-quart slow cooker. Mix remaining ingredients except half-and-half and mustard; pour over pork. Cover and cook on low heat setting 7 to 9 hours or until pork is tender. Remove pork from slow cooker; cover and keep warm. Skim fat from pork juices in cooker if desired. Stir half-and-half and mustard into juices. Cover and cook on high heat setting about 15 minutes or until slightly thickened. Serve sauce with pork. 8 servings.

recipes, pork, crockpot, slow cooker

Pot roast is not a quick meal. But it’s an economical and hearty way to feed a family with minimal work on your part. While it takes a long time to cook a pot roast, it does not take a long time to prepare one! This recipe will work great in your slow cooker or crockpot, and assuming you have leftovers, it will turn into a great stew!

Crockpot Pot Roast

3-4 lb. chuck roast
1 can french onion soup
1 can golden mushroom soup (this is NOT cream of mushroom soup!)
2 T beef base (beef bullion cubes will work)
1.5 soup can water
1 tsp. chopped garlic
1 whole bay leaf
1 or 2 cubed golden potatoes
2 chopped carrots

Place roast in crockpot. Mix all other ingredients (except salt pepper) in large bowl. Pour over roast. Cover crockpot and cook for about 7 hours on low. Add potatoes and carrots about an hour before serving.

pot roast, crockpot, recipes