Cafe Rio Pork

*Ignore the pot it's in -- I had DH remove it from the crockpot early, and was just heating it up on the stovetop!

I've never been to Utah. I'd never even heard of Cafe Rio until I started reading LeighAnne's blog.

But she talked about how delicious their food was so often, that when she finally posted a recipe for the pork they serve at the restaurant, I decided I had to try it (and the fact that it was a crockpot meal with only 3 ingredients didn't hurt either!)

This pork is the most amazing and delicious pork I think I've ever eaten. It's good plain, on salads, in quesedillas, in tacos, in burritos, on nachos -- just about anything you can think of.

This pork is THAT good.

Now, admittedly, I'm not really a pork-in-my-mexican-food kind of girl. I know its relatively common in REAL mexican, but I tend to stick to chicken and beef in my kind.

No longer. Now, it's this pork or nothing!

I honestly can't wait to make it again!!

Cafe Rio Pork

(your home based mom)

1-2 lb. pork tenderloin (I used just a standard pork roast. Really, it doesn't matter what you use -- the crockpot will make the meat juicy and tender anyway)
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups fresh salsa

Directions
- Mix sugar and salsa, pour over pork.

- Cook in crock pot for 8 hrs. on low.

- When done shred with two forks and return to juice in crock pot and allow liquid to absorb.

- Serve with tortillas and all the fixins!

Crockpot Orange-Apricot Pork Chops

I got this recipe from A Year of Crockpotting -- I'm always looking for crockpot meals we actually like, because they're super-convienent when DH or I have an evening work meeting or a busy schedule.

Unfortunately, I think I find more duds than recipes I like ;(

This recipe isn't a dud, per se, which is why I'm still writing about it. If you really like cinnamon, cloves, and ginger, you'll probably like this dish.

I, on the other hand, continually forget that I HATE cinnamon, cloves, and ginger, unless apple cider is involved.

Alas, we weren't big fans of this -- but I still think you should try it if you like the flavors above.

Crockpot Orange-Apricot Pork Chops

(A Year of Crockpotting)

6 pork chops (I used 4 large boneless ones)

1 cup apricot jam

3 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (I cut this down to 1/4 -- felt 1/2 was too much)

1/4 teaspoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon cloves

1 (11-ounce) can mandarin oranges (and juice!)

Directions

- Put pork chops into your crockpot.

- In a small bowl, combine jam, brown sugar, and spices.

- Spoon over pork chops.

- Add the entire can of mandarin oranges evenly over the top.

- Cover and cook on low for about 8 hours, or on high for about 4.

- Serve with rice to soak up the yummy juice.

Chicken DaVinci

I nabbed this recipe from my friend Chera -- she blogs, but since it's sort of a family blog, I won't link it here for her privacy.

This was tasty -- very much like a sausage sandwich with peppers and onions...except over pasta. with chicken. :-)

Nice and quick as well!

Chicken DaVinci

(Chera)

16 oz. pasta, cooked according to directions.

Drain and toss in bowl with 2 T. olive oil.

1 lb. Chicken, cubed

3 italian sausage links, cut into 1/2" pieces (I assume hot or sweet is fine here...)

1 red onion, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

10-12 mushrooms, quartered

2 cloves garlic, minced

- Saute chicken and sausage in 2 T. olive oil for 5 minutes.

- Remove from pan, drain drippings.

- Add a little more oil and saute veggies.

- Add garlic when veggies are almost done.

- Add chicken and sausage back to pan to mingle flavors.

- Serve with noodles and season with salt, pepper, and Parmesan and/or Romano cheese.

- Enjoy!

(Chera says don't forgo the Parmesan cheese -- it really makes the dish (as evidenced by this picture I took of DH's plate after he added half a container of parm to it.)

Crockpot Ranch Pork Chops

Apologies for no pictures! It isn't a particularly photogenic, anyway...lol

These were actually really delicious. However, definately NOT low fat. I think you could tweak the recipe, though, to make it a little more figure friendly...



We'll be making these again! It's a great recipe when you've got that lonely set of pork chops in the fridge or freezer and can't figure out what to do with them.



My only comments are that a)you really don't NEED the full 8 ounces of cream cheese. My leftover 4 oz. was fine. and b) Even with thinning out the sauce before I cooked it, I found myself adding a little more milk at the end of cooking, because I thought the sauce was still a little thick.



Crockpot Ranch Pork Chops

(A mixture of Picky Palate and La Fuji Mama's recipes)



1 can Cream of Chicken soup

3-8 ounces of cream cheese (this depends on your preference. I had 4 oz. left from a previous recipe, so I just added that instead of the full 8 oz)

1 packet (0.4-oz.) of Ranch dressing mix

4 Tbsp. butter

4-5 pork chops



Directions

- Put butter and cream cheese in a bowl, and microwave for 1-2 minutes to soften the cream cheese and melt the butter

- Add cream of chicken soup and Ranch dressing mix and mix until ingredients are somewhat blended together (it's okay if it's a bit chunky)

- At this point if you desire a thinner sauce, add 1/2 cup of milk and mix (I did this because I wanted more of a gravy consistency)

- Place pork chops in bottom of crockpot and pour mixture over the top

- Cook, covered, on high for 5 to 6 hours (or on low for 7 to 8 hours), until the meat is tender and easily pulls away from the bone or breaks apart

- (The edges may start to get very brown towards the end of cooking time--don't worry, that's normal!)

- Serve over rice.

California BLT's

No real recipe here, but an absolutely delicious dinner.

California BLT's

(Me, and others, I'm sure)

1 lb bacon, cooked

2-3 vine-ripened tomatoes, sliced thin

2 avocados, sliced thin

1-2 packages of alfalfa sprouts, rinsed and patted dry

8-10 slices of your favorite bread, toasted

light mayo (optional)

lettuce leaves (optional)

Layer up as much of the above ingredients as you like on the bread, and dig into a delicious twist on BLT's

We served ours with natural potato chips made with a variety of potatoes.

Yum!

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

I've said before how much I love Picky Palate. But I don't care, I'm saying it again -- I love Picky Palate!

She always takes nice photographs, and her meals are fantastic for weeknights.

This week I made her chicken cordon bleu casserole. DH says it's tasty, and to put it "on the rotation" -- we have a winner, ladies and gents!

I used all mozzerella and cheddar tonight, because it's what I had on hand...but I reeeeeeeeally think the shredded Swiss would make it taste more like actual Chicken Cordon Bleu.

And, as always...casseroles don't photograph well. Just trust me, it's tasty and it's quick (with a little prep work).

Cheesy Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

(Picky Palate)

6-8 servings

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 red bell pepper, diced
1 clove fresh garlic, minced

1/2 lb. diced ham

2 cups cooked, shredded chicken breast

4 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

14 oz. can chicken broth

3 cups cooked rice

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup mozzarella or swiss cheese (I think I would recc: 1/2 cup mozz, 1/2 cup shredded swiss)

Directions

- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F

- Heat oil in a large, rimmed skillet over medium heat

- Add onion and bell pepper; saute until softened, about 5 minutes

- Stir in garlic, ham, and chicken, cook for an additional 5 minutes

- Melt butter then stir in flour, salt, and pepper until combined (I melted the butter in the microwave and just added it to the pan)

- Slowly stir in chicken broth until well combined

- Stir in cooked rice, then transfer to a 9x13 baking dish.

- Top with cheddar and mozz/swiss cheeses

- Bake 20-25 minutes. Cover the dish with foil for the last 10 minutes for oozing cheese

Pulled Pork - Revisited

A few months ago, I made pulled pork, using the root-beer-and-crock-pot method. And it was good...but it wasn't to die for, like I wanted it to be.

A little research produced a tasty-sounding spice rub on The Way the Cookie Crumbles -- and I was off!

I used TWTCC's spice rub recipe as a base, but since my roast was a wee little 2 pounder, and hers was waddling into the 8-10 pound arena, I cut the amounts.

Pulled Pork (The Better Version)

1 pork roast (any size you want -- I make small ones because it's just me and DH)

Spice Rub

1/2 tablespoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
1/2 tablespoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon table salt
1/2 tablespoon granulated sugar

Favorite BBQ Sauce

Water

Directions

- Rinse and pat dry your roast

- Rub the spices all over it. Really get in there. Love the roast (seriously, it makes a difference)

- Toss the roast in your crock pot, along with about 1 cup of water

- Cook it however you want -- 4-6 hours on high, or 8-10 on low. 

- When it's done, pull the pork out onto a cutting board and let rest 10 minutes, then shred it, using 2 forks

- Empty juices from the crock pot into a container, and return the shredded pork to the crock pot, turned on "warm" or "low"

- Gently re-introduce a little of the juice you set aside in the container. Start with 1/4 cup, mix it in, and if it looks dry, add a wee bit more.

- Mix in about half the amount of BBQ sauce you want to use. TWTCC recommends 2 cups total, but I never measure.

- Leave the meat on warm with the juices and BBQ mixture for about an hour

- Serve up on buns with extra BBQ sauce if so desired.

Chef Bradley BBQ Meatloaf

About a month ago, I was lucky enough to be chosen by Blake, at Blake Makes, to receive a free bottle of Chef Bradley's Lean Mean BBQ Sauce.

I wasn't sure what to make with it -- we don't have a grill, so grilling was out -- so I asked my dear hubby what he wanted me to make with it. His responses? (I should've known...) meatloaf or pulled pork. Well, okay, we'll work with that, then!

I made the meatloaf this week, but only used 1/2 bottle of my BBQ sauce - so perhaps I'll get to make both meatloaf AND pulled pork (I may try beef instead) as well! TWO Chef Bradley recipes!

My cute little loaves, ready for topping and baking

Chef Bradley's website says the Lean Mean BBQ Sauce is primarily a finishing sauce, but, I used it on my meatloaf while cooking as well. It had a nice, sweet flavor from cooking along with the meatloaf. I added more sauce to my piece of meatloaf, to taste the original flavor as well, and it was delicious -- it's got a little bit of zing to it, is a little peppery, but is very tasty -- AND it's healthy. How awesome is that??

Basic Meatloaf

(Makes 1 large loaf, or two small loaves)

1.5 lbs ground meat (I used ground beef and ground sausage for this -- you can use any ground meat)

1 small onion (or 1/2 large onion), finely diced

1-8oz. tomato sauce

salt and pepper to taste

1 egg

1/2-3/4 cup breadcrumbs (however much you need to make it bind)

Directions

- Mix all ingredients together, shape into loaves

- Top with BBQ sauce, ketchup, or whatever you enjoy

- Bake at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes, or until loaves are cooked through.

My finished BBQ meatloaf. Okay, so it isn't the most gorgeous thing you've ever seen, but trust me...it was deeeeeeeeeelicious!

Homemade Hot Dog Chili Sauce

This recipe was one of my grandmother's -- and for some reason, old-fashioned hot dogs in casing, with chili sauce, just sounded FANTASTIC this week!

Sometimes you just need a little comfort food, ya know? I'm an adult -- if I want to eat like a 3 year old for dinner -- so be it!

The original recipe (below) makes 1 gallon. Seeing as I live in a 1-bedroom apartment, with a kitchen tinier than my work cubicle -- making 1 gallon of this stuff and freezing it was NOT a good idea.

I split the recipe in half -- realized it was STILL way too much -- and split it again. And I think that's where the issue arose. The spices just don't split evenly, I think. A pretty common occurance, though, and I'm relatively unpreterbed about it.

My chili sauce had a VERY strong clove flavor. I hate clove. This was bad. But I think with less clove, and more chili powder (maybe a sprinkle of cumin, to replace the nasty clove) it would be DEEELICIOUS. So those are my recc's -- run with it :-)

Below is the original (1 gallon), and then my divided-up recipe.

Hot Dog Chili Sauce
Ma's Recipe!

(Makes 1 gallons)

Sauce freezes easily for use later. Reccommend freezing in single-serving containers

2 lbs. ground beef, cooked, broken up into fine pieces (I use a potato masher and it works wonderfully), and drained of excess fat
1 1/2 cups finely diced onion
1/8 cup salt
1 1/4 oz. chili powder
1/2 -3/4 tbsp ground clove (Use 3/4 if you like clove, 1/2 or less if you don't)
1 tbsp black pepper
1 1/2 oz. paprika
1 tbsp sugar
1-14 oz. ketchup
6 cups of water
1 cup all-purpose flour + 1 cup water (Mix until flour and water are combined into a paste)

Directions
- Simmer all ingredients above together for 2 hours
- Stir frequently
- Makes about 1 gallon

Smaller Version of Above Recipe
1/2 lb. ground beef, cooked, broken up into fine pieces (I use a potato masher and it works wonderfully), and drained of excess fat
1/2 cup finely diced onion
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. chili powder
1/3 tsp. ground clove (Use 3/4 if you like clove, 1/2 or less if you don't)
1/8 tsp. black pepper
2 1/4 tsp. paprika
1/4 tbsp. sugar
3/4 cup ketchup
1 1/2 cups of water
1/4 cup all-purpose flour + 1/4 cup water (Mix until flour and water are combined into a paste)

Directions
- Simmer all ingredients above together for 20 minutes
- Stir frequently
- Makes about 4 cups

Reccommendations
- I would leave the clove out entirely, as I hated the flavor of it
- I would increase the chili powder slightly, and replace the clove with cumin, to give it a smokier, chili-er flavor

Smothered Pork Chops

I found these pork chops on foodnetwork.com -- apparently they are a Tyler Florence recipe...and I realized I've never made one of his! Fun, fun

These were quite tasty -- they reminded me of the pan-fried pork chops and gravy my mom and grandma made while I was growing up.

My changes are noted below...and I think next time I'd leave the cayenne out, or cut down the amount. Personally, I see no reason for a flash of hot spice in the back of my throat after I swallow a delicious, moist piece of pork covered in gravy.

But that's just me.

Smothered Pork Chops

(Tyler Florence, Food Network)

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons onion powder

2 tablespoons garlic powder

1 teaspoon cayenne

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

4 pork chops, 1/2" to 3/4" thick, bone in (I used boneless because I had them)

1/4 cup olive oil

1 cup chicken broth

1/2 cup buttermilk (I didn't have any, so I mixed 1/2 cup 1% milk with 1/2 tsp. lemon juice. Worked just fine)

Parsley for garnish (optional)

Directions

- Put the flour in a shallow pan (I used a pie plate) and add onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne, salt, and pepper. Mix it with a fork to incorporate the spices into the flour.

- Pat the pork chops dry with a paper towel and then dredge in the seasoned flour, shaking off any excess.

- Heat a large skillet or saute pan over medium-high heat and coat with the olive oil.

-When the oil is hot, lay the pork chops in the pan in a single layer and fry for 3-4 mintes on each side until golden brown.

- Remove the pork chops from the pan and add a sprinkling of the seasoned flour to the pan drippings. Mix the flour into the drippings to dissolve.

- Pour the chicken broth in, and let the liquid cook down for about 5 minutes to let it reduce and thicken.

- Stir in the buttermilk (or faux buttermilk, if you're me) to make a creamy gravy.

- Return the pork chops to the pan, covering them with gravy.

-Simmer for 5 minutes, or until the pork is cooked through.

-Garnish with parsley if preferred.

Apologies for the pictures -- it was late, I was enourmously hungry (look how much food is on that plate!), and I was in no mood for model shots of my food :-)

No recipe...just amazing breakfast

Nothing quite like a big, hearty breakfast on a late Sunday morning when it's raining.

Denny's ain't got nothin' on me today!

Root Beer Pulled Pork BBQ Sandwiches

This recipe floats around the internet -- I've seen it dozens of places. The root beer doesn't really flavor the meat -- it just keeps it nice and moist.

Since Dave LOVES BBQ, I figured I'd give this one a try...it's very good! And since it's a crockpot meal, it's essentially done by the time you get home from work.

Root Beer Pulled Pork
(Source Unknown)
Makes 10-12 hamburger roll-sized sandwiches


2 lb. boneless pork (reccommend pork roast or loin, but chops work if you have them!)
1-12 oz. root beer
1 bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce


Directions
- Place pork in the crockpot, and pour the 12 oz. root beer over it.
- Put the lid in place, and turn the crockpot on low for 7-8 hours.
- Once the meat is cooked, remove the roast from the crockpot, and, using two forks, shred the meat.
- Carefully pour the leftover root beer out of the crockpot, and put the shredded meat back in.
- Pour the BBQ sauce over the meat, stir to combine
- Toast the rolls, then top with heaping mounds of BBQ pork

Parmesan Crusted Pork Chops

These were tasty!
DH and I tend to forget about pork...it's like we completely overlook it! But I happened to catch Giada on food network the other day, making these.
They're quick, easy, and tasty. And I was able to make them with things I had on hand -- perfect!
Our side dishes were pretty plain -- a simple pasta and peas -- but DH said it would be FANTASTIC with German Potato Salad...maybe next time!
P.S. -- I only keep plain breadcrumbs on hand...I just make my own "italian" -- recipe is below if you're interested.

Parmesan Crusted Pork Chops
(Originally a Giada recipe, also seen at MrsSchoon's blog)

2 large eggs
1 cup dried Italian-style bread crumbs ** my recipe below
3/4 cups freshly grated Parmesan
4 (1/2 to 3/4-inch thick) center-cut pork loin chops (each about 10 to 12 ounces) -- I used just under a pound of thin-sliced pork loin chops, and they worked perfectly
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 tablespoons olive oil
Lemon wedges, for serving


Directions
Whisk the eggs in a pie plate to blend.
Place the bread crumbs in another pie plate.
Place the cheese in a third pie plate.
Sprinkle the pork chops generously with salt and pepper.
Coat the chops completely with the cheese, patting to adhere.
Dip the chops into the eggs, then coat completely with the bread crumbs, patting to adhere. Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a very large skillet over medium heat.
Add pork chops, in batches if necessary, and cook until golden brown and the center reaches 150 degrees, about 6 minutes per side. **If you use thin-sliced, I found it to be more like 4 minutes per side.
Transfer the chops to plates and serve with lemon wedges.

Italian-Style Bread Crumbs
1 cup plain breadcrumbs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried basil

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl; toss to mix

Store in an airtight container, or, use in a recipe calling for italian-style breadcrumbs.