Crock Pot Pork Chops

I've been making a lot of crock pot recipes lately.  It doesn't heat the house up nearly as much as running burners on the stove, so it has been great.  This is one of those where you can just walk away until dinner which is nice.

Start off with squash, garlic, and chopped onion.  I used 2 medium squash that were fresh from my sister-in-law's garden and delicious, half an onion, and a heaping tablespoon of garlic.

Next, dump in a can of collard greens and sort of spread them over the top.  Don't drain them.

Add about 1/2 a bag of baby carrots...

And layer on some pats of butter...Oh yeah.

Next, add some kale.  There's about 2 handfuls dumped in there, and I just tore it with my hands instead of chopping because I find it easier to skirt the big veiny parts on kale that way.

Add a heaping teaspoon of spicy mustard...

...then drizzle balsamic vinegar over the top, then pour in about 1/3 cup of water.

Now, layer your pork chops on, sprinkle them with salt, pepper, and a bit of meat tenderizer if desired, then drizzle a bit of Siriacha sauce over them.

 Put the lid on, set the heat to low, and go away!  No touchy for at least 4 hours!  After that, check to see if the pork chops are done and if they are, then you are good to go!

This is as good as it gets as I completely forgot to take a picture once it was plated up!  It was super delicious and healthy, though.  The vegetable tasted just amazing.  I could live off of greens, I think.

NOM!

<3
WookieWifey

Stove Top Pork Roast with Vegetables

First off, by "stove top" I mean, you cook it on top of the stove, so no heart attacks, there won't be any stuffing mix creeping up on you.  I haven't been posting remotely as many recipes as I should lately, but either non-recipe-friendly things are what has been on sale or I've just flat forgotten to take pictures.  Like last night when I made a KILLER roasted loaded baked potato soup.   *sigh*

First stop, pork.  This is pork for carnitas and its 2.6-something pounds, but it was pretty fatty so some ended up coming out.  I don't usually buy meats marked "roast" when I make soups, stews, and roasts as generally they are just over-priced and I can make something just as good with a cheaper cut.

Plop your meat of choice into the water (about a gallon or so is in there) with a little pepper, salt, and a few bay leaves and let it boil.  And boil.  And boil.  Add more water as you need it.  And keep boiling until it falls apart.

Once its falling apart, turn the heat down to medium and remove the bay leaves and any fatty, unsavory pieces and scoop any excess grease or anything else unappetizing that floats to the top off. 

Then, add one large chopped onion.

Four or five large potatoes...I like my vegetable chops to be quite large in a roast/stew concoction. Always remember, potatoes taste way better with the skins on, just give them a good scrub first.  For every potato you skin, a baby koala goes bald.  Just think of them out there cold and defenseless and put down the vegetable peeler.  In the trash.

1/2 a bag each, so about 8 ounces each of carrots and green beans, feel free to substitute fresh.

Four or five chopped celery stalks...

...Toss it all in the pot and let it cook until the potatoes are soft, then add salt and pepper to taste, 1 teaspoon of thyme, 2 teaspoons of garlic, 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne, and turn it down to a simmer for about 20 minutes.  You may notice that's not even half my usual massive lineup of spices, but with this being the first roast of the season for us, I wanted something a bit lighter that would really let the flavor of the meat and vegetables stand out.

That's all there is to it!  This made between 8 and 10 large bowls, so cooking something like this will last for days!

<3
WookieWifey

Best. Pork Roast. Ever.

I've cooked tons of pork roasts before, but I had no idea what I was doing with this one.  I felt like doing something new and different than what I usually do, so I just started smelling things and tossing together whatever I thought would work.  And holy shit on a stick did this ever work.  Just looking at the pictures has me salivating and I want to make another one now!!

To start off, put the roast in your cooking instrument of choice.  I was going to bake it, but after about 10 minutes in the toaster oven, it became apparent that a roast of this size just wasn't going to cook in there, so I ended up cooking it in a cast iron skillet covered, over medium heat for about an hour and a half.  Or until whenever it is done since not all roasts are created equal.  This one was 2 pounds.

Anywho, sprinkle it with black pepper, sea salt, garlic, and then liberally drizzle it in honey.  Do this in the skillet if you're smart, otherwise you just end up with more dishes and looking stupid like me.  :)

Next, do some more liberal drizzling.  This time with what I've now decided is the best ingredient of all time.  This was my first time cooking with this stuff, and let me tell you, it is every bit worth all the hype.

After you've drizzled it with the elixir of life up there, squeeze 2 oranges in, too, along with about 1/4 cup or so of soy sauce and a few tablespoons of olive oil.

Then, let it all cook.  While its cooking, remove the lid every 15 or 20 minutes and baste the roast with the juices in the bottom.  Bathe that shit like its your firstborn, because those juices will seep in and you will cry with joy later.

Then, when its almost done, cook up a side dish.  At this point, you won't give a damn what goes with it, all you'll be thinking about is that juicy, roasty goodness up there.

Plate it up.  Try not to drool on your camera while taking the pictures.  I mean, really?  Juicy and caramelized on the outside, pure, gorgeous goodness on the inside...

Here's another angle of food porn because this deserves its own chapter somewhere, I'm sure.  This dish is sweet, tangy, spicy...This dish is all that and a side of green beans.  Which I didn't even taste, really, I was too busy wolfing the roast down.  It was not pretty.  It was not lady-like.

Cook it.

You'll thank me.

<3
The (now hungry again) Wookie Wife