Mexican Pork and Sweet Potato Stew

Ingredients

• 1 lb lean pork loin, cut into chunks
• 1 cup green chilies, diced
• ½ cups chicken broth
• 2 med sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1 med red onion, chopped
• 1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, fire roasted
• ½ tsp cumin
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp pepper
• 1 tbsp lime juice

Directions

1. Place all ingredients except lime in a gallon sized ziploc bag. Seal and place in freezer.
2. When ready to use thaw in fridge for 24 hours. Place thawed contents in crock-pot and cook on low for 6-7 hours. 
3. Add lime juice and stir well.

Easy Creamy Chicken

This recipe is very out of the norm for us-I've never used Cream of anything soup....but sometimes lack of time wins and I'll never be desperate enough to do fast food.

Ingredients

• 3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 8oz cream cheese, softened
• 1 can cream of chicken
• 1 dry packet of Italian Seasoning

Directions

1. Mix together softened cream cheese, cream of chicken and Italian Seasoning in a bowl. Once mixed, place in gallon sized ziplock bag with chicken. Seal and place in freezer.
2. When ready to use thaw in fridge overnight. Place thawed contents in crock-pot and cook on low for 4-6 hours.

Slow Cooker Greek Chicken

Ingredients

• 3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 3 Tbsp. Greek Rub (rosemary, dill cinnamon, oregano, s&p, garlic, thyme, nutmeg, basil)
• 1½ Tbsp. minced garlic
• 3 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1.5 cups chicken stock/broth

Directions

1. Line slow cooker with liner or cooking spray.
2. Rub each chicken breast with Greek Rub to coat generously on each side.
3. Next, rub about ½ Tablespoon of garlic on each chicken breast.
4. Place chicken breast in slow cooker and drizzle lemon juice over the top.
5. Pour broth/stock over chicken. Cover with slow cooker lid.
6. Cook on LOW for 6-8 hours, or until cooked through and tender.

Tip: Serve with pitas, Greek salad, feta, and tzatiki

Slow Cooker Chinese Hacked Pork

Ingredients

• ¼ cup reduced-sodium soy sauce 
• ¼ cup honey
• 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 tablespoons chopped ginger
• 1 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder (optional)
• 2 pounds boneless center-cut pork roast
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• ¾ cup reduced-sodium chicken broth or water
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced

Directions

1. Coat slow cooker bowl with nonstick cooking spray. Place soy sauce, honey, hoisin, garlic, ginger, spice in crockpot and stir to mix. Place pork roast in and spoon some sauce over top. Cover and cook on HIGH for 4 hours or LOW for 6 hours.
2. Remove pork to a large baking dish and keep warm. Pour liquid from slow cooker into a saucepan. In a small bowl, stir cornstarch into broth. Bring liquid in saucepan to a boil and whisk in the broth mixture. Cook for 1 minute.
3. Shred pork into large pieces with two forks; stir in sauce.

Tip: Short on muscles, but have more time?  Add cornstarch mixture to crockpot and let cook for 30 minutes

Slow Cooker Apple Butter Pork Chops

Who doesn't love apples and pork together?


Ingredients

• 4 pork chops (bone-in or boneless)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 medium apples (any kind), cored and chopped
• 1 cup apple butter
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/2 tbsp whole grain Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1/2 cup apple juice or cider (or white wine)

Directions

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the apple butter, brown sugar, vinegar, Dijon mustard, salt, pepper, and apple juice. Set aside.
2. Place the apples and onions in the bottom of the Crock Pot. 
3. Add your pork chops on top and then pour the apple butter mixture all over this.
4. Cook on Low for 5-6 hours.

Tip: Serve with mashed potatoes.  Make a gravy by adding 1 Tbls cornstarch dissolved in hot water-dumping it into pot (after removing pork and apples) and letting ti cook on low 30 minutes.  Add pork back during last 10 minutes to get warmed again.

Slow Cooker Balsamic Beef

Ingredients

• 3 lb. boneless chuck roast
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
• 1 c. beef broth or stock
• 2/3 c. balsamic vinegar
• 2 T. brown sugar
• 1 T. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp. liquid smoke (optional)

Directions

1. Place roast in crockpot.
2. Sprinkle roast with salt.
3. In a small bowl, stir together broth, vinegar, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, and liquid smoke (if using).
4. Pour the broth mixture around the roast.
5. Cover, and cook on low for 8-10 hours.
6. Shred beef with two forks, and return to crockpot.
7. Continue cooking for an additional 30-60 minutes.

Tip: Serve over egg noodles or with crusty bread

Slow Cooker Beef and Broccoli

Quick, cheap, easy-great for a  busy weeknight!



Ingredients

• 1 Cup Soy Sauce
• 1 Cup Sugar
• 1 tsp. Garlic Salt
• ½ Cup Onion, chopped 
• 1 1/2 lbs. Beef Stew Pieces
• 1 Bag Frozen Broccoli 

Directions

1. Combine everything in a gallon Ziploc freezer bag-freeze until needed.
2. Thaw overnight or don't and add 2 hours to cooking time.
3. Cook 8 Hours on low or 4 hours on high 

Tip: Serve over rice

Banana Blueberry Baked Oatmeal

This is another version of baked oatmeal which I think I liked better.  The bananas added a creaminess an some natural sweetness.   This is a dish that is great the next day, heated in the microwave with a drizzle of maple syrup on top [the way my toddler prefers it].

Ingredients

• 2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 cups milk
• 1 large egg
• 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter - melted
• 2 teaspoons vanilla paste (or extract)
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 2-3 ripe bananas - cut into slices
• 1 1/2 cup blueberries

Directions

1. Preheat oven 375 degrees.
2. Butter an 8x8 dish and cover bottom with banana slices. Then sprinkle 3/4 cup blueberries over top bananas and set aside.
3. In another bowl beat together milk, egg, butter, vanilla paste and maple syrup.
4. Add oats, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Stir to combine.
5. Pour mixture over blueberries and bananas.
6. Sprinkle the top with blueberries and cook in oven for 35 to 45 minutes until the top is golden brown and the oatmeal is set. 
7. If desired, drizzle the top with more maple syrup.

Banana Pudding

I had some overripe bananas and didn't feel like making the same old banana bread or muffins.  This banana pudding was excellent, creamy, sweet, and so comforting.  It's good warm or chilled.


Ingredients

• 2-3 very ripe bananas
• 1 cup milk (I used skim)
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1/4  cup sugar (up to a 1/3 if your bananas aren't OVERripe)
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• dash salt
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

1. Place bananas, milk, and cream in a saucepan. Heat over medium-high heat until hot, but not boiling. Mash bananas and mix into milk. (This will give you chunky pudding, if you'd prefer smooth use an immersion blender)
2. In a separate small dish, mix together sugar, cornstarch, and salt. When milk mixture is almost boiling, add sugar mixture and mix well.
3. In a small dish, lightly beat egg yolks. 
4. Place a small amount (about ½ cup) of the milk mixture into the eggs. Mix together, and return mixture to the saucepan.
5. Bring pudding to a boil, and boil for 1-2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
6.  Place in individual ramekins or one large bowl, cover with plastic, and chill for at least an hour. Pudding can also be eaten warm. 

Brown Sugar Balsamic Glazed Pork Tenderloin

Slow Cooker recipe- woo hoo!
This pork tenderloin is so juicy, so sweet, and tangy that you almost can't wait to eat it.  Delish on a cold night with a roasted potato (or sweet potato if you're my toddler) or some rice.

Ingredients

• 2 lbs. lean pork tenderloin
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 2 tbsp. soy sauce
• 3 tbsp. brown sugar or maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp. cumin
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• Optional: Up to 1 tsp.chile powder
• Salt and pepper

Directions

1. Combine the vinegar, chicken broth, and soy sauce.
2. Combine the sugar, cumin, garlic powder, chile powder if using, salt, and pepper. Be careful with the salt since the soy sauce is salty. You can always add more after cooking.
3. Rub the pork with the brown sugar mixture and place in the slow cooker. Pour vinegar mixture over top.
4. Cook on low for 6-8 hours until very tender.
5. If desired top with balsamic glaze or reduce the cooking liquid to create your own glaze. (this is easy and doesn't waste the cooking liquid.  Just turn temperature to high for about 10 minutes as pork rests on a cutting board [ or is broiling])
6. For a crisp exterior, place under a hot broiler for 4-5 minutes.