CROCK POT PORK-STUFFED PEPPERS from Slow Cooker Recipes

CROCK POT PORK-STUFFED PEPPERS

(Now here is a great recipe for those of you who want more time on your hands, yet produce a AAA meal!)

Ingredients:
2 pounds ground pork (or a combination of pork and beef)
4 large green peppers
1 large onion
2 carrots
4 cloves of garlic
1/2 head of cauliflower
6 ounce can of tomato paste
1 tablespoon dry oregano
1 tablespoon dry or fresh tarragon
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Cut the tops of the peppers and clean the seeds out.
Arrange peppers in the Crock-Pot standing up and make sure they fit securely.
Grate onion, carrots, garlic and cauliflower in the food processor. You can also just chop them into small pieces with a knife if you don’t have a food processor.
In a big bowl, combine ground pork, shredded vegetables, seasonings and tomato paste.
Add salt and pepper to taste. Stuff the peppers with the mixture and arrange leftover meat between the peppers. Add half a cup of water, cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours.
If you don’t have a slow-cooker, the dish can be cooked in the oven, covered, for 1-2 hours.

Meatballs and Spaghetti

From the blog: http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2008/10/meatballs-and-spaghetti/
 


Meatballs and Spaghetti
Adapted liberally from Ina Garten
[Update 10/19/08: In hindsight and in response to several of your comments, I should forewarn that the amount of sauce below is a bit low by US standards, where we more heavily sauce our pastas. I'd suggest even doubling it if you'd like a saucier experience--I suspect I will too next time. Thanks to all who have suggested it! I only wish I had updated this sooner.]
Serves 6
For the meatballs:
1/2 pound ground veal
1/2 pound ground pork
1 pound ground beef
1 1/4 cups fresh white bread crumbs (about 5 slices, crusts removed)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or more to taste
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 extra-large egg, beaten
Vegetable oil
Olive oil
For the sauce:
1 tablespoon good olive oil
1 cup chopped yellow onion (1 onion)
1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
Pinch of red pepper flakes
1/2 cup good red wine
1 (14-ounce) can pureed tomatoes
1 (14-ounce) can chopped or diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
For serving:
1 1/2 pounds spaghetti, cooked according to package directions
Freshly grated Parmesan
Make the meatballs: Place the ground meats, bread crumbs, parsley, Parmesan, salt, pepper, onion powder, egg, and 3/4 cup warm water in a bowl. Combine very lightly with a fork. Using your hands, lightly form the mixture into 2-inch meatballs. You will have 14 to 16 meatballs. (Or perhaps 24, which is what I ended up with. I’m sorry I cannot give you a more precise measure; I am sure your amount will fall somewhere in the middle.)
Pour equal amounts of vegetable oil and olive oil into a large (12-inch) skillet to a depth of 1/4-inch. Heat the oil. Very carefully, in batches, place the meatballs in the oil and brown them well on all sides over medium-low heat, turning carefully with a spatula or a fork. This should take about 10 minutes for each batch. Don’t crowd the meatballs. Remove the meatballs to a plate covered with paper towels. Discard the oil but don’t clean the pan.
Make the sauce: Heat the olive oil in the same pan. Add the onion and saute over medium heat until translucent, 5 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes, and cook for 1 more minute. Add the wine and cook on high heat, scraping up all the brown bits in the pan, until almost all the liquid evaporates, about 3 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, parsley, salt, and pepper.
Return the meatballs to the sauce, cover, and simmer on the lowest heat for 25 to 30 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked through. (The good news is that if, say, you’re still waiting for your pot of water to boil for the spaghetti when the meatballs are ready, it’s hard to overcook these. I ended up simmering ours a whole extra 20 to 30 minutes, and they were not in the least dried out. Heaven!)
Serve hot on cooked spaghetti and pass the grated Parmesan.

Slow roasted ribs, latkes, and brocolli for the little man

So, today I placed ribs on to cook all day in order to appease my little man's request for latkes. I know, not very kosher to have pork ribs, but they went well with the potato pancakes.

I used Elway's steak seasoning to season both sides of the ribs, placed them in a foil lined pan, covered with foil and backed all day at 250 degrees.

Once they looked like this (after about 8 hours of cooking), I moved the pan up to underneath the broiler and broiled them for about 5 minutes to get a nice crust.

Meanwhile, I steamed my broccoli with diced onion in the microwave and made my barbeque sauce.

For the sauce, I brought 2 Tbsp. of apple cider vinegar, 1 Tbsp. Worcestershire,  2 Tbsp. of garlic, 1 cup of ketchup, and about half a cup of brown sugar to a boil. I dropped it to low to simmer and added in about 1/4 cup of honey.

After the ribs were crispy, I covered them with the sauce, replaced the foil, and left them in the oven to rest (it was now off.)


I made my latkes (left over mash potatoes, shredded potatoes, shredded onions, 1/4 cup of flour, dash of baking soda,  two beaten eggs, and pepper. I then fried them up and added kosher salt to season.) Thumbs up from the little man!

Roasted pork with romesco sauce, sauted baby brocolli, and quinoa salad=yummy dinner!

Marinate the pork shoulder in olive oil, chopped garlic, lemon zest, coriander, kosher salt, black pepper, and rosemary.

Sear in a hot pan, all sides.

Reseason and put in a 400 degree oven, 10 minutes per pound...turn it over half way through.

Roast bell peppers and let them cool. Remove the skins.

Toast paprika.

Toast your quinoa.

Using toasted almonds and bread...

Blend in a food processor or vita mix.

Add in your roasted bell pepper and a roasted tomato (I used sun dried.) Add salt, pepper, toasted paprika, and red wine vinegar. Slowly add olive oil in until you get a sauce. I added lemon juice right at the end.

Let the roast rest.

Saute baby broccoli in canola oil, with kosher salt, and hit with lemon juice before serving.

Add cooked quinoa to minced shallots that have been soaking in red wine vinegar.

Add in olive oil, kosher salt, and sliced apples.

Serve the sauce with the pork.

Enjoy!

Homemade sausage

So, we had breakfast for dinner. Nothing special, except I made my own breakfast sausage (using pork from the half pig we purchased from A Joyful Noise Farm http://www.ajoyfulnoisefarm.com/. No pictures to share (it's sausage) but since it turned out yummy, I will share next time. I did use a store bought seasoning, though, and it was delish.

http://www.savoryspiceshop.com/blends/fryingpan.html

The Savory Spice Shop is awesome (and you can order online!)