Crockpot Applesauce

Sheesh, I know...it's been a while.  I didn't disappear off the face of the earth...but cooking just hasn't been getting top billing around here these days.  When the hubby is working 75-85 hours a week, you don't really feel motivated to spend even one hour in the kitchen cooking dinner, since the kids would be perfectly happy with something simple like eggs.  Or pancakes.  Or chicken nuggets and french fries (yeah...the frozen variety).  Or deli ham slices and apples.  Thank goodness my kids are not gourmet, LOL!  

(Well, except for Rebecca, who has become an expert in making eggs in a hole all by herself.  Yeah, I'm proud of her).   

I did make a fantastic Christmas Day dinner--roast turkey, dressing, gravy, buttermilk mashed potatoes, roasted green beans, vanilla bean pound cake, and deep dish apple pie.  Yep...it was good.  Really good.  And what made it even more special were friends who came over to share the meal with us that day.  

Anyways... ;-)

I was motivated to make crockpot applesauce yesterday.  Apples are plentiful and in season right now, plus it's fun to buy 3-4 different kinds to make your own applesauce.  I bought 6 Golden Delicious, 4 Granny Smith, and 6 Galas.  You can honestly use whatever you fancy.  Be prepared for the lovely smell of baking apples permeating every corner of your house.  It's amazing...and you'll be so proud of yourself for making it homemade. :-)

Crockpot Applesauce

10-12 mixed apples, such as Golden Delicious, Gala, Granny Smith, or Jonagold.  Use what you like!

(You can even throw in a few pears, peaches, plums, strawberries or other fruit.)

6 tablespoons light brown sugar, lightly packed

1 whole cinnamon stick

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 small strip lemon peel

Pinch of salt

Peel, core, and slice apples 1/2 inch thick.  Using an apple slicer like this one really helps.  If you buy one, make sure it's ALL metal.  The plastic frame with metal spokes type will break in no time (yes...I know this from experience!) 

Toss all the apples into your crockpot, along with the lemon juice, lemon peel, brown sugar, cinnamon stick, cinnamon, and salt.  Make sure you fill your slow cooker all the way to the top.  Once the apples cook down, it'll only be about 1/2 full, and most crockpots work better if they're half to two-thirds full.  I used both ground cinnamon and a cinnamon stick because we're fans of the spice over here.  Whole cinnamon sticks can be found right in the baking aisle of the grocery store. 

Set your crockpot on "LOW" and let it go for about 8 hours.  You don't even have to stir it, but I did every couple of hours so you can see what it looks like.

Ready for some time lapsed pictures?  Of course you are.  

After 2 hours...

After 4 hours...

After 8 hours...

Now, you can leave it chunky like I did, or pureed it further with an immersion blender/regular blender for a very smooth texture.  I used to do that when Theresa was just starting with solids, but now she eats it no matter what. ;-)

Let the applesauce cool until it's a manageable temperature for kids before consuming with gusto.  I like it a bit warm, but 3 of my 5 kids prefer it cold, so you can certainly chill it in the fridge for later.  

We love this applesauce plain, or with pancakes, waffles, or on warm biscuits.  And let's not forget pork chops...my hubby's favorite.  He has fond memories of homemade applesauce with pork chops growing up. Best of all, it makes the whole house smell like apples and cinnamon all day...who doesn't love that?  

All righty guys, I've got to run. I've had 4 out of 5 kids down with the flu this week, but everyone is watching a movie with their juice cups and blankies right now...so I had a few minutes to bang this post out for you. 

God bless your table tonight, and Happy New Year!  

Hawaiian Style Short Ribs

I was skeptical when I first saw this recipe in November's issue of Everyday Food.  I mean...short ribs?  In the crockpot?  REALLY???

But, I was curious enough to try it.  And man...I am SO glad I did.  I served this on a Sunday night about 2 weeks ago.  Theresa's godparents were at our house, and declared this "absolutely delicious."  They are famous for looking me up on Facebook to see what I'm making...then they'll call and ask if they can come over for dinner, LOL.  They even went so far as to say to please call them if I made this dish again, because they would love to help us eat it.  Imagine that!  Hilarious. 

Anyway...all my kids devoured this meal too.  I knew I would be making this again...very soon, and post it.   It was easy to make...most crock pot dishes are no brainers.  So here is a fabulous meal, fancy enough to serve to guests, yet casual enough to eat with your hands.  I mean...y'all eat ribs with your fingers, right? ;-)

Hawaiian Style Short Ribs

barely adapted from Everyday Food

4 pounds beef short ribs (I used 6 pounds for our larger family)

2 red onions, cut into 1-inch wedges (leaving the root ends intact)

6 cloves garlic, smashed

2-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced

1 1/2 cups light brown sugar (or 1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar)

2 tablespoons molasses*

1 cup low-sodium soy sauce

6 tablespoons rice vinegar

1 tablespoon Sriracha or favorite chili sauce

3 cups fresh, cubed pineapple

Cooked white rice for serving

Chopped green onions for serving

*I usually don't have dark brown sugar on hand, but you can substitute regular, white sugar plus 3 tablespoons molasses to make 1 1/2 cups of dark brown sugar, OR 1 1/2 cups light brown sugar plus 2 tablespoons of molasses).  I also didn't use Sriracha...because my kids have sensitive tongues, so I used 1 tablespoon sweet Thai chili sauce.  If you like a bit of spice, go for it!

In the bottom of your large crock pot/slow cooker, place the onion, garlic, and ginger.  (You will need a 5-6 quart slow-cooker). 

Put the short ribs on top, in one tight layer.  I had to put the last one in as a second layer because I ran out of room, but don't worry, they'll be fine. 

David and I had a date Friday night.  I wanted to go check out a new international food market downtown.  Phoenicia specializes in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean foods.  They had a new location, and I was hoping for free samples.  There were none but we bought a few items like capers, dried fruit, chocolate, and these awesome looking short ribs.  We ended up at Niko Niko's for dinner...which was fabulous and delicious.  Thanks for tolerating my commerical interruption!

Whisk together the brown sugar, molasses (if using), soy sauce, rice vinegar, and chili sauce.  Pour all over the ribs.

Cover the crock pot and cook on high for 4 hours  (or on low for 6 hours).  Add the cubed pineapple and continue to cook for another hour (or 2) or until the fruit is tender.  I probably used more than 3 cups, but you know me...I'm not much for measuring. ;-)

Alternatively, you can cook this on low for 8 hours, and add the pineapple the last 2 hours.

When you can't wait any longer, use a pair of tongs or a big spoon to remove the short ribs.  Do this gently, as they'll be tender little babies. ;-).  Then take a big, slotted spoon to remove the onions, pineapple, ginger and garlic. 

Use a ladle or degreasing cup to skim as much fat as possible from the cooking liquid. 

Serve the ribs over some rice, along with the pineapple and onions.  Drizzle some of the cooking liquid over the top...it's the best part, I'm telling ya!  Garnish with the green onions (it adds a nice, fresh flavor, and gives the dish some texture).

When I made this the first time, there was none left over.  At all.  Gracious...I was disappointed!  Oh well, I just won't post it on Facebook next time, ha ha. ;-)  This time, there was enough left over for another meal. 

This is the most incredible Sunday supper.  Easy as pie to make, and your house will smell divine.  Just throw it in the crock pot before church on Sunday, and come dinner time, everyone will be singing your praises!

God bless your table tonight!

Easiest Ever Pulled Pork

Here's another crockpot recipe that is EASY.  I mean, really easy.  And there's only 3 ingredients.  I've made this 4 times since Theresa was born, because a big hunk of pork can feed us for a week.  This time, I divided the meal...half went to a friend who just had a baby, and half was for us. 

Of course, when I went to the store to get the pork butt, I asked the butcher for the biggest one.  He promptly wrapped up a 10 beast for me...wow! 

I didn't take as many pictures as I usually do.  I meant to start the pork right before I went to bed, forgot about it, and realized my oversight at midnight.  Yeah...midnight!  So there are no "before" pictures because I was yawning too hard to take pics at midnight.  I know y'all will forgive me. ;-)

Easiest Ever Pulled Pork

One Boston pork butt, about 6-8 pounds (bigger is fine too!)

BBQ spice blend

1 cup apple juice

The day before you want to cook the pork, remove it from the wrappings and trim off some of the fat.  It's really up to you how much you want to take off, but don't take off ALL of it.  You have to leave some on.  Fat = flavor, and you want some fat to flavor the meat while it's cooking.  There should be a large cap of fat on one side...I probably took off about 2/3rds of it. 

Take your favorite BBQ spice blend and rub it generously all over the meat.  Don't be shy, you want to use at least 4 tablespoons.  Honestly, I didn't even measure, I just sprinkled it on, all over, and made sure to rub it in really good.  I love, love, love Penzeys' BBQ 3000. 

Return the pork butt to the fridge and let it hang out for 12 hours or overnight. 

The next day (or that night, whatever floats your boat), set up your crockpot.  Pour in 1 cup of apple juice.  Lay the meat, fat side up in the slow cooker. 

Set your crock pot on "Low" for 8-10 hours.  And that's it...you don't even need to turn it over...I didn't. 

By the way, if you don't want to wake up to the smell of pork in the morning, don't do this the night before.  Rebecca told me she woke up in the middle of  the night, and could smell it all the way upstairs.  She didn't mind. ;-)  Some people prefer the smell of coffee...I can understand that!

After 10 hours, here's the finished product...I let mine go 10 hours because it was so big.

Doesn't that look DIVINE?  Porkalicious baby!

At this point you can leave it until dinnertime, or you can go ahead and remove the meat from the pot.  I use a really big cutting board and shredded it all up...it should be so tender, you barely have to touch it to break it up.

Oh, and don't forget to take out the big bone...nobody wants that. ;-)  The kids were impressed by the size of this one!

If I have time, I try to degrease the cooking juices with my degreaser cup.  I don't take off every drop of fat though...you gotta leave some it, because that's where most of the flavor is. 

We love to eat the shredded pork on little wheat rolls...I get 'em at Walmart.   Don't forget to pass around the BBQ sauce too.  I made some cucumber salad and baked beans on the side.  I've served the sandwiches with coleslaw too, (which is REALLY good if you put it in the sandwich) but nobody really cares for coleslaw in our house except me...hence the reason for the cucumber salad. 

This is always a sure thing meal at our house...everyone eats it.  Best of all, now that Theresa is eating some solid food, she can have the pork, baked beans, and a bit of the roll, no problem.  She is really a good feeder. :-)

I hope you can make this on a busy night and have an easy meal all ready to go for your family.  God bless your table tonight!  

Crockpot Ravioli

So now that school is back in session, we're all looking for quick, easy, meals to get on the table, right?  Well, look no further.  A good friend of mine emailed this recipe to me...and I knew I had to try it.  Best of all, I could use jarred pasta sauce and frozen ravioli...yeah!  Okay, I admit, I wasn't going to take the time to make my own pasta sauce, let alone homemade ravioli anyway.  

Here's the link to the original recipe, feel free to tweak it the way your family likes it.  As you'll see, I didn't have any red peppers, so I used a few, chopped sun-dried tomatoes.  I doubled the recipe, and had only one and a half jars of pasta sauce...it worked just fine.  I have an Italian seasoning spice blend, but I decided to use Penzey's Pasta Sprinkle, because I just love it.  I didn't' add the one cup of water...I find most crock-pot meals don't need a lot of added liquid.  And I sprinkled some freshly grated Pecorio-Romano cheese over the top of the finished dish...because you can never have enough cheese if you're serving kids. :-)

Crockpot Ravioli

adapted from Food.com

One bag (25 ounces) frozen beef or cheese ravioli

1 jar (24 ounces) prepared pasta sauce

1 (8 ounces) can tomato sauce

2-3 tablespoons chopped red pepper

Italian seasoning blend

1-2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese 

Pour half of the pasta sauce in the bottom of your crockpot.  (If you're doubling the recipe, you will definitely need a large, 5 quart slow-cooker). I used a tomato-basil marinara sauce.  

Arrange the ravioli over the sauce.  

Pour the rest of the pasta sauce over the top, and sprinkle with the spice blend...about 2 teaspoons. 

Add the tomato sauce, and sprinkle on a bit more spice blend ( wanted some herbal flavor in between the layers).  Top with the chopped peppers (I used sun-dried tomatoes).  

Sprinkle the cheese over everything and cover.  Cook on low for 4-5 hours, or until the ravioli is heated through. 

Here's what my pot looked like after 4.5 hours.  

Voila!  And I didn't have to do any cooking at all!  :-)

Garnish with a little freshly chopped basil and some grated parmesan cheese if desired.  

The pickiest eater in our house (Christina) LOVED this, and get this...she asked for seconds.  I'm telling you, that never, ever, happens, so I was thrilled!  

Enjoy, and God bless your table tonight!

Pot Roast with Root Vegetables, Thyme and Merlot

One of my friends has been trying to make pot roast for a few months now. She called me once and I gave her all the advice I could think of. Last time we talked, she was frustrated because she had tried again (for the 8th time), and her meat was tough. I learned she had cooked it in her crock pot for 3 hours and thought it was done. I told her how a pot roast has to cook in the crock pot all day, so the connective tissue breaks down, thus rendering even a humble piece of chuck into a tender, like-your-mama's pot roast. Now, I promise I am not making fun of my friend because we all have a recipe or two that we want perfect, for sentimental reasons, because we're perfectionists, or we're just flat out stubborn.

So this pot roast recipe is my own creation. I've made it several times, and I think it's pretty foolproof. I have tried all cuts of meat, and to get the most bang for your buck, go with a boneless beef chuck roast. I adore the flavor of fresh thyme with beef, and I personally believe anything cooked with a good red wine cannot be a bad thing. Don't use a cooking wine for this recipe, use a wine you'd drink, something inexpensive, but not pricey. If it's a really cheap bottle, I can't say how your roast will turn out. And carrots, potatoes, and onions are a must. I like to use red potatoes in a dish that simmers for a long time; russet (white) potatoes turn mushy after a while, but red potatoes are sturdier, and hold up better. You can add other veggies to your liking.

I also believe searing the meat adds a layer of flavor to the roast. I use the wine to deglaze the pan, and get up all those browned bits off the bottom of the pan, because that my friends, is flavor. This also reduces the wine a little bit, and concentrates the resulting fond. Mmm....

I got the idea of using the 3 different soups from another friend who used this particular combination for a pork roast in the crock pot. I tried it with beef, and it was delicious.

Enough talk, let's cook some beef!

Pot Roast with Root Vegetables, Thyme and Merlot

1 2-3 pound chuck roast, trimmed of excess fat
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
2 medium or one large onion, cut into quarters
1 1/2 cups baby carrots (or regular carrots, cut into 2 inch pieces)
1 1/4 pounds new baby potatoes, scrubbed clean and cut into quarters
2 cloves of garlic, crushed (I use a garlic press)
1 package of fresh thyme (available in the produce section of the grocery store)
1/2 to 1/3 cup of decent red wine (I used merlot, but a cabernet would be fine)
1 10.5 can of cream of mushroom soup (I like the "Healty Request" from Campbells)
1 10.5 ounce can of golden mushroom soup
1 10.5 ounce can of french onion soup
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Season the chuck roast generously with salt and pepper on all sides. In a dutch oven or large, deep skillet, heat the vegetable oil over medium high heat. You want it hot, but not smoking. When it's ready, lay your meat in, and sear until a dark brown on all sides. Use a pair of tongs if you need to to get all the sides seared. This is what the meat should look like-- it will take about 5 minutes per side.

While the meat is searing, combine the thyme, merlot/red wine, garlic, and the soups in a bowl, stir until blended. To prep the thyme, just strip the tiny green leaves off the stems, gather them up, and discard the stems. The leaves are so small, you don't even have to chop them up. Go ahead and start up the crock pot...mine has an option for 8 hours on low, so that is what I programmed it for. Pour in the soup mixture, and put in half of the carrots, potatoes, and onions. When the meat is finished searing, use tongs to carefully transfer the meat to the crock pot, and lay it on top of the soup mixture and vegetables. Don't forget to turn off your stove burner while you do this.

Now, you want to get all the flavor from the meat out of the dutch oven (or whatever pan you used to sear the meat). Pour the merlot/red wine into the pan, and put it over a medium heat. You should not have the alcohol flare up when you do it this way. If you do, just let the flames die out, and proceed with the rest of the recipe. I've never had a flare-up, but you never know...

Use a wooden spoon or rubber scraper to get all the browned bits from the meat off the bottom of the pan/pot. Let the mixture come to a gentle boil, and let simmer for about 3 minutes.

Remove from the heat, and pour this over the meat in the crock pot. Arrange the rest of the veggies around the meat, and put the lid on.

Now, let it go. Seriously, that is what a crock pot is designed to do. All you have to do now is let the whole thing go for 8-10 hours or until the meat just gives up. I wouldn't even bother to stir it...if you must peek and stir, wait until you see the liquid simmering so you know it's come up to temperature. At the end of the day, it should fall apart when you go to take it out of the crock pot.

I made some Chive Biscuits to go with this meal, I'll post the recipe for that in the next couple of days. I usually don't make a pot roast until it gets colder, but I finally had electricity after 15 days, and felt like making comfort food. Besides, the whole house smelled great all day long :-)

Have fun making comfort food for your family. God bless your table tonight!