Slow Cooker Apple Cinnamon Pork Lion

It was my mother in love's (MiL) birthday recently. She normally does all the cooking and such for any sort of birthday celebration for the family, so Husband and I insisted that we at least make the entrée. Little brother brought a couple of Gooey Looey Gooey Butter Cakes (AMAZEBALLS, seriously, try them!) and MiL ended up making a salad because she is super good and them and felt bad that I was cooking when I had to work all day. I try to explain to her the beauty of a slow cooker and I think that is the only reason she agreed to it either way.


For family dinner when I am feeding 6 people, I typically go for something that is less protein based so that it will keep cost down. This dish, though, has a perfect amount protein for the price thanks to pork being less that $4/lb and it being on sale at Shop and Save early that week!




Slow Cooker Apple Cinnamon Pork Loin
Ingredients

1lb pork loin (I used a 3.75 pound loin)

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 apples, one diced and one sliced (I used a 5, 2 sliced the rest cubed)

1 large sweet potato (I used a 4, diced)

1 red onion (I left this out because Little Brother doesn't do onion)

1 tablespoon honey

1/2 tablespoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Instructions

1. Season pork loin with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Sear the pork for 2-3 minutes per side until browned.
2. Place diced sweet potato, one diced apple, and diced onion in the bottom of the slow cooker. Season with remaining salt and pepper.
3. Make slits in the pork loin and stuff with the other sliced apple. Transfer to slow cooker and sprinkle the entire mix with cinnamon and drizzle with honey.
4. Cook on low 7-8 hours. (Mine cooked for 10 hours or so due to the larger amount of meat and my work schedule in general with commute)



Pork!

Potatoes and apples!

Until next time...cook it up!

BFMH: Chocolate Chip Muffins

I really wanted a baked good the other day, but didn't want to spend any extra dough on it so I decided that was the day to make muffins.


Chocolate Chip Muffins

Ingredients

• 1½ cups flour
• ¾ cup sugar
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking powder
• ⅓ cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• ½ cup Silk Original Coconut milk (I didn't have any, so I went with soy milk)
• 1 cup chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease 12 muffin cups or line with muffin liners.
2. Combine flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. Stir in chocolate chips. Mix together vegetable oil, egg, and coconut in a small bowl. Gently mix with flour mixture until just combined. Be careful not to over mix.
3. Fill muffin cups about ⅔ full (makes approx 10 muffins). Sprinkle with additional chocolate chips if desired.
4. Bake for 14 to 16 minutes.

I only kept them in the oven for 13 minutes, they needed the 14.

Super moist yet still light!

Fondue dinner!

Finally got in the mood to do some coking again after a 3 month hiatus of doing anything outside of my family standards which I have already posted on. I was reminded by my dear friend "Hey what happened to you blog?" so I figured it was time to post, even if there wasn't a lot of content.


This past week I made Fondue cuz it is cold and it was appropriate. I served it with a side salad which I totally didn't eat. Ain't no one got time for salad when cheese is on the line!

Classic Swiss Fondue

Ingredients

½ clove of garlic

4-6 fluid oz. dry white wine

1 teaspoon lemon juice

8 oz. grated Gruyere cheese

8 oz. grated Emmental Cheese

1 teaspoon cornstarch 

1 tablespoon kirsch

Method

Rub inside of the fondue pot with cut clove of garlic and put wine and lemon juice into the fondue pot and heat over medium heat until bubbling

Reduce heat and carefully stir in the grated cheese. Keep stirring always until the cheese is melted and well combined. This takes a long time but do not be tempted to turn up the heat. Just Keep Stirring

Blend Cornstarch with kirsch in a small bowl and then add to cheese mixture. Cook for another 2 – 3 mins, stirring always. Do not let fondue come to a boil.

Transfer to table burner and serve.

Serve with:

Green apple

French bread

Mushrooms

Asparagus

Corn Chicken Chowder

I use to not like soup. None of it. Chili (or occasionally Calm Chowder in a bread bowl)was as close as I got for a long time and even then, it had to be mainly meat, not vegetables. Then I had the Corn Chicken Chowder at the Story Teller at Disneyland and my world changed. While that one has a bit of spice to it, I have found a regular or more mild approach is still very good and also quite easy to obtain via a slow cooker!

 



Garnish of bacon? It has to be good.

 

 

Slow Cooker Corn Chicken Chowder

Ingredients

4 slices bacon, diced

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch chunks

12 ounces red potato, diced

1 onion, diced

3 carrots, peeled and diced

2 stalks celery, diced

2 cups corn kernels, frozen, canned or roasted

4 cups chicken broth

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

Pinch of cayenne pepper

1 bay leaf

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1/2 cup half and half

2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

Instructions

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add bacon and cook until brown and crispy, about 6-8 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate; set aside.

Place chicken, potatoes, onion, carrots, celery, and corn into a 6-qt slow cooker. Stir in chicken broth, garlic, thyme, oregano, cayenne pepper and bay leaf; season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Cover and cook on low heat for 7-8 hours or high heat for 3-4 hours.

In a small bowl, whisk together half and half and cornstarch. Stir in half and half mixture and butter during the last 30 minutes of cooking time.

Serve immediately, topped with bacon and garnished with chives, if desired.

Notes

*Half and half is equal parts of whole milk and cream. For 1 cup half and half, you can substitute 3/4 cup whole milk + 1/4 cup heavy cream or 2/3 cup skim or low-fat milk + 1/3 cup heavy cream.

 

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone!


It has been a crazy holiday season here at my house. Surprisingly, with not a lot of cooking going on. Hence the lack of content. Thanksgiving we had all the usual things:
Turkey (made by Husband)
Stuffing/Dressing (made by Husband)
Mashed Potatoes (made by me)
Cranberry Sauce (made by me)
Kahlua Pecan Pie (made by me)
Pumpkin Pie (made by me)
Ham Wrapped in Bacon (made by Broder)
Cucumber Onion Salad (made by Broder)
Broccoli Salad (made by Broder)
Sweet Potatoes (made by Carebear <StepMom>)
Asparagus (made by Carebear)
Rolls (made by Niece)
One new thing was Snickers Salad which I completely failed to photograph, but you can check out the recipe here.


.....and Piles and Piles of Sugar Cookies the Saturday after Thanksgiving made by Niece and me.

Merry Christmas... see you in the new year!

Wishing everyone a most blessed and joyous holiday!

Crockpot uses, NOT for food

So there are many things that you can do with a Slow Cooker, which have nothing to do with cooking, such as:
Make Soap
Dye Yarn
Make Candles
William Sonoma Style Air Freshener
Keep Heating Pads Warm
Make Play-Doh
Chemical-Free Paint Removal Technique
and
Use as a Foot Bath






Today, I will tell you how awesome using your Slow Cooker for a foot soak can be on this chilly Winter day. It is the kind of day when you really don't want to leave the house, nor should you due to the quality of the roads.


First, I got the slow cooker (and my heated blanket) heating up to warm in front of the TV, because it was going to be that kind of day. I prepped the water with the following concoction:


Honey and Lemon Foot Bath
1/2 cup honey
1 Tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
1 lemon, sliced
Add Marbles for massage effect










After prepping it up, I slip in to the bath room, use my heel file and give both feet (dry at the time) a good scrub with that thing. Then I give then a bit of a massage with this stuff:
DIY Brown Sugar Foot Scrub
1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar
1 Tablespoon Baking Soda
1 Tablespoon Olive oil
After scrubbing out the kinks, I rinse my feet, pat them dry, slip on my slippers, and (remembering a towel for when I am done with foot soak) I pad my way to the sofa and begin the great relaxmentafication.


You are welcome internet for this wonderful idea.


Please note, I never put any sort of ingredient or chemical in my slow cooker that I wouldn't use in cooking. I will wait until I get a secondary crock pot to try to make candles, dye yarn, etc. A foot scrub though, is food safe and only needs a thorough cleaning to be ready for cooking again.