Out the Door in a Hurry? You can still have dinner on the table!!!!!!

My niece Danielle had called me recently just to chat. She said, "Aunt Elise, I love the blog, but how about some crock pot recipes?" Danielle is Marc's brother Ivan's second daughter. I had written this post shortly after that, but didn't get a chance to post it.

Since I am off to Buffalo today, because today is Match Day, and any of you who have a doctor in the family know that this is the day when medical students all over the country find out where they are going to be doing their residencies. My son David is one of them and we are so excited!

Today is also my mother-in-law Betty's or MomMom as we call her 84th Birthday - so Happy Birthday MomMom - we love you!

Karen, Jennifer, Ivan, and Danielle

We have lots of girls in the Feiner Family

Danielle, Marc, MomMom, Lauren
Jennifer and Abby


Karen, Abby, Jennifer, Betty Feiner, Lauren, Danielle

Ivan has three, Kevin has two, and we have one

I guess I'll have to start cooking in order to fulfill her requests. The other day, I did make my pork chops in mustard in the crock pot, and they were delicious. They may not look beautiful (as most things that you cook in a crock pot don't always photograph beautifully) but they taste delicious. These aren't even better reheated the next day. The pork chops become nice and tender, and the mustard/chicken with rice soup, makes a delicious gravy over some creamy mashed potatoes, believe it or not! You can make this recipe on top of the stove as well, just let them cook over a very low heat for a few hours. I am giving the recipe for the stove-top, but I'm showing you how to do them in the crock-pot.

PORK CHOPS IN MUSTARD

8 boneless pork loin chops (Use thick ones, you can use chops with the bone if you want to)
2 cans Family Size Campbell® Chicken and Rice Soup (or 4 small ones)
1 small jar of Gulden’s® Mustard (you may need more if the chops are big)
Salt and Pepper
4-5 medium onions, peeled and sliced

Trim any fat off the chops, and set aside. Season the pork chops with salt and pepper. Spread both sides of the chops with very generously with mustard. Place the trimmed fat from the pork chops in a large deep frying pan or casserole pot. If there is not enough fat on the chops use a little oil (Wesson®) just enough to coat the bottom of the pan. Render down the fat and sauté the onions for a few minutes. Add the pork chops and brown well. Remove the chops and place on a dish. Add the two large cans of soup and 1 large can of water or the 4 small cans of soup and two small cans of water (half of what you would normally use), and onion soup. Cook for a few minutes, and then put the pork chops back in the pan. Bring to a boil and then lower to a simmer. Cover the pan and let cook about 45 minutes to an hour. Check after 45 minutes and if sauce is not thickening a little, cook for about another 15 to 20 minutes with the cover off. You can also do this in a crock-pot. Prepare as above except after you brown everything put it in the crock-pot on low for about 5 to 6 hours.

This is what you'll need for the recipe:


PORK CHOPS IN MUSTARD

8 boneless pork loin chops (Use thick ones, you can use chops with the bone if you want to)
2 cans Family Size Campbell® Chicken and Rice Soup (or 4 small ones)
1 small jar of Gulden’s® Mustard (you may need more if the chops are big)
Salt and Pepper
4-5 medium onions, peeled and sliced

Peel the onions


cut the onions in half


and thinly slice your onions


set the onions aside


Place a crock-pot liner in the crock-pot
If you have never used them, you should try
them, they clean-up so easy



Place two cans of the soup at
the bottom of the crock-pot
save the cans and fill with water; set aside


Trim any fat off the chops, and set aside

Season the pork chops with pepper

and salt



Place some mustard in a paper dish


Spread both sides of the chops
with very generously with mustard



Place the trimmed fat from the pork chops
in a large deep frying pan or casserole pot
If there is not enough fat on the chops
use a little oil (Wesson®)


just enough
to coat the bottom of the pan - these chops were
very lean so I used the oil


Render down the fat and
sauté the onions for a few minutes



Add the pork chops


and brown well on both sides


Remove the chops and onions
and place in the crock-pot


Add a little water to the frying pan to get
all the drippings (called deglazing the pan)


add the dripping to the crock-pot


Have the other two cans of soup and 2 cans of water ready
(half of what you would normally use)
You can also use 2 large cans of Campbell's Family
Size Chicken and Rice as well, just add one can of water


Add the remaining soup to the crock-pot



Add the two cans of water


Make sure you plug it in...been there done that
and turn it on
Cook on high for 5-6 hours


The chops will be so tender, they will fall apart


Serve with mashed potatoes
(the sauce is delicious over mashed potatoes)

Mexican Shredded Pork

I thought that since I cooked like a crazy person for the past few days, I would make something easy for dinner tonight.  My dear friend Anne had sent me this recipe a few weeks ago, and I kept promising to try it.  Of course, living in upstate New York, finding Rotel tomatoes with Lime and Cilantro is not an easy task.  However, after much searching, I did manage to find Rotel tomatoes with Green Chiles, so I thought, okay, let's try it.  I bought a pork butt that was as big as my own butt, and on the night I decided to cook it, my husband ended up in the delivery room, and having had gastric bypass surgery, I didn't think I could quite handle an 8 pound pork butt  by myself (which was the smallest one I could find - must be the weather up here, makes you too lazy to go outside, so our butts are bigger than in Texas, where Anne lives :)   8 pounds of pork could probably feed me for about 14 years, lol.  Anyway, since two of my boys were home for the holidays, I thought it would be a good meal for after Christmas.  I must also confess that I had an ulterior motive for wanted to make this recipe, Anne also gave me a recipe for a Cuban Pork Pie that is made with the leftover pork, and I must tell the truth, that interests me even more than the shredded pork alone.

Last night, or should I say early this morning (about 4:30 am) before going to bed, I got my crock pot ready, lined up my ingredients, and set my alarm for 9:00, as I decided to sleep in a little (even I need about an hour or two of sleep every fourth or fifth day.)

Nine o'clock rolls around, I roll out of bed, and roll into the kitchen, and prepare to meet my butt head on.  No problems, one, two, three, and by 10 o'clock, I am crock potting away.  I get everything in the pot, turn my controls to high, and start to do a few chores.  My son finally wakes from the dead at about 11:30 and decides he wants something to eat, (like all the leftovers from last nights dinner) so I start to make hash browns, steak and eggs.

Funny, I think to myself, I smell the onions from the hash browns, but nothing coming from the direction of the crock pot.  Hmmmm maybe I should take a look, it looks good, but something is off.  I mosey a little closer, and where I should be feeling heat, there is none.  Well, needless to say, the pot was turned on, but alas, it does work better when it is turned on and plugged in as well...who's the butt now!!! 

I must confess and own up.   I start thinking that pizza would be good for dinner tonight.  My husband said, "don't worry, I'm on call tonight until 9, so I won't be home on time anyway. My boys have been stuffing their faces with the leftovers , and yet another batch of Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies (if I never see another package of Nestles Semisweet Morsels for the next decade, I promise not to complain) so they won't be hungry by dinner time, so I decide to play it by ear.

Around 5:30, dear old hubby wanders in and says he's hungry...thank goodness there are still some of the dips left over from Christmas - yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus!

Anyway, to make a long story short - it is now 10:30 and we just finished dinner.  Was it worth the wait?  I certainly think so -  Steven, Jeffrey, and Marc, ate three helpings each, after dousing it with Cholula Hot Sauce (and I was worried about the heat from the chilies.)  Now, Anne tells me she serves it with her special rice, but because my night always follows my day, could I find the recipe for the rice, nope!  I have all the recipes Anne sends me in their own folder and I didn't get a chance to print the last few out, and file them in my cookbooks.  So, I did the next best thing that lazy girls do at 9:45 at night.  I made two bags of Success Rice, seasoned it with butter and garlic salt and let it rip.

Of course, as I am typing this post, it continued to annoy me,  so I went through every damn e-mail on my computer and finally found Anne's recipe for the rice to accompany the Mexican Shredded Pork, so here it is:

Special Rice to Accompany Mexican Style Shredded Pork

Anne Murch-Gutierrez

1 1/2 cups uncooked long grain white rice

1 1/2 cups water

2 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Bring the water, butter, and rice to a boil.  Mix in the lime juice and cilantro.  Reduce heat to low, cover, and let simmer 20 minutes or until cooked.  Serve Mexican Style Shredded Pork over this rice.

Well, finally, here is the recipe for the Mexican Shredded Pork.  Anne, you will be happy to know that my boys will come and eat in your Jalapeno laden kitchen anytime.

Mexican Shredded Pork

Anne Murch-Gutierrez

1 large onion, diced

4 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed

2 cans Rotel tomatoes with Lime and Cilantro

1 Boston Butt pork roast about 5 pounds

1/2 teaspoon McCormicks Season All Seasoned salt

1 teaspoon Chipotle powder

Water

Add all the ingredients in a cold Crock-Pot.  Add enough water to cover the roast.  Cook on high for 7 hours or until meat is tender. Shred the meat with forks and serve over rice.

Ingredients you will need for the Mexican Shredded Pork:

Peel the garlic and press it through a garlic press or crush it with a knife

Peel and chop the onions.

Line a crock pot with a crock pot liner if you lazy like me

Place the pork butt in the crock pot

Add the onions

Garlic

The two cans of Rotel Tomatoes 

(my butt was so big (art imitating life) that

 I thought I better add an extra can of tomatoes,

 but what did the little (okay not so little) Italian girl 

have in the house, not Rotel,  but 

Delmonte Diced Tomatoes with Garlic and Onions,

 so in that went too

Since I could not find the Rotel with Cilantro and Lime, 

I squeezed a fresh lime into the mix

I eliminated cilantro because I can't eat it, 

but if you have it, by all means, put it in

Add the Chipotle powder ( I confess, I couldn't find that either) so I

used Mesquite Seasoning instead, and it was quite delicious, 

so I didn't do too badly all things considered

Seasoned Salt 

Add enough water to cover the meat

Place the lid on the crock pot

Turn the setting knob to high

AND PLUG THE DAMN POT IN!!!!

Wait about 7 hours, or in my case about 12 hours, and then carefully

 remove the meat from the liquid. 

Take two forks and begin shredding the meat

Remove all the chunks of fat and discard

Place the meat in a serving bowl

Serve the liquid from the meat at the table and place some over the meat

Serve over rice and enjoy!

With much thanks to Anne Murch Gutierrez who 

laughed me through this whole week, I hope I did you proud!