CrockPot Maple Ham Recipe

HAM! FINALLY!
And it's so very, very easy. I was told that this was "better than normal ham" which is evidently a pretty big compliment. I did eat a few bites (and thankfully didn't get sick) because the smell while it was cooking was practically too much to bear. After I picked the kids up from school we spent the afternoon at the library just so I wouldn't have to be in the house with the amazing smells coming from the kitchen.

The Ingredients

serves 10

7-8 pound bone-in spiral-cut ham

1 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 cup all natural maple syrup

2 cups pineapple juice

The Directions.

Use a 6-7 quart slow cooker. Unwrap the ham, and discard flavor packet. Place it into your stoneware, flat-side down. Rub brown sugar on all sides. Pour on maple syrup and pineapple juice. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours. If possible, baste ham with collected juice from the bottom of the crock an hour or so before serving. When cooking is done, remove carefully and let it rest on a cutting board for 15-20 minutes before carving.

I had a hard time carving. I've never been very good with a knife.

The Verdict

I packed this ham up to give to my brother and sister-in-law, and for my dad. They were very complimentary. Adam had 3-4 sandwiches with the remaining meat.

I have 1! last pork recipe to go, and then I am OFFICIALLY DONE WITH PORK.

oink. oink.

super cute pigs from a farm visit on Valentine's Day

A year ago today: CrockPot Chicken Parmesan

Read More

CrockPot Leg of Lamb with Prunes Recipe

I'm often asked what my favorite meal is that I've made in the crockpot. I never really know how to answer, because I sort of have forgotten along the way what I've made, and I feel weird picking just one thing out.

But. I can confidentaly answer that THIS is my favorite meal I've made so far this year in the crockpot. It's also the only one I've gotten to actually eat...

but whatever.

it's delicious.

The Ingredients.

4 pounds boneless leg of lamb
1 teaspoon each of:
rosemary
cumin
kosher salt
pepper
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 cups dried plums (dude. they are PRUNES!)
1/2 cup white wine (you could use apple juice)
1 cinnamon stick

The Directions.

Use a 4-5 quart crockpot. Put meat inside, and rub it on all sides with dry spices. Add garlic and prunes. Pour in wine, and toss in a cinnamon stick. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or on high for about 4. I'd go with the longer and lower cooking time, though.

If you'd like, remove meat from stoneware, and make a gravy out of accumulated juice with some cornstarch. The prunes will be awfully squishy, and can blend right in with the juice and cornstarch. Serve with mashed potatoes or polenta with gravy drizzled over the top.

The Verdict.

YUM. I loved this, and so did Adam and the kids. We sat. At the table. Together.
I even put the laptop away. It was a great dinner.

A year ago today: Chicken and Rice Soup.

Read More

Home Again

I'm home, safe and sound. Thank you so much for all of your well-wishes and for tuning in to show support; it means so much, and I truly appreciate every email, comment, and page view.
Thank you.

I had a ball, an absolute ball. But I'm also really glad to be home.

If you haven't been able to find the link with the video on Good Morning America's Website, here it is.

The note up above is what my seven-year-old slipped into my coat pocket. I laughed so loud at the "Don't get lost" part. I suck at directions, and get lost regularly.
I didn't wander New York solely because I knew if I ventured more than 20 feet from the doorman I'd get lost. And even though when it was time to leave and the front of my hotel was SHOWN RIGHT TO ME and I could see it (about 1/2 block away), I got lost.

I wandered into a store and turned the wrong way when I came back out. oops. Want to totally freak out your husband? Casually mention you might be lost in New York City while on the phone with him.

Everyone was beyond nice----I was blown away by how genuine everyone seemed, and how thoughtful and considerate they were to me. When I met Diane, Robin, and Chris, they were real people who couldn't have possibly been nicer.


Be nice to Chris. Not only is he Capital H hot, he felt horrible for misspeaking my name, and apologized profusely. When I was driven to the airport, I spoke to his driver of two years, and he had nothing but nice words to say. He's evidently quite the family man and very dedicated to his children.



Patrick, who did my hair said I had great highlights and that I should keep my hairdresser. He also said that he would charge at least $400 for my hair. And that's when I almost fell from my chair.

I made Robin cry. My daughter's teacher is a cancer survivor and I shared that with Robin, and thanked her for being inspirational. She said, "No, the teacher is the inspiration---what a fantastic role model she is for all those children."
Then we both cried and she gave me a green napkin.

I came home to a clean house, 3 loads of folded and put away laundry, and sleeping kids. It was a very good trip.

Read More

CrockPot Cajun Pulled Pork Recipe

I am making my way through the pork recipes, slowly but surely.

My buddy Georgia fed this pork to her 4 kids, and they liked it. They ate the meat on toasted kaiser rolls with cheddar cheese. Wow. That sounds really good.

I made this up. I'd spent the day watching Food Network, and Emeril's "bamming" got to me and I felt like doing some bamming of my own.

The Ingredients.

4 pounds boneless pork shoulder or butt (surely there has to be a nicer name for this)
1 tablespoon brown sugar (didn't make it into the picture)
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon red pepper
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 tablespoon butter
1-2 tablespoons hickory liquid smoke
2 cups water


The Directions.

Use a 5-6 quart slow cooker. Put the meat into a large plastic zipper bag with brown sugar and all spices. Seal well and shake to coat. Then pour contents of bag into stoneware. If the meat is too big for the bag, then just put it into the crock and rub the seasoning all over it.

Top with chopped onion, butter, and liquid smoke. Pour in water.

Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours, or until meat shreds easily with forks. Serve on toasted buns, on rice, or in large romaine lettuce leaves.

The Verdict.

I gave this meat to two families, and they both reported back that it was good. It's a bit spicy for kids, but eating it in a sandwich with mayo and mustard seems to work to down-play the spice.
Georgia said the meat would make excellent burrito filling. I think she's absolutely right.

Read More

Pineapple Pork Tenderloin CrockPot Recipe

Oh this is good. I made 3 pounds, and packed it up to give away to 2 different families last week.
I followed Shirley's recipe that she posted on the original pork post----this is a winner. My friend Georgia has 4 children, and she said they all loved it.

The Ingredients.

3 pound pork tenderloin
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 orange bell pepper, seeded and sliced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced
2 tablespoons gluten free soy sauce
1/2 cup apple juice
16 ounces frozen pineapple

The Directions.

I used a 4 quart crockpot. Combine meat, sugar, spices, and cornstarch in a plastic zipper bag. Seal and shake well to coat. Pour contents of bag into crockpot. Add garlic and peppers. Pour in soy sauce, apple juice, and an entire bag of frozen pineapple.
Cover and cook on low for 7-9 hours, or on high for 4-6. I cooked ours on high for 2 hours, then on low for another 6. When I took it out of the pot it was slimy, but still held much of it's shape.
Serve with rice or pasta. Georgia served it with pasta.

The Verdict.

Boy this smelled amazing while it was cooking. The original recipe called for canned pineapple, but I already had frozen in the freezer. I think using the frozen worked well, and didn't provide too much extra moisture, which would have caused the pineapple to disappear. The peppers retained their color and shape---the key with softer veggies like peppers are to put them on top of the meat so they aren't simmering in liquid all day.

This was a huge hit. Thank you to Shirley!

Read More

Good Morning America

Hey!

I'm going to be on Good Morning America on Thursday (2/19) morning.

So, um, you should watch.

I'm a little nervous.

I'm not going on for the Slow Cooker Challenge with Emeril, although thank you so much to everyone who emailed me about that---it sounds amazing, but I didn't get my act together in time to enter.
I am going to demonstrate a slow-cooked meal, but I'm not sure yet which one.

I'm leaving Wednesday morning, and will only stay one night. But! Some pork recipes will magically post all by themselves because I have finally figured out how to auto-post. It only took 14 months...

and. I've never flown by myself, so I'm kind of sort of freaking out.
and. do I wear the red or the blue sweater? (say the blue one)
and. will the zit on my chin clear in time?
and. since it's live I can't screw up---which makes me even more freaked out. But I've heard there's a few second delay in case someone drops the F-bomb. Which I'm not planning on doing, but you never really know, so it's good to have that as a back up just in case.

I think.

Read More

Winner of the Wireless HP Photosmart C6380

We have a winner! Thank you so much to all who entered the contest, there were 1642 of you.

The random number thingamabob chose lucky number:

1337, who is BECKY!

Becky wrote how Living Wirelessly, Printing Wirelessly would help her by:

This is an awesome giveaway that can create fabulous opportunities! My hubby and I are both teachers, and we work from our laptops from dusk to dawn. We are constantly running up and down two flights of stairs to hook up our computers to the printer and print what we need for school and for our grad classes. I am also a big scrapper, both traditional and digi. This printer would make printing my pages and pics so much easier. HP is all about quality, and I know my memories would be preserved in high quality. Though I may gain weight from not running up and down steps to plug in and print, I am willing to take that chance. I would love to say goodbye to the days of leaving my comfy, cozy work couch to go upstairs and print what I need! Thank you again for the opportunity!
~ Becky

Congratulations, Becky. I hope you and your hubby get a lot of great use out of your new printer.

and psst. you could always try The CrockPot Diet if you're worried about gaining weight... ;-)

Happy President's Day!

New recipes (still pork. but I think I may actually be done with the pork thing in about a week...) coming up tomorrow.

Have a fantastic day. xoxo steph

Read More

Nintendo Personal Trainer: Cooking, 30 Day Shred, and Totally Together give away winner

Thank you so much for your overwhelming support and interest in the give away!

OH MY you are nutty.

I am pleased to announce that Debbie, whose screen name is "madsonblueeyes" won.

Congratulations, Debbie!

And since I am a glutten for punishment in the way of trillions of emails, I agreed to post another give away.

For a free printer.

details on the way.

like, in minutes.

xoxo
steph

Read More

Peking Pork Chops

I made these pork chops the same day that I made the Apricot-Orange chops, and packed them off to send off to my friend Stephanie, and family.

That was weeks ago.

I just heard yesterday that they liked them. Since I handed off so much food, she froze these chops and reheated them for dinner the other day. I love it that these pork chops not only tasted good, they withstood being slow-cooked, frozen, and reheated. And I'm thrilled that I was able to contribute to a freezer-stash, yay!

I tweaked Margo's "Peking Chops," she posted in the comments of the original Pork Post to include 5-spice powder, because I love that stuff. I also upped the garlic. Because that stuff is golden.

The Ingredients.

6 pork chops
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon 5 Spice Powder
1/2 cup gluten free soy sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
4 cloves garlic, chopped
(there is a box of salt pictured, but I didn't use any; the soy sauce was plenty)


The Directions.

gosh it's so cold in this house it's hard to type.

I used a 4 quart crockpot. Put chops into the stoneware. In a small bowl, combine sugar, spices, soy sauce, ketchup, and garlic. Pour evenly over the top of chops. No need to add any other liquid. If you had an onion in the house, it might be a nice addition, but not necessary for flavor.
Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for about 4. If your chops are frozen they will take longer to cook. The longer you cook the meat, the more tender it will, but it might fall off the bone (which is fine in my mind, but some people really like intact meat).

Serve with rice and veggies; ladle sauce on top.

The Verdict.

Stephanie said her kids (9 and 13) really liked their dinner, and made yummy noises at the table. She also said her husband ate too much. I did sneak a bite and liked the flavor an awful lot--it was tangy with a slight ginger aftertaste. Thank you Margo!

Read More

CrockPot Cranberry Pork Roast

I was lucky enough to receive a few different cranberry pork recipes and decided to make Mamame's the other night. She wrote it in the comments on the original pork post. I did change a few things around because I used fresh cranberries instead of canned, but otherwise tried my hardest to not stray too far.

I packed this up for some friends, and heard back today that they liked it. The kids found the cranberries to be a bit tart, so I added some additional sugar to the recipe ingredients.

The Ingredients.
serves 4-6

1 (2.5-3 lb) pork loin roast or rib roast
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon dried mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 (16-ounce) can whole berry cranberry sauce
or: 1 cup fresh cranberries, 1/2 cup white sugar, 1/2 cup brown (I did add 1/4 cup
brown sugar half-way through cooking after tasting the sauce, but 1/2 cup would be
better. I learned from making my own cranberry sauce that you really do need a lot
of sugar to balance out the cranberries.
1/3 cup golden raisins (I only had regular)
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/3 cup cranberry juice
1/2 small lemon, thinly sliced (I put in a whole one, but Mamame is right, 1/2 is better. A whole one is too bitter.)

The Directions.
Use a 4 quart crockpot. In a plastic zipper bag, put dry spices and cornstarch and add meat. Shake to coat. Put contents into your slow cooker. Add cranberry sauce, or your fresh cranberries and sugar. Put in raisins and garlic. Pour in cranberry juice, and top with lemon slices. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or high for about 4. The longer you cook the meat, the more tender it will be.

Serve with rice or pasta.

The Verdict.

Mamame writes, "this is hands down our family's favorite crockpot recipe." My friend who tried it liked it a lot, and her husband said the meat was perfectly cooked and juicy. Her 9-year-old, Austin, reported "I didn't really like the cranberries so much, but I thought they really brought out the flavor of the pork."

oh my. He's adorable.

Read More

Apple Cinnamon Pork Roast

I've gotten a few email asking if this is going to be "The Year of Pork."

No, but the next week or two will be pretty heavy with pork recipes. I'd like to have about 10 really good ones to include in the forthcoming cookbook, and I need to test them out. If you don't eat pork (I don't), you can fool around with using chicken or beef instead.

Stacy emailed me this recipe a few weeks ago; she had gotten it from a friend of hers. She reported back last week that she and her family really enjoyed it and urged me to give it a try. So I did.

It calls for a bag of coleslaw mix. I'm not a huge fan of coleslaw because for some reason in my weird twisted mind it sounds like 'cold sore.' I know that's really gross. I'm sorry.

anyhow, I used Stacy (and her friend's) recipe last night, and packed the food up for my sister-in-law's amazing family.

The Ingredients.

2-3 pound pork-loin roast
1 onion, sliced in wedges
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup apple cider or juice
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3 granny smith apples, chopped (to add later)
1 (16-ounce) bag coleslaw mix (to add later)
* 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (to add later--this isn't in the original recipe, but I think it should be. See notes below marked with an *.)

The Directions.

Use a 5 quart crockpot. Put onion wedges into the bottom of your crockpot, and put the meat on top. Sprinkle dry spices on all sides of the meat. Add apple and lemon juice. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for 4-6. The longer you cook it, the more shredded and juicy the meat will become. 20-30 minutes before serving, remove meat from crockpot and let sit on a cutting board. Put chopped apples (no need to peel) and the whole bag of coleslaw into your crockpot. *I would add apple cider vinegar now, too. Stir. Either slice or shred the pork, and add back to the crockpot.
Salt and pepper to taste (it definitely needs more salt.)

Stacy wrote in her last email that her husband "took some of the juice (from the crockpot) and combined it with butter, brown sugar, and chopped pecans. He boiled it down in a sauce pan and we added it to each serving." I imagine this would taste heavenly.

The Verdict.

I did sneak a taste of this, and so did Adam. Adam liked it more than I did; I thought the texture was funky, but I also have coleslaw issues, which I probably need to discuss with Dr. Phil.

This is the feedback I got from my tester-family (written by mom, Shari): Having tried quite a few of your recipes, this one is not a home run. But, the pork was tender and had a very delicate and subtle apple flavor, and was not fatty or greasy at all. The apples and cabbage had a bit of pleasant crunch to them, just the way we like them. Joe and I liked the very tender meat with the slightly crunchy cabbage and apples, and we each ate a healthy portion, and I'll look forward to eating it again for lunch tomorrow. Chris usually prefers strongly seasoned food. So, he couldn't get past what we liked about the dish - he didn't care for the texture, and wasn't too sure that the combination of flavors "go together".

From the tastes I took, I sort of agree with Chris. I think it needs more spices, and I'd recommend at least doubling the salt and pepper. I think the crunch from the cabbage and the apples is a neat touch, and a great way to stretch a meal, but I think your (my) tongue wants * that bite of vinegar that usually comes with cabbage salad.

I also think that Stacy's hubby's idea/technique of browning some butter and brown sugar on the stovetop to pour over the top is *genius*---you can't ever go wrong with that combo!

on the way:
cranberry pork roast
5-Spice pork chops
Cajun-Style pulled pork
pineapple pork tenderloin

Read More

Asian Peanut Butter Pork CrockPot Recipe

Happy February! I am slowly emerging from my piles of paper, and I can see the light at the end of the recipe-editing tunnel. Thank you for hanging in there. Something weird happens when you are only reading your own writing for weeks on end---your self-esteem goes on a crazy roller coaster ride. One minute you're high-fiving yourself, and in the next you think you completely suck. Over and over and over again. It's rather exhausting.

But! This peanut butter pork tenderloin doesn't suck. So I've been told. It came from an anonymous commenter back in the original pork post. Anon shares that she makes it every month for an ongoing potluck dinner and if she doesn't make it her friends get mad---it's that good.

The Ingredients
serves 4

1.5-2lbs pork tenderloin
1 onion, sliced in rings
1/4 cup soy sauce (I used La Choy; it's gluten free)
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
3 tablespoons water
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 cup creamy natural peanut butter
2 tablespoons chopped peanuts (garnish; optional)
1 lime, cut in wedges (garnish; optional)


The Directions.

Use a 4-6 quart crockpot. Put onion slices into the bottom of your crockpot. Put the pork on top. Add brown sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, water, garlic, and peanut butter. No need to stir--the peanut butter needs to melt before you can do so. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or on high for 4-6. The pork will be more tender the longer you cook it. 1 hour before serving, flip the meat over in the crockpot to allow the other side to soak up the peanutbuttery goodness. Garnish with chopped peanuts, and serve with lime wedges. The lime juice mixed with the peanut butter is delicious.

The Verdict.

I snuck a taste. sshhh. Don't tell my mom. It was good; quite tender. I made some more of the sauce to spoon over some already-cooked chicken I had in the fridge---it was fantastic. I packed the meat up for my friend Stephanie and family. When I asked what she thought, she told me that she had a problem. Her husband, Bill, was home from work and ate it all. She and the kids didn't get to try any of it. I'm thinking that means he liked it.
Thank you anon, for sharing your dish with us!

Read More