Slow Cooker Kalua Pork

This is the recipe on La Fuji Mama that I used for our luau. It was so simple and I didn't hear any complaints :) I didn't have Hawaiian sea salt so I substituted with regular sea salt that I had in the house. Makes 12-14 servings

5-6 pound pork butt roast
1 1/2 tablespoons Hawaiian sea salt (coarse sea salt)
1 1/2 tablespoons liquid smoke flavoring

Pierce the pork roast all over with the tip of a sharp knife. Place the roast in a large slow cooker and rub the salt all over the meat. Drizzle the liquid smoke over the meat.

Cover the slow cooker and cook on Low Heat for 16 to 20 hours, turning the roast over once half-way through the cooking time. Depending on how hot your low setting is on your slow cooker, you may or may not need the full 20 hours. When the meat easily shreds with a fork it is ready.

Remove the meat from the slow cooker and shred with two forks, adding drippings from the slow cooker as needed to moisten the meat.

*Note: Don’t be tempted to add any additional liquid–you don’t need it. The fat in the roast will provide more than enough liquid. For this size of roast, you will need a 6-qt. slow cooker. If you have a smaller slow cooker, use a smaller roast and reduce the amount of the other ingredients accordingly.

Crockpot Ham and Beans

We had leftover ham from Christmas and Steve asked for ham and beans so I went searching for an easy recipe.  Just so you know he loved it!

1 lb dried great northern beans (mixed if desired) or 1 lb other dried beans ( mixed if desired)
3 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
1 large sweet onions, chopped coarsely
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 lb smoked ham or 1 lb ham hocks
6 cups water or 6 cups broth

Sort beans and place in a saucepan with 2-inches of water to cover.  Bring them to a boil, boil for 3 minutes, then cover and remove from heat.  Allow to sit for one hour after boiling (don't lift the lid).  Rinse and drain the beans before placing them in the crock pot.

Put the rinsed beans, garlic, onion, salt, pepper, parsley, cloves, ham (chopped into large chunks) or ham hocks into the crock pot along with 6 cups water or broth.  Cover crock, and cook on low for about 8 hours, or until beans are tender and creamy.  Skim any excess fat, if necessary, before serving.

Sweet and Sour Jam

Steve's Mom has a cherry, apricot and two apple trees.  We were able to get cherries and apricots and have to see what comes of the apples.  I was looking for different ways to use apricots and stumbled upon this recipe.  I love sweet and sour chicken!  I keep saying that I love this or I love that but I really should say I love food!!!  I did make a couple of changes by not using habaneros, shallots, cherry tomatoes and cilantro.  I didn't have any of those so I used jalapenos, green onions and a tomato minus the seeds.  There wasn't any heat when I used the jam on the chicken so next time I think I will leave a few jalapeno seeds in.

2 jalapenos, minus seeds unless you like heat
3 cups fresh apricots, pitted and chopped
1 cup green onions, sliced into thin slivers
1/2 cup green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup fresh pineapple, chopped
1/4 cup tomatoes, minus seeds, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon minced fresh cilantro (optional)
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
1 (1.75 ounce) package powdered fruit pectin
6 cups white sugar
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 teaspoon butter

9 sterilized half-pint canning jars with lids and rings

Wearing rubber gloves and avoiding touching your eyes or face, seed and mince the jalapeno peppers. Place the jalapenos, apricots, green onions, green and red bell pepper, pineapple, tomatoes, garlic, cilantro, cumin, and lime juice into a large pot over medium heat, and stir in the pectin until dissolved. Bring the mixture to a boil, and mix in the white and brown sugars, stirring until completely dissolved. Return the jam to a full rolling boil, add the butter to reduce foaming, and boil hard for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly.

Turn off heat, and skim and discard any foam that forms on the jam. Pack the jam into the sterilized jars up to 1/8 of the rim and top each with a sterilized lid and ring.
 
Simmer the filled jars in a boiling water bath for 25* minutes, then remove the jars and listen for the popping sound. Let jars cool completely.

*25 minutes is for my elevation 5800 ft.  I consulted the packaging with the pectin which told me how to adjust my time.

I opted out of breading my chicken, you could use pork, to cut down on the calories but you can bread if you like using this recipe.  I cut up my chicken into bite-size pieces and then spooned jam over chicken.  Toss chicken to coat and bake at 325 for 1 hour. 

Sweet Pork

I love Costa Vida Sweet Pork Burritos or Salad! I had made a pork loin the other day without anything on it because I wanted to try this apricot BBQ sauce which no one liked but I had to give it a whorl. Anyway I had left over pork and kept thinking about Costa Vida and that sweet pork salad. I knew where I could get a copycat recipe of Cafe Rio versions of sweet pork but when I looked at the ingredients I didn't have any Coke and I found out that there isn't any reason I need it.

1 can diced green chilies
1 (10oz) can red enchilada sauce (I use Old El Paso brand, mild spiciness but any will work)
3/4 c. brown sugar
Cooked, shredded pork

Place chilies and enchilada sauce in blender and give it a spin. Stir brown sugar, shredded pork and enchilada sauce together. Place in crock pot for two hours. Enjoy!

Pork Fried Rice

My neighbor gave me this recipe.

Boil
2 C. Rice
4 C. Water.
Best when rice is cool.

In the frying pan
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
8 eggs- scramble
Remove eggs

Put
2 Tbsp oil
2 Tbsp onion
Heat onions and cook until starting to become translucent.
Add
2 C. Ham
Rice
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1/4 tsp. garlic salt
1/8 tsp. sugar
Stir
Add eggs
1 C. Peas

Heat

*Can add frozen shrimp on top while rice is warming.

Pork Barbacoa

I got this recipe from Maceys weekly ad. Our family loves this recipe.

4 lbs. Boneless Pork Roast
5 8oz. Tomato Sauce
1/2 c. Brown Sugar
4 c. Dr. Pepper
3 tsp. Garlic Powder
4 tsp. Cumin

• Mix 3 tsp. garlic powder, 4 tsp. cumin, 3 tsp. molasses, 1/2 c. brown sugar, 5 cans tomato sauce and 4 c. Dr. Pepper.
• Pour mixture over pork roast and cook in crock pot on low for 6-7 hours.
• Shred meat, return to crock pot and cook 1 hour in the sauce on low.
• Keep warm until ready serve. serve in tortillas
• Garnish with shredded cheese, lettuce and sour cream. Serves 6
  

How To Shred Chicken, Pork or Beef

Found this nifty tip here at Simply Healthy Family.  After you have cooked your chicken and while it is still hot put in into your Kitchen Aid stand mixer with the cookie paddle attachment.  Turn it to speed 4-6 and it will shred it better then two forks and in a lot less time.

I did a Google search and found that both pork and beef can be done the same way.  The pork or beef needs to be in 2 - 3 inch pieces.

Rustic Pot Pie

I love pie!  They aren't always easy but this one is.  The fun part about this is that you can make them personal size and customize the filling for each member of your family if needed.  The instant potatoes keep the filling from being runny.  You could also make a bunch of these and freeze them before you bake them for a fast and simple dinner.

Make or buy a pie crust.

1 jar gravy
Chicken, beef or pork
Vegetables - I usually use frozen mixed vegetables but I had a leftover baked potato and carrots
Instant Potatoes

Preheat oven to 450.  Pour jar of gravy in a pan and add enough instant potatoes to thicken but no too much that you end up with mashed potatoes.  Stir in meat and vegetables.  Heat.

While the gravy mixture is heating roll out you pie crust and place on cookie sheet.  Place the gravy mixture in the middle of the pie crust leaving 1 - 2 inches of space around the edge.  Fold the edges up, pleating if necessary.  Bake in the oven for 20 - 25 minutes or until the crust is brown.

Baking Bacon

I had heard about baking bacon but never tried it. Baking bacon is an easy, mess-proof way to prepare this pork product. You don't have to turn it or deal with spatters.

First, preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet or baking pan with sides with heavy-duty foil. Arrange the bacon on the pan, side-by side, being sure not to overlap the pieces. In fact, leave a little space between the bacon slices so they have room to brown and crisp.
Don wrote me and said that to give the bacon that pretty 'ridged' look he wads and unfolds the foil first so it is wavy, then puts the bacon on it. That gives the fat somewhere to go so the bacon isn't sitting in the fat as it cooks and shapes the bacon while baking.

Bake the bacon for 10-17 minutes for thin-cut, or until desired doneness. I myself like my bacon very crisp, so I bake it 16-18 minutes. For thick bacon, add another 4-6 minutes. Carefully remove from the oven, drain on paper towels, and use.

Honey-Glazed Pork Chops

This was a recipe attached to the meat package. I used a skillet that I could place in the oven so I bypassed the baking dish, one less pan to clean.

4 Pork Loin Chops, 3/4 - 1-inch thick
Salt
Pepper
2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
2 Tablespoons Honey
Nonstick Cooking Spray

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Sprinkle chops with salt and pepper. Coat large skillet with nonstick cooking spray. Heat skillet over medium heat. Add pork chops. Cook until brown, turning once. Remove chops. Place in 9x13-inch baking dish. Combine brown sugar and honey in small bowl. Microwave for 20 seconds; stir to combine. Spoon half of honey mixture over tops of chops, spreading evenly. Bake, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Turn chops; spoon remaining honey mixture over shops, spreading evenly. Bake until internal temperature is 160 degrees F., 15 - 20 minutes.

Chow Mein

2lb. pork steak
1 1/2 c. onion
1 1/2c. celery
1 Sm. can mushrooms
1 c. cold water
1 c. hot water
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 can Bean sprouts
1 Sm. can water chestnuts
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
4 Tbsp. cornstarch

Brown meat; add onions, celery, and mushrooms. Cook until onions turn yellow. Add salt, pepper, and hot water. Simmer for 20 minutes. Combine corn starch, cold water and soy sauce; add to meat mixture. Cook for 10 minutes. Just before serving add Bean sprouts and water chestnuts; heat until entire mixture is hot.

Barbecued Spareribs

This is Mom's recipe. To change it up a little bit we cut the meat into bite size pieces, that helps to remove a lot of the fat.

4 pounds spareribs
2 tablespoons margarine or butter
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 cup water
1 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons vinegar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Cut spareribs into serving size pieces. Brown slowly in two 10-inch skillets; put in a baking pan. Pour fat from skillet, melt butter, add onion and cook until tender. Add next nine ingredients, simmer 20 minutes. Set oven at 350. Pour sauce over ribs. Bake, covered, 1 1/2 hours.

Tuscan Pork Roast

4 slices bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic (about 4 medium cloves)
1 teaspoon dried rosemary leaves, crushed
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon sage
1 boneless pork loin roast (3 to 4 lb)
1/3 cup chicken broth
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons water

Spray inside of 3 ½ to 4 quart slow cooker with cooking spray. In 10-inch skillet, cook bacon over medium heat 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until crisp. Remove from skillet; place in slow cooker.

In small bowl, mix garlic, rosemary, salt and sage. Rub all sides of pork roast with garlic mixture. Add roast to skillet; cook 4 to 6 minutes, turning occasionally, until browned on all sides.

Remove roast from skillet; place in slow cooker. Pour chicken broth over roast.

Cover; cook on Low heat setting 6 to 8 hours.

In small bowl, mix flour and water until smooth. Remove roast from slow cooker. Strain juices from slow cooker into 4-cup microwavable measuring cup or medium microwavable bowl. Stir flour mixture into juices until smooth. Microwave on High 3 minutes or until thickened; stir. Cut roast into slices; serve with gravy.