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Slow Cooker Pork Loin Supper!



I really love this recipe, because it's just about your entire meal right in one pot and that pot can be your slow cooker, which means you put it all in and forget about it.  It's great for those days when you do not have time to be in the kitchen half of the day.

 It also uses pork loin, which is pretty inexpensive when you catch it on sale and it feeds a lot of people.  This meal is also healthy and can be adjusted to your families tastes, just by substituting for the vegetables they prefer.   If you remove the roast from the slow cooker and place it on a platter with vegetables around it, it's pretty enough for company also.  

Here is what you will need for this:


1 (4-6 lb.) boneless pork loin
1 tsp. seasoned salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
2 (14.4 oz.) cans sauerkraut (I prefer the Bavarian and if your family does not like sauerkraut, substitute 4 potatoes peeled and quartered or cabbage, cored and cut into wedges)
1 (15 oz.) can diced tomatoes, undrained
3 Tbs. brown sugar
1 tsp. dried oregano
4 bay leaves
1 Tbs. dried parsley
4 carrots, peeled and cut in half lengthwise, then in half across
3 medium onions, quartered
3 stalks of celery, cut in 1 inch pieces
1 cup water

Place the pork loin in slow cooker that has been sprayed with nonstick spray.  Sprinkle with seasoned salt, black pepper and garlic powder.  Pour sauerkraut over the top of the pork loin.  Place the can of the tomatoes over the sauerkraut. 

Place the carrots, onions, and celery around the sides of the roast.  If you are using potatoes instead of sauerkraut, place them around the sides also.  You can sprinkle the vegetables with a little more seasoned salt and black pepper if you like more spice.

Sprinkle the brown sugar over the tomatoes and sauerkraut.  Sprinkle the oregano, parsley and bay leaf over all.  Pour 1 cup water around the sides. 

Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4-5 hours, depending on how your slow cooker's temps are.

When done, remove to a platter and place the vegetables around the pork loin and the sauerkraut and tomatoes on top of it.  You can garnish with some rosemary at this point.  Drizzle the juices over all.   The pork loin will be very tender and will slice in nice thin slices.








Good Luck Soup!


This "Good Luck Soup" is another recipe courtesy of my Aunt Ann.  She says she makes this for New Year's Day  most years, because it has all of the elements of the southern tradition of eating for good luck on New Year's Day...the black eyed peas, the cabbage, the pork and add cornbread, you have the perfect good luck meal.

 I got the recipe a little late for New Year's, but this soup is good anytime and since we are headed into March and St. Patrick's Day and the "Luck of the Irish", it still makes a great recipe for this time of year also.  Besides that, it's just plain good and it's good for you.  It's also easy to make and you can even put this in your slow cooker to cook all night or day while you are at work.

Here is what you will need:

1 1/2 lbs. ground sausage
1 large onion, chopped or about 1 cup
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 cans black eyed peas, rinsed and drained
2 to 3 cups cabbage, chopped
2 cups water
2 (14.5 oz.) cans stewed tomatoes
1 (10 oz.) can Rotel tomatoes
1 Tablespoon beef bouillon granules
1 Tablespoon molasses or honey  ( you could substitute brown sugar)
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. ground cumin

In a large stock pot or Dutch oven, brown sausage along with onion and garlic.  When the sausage browned add all of the other ingredients and mix well.  Bring up to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cook for 45 minutes to an hour.

If you want to do this in your slow cooker.  Brown the sausage with the onion and garlic first in a skillet.  When browned place the meat with the other ingredients in a 5 - 6 quart slow cooker and cook on low 6-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours. 

This is one of those soups that just gets better as it sits and the flavors blend.  It's perfect with either Cornbread Hoe Cakes or Aunt Vel's Sour Cream Cornbread!





Aunt Vel's Tuna Casserole!

  

When I was a little girl, I used to stay with my Aunt Vel sometimes, when my mother had things to do and couldn't take me with her.  Aunt Vel is one of my mother's five sisters and she conveniently lived just right down the street from us.  I always liked to stay with her, because she was a lot like Mama, she was a wonderful cook, but I soon figured out that aunts were much more lenient on nieces than mothers were on daughters...lol. 

 I could always get away with a little more with the Aunties than Mama would ever put up with.  Isn't that always the case though?  I know I am the same way with my nieces and nephews.  It's sort of like a grandparent who is just closer to your parent's ages. 

One particular afternoon that I went to stay with Aunt Vel, I thought I would be going home before supper time, but the afternoon got late and I could see that I would be staying for dinner, which was ok with me.  Aunt Vel cooked a lot like Mama, but it seemed she had different things than we did sometimes so it was interesting.  

 This afternoon, she started getting things out for preparing dinner and she asked me if I liked tuna casserole.  My face must have said "no way", but I doubt I said that, because that would be rude.  My face has always betrayed me though.  I do not have a poker face and never have.  

 Aunt Vel assured me I would like this tuna casserole.  I just had to try it and then if I didn't like it, she would fix me a sandwich or something.   That sounded reasonable. I would not have had that option at home...lol.   

It seemed like this tuna casserole was in the oven in seconds and as it cooked, it was smelling pretty good, I had to admit.  Of course, liver and onions smelled good frying, and I knew from several horrifying experiences how bad they could be.  But when this 'tuna casserole' came out of the oven and it was presented to me for tasting, it looked so good and cheesy and creamy.  

Once I tasted it, I had to admit, it was delicious.  It tasted nothing like the tuna salad I detested.  It didn't even taste like tuna really.  I ended up eating two big servings.  It was my new favorite "Aunt Vel food".   I still, to this day have favorite Aunt Vel foods, we all do.  One of her great grandsons told me this past summer that his Nanny, his name for her, always has the best food at her house. I remember thinking that at his age also.  

This is what you will need for Aunt Vel's Tuna Casserole:

1 large can tuna, drained and flaked (I use white albacore tuna)
8 oz. egg noodles, cooked according to pkg. directions and drained
1 medium onion, diced fine
2 Tbs. butter
1 cup milk
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup green peas, canned or frozen (optional)
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
1 sleeve Ritz crackers, crushed and tossed with 3 Tbs. melted butter (optional)

Saute onion in butter in a skillet large enough to mix all of the casserole ingredients.  Add the mushroom soup and milk and mix well.  Stir in the tuna, noodles and peas.  

Pour all in a 2 quart casserole you have sprayed well with nonstick spray.   Cover the top with shredded cheese.   At this point you can cover the top with a sleeve of crushed Ritz crackers mixed with 3 Tbs. melted butter.  That is an optional step and Aunt Vel's recipe doesn't call for it, but I added them because they entice my husband to eat things, he might not otherwise...lol.   Place in  350 degree oven for about 30 to 35 minutes or until hot and bubbly.


Aunt Vel's Tuna Casserole!








Ten of Our Favorite Slow Cooker Recipes!




As I have said before, I am not a huge fan of the slow cooker for everything, like some are.  I think some recipes are really great cooked in the slow cooker, but I think a whole lot of things are not as good cooked in the slow cooker.  This might be a strange intro to a post on "10 great slow cooker recipes, but my point is that if I recommend a recipe for your slow cooker, you know that I have tried it and tested it several times and it actually is just as good or better cooked with this method.

The slow cooker is a very convenient appliance and when I was working constantly away from home and we were running here and there every night with my son when he was in sports and school activities, it was a very useful thing.   By using the slow cooker, I could still have a home cooked meal when we all finally got back home at night.  I know that many of you are in that same situation and I hope these recipes will help you also!   These are 10 of my favorite recipes for the slow cooker! I started with one of the most popular recipes on the site and ended with a slow cooker dessert!  To go to each recipe and post, just click on the title under each picture!


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
And we even have a slow cooker dessert for you!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Mama's Coleslaw!

  
There are some southern foods that just demand coleslaw be served with them...barbeque, fried chicken, catfish or really most seafood.  Coleslaw is not a hard thing to make, but it seems there are not a lot of good recipes for it.  I think most people just buy a bag of the shredded cabbage mix and a bottle of coleslaw dressing and call it a day and that is not bad if you doctor it up a little, but a good homemade slaw dressing is just so much better.  

This is my mother's coleslaw recipe and it is the best recipe I have tried.   Of course, I am a little biased.  Here is what you will need:

6 cups cabbage, shredded  (can use a bag of coleslaw mix from the produce section)
1 red apple, unpeeled and diced small (optional)
1/2 cup carrot, shredded
1/4 cup sweet onion, chopped fine

Dressing
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup vinegar (apple cider vinegar or white vinegar either one works)
1 cup mayonnaise
2 tsp. honey mustard (prepared dressing or just the prepared honey mustard dipping sauce or sandwich spread)
1 tsp. prepared yellow mustard


Mix cabbage, apple, carrot and onion in a large mixing bowl.  The apple is optional, but I would advise trying it, it makes the coleslaw so much better.  Dice the apple into a bowl of salted, warm water first and let it sit for a minute or two, then drain.  This keeps it from turning brown and the slaw can be kept for two to three days in the refrigerator if you have leftovers.

For the dressing, combine the sugar, water and vinegar and microwave for about 3 minutes or cook over medium heat in a saucepan until it comes to a boil and boil for a minute or two.   Set aside and cool completely.  You can place it in the refrigerator to cool it faster.  

Once cool, stir in the mayonnaise, the honey mustard and the yellow mustard.  Pour the dressing mixture over the shredded cabbage and other ingredients and mix well.  This is best if you refrigerate for at least 2 hours for the flavors to blend.   Stir again right before serving. 

Mama's Coleslaw




Macaroni Sausage Bake!


This is an old recipe that I got from a family friend.  It's one of those recipes that you can prepare pretty much at the last minute without having to run out and get the ingredients, because most of the time you have them on hand. 

It's also quick to prepare and it's very inexpensive per serving.  If you add a salad and rolls or we like it with pinto beans and cornbread, you have a meal.  Kids and adults both enjoy this also.   

 Also, for those who complain about the canned soups and processed cheese, this recipe has neither!  Can you believe it?  I was so tempted to add some Velveeta to this just to bug those of you who constantly lament about the evils of Velveeta, but I didn't! Velveeta is so misunderstood by some!

 Here is what you need for this:

8 oz. elbow macaroni
1 lb. pork sausage
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green or red bell pepper
4 Tbs. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
3 cups milk
3 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided ( use what you like, sharp, mild...doesn't matter)

Cook the macaroni according to the package directions minus about a 1 minute of cooking time. Be sure to salt the water.  Drain and set aside.


Crumble and brown sausage along with onion and peppers in a skillet.   When the sausage is browned and the onion and peppers are soft, add the flour to the mixture and cook just a little to get rid of the raw flour taste.  Add the salt and pepper.








Add the milk and cook until it starts to bubble and thicken a little.  Let it bubble for a minute or two.   When it's thickened a little, turn the heat down and add 2 cups of the cheese. Save the other cup for the top. 

Fold in the macaroni and mix together.
Pour into a 2.5 or 3 quart casserole dish that has been sprayed with nonstick spray.  Sprinkle the other cup of cheese over the top.
 Place in a 400 degree oven for about 25 minutes or until golden brown.





Nana's Pepperoni Rolls!


My mother has been making these Pepperoni Rolls since her grandchildren were little.  We all love them, but honestly, she makes them for the grandchildren.  They are really easy to make and they go great with spaghetti or other pasta dishes or even soups.   Wouldn't these be great with a big bowl of
Pasta Fagioli?   They are also good for just a snack and while they are best hot from the oven, they reheat well also.  Your teenagers will love them! 

Here is what you will need for these:

1 loaf frozen bread dough, thawed
1 (15 oz.)  jar or can of pizza sauce
pepperoni slices (about 1/2 of a 7 oz. pkg)
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
oil for coating baking pan


 Cut the thawed loaf of bread dough into 8 equal pieces across.  Coat a large pizza pan or cookie sheet with vegetable oil.  Take each piece of bread dough and press it into a circle.  Place 1 Tablespoon pizza sauce in the middle.  On top of the pizza sauce place 5-6 slices of pepperoni.


Cover with mozzarella cheese.


Pull the dough up and pinch it together to seal in sort of a little purse.


Turn them all over seam side down, making sure all sides are lightly coated in oil.  Put the pan in a warm, draft free place for about 2 hours to allow these to rise.  They will almost double in size, so be sure to place them far enough apart on the baking sheet.  



 When they have risen, place them in a preheated 350 degree oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until nice and brown on top.  Heat the remainder of the pizza sauce for dipping.









Chococlate Chip Sweetheart Cupcakes!


 
These adorable cupcakes are just perfect for Valentine's Day and they are much easier to create than anyone would ever imagine.   The chocolate chip cupcake itself is just to die for and with the addition of homemade butter cream, you will definitely be making someone something special! 

 Here is what you will need:
 
Cupcakes
1 (18.25 oz.) yellow cake mix
1 8 oz. carton of sour cream
1 (3.5 oz.)  pkg. instant chocolate pudding mix
1/2 cup oil
1 Tbs. vanilla
4 eggs
1 8 oz. pkg. chocolate chips
1/2 cup chocolate syrup
 
Butter Cream Frosting
8 cups confectioners sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup shortening ( used Crisco)
1/3 cup milk
2 tsp. vanilla
a few drops of red food coloring
 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
 
Mix the first six ingredients.  Fold in the chocolate syrup and the chocolate chips.  Place 18 cupcake papers in muffin tins.  Pour the cups about 3/4 full.  Place in preheated oven and bake for 20 - 22 minutes.  Don't over bake them.  A pick inserted in center should come out clean.
 
Prepare the butter cream frosting.  Beat powdered sugar, butter and shortening in a large bowl.   Beat milk and vanilla flavoring.  If it's too stiff beat in more milk a few drops at a time.  Add a drop or two of red food coloring just until the frosting is a light pink.
 
After the cupcakes have cooled, cut the tops off of them straight across at the line of the edge of the cupcake paper. 
 
 Take the tops and cut a heart shape out of the center.  I did this with a small cookie cutter.
  You can also use a stencil cut out of stiff paper or cardboard and cut around it with a sharp knife.  Frost the tops of the base of the cupcakes and sort of mound it in the middle. 

 
 Press the tops back on the cupcakes and press down so that some of the frosting sort of oozes up into the heart shape.
 

Chocolate Chip Sweetheart Cupcakes!

 




Ken's Lemon Cheesecake!

  

This cheesecake is a light and delicious dessert that doesn't even require baking.  For those who don't care for really rich and heavy desserts or really dense cheesecakes, this will do the trick.  It is so refreshing and good after all of the heavy holiday desserts we have been eating.  I have always loved this version of cheesecake.  I love the little zingy lemon flavor.

This recipe was given to me by a family friend, Ken.  We have known him and his wife for years.  We attended the same church when I was just a teenager and they and my parents have remained friends for all of these years. They are just some of the best people you would ever want to know. 

Actually, I didn't even have to make this recipe myself, because Ken made it for me and took us all out to lunch and then back to their house for dessert.  How sweet was that?  He also made a really good pie that I will share with you at another time. 

His wife, Dora, is one of those people who is so organized it's amazing to me.  She had binders filled with recipes she had gotten through the years and allowed me to go through them and copy any I might be interested in.  

These are tried and true recipes she has gotten over the last fifty or so years from mostly excellent Kentucky cooks.  Many were handwritten copies.    I will be making these and posting them in the next few weeks. 

The best recipes I come across, besides those that my own family have enjoyed for years, come from going to the people who cook them, sitting down and visiting and discussing them and browsing their collections of recipe treasures.  It also makes the recipes more special to me, because when someone gives you their recipe in the south, it really is an honor. 

 Some cooks are a little funny about just giving the recipes they get the raves over out like that.  Obviously I am not one of those people...lol.  Fortunately, my friends and family are not like that either.  They are just mostly generous beyond belief.

 If you have good cooks in your family or among your friends and they have recipe collections, ask them sometime to share them with you.  Get those family recipes written down also.  

I can't tell you how many folks write to me and try to describe a dish or dessert their mother or grandmother or father made and they never got the recipe.  Now, they are gone and the recipe went with them.  It is so rewarding to me when they can recreate similar recipes from our site here, but it would be even better if they had the original. 

 One of my motivations for starting this blog was to get our family recipes all written down in one spot so that, hopefully, our children and future grandchildren will have them.  Well enough of my rambling...on to the cheesecake recipe. 


 Here is what you will need:

1  3 oz. pkg. lemon gelatin
1  cup boiling water
4 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1  12 oz. can evaporated milk, chilled
3 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup butter, melted (1 stick)


Dissolve gelatin in boiling water. Add lemon juice.  Allow to cool.  Cream together cream cheese, sugar and vanilla.   Add gelatin and mix well.  Whip the evaporated milk and fold into the gelatin mixture.

Mix graham cracker crumbs with butter, reserving 1/3 cup for topping.  Press into the bottom and slightly up the sides of a 9"x13" dish.  Pour in filling.  Sprinkle the reserved crumbs on top.  Chill for 3-4 hours before serving.



Ken's Lemon Cheesecake!


Cheesy Taco Ring!



This is a fun and interesting way to serve tacos.  It's great for parties...kids and teens love it or just for offering your family something a little different.  It's really easy to put together and serves a lot of people also.
 Here is what you will need for this:

1  1/2 lbs. ground beef or chuck, browned and drained
1 envelope taco seasoning mix
1/4 cup water
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
2 cans crescent rolls (I used Pillsbury)
1 egg white, beaten
salsa, lettuce, diced onion...whatever you want for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

After you have browned your beef and drained any excess grease, add the taco seasoning and water. Bring up to a bubble and simmer just until most of the liquid has absorbed.  Turn the heat off and stir in 1 cup of the cheese.


On a large pizza pan or oven proof platter arrange the crescent rolls overlapping the widest ends with the small pointed ends pointing outward.  Seal the edges by pressing the seams together.   Spray it lightly with nonstick spray. 

 Leave your crescent rolls in the refrigerator until you are ready to unroll them and they will be much easier to work with.  

With a scoop place a large scoop of the taco filling at base of each crescent roll.


Sprinkle the other cup of cheese over the taco filling.  Pull each crescent roll up and over the filling and press it down to seal the dough together.  

Brush the top dough with the beaten egg white! 

 Place in oven that has been preheated to 375 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes.  Remove from the oven and place whatever condiments you want to serve in the center.  I placed a bowl of salsa in the center.   Use whatever your family likes...sour cream, salsa, olives....the possibilities are endless.  


Slice in sections between rolls!


This is always a huge hit with everyone!  Enjoy! 




















Garlic Cheddar Biscuits!



These delicious "Garlic Cheddar Biscuits" have been made popular by some of the restaurants that serve them...mainly Red Lobster.  They are so good when they are hot right out of the oven and you are starving waiting for your main course to arrive.   I actually think the very best ones I have eaten at a restaurant was at Paula Deen's Lady and Sons Restaurant in Savannah, Georgia.  So, when I got home from my trip to Savannah, I thought I would make some of my own, because they would be so good with soups and pasta dishes.  I started on my search for a recipe that measured up to the restaurant quality garlic cheese biscuits, only to find that none of them measured up.  I even ordered the garlic cheese biscuit mix sold on Paula Deen's website and it was pretty close, but it was also very expensive for the amount it made and not something I was going to order and pay shipping on frequently.  I love Paula Deen, but I am just too practical for that.

So I have experimented with recipes and finally I came up with my own.  This was the best result.  What I discovered about the others is that most of them do not have enough  cheese in them or enough liquid.  The biscuits turn out a little dry and tasteless when that is the case.  Who wants that?  These are tender and very tasty.   Here is what you need and it's so easy:

2 cups baking mix (I used GFS biscuit mix, but you can use Bisquick or something similar)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 scant cup milk (that just means slightly less than a cup)
4 Tbs. butter, melted (1/2 stick)
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. dried parsley flakes)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix the biscuit mix, cheese and milk.  The dough will be very sticky.  Spray a baking sheet lightly with nonstick spray or line it with nonstick aluminum foil.

 Drop the biscuits by heaping tablespoons.  I like mine a little bigger and get about 8 out of this, you can make them smaller and get around 10.  While these are baking, mix melted butter with garlic powder and parsley flakes.



Bake for 10-12 minutes or just until they are starting to get golden brown.  As soon as you take them out of the oven, piping hot, brush each one generously with the garlic butter mixture. 






Chicken Gumbo Soup!


This is a really easy soup that my mother has made for years.  It's more of a soup to me than a true gumbo, but it does have some of the gumbo ingredients.  My version has even a few more of those ingredients, like the Cajun holy trinity of onion, celery and bell pepper.  Those are in most Creole or Cajun recipes.  It's a really fresh tasting soup and it's on the light and healthy side.  

You can use fresh or frozen vegetables in this and whichever ones you and your family likes.  The inclusion of okra is pretty key to a gumbo though and does help to thicken it.

Here is what you will need for this soup:

3-4 strips of bacon
2 Tbs. butter
3-4 boneless chicken breasts cut in bit size pieces
1 large onion, diced
1/2 cup green or red bell pepper, diced
1/2 cup celery, sliced thin
1 Tbs. minced garlic
1/4 cup flour
2 cups chicken broth
1 tsp. Cajun seasoning (I use Tony Chachere's)
1/2 tsp. black pepper
2 cups water
2   16 oz. cans diced tomatoes
1  10 oz. bag mixed vegetables
2 cups sliced okra (fresh or frozen)
1 tsp. salt
dash of hot sauce, optional (I used Tabasco)
1 cup long grain rice

In a large Dutch oven or soup pot, fry the bacon until crisp.  Remove to a plate.  Add the butter to the bacon drippings and melt.  Add the diced chicken and sauté until it's browned well.  Add the green pepper, celery, and onion (the Cajun Trinity as they call it) and sprinkle with the Cajun Seasoning and the black pepper.  Continue to sauté until the vegetables are tender. 

Sprinkle the flour over the chicken and vegetables and cook until it just starts to brown.   If the pan seems too dry, add a little oil or a little more butter.  Stir this around and don't let it stick.  This will thicken the soup and give it a nice thickness.  Slowly pour the chicken broth in while the pan is hot and scraping any bits from the bottom.  Continue to add the broth until it's all added and is just starting to thicken a little. 

Add the tomatoes, mixed vegetables, okra, water, hot sauce and additional salt.  Bring this all up to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes.   Add the rice and cook for about 30 more minutes.  The rice should be tender.  Crumble cooked bacon on the top of the soup before serving.




 


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