Slow Cooker "Ribs"

 

When making my grocery list the other day I asked my husband if he had any dinner requests. He suggested these "ribs" which are one of his favorite recipes of mine that I make. My mom used to make them while I was still at home. I always loved the smell of them cooking all day in the slow cooker. Anyone who has read this blog before may already know that I LOVE using a slow cooker! They make getting dinner ready so easy!  This recipe is also incredibly simple. I always call these ribs, but they are really pork strips. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Pork strips, with or without bone(adjust the amount depending on the size of your family. I often make a small amount)

1 bottle of your favorite bbq sauce

1 onion, sliced

2 garlic cloves, minced

garlic powder

pepper

salt

onion powder

2 tablespoons oil

Heat up oil in a pan. Add pork and sprinkle(to your liking)with garlic powder, salt, pepper and onion powder. Lightly brown for a few minutes. Add pork to your slow cooker. Cover with onions, minced garlic and bbq sauce.Sometimes I'll add some additional garlic and onion powder to the slow cooker. Cook on low for approx. 8 hours(time may vary depending on slow cooker and amount of pork).

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ROTW- Spicy Black Bean Empanadas

This was our ROTW for last week, I think you can still click on the link at right and it will take you there, if not then here is the link for our Spicy Black Bean Empanadas This was a great recipe, the filling was delicious, so much so that I bought big portobello mushroom caps to stuff with this recipe's filling later next week. The black beans and the cheese melded perfectly with the cumin and cilantro, I wanted to make these again immediately after we finished our last bite.

Ingredients

* 2 (17.3 ounce) packages Pepperidge Farm® Puff Pastry Sheets (I used the new precut disk ones)
* 1 egg
* 1 tablespoon water
* 1/2 pound ground pork or turkey ( I used 3/4 lb ground pork, 1/2 lb was not enough stuffing)
* 1 small red pepper, diced
* 4 medium green onions, chopped
* 2 clove garlic, minced
* 1/2 cup tomato sauce (I used 1 1/2 TBL of Tomato paste and 1/4 cup water, I like the flavor better)
* 1 teaspoon ground cumin
* 1 teaspoon chili powder
* 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper ( I used hot sauce, a dash of Franks or even the Asian chili sauce)
* 1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese (I used light mexican blend to save some calories and I love that blend)
* 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
* 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
* 1 cup sour cream
* 1 cup guacamole

Directions
1. Thaw the pastry sheets at room temperature for 40 minutes or until they're easy to handle. Heat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or spray with vegetable cooking spray. Stir the egg and water with a fork in a small bowl.
2. Cook the pork in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until the pork is well browned, stirring frequently to break up meat. Add the diced red pepper, green onions and garlic. Cook until tender. Stir the tomato sauce, cumin, chili powder and crushed red pepper into the skillet. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 8 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in the cheese, 1 cup of the beans and cilantro. Let cool.
3. Unfold 1 pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface. Roll to a 16x12-inch rectangle. Cut into 10 (2 1/2-inch) rounds. Top half of each round with 1 teaspoon cheese mixture. Brush edges of pastry with water. Fold over and press the edges with a fork to seal. Place the empanadas on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining pastry and cheese mixture. Brush with the egg mixture.
4. Bake for 18 minutes or until golden.

Serve with sour cream, guacamole and remaining beans.

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Marinated Pork Chops w/ Pineapple Salsa or ROTW

I am not sure if meat photographs all that well but I thought I would give it a-go. Each week our group posts a "Recipe of the Week" or ROTW (you can click on the link at right) in the hopes of getting people to experiment with something they may not have ever tried before. Sometimes the recipe is a winner (see Pecan Tart) and other times we realize that we cannot burn the recipe fast enough. This week was pork and I chose it because I hear it is the other white meat ie. low in calories and fat (if you choose the right cut) and I rarely eat pork in any of its forms so that means experimentation for me. The marinade end result was good, not great, but good enough that my husband asked me to keep the recipe (I think that orange zest and a little of the juice would compliment the pork better than the lime alone). The meat had a nice flavor, was juicy and cooked quickly which is great for a mom of three hungry children. With that said, I really just want to talk about the salsa. It was so good that I ate it for dinner as a side dish. It was tart, sweet, salty, creamy (added avocado) crispy, slightly spicy and simply delicious.

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