Cafe Rio Sweet Pulled Pork

There is more effort in this recipe than others.  Still deciding if its worth it haha!

• Ingredients for Sweet Pulled Pork:

• 2 pounds pork (we use boneless pork rib meat)
• 3 cans Coke (NOT diet)
• 1/4 c. brown sugar
• dash garlic salt
• 1/4 c. water
• 1 can diced green chilies
• 3/4 (10oz) can red enchilada sauce (I use Old El Paso brand, medium spiciness but any will work)
• 1 c. brown sugar

Directions:

Marinade: 

Put the pork in a heavy duty Ziploc bag to marinade. Add about a can and a half of coke and about 1/4 c. of brown sugar. Marinade for a few hours or overnight.

Crockpot:
Drain marinade and put pork, 1/2 can of coke, water, and garlic salt in crock pot on high for about 3-4 hours (or until it shreds easily, but don’t let it get TOO dry). 

Remove pork from crock pot and drain any liquid left in the pot. Shred pork.

Sauce:

In a food processor or blender, blend 1/2 can Coke, chilies, enchilada sauce and remaining brown sugar (about a cup, you can add a little more or less to taste..). If it looks too thick, add more Coke little by little. Put shredded pork and sauce in crock pot and cook on low for 2 hours. That’s it!

Photo Sources:  Carlsbad Cravings

Sweet N Sour Meatballs

I have not made the meatballs in this recipe, just the sauce.  I was in a hurry one day so I put all of the sauce ingredients in the crock pot, dumped in frozen, pre-cooked meatballs (I know, I know, what a shame but I needed a quick meal) with the pineapples.  The sauce did not thicken like I believe it would have on the stove top, but it was still good.  Served it over rice and with a veggie.  Enjoy!  

Sauce Ingredients


1/2 cup loosely packed brown sugar
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
2 1/4 cups pineapple juice
1 tablespoon cornstarch
One 25-count bag All-Purpose Meatballs (still frozen is fine), recipe follows
1 tablespoon sriracha hot sauce
1 cup drained small pineapple chunks
Steamed long-grain rice, for serving
2 tablespoons sliced green onions, for garnish


Directions
In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add the brown sugar, vinegar, ketchup, soy sauce and 2 cups of the pineapple juice. Bring to a boil.

Make a slurry by mixing the cornstarch into the remaining 1/4 cup pineapple juice, whisking to get out all the lumps. Whisk the slurry into the skillet and add the All-Purpose Meatballs. Bring to a simmer and add the sriracha. Cover and cook until the sauce is thickened and the meatballs are heated through, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the pineapple chunks.

Serve over steamed rice, garnished with green onions.

All-Purpose Meatballs:

5 pounds ground beef
1 1/2 cups plain breadcrumbs
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons grainy mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
4 large eggs
2 tablespoons olive oil

All-Purpose Meatballs:

To make the meatballs, combine the ground beef, breadcrumbs, milk, cream, parsley, mustard, salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes and eggs in a large mixing bowl. Mix together well with your hands. Scoop out 1-tablespoon portions and roll them into balls with your hands. Place the meatballs onto parchment-lined baking sheets and put the baking sheets in the freezer for 5 to 10 minutes for the meatballs to firm up.

To brown the meatballs, heat the olive oil in a heavy pot or large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs in batches, making sure not to overcrowd the pot. Cook, turning the meatballs to make sure they brown all over, 5 to 7 minutes per batch. Drain on paper towels.

Freezer instructions: Put the cooked meatballs in a single layer on baking sheets and put into the freezer. When frozen, divide them into freezer bags, 25 per bag, and return them to the freezer. Yield: 125 meatballs.

Recipe courtesy of Ree Drummond

Picture and recipe Source: The Food Network

Ham Bone Soup

We baked our Christmas ham a little late this year.  My husband and I made this delicious soup with the left over ham bone, which was a first for me.  It was pretty good and very simple to make.  I loved that we made it in the morning in the crock pot and dinner was done by the time we got home.  It did take a full 6 hours to cook in our crock pot.  Enjoy!

Recipe Source: All Recipes
Photo Source: Damn Delicious

Ingredients

1 leftover ham bone with some meat
1 onion, diced
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes in juice
1 can (15.25 oz) kidney beans
3 potatoes, cubed
1 green bell pepper, seeded and cubed
( we added 2 celery stalks, chopped)
*4 c water
*6 bullion cubes


*Note.  The last time I made this, it was too salty.  We ended up having to add more water.  Either add more water in the beginning, or less bullion cubes.  I would suggest 4 c water to 4 bullion cubes, as the original recipe suggests.

Directions

1. Place the ham bone, onion, tomatoes, kidney beans, potatoes, and green pepper into a 3 quart or larger slow cooker. Dissolve the bouillon cubes in water, and pour into the slow cooker.
2. Cover, and cook on High until warm. Reduce heat to Low, and continue to cook for 5 to 6 hours.

Heart Attack Chicken

Sometimes I don't want to think about dinner.  I just want to dump stuff in a crock pot and walk away.  This is one of those meals.  Its not healthy-but it tastes good and my kids will eat it.  I served it with tons of broccoli as a side dish.  You can also make it in a casserole dish, but I don't have the baking instructions so you would just need to experiment!


*Note: This recipe can easily be split in half.  A halved amount would be a good sized dish to make for my family of two adults and three children.


Heart Attack Chicken

Soften and Mix:
1 stick butter
1 8oz package cream cheese
2 cans cream of chicken soup

Combine and add with above ingredients:
2 packages Italian Salad Mix
2 C water
2 tsp bullion

Put mixture into crockpot for 6 hours on low.  Add 16 oz uncooked egg noodles 1 1/2 hours before serving.  May need to add and extra cup or two of milk to mixture to give it added moisture.   Can also boil noodles on the stove according to package directions and add into the crockpot mixture before serving.

Source: My awesome SIL Mylinda, who got it from someone in her ward.

Marci's Spinach Artichoke Dip

For those of you who know who Marci is, we all know this dip is incredible! We have it at a lot of gatherings with friends and its always pretty much gone. So good! Marci always made it in a medium-sized crock pot. It was perfect because she would just plug the crock pot in and it would stay warm.


1 package of cream cheese
1 can artichoke hearts
1/2 cup frozen spinach- thawed and drained of water
1/4 cup mayo
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
a few cloves of minced garlic
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1 Tbsp dried basil
mozzarella cheese



Marci's instructions:
Mix everything together except mozzarella. I usually chop artichokes kinda chunky, but when in a hurry I mix it all in my food processor which makes it kind of pureed. The original recipe was to bake in the oven and put mozzarella on top near the end, but I don't know the temperature or time because I always cook it in my mini crockpot. In my crockpot it usually takes an hour, but it is at a low temperature. I add the mozzarella on top at the end(although I have made it without the mozzarella and it is still good). Yum Yum.

Photo Source: The Food Network

Creamy Chicken & Noodles

My husband said this recipe tastes like, "a pot pie without the crust." He is right. It was pretty good, easy and still had veggies in it. Even my baby ate it...which is really saying something. :) I'm including this in the 30 minute meals column because it takes about 30 minutes to assemble, but then the crock pot does the rest for you.


Creamy Chicken & Noodles
Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book



2 C sliced carrots (4 medium)
1 1/2 C chopped onion (1 medium)
1 C sliced celery (2 stalks)
2 TBS snipped fresh parsley (I just used 1 TBS dried)
1 bay leaf
3 medium chicken legs, 2 lbs (I used 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts)
2 10 oz cans cream of chicken soup
1/2 C water
1 tsp dried thyme, crushed
1/4 tsp black pepper
10 oz dried wide noodles (about 5 C)-I used egg noodles
1 C frozen peas
salt (optional)
black pepper (optional)


1. In a 4 qt crocker cooker place carrots, onions, celery, parsley and bay leaf. Place chicken on top of vegetables.




2. In a bowl, stir together soup, water, thyme, and the pepper. Pour over chicken and vegetables.




3. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 8-9 hours. Shread chicken. Remove and discard bay leaf.




4. Meanwhile, cook noodles according to package directions; drain. Stir peas into soup mixture in cooker. To serve, pour chicken mixture over noodles; toss gently to combine. If desired, season to taste with salt and pepper.

Photo Source: Craft-O-Maniac

Cafe Rio Pork

Cafe Rio Pork

1 C Pace salsa (I just use whatever kind I have in the fridge)

1 C brown sugar

pork sirloin roast (about 3-4 pounds)

Mix salsa and brown sugar together and pour over a pork roast. I just put mine in the crock pot all day on low. Shread with forks and stir before using as burrito filling or on top of salads.

Photo Source: Chef in Training....by the way, next time I make this recipe, I want to try the Chef in Training's!  

Cranberry Mustard Chicken/Pork Tenderloin

You can use this recipe for either chicken or pork. The above picture is with chicken. I got the recipe from my sister-in-law Heather. Check out my family's recipe blog at reddhotrecipes.blogspot.com

Here is what Heather said about using Pork:
I used a pork boneless loin roast and it turned out so tender and juicy. It was so easy to put together and everyone really liked it. An easy sunday dish.

1-16 oz. can whole cranberry sauce
1/3 cup dijon mustard (I only had dijon mustard dressing, so I used less than 1/4 C because the flavor is so strong)
1/2 cup brown sugar
juice of 1 lemon
1 TBSP salt
2- 1 lbs. pork loin roasts
mix all ingredients except pork roasts together in a medium bowl. place roast into a crock pot, pour cranberry mix over the the roasts. cook on high for 1 hour. turn down to low & cook an additional 4 hours. let cool 10 minutes before cutting. Yummy served over rice and with green salad.,