Thai Pork with Peanut Sauce (slow cooker)

recipe adapted from Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook by Beth Hensperger and Julie Kaufmann

I love Thai food!  This recipe has all the great flavors of an authentic Thai dish.  It is a great weeknight meal as it involves very little prep and can be cooked all day while you are out working or shuttling children around!  I usually serve it over jasmine rice but it also tastes great over lo mein or pad thai noodles!

Prep Ahead Plan:  Place all of the ingredients in the slow cooker insert the night before!  Refrigerate it and turn it on before you leave in the morning! 

Ingredients

One(2 pound) boneless pork loin, fat trimmed and cut into 4 pieces

2 red bell peppers, cut into strips

1/2 cup prepared teriyaki sauce (I use Soy Vay brand)

2 T rice vinegar

1 t red pepper flakes

3 cloves garlic

2-3 T creamy peanut butter

Possible garnishes:

Chopped green onions (about 1/2 cup)

roasted chop peanuts (about 1/4 cup)

1 lime sliced into wedges

1.  Spray slow cooker with cooking spray. Place all ingredients except for peanut butter and garnishes in the slow cooker.

2.  Cook on low for 8-9 hours.

3.  Before serving, remove pork and cut up.  Mix peanut butter with sauce in slow cooker until peanut butter dissolves.  

4.  Toss pork back in slow cooker and coat with sauce.  Serve over rice with garnishes!

prep ahead football food: stuffed french bread pizzas

If you happen to be at our house on a Sunday during the fall season, you can expect to be served some fattening football food.  This posting is more of a technique than it is a recipe because these pizzas can be customized in a variety of ways.  Last week, we served up some buffalo chicken french bread pizzas and  plain cheese ones for the kiddoes.  

We have made these pizzas so many different ways.  Here are a few options:  Sauté vegetables of your choice in olive oil and garlic. Then, top bread with sauce, veggie mixture and cheese.  Sauté spinach in garlic and olive oil.  Then, top french bread with kalamata olives, feta and spinach mixture.  OR Stuff breads with sausage and pepperoni.  Then, top bread with sauce, meat mixture and cheese.  So many options and so many ways to be creative!

Prep Ahead Plan:  These are great to prepare a few hours ahead of time especially if you are having guests over.  Once they arrive, pop these in the oven, slice them up and leave them on a serving tray for guests to pick at.  


Here is our recipe for buffalo chicken french bread pizzas!


1 large loaf of french bread, cut into 3 equal pieces then slice each piece as if you are going to make a sub (This leaves enough for 6 pizzas.  We used 4 for the buffalo chicken and the remaining 2 were plain cheese.  Use whatever sauce, cheese ratio you prefer for those and bake them the same amount of time as the buffalo ones).
1/2-3/4 of a  16oz jar pizza sauce (I use San Marzano)
olive oil
1/3 of a 12 oz bottle of buffalo sauce
1/4 cup of blue cheese crumbles
1 8oz ball of fresh mozzarella, cut into chunks*
2 chicken breasts, cooked and cut up (I use the all-natural pre cooked rotisserie chicken breasts)
1 t italian seasoning 


*If you like a cheesier pizza, top with additional shredded or fresh mozzarella before baking.
1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Scoop out most of the bread from the inside of each of the french bread slices leaving them to look like empty bread boats.  Place them on a cookie sheet and drizzle each piece with olive oil (be sure to drizzle some on the crusts).
2.  In a bowl, mix the remaining ingredients.
3.  Stuff 4 of the 6 french breads with the buffalo chicken mixture.  Top with more mozzarella for a cheesier pizza!
4.  Bake for 25-35 minutes until cheese is bubbly and crusts are brown and crunchy!

lunch box granola bars

School has begun and I am working on stocking my freezer and cabinets with some healthy snack options for before, during and after Riley's busy full day in first grade!  Of course it's easy enough to find granola bars in a box at the super market but I love being able to control the quality of ingredients that goes into their little bodies!  I let the girls stay up about 15 minutes past their bedtime on Monday so they could help mix up a batch of these yummy granola bars.  Everything is mixed up in one bowl making clean up quick and easy. My girls like raisins and chocolate chips in theirs but you can add whatever dried fruit your family likes best!

Granola Bars

Yields 24 granola bars

• 
  
• Ingredients:
• 2 cups rolled oats
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup wheat germ
• 1 t ground cinnamon
• 1 cup all-purpose flour (I like to use whole wheat flour)
• 1/2 cup raisins (optional)
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips
• 3/4 t salt
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 t vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Generously grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the oats, brown sugar, wheat germ, cinnamon, flour, raisins, chocolate chips and salt. Make a well in the center, and pour in the honey, egg, oil and vanilla. Mix well using your hands. Pat the mixture evenly into the prepared pan.
3. Bake for 25-30 minutes in the preheated oven, until the bars begin to turn golden at the edges. Cool for 5 minutes, then cut into bars while still warm. Do not allow the bars to cool completely before cutting, or they will be too hard to cut.

beef and barley soup (slow cooker)

We're big soup eaters in our house.  When I first heard New England was getting a little taste of that nice, crisp, cooler fall weather, I put this on the menu!  I often use the delay timer on my bread machine and serve this alongside some crusty french bread.  

This recipe makes a ton!  Soup only tastes better when left in the fridge for a few days so I often use the leftovers for lunches or dinner later in the week.  This recipe also freezes well.

You can add whatever vegetables your family likes best.  I usually use a bag of frozen mixed vegetables and then chop additional carrots and green beans because my kids prefer them.  The first time I made this soup I used vegetable broth and loved the results but you can use whatever you have on hand.

Beef and Barley Soup

Ingredients

• 1 (2-3 pound) beef chuck roast (cut up) OR 2-3 pounds stew meat
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 carrots, chopped
• 3 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/2 1b (or a couple of handfuls) of green beans
• 1 (16 ounce) package frozen mixed vegetables
• 2 quarts vegetable broth (I use Nature's Promise)
• 1 T white sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 (28 ounce) can chopped stewed tomatoes with juice
• salt to taste
• ground black pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup barley

Directions

1. In a slow cooker, combine all ingredients except barley.  Cook on low for 8-10 hours.
2. During the last 30-40 minutes of cooking, add the barley and stir.  Serve hot!

Glazed Peach Pie

My oldest daughter, Riley, started first grade on Wednesday and was given the privilege of selecting the menu for the last official night of summer (the last night from a child's perspective, not the calendar's!).  Of course she selected hotdogs, carrot sticks, oven fries and glazed peach pie!  My friend Mary passed this recipe along to my mom when I was in high school who in turn, passed it to me!  I have been making it for years and it is one of my favorites!  It's a great recipe to make ahead of time because it is served cold from the fridge!  Yummy!

This pie is perfect for this time of year, made with peaches picked fresh from your local orchard.  We made a quick stop at Narrow Lane Orchard and came home with 4 bags of ripe, sweet and juicy peaches!  Peach season is way too short!

Ingredients:

1 baked pie crust (I use Pillsbury)

3/4 cup sugar

3 T corn starch

1 cup water

pinch of salt

3 T peach flavored Jello

4 cups peaches, peeled and sliced (about 4 large peaches or 5-6 small/medium ones)

Directions:

1.  In a small sauce pan, add water, salt and corn starch. Stir to blend.  Bring to a boil, stirring until  it thicken and clears (about 5 minutes).

2.  Off heat, mix in peach jello.  Cool.

3.  Arrange 1/2 of the peaches in a single layer in pie crust.  Pour 1/2 of glaze over peaches.  Repeat with the rest of the peaches and glaze.

4.  Refrigerate for a few hours and serve with whipped cream!

oven "fried" chicken and foil packet potatoes

 

This chicken recipe is a great alternative to the deep fried version.  I was a little worried about the flavor results of dipping the chicken in a mayo milk mixture but it really comes out great.  You can't taste the mayo flavor at all.  It keeps the meat nice and moist while the Old Bay gives it a nice kick.  I usually take the skin off of the chicken because I'm not a huge fan of it.  But leaving it on works fine too, it's just a matter of preference.  If you do leave the skin on, be sure to get the mayo/milk mixture under the skin of each piece of chicken.  I lay the chicken pieces on a rack inside my cookie sheet, this makes the bottoms of each piece nice and crisp too!


If you do have 15 minutes during the witching hour to stand at the counter  to peel and chop, these foil packet potatoes are a great side dish.  I have never prepared them longer than 2 hours ahead of time.  The potatoes may brown if prepared the night before.


Prep Ahead Plan:  Take 10 minutes and prepare the chicken the night before.  Cover the pan with foil and refrigerate overnight.  (It doesn't need to sit overnight).


Oven "fried" chicken 

Ingredients

• 2 pounds chicken pieces with skin on or off (thighs and drumsticks work well)
• 1 cup dried panko bread crumbs
• 1 t garlic powder
• 1 t salt
• 1 t ground black pepper
• 1 t
• 1 t Old Bay seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise whisked with 1/2 cup milk
• 
  

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a medium bowl or gallon size resealable plastic bag, mix together the bread crumbs, garlic powder, salt, pepper, Old Bay and paprika.
3. Coat the chicken pieces with the mayo/milk mixture. Place chicken pieces in bowl/bag with bread crumb mixture and coat/shake until well coated. Place chicken pieces in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking dish or on a rack in a baking dish and bake for 45 minutes or until juices run clear.

Foil Packet Potatoes

4 medium red or baking,peeled and cut in bite-size pieces
1 small onion, chopped
1 or 2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 T olive or vegetable oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 t dried rosemary or some chopped fresh (or whatever herbs you have on hand)
1/4 teaspoon pepper
4 (14-inch) sheets aluminum foil

Heat oven to 450 degrees F. Center onion in center of each piece of foil. Layer potatoes evenly on top of onion. Drizzle with oil, sprinkle with salt, rosemary or other herbs and pepper. Close foil packet and bake for 25-30 minutes on cookie sheet in oven.

Serve as a side dish.

Makes 4 servings.

sweet and saucy pork tenderloin (slow cooker)

This is one of my absolute favorite slow cooker recipes.  It's easy enough for a weekday but also doubles as an excellent entertaining recipe.  It takes all of five minutes to add all of the ingredients in the slow cooker, turn it on and you're done.  The flavor resembles a sweet barbecue sauce but the addition of cranberry gives it a more sophisticated flavor.

The ideal cooking time for this recipe is 1 hour on high and then switching the setting to low and cooking for an additional 3 hours.  However, this was not an ideal cooking time when I was working, leaving my house at 6:20am and not returning until 4:00 in the afternoon.  In that case I would do one of two things; turn it on low for 8 hours before leaving in the morning or have my husband sneak home during his lunch break and turn it on low for 5 hours.  In both cases the slow cooker would switch to warm and be ready for us at dinner.  If you do choose to use one of the longer cooking times, you will end up with more of a shredded pork kind of dish.  Still moist, delicious and saucy with less of a fancy presentation.  Serve with rice and easy steamed green beans or broccoli.

sweet and saucy pork tenderloin (slow cooker)

2 1.25-lb. pork tenderloin

1 t salt

dash of black pepper

12 oz jar of chili sauce (available next to the ketchup..I use Heinz brand)

16 oz can of jellied cranberry sauce

2 T brown sugar

Direction:

1. Inside slow cooker, stir together chili sauce, cranberry sauce and brown sugar.

2. Season the tenderloin with salt and pepper and place in slow cooker. Roll it in the sauce.

3. Cover and cook on high for 1 hour and low for 3 hours OR 

see cooking time options above.

Garnish with fresh rosemary and cranberries if you're feeling fancy!

Prep Ahead Plan:  Take 5 minutes the night before and mix all of the ingredients in the slow cooker and store in the fridge until ready to turn on!