Split Pea Soup

I love soup, and thankfully my husband never says a word about what is served for dinner. He does, however, often offer his own suggestions and I listen and do my best to please him. So you might say we work together. He definitely is a meat and potatoes man, but split pea soup is one of his favorites, so we have it often. This recipe is easy and I often make it even easier by putting the ingredients in the slow cooker early in the day. We love Irish soda bread with pea soup but this last time I made whole wheat yeast bread. It is a delicious bread and you will find the recipe posted on 2/11/2010. Blessings...

Recipe:

1 lb. bag dried split peas
8 cups water
1 lb. smoked ham hocks or 1 ham bone
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 cup finely chopped celery
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
1/2 tsp. savory
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 cup thinly sliced carrots
salt, if needed

 Slow Cooker Method:

1. Rinse peas and pick over. Place all the ingredients in the slow cooker and stir. Cover and cook on low about 7 hours.
2. Remove ham or ham hocks from soup and cut the meat off the bone. Cut into bite sized pieces. Return the meat to the slow cooker and taste for saltiness; add salt if needed. You may want to add a little more pepper and if the soup is too thick for your liking, thin it with a little milk.

Stove Top Method:

1. Place the peas and water in a soup kettle; bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat, cover, and set aside for 1 hour.
2. Add all remaining ingredients to the soup, except carrots and salt. Bring soup back to a boil; lower heat, cover and simmer for 1-1/2 hours.
3. Add carrots and continue to simmer, covered, for another 30 minutes. Test carrots for tenderness.
4. Remove meat from the bone and add back to the soup, taste and add salt, if needed. 

Yield: 9-1/4 cups
122 calories per cup
10 gms. fiber
Note: the soup will thicken as it cools

Quick Ginger Pork

This tasty and low-calorie stir-fry goes together fast. The recipe can easily be adjusted for a larger family and the amount of ginger used can be adjusted to make this a more kid-friendly meal. Ginger can be a strong flavor when combined with garlic in a stir-fry, so using the smallest amount suggested the first time in new recipe is a good idea. Blessings...

Recipe:

1 tbsp. peanut oil
1/2 pound pork tenderloin, cut into thin strips
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tbsps. soy sauce
1/4 tsp. sugar
1/8 to 1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 cup water
1-1/2 tsps. cornstarch
hot cooked rice

1. Heat oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Stir-fry the pork and garlic for 3 minutes.
2. Combine soy sauce, sugar and ginger; add to skillet. Reduce heat to medium; stir-fry for 3-4 minutes or until pork is no longer pink.
3. Combine water and cornstarch until smooth; add to skillet. Bring to a boil; boil and stir for 2 minutes. Serve over rice.

Yield: 2 servings
1 serving calculated without rice is 227 calories

Autumn Pork Chops

The flavors in the sauce combined with tender pork chops and veggies makes this recipe one of our favorites. The original recipe called for acorn squash, which isn't one we are fond of, so I have substituted sliced potatoes and cabbage, and sometimes carrots, all good veggies to serve alongside pork chops. This is good comfort food any time of the year. Blessings...

Recipe:

6 pork chops, about 1/2 inch thick
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tbsps. butter, melted
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
3/4 tsp. Kitchen Bouquet browning and seasoning sauce
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
2 tbsp. orange juice
1 tsp. orange zest
4 cups chopped cabbage
4 potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1/8-inch slices

1. Trim fat from edges of chops. Arrange pork chops in the bottom of the slow cooker.
2. Top pork with veggies.
3. In a small bowl, combine salt, butter, brown sugar, browning sauce, nutmeg, orange juice and orange zest. Spoon mixture over the pork and veggies.
4. Cover and cook on low setting for 5 to 5-1/2 hours or until pork chops are tender.

Yield: 6 servings

This recipe was adapted from Mable Hoffman's Crockery Cookery, a wonderful slow cooker cookbook.

Slow Cooker Golden Mushroom Pork and Apples

I know that most people don't think of summer as the time to be using the slow cooker, but it is a very cost saving help in the kitchen because of the low energy use and it doesn't warm the kitchen up as much as one might think. I use mine year around because I love the convenience of having the meal done in advance of the dinner hour. This particular recipe is another one that I have adapted from a recipe found at http://www.campbellskitchen.com.  This is such a good site for recipes; I would encourage you to check it out.

The one challenge I've found with slow cooker recipes, like the original of this one, is that the flavor can be lacking in the interest of speed. Not a good trade-off at all! So, in reading Cook's Illustrated Magazine, I learned that if the meat is browned in oil first the flavor of the finished dish is much better, and it only takes a few minutes more of your time. Also, with this recipe, by adding the apples at the beginning of the cooking time, they will cook down to an applesauce consistency and really enhance the flavor of the pork and the gravy, but if you don't think your family would like that, add them for the last hour or two instead.

The effort put into preparing a meal is rewarded by the nurturing of the hearts and lives of those around the table, and your family is strengthened. Blessings...

Recipe:

2 cans (10 3/4 ounces each) Campbell's Condensed Golden Mushroom Soup
1/2 cup water
1 tbsp. packed brown sugar
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. dried thyme leaves, crushed
8 boneless pork chops, 3/4-inch thick (about 2 pounds)
4 large Granny smith apples, cut into quarters and then each quarter sliced into thirds.
2 cups chopped onion
salt and pepper
olive oil for frying

1. Stir the soup, water, brown sugar, Worcestershire and thyme in a slow cooker set on high heat.
2. Heat a little olive oil in a large skillet set over medium heat. Salt and pepper pork chops and brown in olive oil on both sides; remove and place in slow cooker. Saute onion until golden brown and add to slow cooker. Add apple slices on top; don't stir them into the gravy.
3. Cover slow cooker and cook on high heat for one hour; turn heat down to low and continue cooking for about 4 more hours or until pork is fork tender. We loved the meat served with mashed potatoes.

Yield: 8 servings
Note: This recipe is easily cut in half for a smaller family.

Slow Cooker Teriyaki Pork Roast

This is a very flavorful way to prepare a pork roast. The juices and sauce that the pork cooks in all day are then thickened and served with the meat to further enhance the flavor of the meat. Rice goes beautifully alongside the pork for this Asian-style meal. Blessings...

Recipe:

3/4 cup unsweetened apple juice (pineapple juice would also work well)
2 tbsps. brown sugar or honey
2 tbsps. soy sauce
1 tbsp. vinegar
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 boneless pork loin roast (about 3 lbs.), halved, unless you have a large enough slow cooker
8 tsps. cornstarch
3 tbsps. cold water
cooked rice

1. Combine the first seven ingredients in slow cooker. Add roast and turn to coat. Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours or until a thermometer inserted into the roast reads 160 degrees.
2. Remove roast and keep warm.
3. In a saucepan, combine cornstarch and cold water until smooth; stir in cooking juices. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Serve sauce over pork and rice.

Yield: 8 servings

"Google account not needed to leave a comment"

Pork and Lentil Cassoulet

This is a very hearty and easy recipe for the slow cooker that I adapted from a Better Homes and Gardens recipe.

Recipe:

1 lb. pork shoulder (I use inexpensive pork shoulder steak)
1 cup chopped onion
2 small, or 1 large, cloves garlic, minced
2 tsps. olive oil
2-1/2 cups beef broth
1 14 1/2-oz. can diced tomatoes
2 cups chopped carrots
2  ribs celery, thinly sliced
3/4 cup lentils, rinsed and picked over
1-1/2 tsps. Bouquet Garni
1/2 - 1 tsp. salt
fresh ground pepper

1. Trim fat from pork and cut into 1-inch cubes. In a large nonstick skillet brown pork in olive oil. Add to slow cooker.
2. Add onion and garlic to skillet and cook for 1 minute; add to slow cooker.
3. Add broth, undrained tomatoes, carrots, celery, lentils, Bouquet Garni, salt and pepper to slow cooker. Stir well; cover and cook on high heat for 4-1/2 to 5-1/2 hours (8 hours or more if cooking on low setting).
Check carrots, celery and lentils for tenderness.

Yield: 6 servings
Note: I serve this cassoulet over rice

Pork Chops Ole'

Recipes that go together in a casserole dish and then are popped in the oven for an hour or so, are so easy on the cook, especially at the end of a busy day. These tender pork chops on a bed of Mexican-style rice only need a salad or vegetable to complete the meal.

When you gather at the table for the evening meal with your family, these ancient words from Proverbs 25:11 are still fitting: "A right word spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver". Kind words and polite conversation are still excellent for the strength of the family and the health of the body. Blessings...

Recipe:

6 loin pork chops (1/2 inch thick)
oil for browning
Seasoned salt and pepper to taste
3/4 cup uncooked long grain rice
1-1/2 cups water
1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce
2 tbsps. taco seasoning mix, about 1/2 pkg.
1/2 cup shredded medium cheddar cheese

1. In a large skillet, brown pork chops in oil; sprinkle with seasoned salt and pepper.
2. Grease a 13 x 9-inch baking dish. Combine rice, water, tomato sauce and taco seasoning in baking dish.
3. Arrange chops on rice.
4. Cover and bake in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour or until pork chops are tender.
5. Uncover and sprinkle with cheese; place in oven for a minute or two to melt cheese.

Serves: 6
Note: I've substituted 1 cup salsa for the tomato sauce and omitted the taco seasoning with very good success.

Pork and Black Bean Chili

This chili recipe is made easy with the use of a slow cooker. I've also used the recipe as a burrito filling with the addition of cooked rice, sour cream and flour tortillas. If you were to invite guests in, the use of a slow cooker makes meal preparation so much easier, and the recipe can easily be doubled to feed more people. Making burritos also really stretches this dish to feed more people. Blessings...

Recipe:

1 pound boneless pork, cut into 1/2" cubes
2 (16-oz.) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup chopped red pepper
1 cup tomato, peeled, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup diced onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 (8-oz.) can tomato sauce
sour cream, flour tortillas, cooked rice and chopped fresh cilantro, to taste.

Combine the first 11 ingredients in a slow cooker. Cover and cook on low heat for about 8 hours. Stir the chili and taste. Serve as chili in bowls with cilantro sprinkled over top.

To serve as burritos, place about 1/2 cup of the slightly drained mixture on a flour tortilla with some rice. Top with sour cream and cilantro.

Recipe serves 4-5 as chili

Easy Raspberry Pork Chops

I made this dish last week for my husband and I and we really enjoyed it. The flavor is wonderful and the dish is simple and fast. While the meat simmered on the stove and the potatoes cooked in the microwave, I made a salad, and dinner was ready. With thoughts of Valentine's Day this weekend, this would be a terrific meal to serve.

Tomorrow I will post the recipe for the whole wheat bread that I mentioned in my post with the split pea soup. A loaf of warm homemade bread would also be greatly appreciated with this meal and would surely say, "I love you" to your family and friends.

Recipe:
4 boneless pork loin chops (about 5 ounces each)
canola oil for frying
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup seedless raspberry jam
1 tablespoon prepared mustard

1. In a large skillet over medium heat, brown pork chops in oil on both sides.
2. While meat is frying, whisk vinegar, jam and mustard in a small bowl.
3. Add liquid to skillet. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until the meat juices run clear. I used an instant read thermometer. Be careful to not overcook and dry out the meat. Remove the pork and cover to keep warm.
4. Cook the sauce over medium-high heat to reduce by half and thicken. Stir occasionally and keep an eye on the sauce so it doesn't burn. Spoon the sauce over the pork chops and serve.