Teriyaki and Apricot Pork Chops in the Slow Cooker

I've got another quick, easy, and painless recipe for you that requires no washing, chopping, and only a tiny bit of dish-washing

---- always a bonus when you're getting dinner on early in the morning before a super busy day.

I also wanted to bring to your attention that it's the last day of August, and starting tomorrow (september! already!) I will be hosting 30 Days of Give Aways to help get a jump-start on your holiday shopping/gifting so you can sit back and relax (LOL.) during the hectic winter months.

I've got books, jewelry, slow cookers, gift cards, food items, and household gifts lined up, with hopefully more on the way!

okay, back to dinner---

The Ingredients.

serves 4

4 pork chops

2/3 cup apricot preserves

1/4 cup teriyaki sauce (La Choy and Tamari wheat-free are gluten free. If you don't have teriyaki in the house, you can make your own with equal parts soy sauce and brown sugar)

1 teaspoon dried ginger

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

The Directions.

Use a 4-quart slow cooker. If you only have a super large cooker, that's okay. You can throw in some baked potatoes or corn, or you can put an oven-safe dish into your cooker (Pyrex, corningware, baking pan) to create a smaller cooking vessel--- then load the porkchops into it.

Put the chops into your slow cooker. Frozen is okay. In a small bowl (sorry about this, you're gonna have to wash the bowl. bummer. ) mix together the sauce ingredients and then pour evenly over the top of the chops. Cover and cook on low for about 6 hours, or on high for 3 to 4. Your chops are done when they have reached desired tenderness. 

Serve with rice and sauce spooned over the top.

The Verdict.

I used to be allergic to pork, but somehow am not anymore, which opens SO many doors for new meals! If you'd prefer to  not eat pork, this sauce is fantastic on chicken (I'd go for thighs).

Everybody in the house ate it up---I only had a half a chop leftover which I ate cold for lunch the next day (leaning over the sink so I wouldn't have to wash a dish).

I'm pretty sure we had the kids so I could get out of washing dishes.

other stuff you might like:

Peking Pork Chops

Apricot-Orange Pork Chops

Peanut Butter Pork

Apple Cinnamon Pork

Cajun Pulled Pork

Cranberry Pork Roast

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Back to School Slow Cooker Menu (ravioli lasagna and pizza chicken)

I'm done with summer.

The school can have my kids back.

I'm ready to get on track with routines, schedules, meal-planning, and quiet.

mostly the quiet.

I've written about my love for meal planning in a bunch of spots. If you're looking for a how-to, you can read this post, or this one, or this one.

If you'd like inspiration, Laura, from I'm an Organizing Junkie hosts Menu Planning Monday each week (I have a webTV interview with Laura, here).

Here are two super simple weeknight meal recipes. I'll throw them in together instead of writing up separate posts since they are so easy.

oh! the verdicts on each were great. The kids ate every last drop, and Adam did the dishes. :-)

 Slow Cooker Pizza Chicken

 

4 chicken breast halves (or about 6 thighs)

1 green bell pepper, seeded and sliced

1 small yellow onion, peeled and diced

1 (14-ounce) jar pizza sauce

20 pepperoni pieces (read labels carefully for hidden gluten, I used Hormel)

4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

I used a 4-quart slow cooker. Put the chicken into your cooker and top with the cut up veggies and pizza sauce. Put the pepperoni pieces evenly over the top, and add lots of cheese. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours or about 4 on high.

Slow Cooker Ravioli Lasagna

I'd wanted to test out the ease of ravioli lasagna for a while, but couldn't find gluten free ravioli that fit the budget. The ones pictured are from Mariposa which has a kiosk in the Ferry Building in SF. I have also seen frozen gluten free ravioli at Costco. If you can't find some locally, check with your local GIG group for suggestions.

If you aren't gluten free, use whatever you've got in the house!

1 pound lean ground beef, browned and drained

1 (28-ounce) jar prepared pasta sauce

25-30 frozen cheese or meat ravioli (I used gluten free; please mind labels!)

2 cups shredded cheese (I used Italian blend-- mozzarella, parmesan, etc)

2 tablespoons warm water

Use a 4-quart slow cooker. After browning the meat in a skillet, drain well and add the pasta sauce (save the jar!) to the meat in your saute pan. Stir to combine. 

Scoop a large spoonful of meat sauce and spread into the bottom of an empty slow cooker. Add a layer of frozen ravioli. Then add another layer of meat sauce. Continue layering until you run out of ravioli and sauce. Sprinkle cheese evenly all over the top.

Put 2 tablespoons of water into the empty pasta sauce jar, and shake. Pour this water over the top of your "lasagna."

Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours, or on high for about 4. Your lasagna is done when the pasta on the ravioli is tender and the filling is heated through.

School starts for us on September 6th. I love having the kids home with me, I really do. But we've done summer. We've had the pool parties, the sleep overs, the camping trips, the roadtrips, and the all-day-tv veg days.

What's on your back to school menu?

other stuff you might like:

back to school year resolutions

real moms making real money: Amy Lynn Andrews--bloggingwithamy.com

back to school, back to work 

How a Mom Gets Ready for School 

How to Work At Home With Small Children

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Slow Cooker Venison Roast Recipe

 

My apologies to the vegetarians and vegans amongst us. You might want to divert your eyes. How about a lovely black bean soup?  or sweet potato chili? maybe a vegetarian shepherd's pie? oooh! I've got a vegetable no-noodle lasagna for you!

did they leave?

is the coast clear?

I cooked Bambi. Our neighbors, Sandy and Sherman ( you remember them, they brought us Potluck Beans) hunt (well, Sherman hunts-- I think Sandy tolerates.) and were very generous with their last bounty. Venison is pretty lean meat, and has a tendency to be tough and dry if not cooked in a moist environment--

like in a slow cooker.

The Ingredients.

serves 4-6

2 onions, sliced in rings

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons gluten-free Worcestershire sauce

2 pounds venison roast (if you have a bigger piece, that's fine, too!)

1/2 pound bacon

1 cup beef broth

1/4 cup butter, sliced (to add later)

The Directions.

Use a 6-quart slow cooker. Peel and slice the onions, and separate the rings. Place them on the bottom of your slow cooker. Rub pepper and Worcestershire sauce directly into the meat, and place it on top of the onion. Wrap bacon slices around the roast, overlapping if necessary, and tuck in the ends of the bacon underneath. Pour on the beef broth.

Cover and cook on low for 7 to 10 hours, or until meat has reached desired tenderness. The longer you cook it, the more tender it will become. If the center of the meat isn't as juicy as you'd like, cut the meat into a few pieces, then return to the pot to cook on low until it begins to break down. Dry meat isn't the sign of over-cooking, it's a sign of under-cooking.

Slice, meat, and dot pieces of butter on it to melt. Serve with mashed or baked potatoes (or sweet potatoes) and something green.

The Verdict.

All Bambi jokes aside, this was quite delicious. Venison does not taste like beef or pork. It has a different flavor--many describe it as "gamey" which means that it has a different feel to the tongue, kind of tangy and more savory than sweet (beef and pork taste sweet when eaten right after). I liked it, and so did Adam and the baby (the big kids ate leftover mac and cheese (boxed, Trader Joe's)). I added the bacon and the butter to inject a bit of fat and moisture. 

I've been watching a lot of documentaries lately on Netflix Streaming (we downgraded our cable package, but now have Streaming-- not sure we're actually saving any time or money--- gah.) related to food politics. When I think too much about where our food comes from, and why this or that is priced the way it is, and why this other thing costs so much more my head hurts.

and I want to dig a hole and hide.

I'm not sure where I'm headed with this---- I just know that while I was eating this meal I had an odd (and kind of morbid) satisfaction that I knew where this meat came from. What it ate, how it died, and who butchered and packed it up.

and that's all I have to say about that!

it's back-to-school season--have an itch to get organized?

Have a wonderful week. xoxo

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Pineapple Salmon Slow Cooker Recipe (flop!)

When Adam and I were in our first year of marriage we lived in an apartment about a half-mile away from his brother and family. We were lucky enough to be invited over for dinner pretty often, and always happily accepted.

Adam's sister-in-law, Angela, is an excellent cook. Her family owns restaurants, and she's grown up in the kitchen and around food. I've always been quite impressed with the way she can open a fridge and just start throwing things together to make a really fantastic meal--- no recipe required.

She made us a salmon dinner one night (gosh, a good 12 years ago) that I still think about. It was the best salmon I have ever eaten. Ever.

ever.

She says she doesn't remember what she marinated the salmon in, but I knew pineapple juice was involved. and soy sauce.

I think.

I've been trying, unsuccessfully, to recreate this salmon. Last week I tried again.

It did not go so well.

The Ingredients.

(do NOT make this!)

4 salmon fillets

1 fresh pineapple, skinned and cubed

1 large orange, juiced

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1/3 cup soy sauce (La Choy and Tamari wheat-free are gluten free)

2 cloves garlic, smashed 

1 teaspoon red chile flakes

aluminum foil

an outdoor garbage can

The Directions.

Use a 6-quart slow cooker (but not really. don't attempt to make this. please.) In a blender combine the pineapple, orange juice, balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, and chile flakes. Blend until you have a creamy sauce (the color will not be pretty. that should have set off some bells and whistles for me...)

Place the salmon fillets into a flat baking dish with high sides (a pyrex or corningware with a lid works best). Pour the sauce blend evenly over the top. Refrigerate your fish in the sauce for two hours or so (or don't. this tastes really bad and you shouldn't be doing any of this anyhow.)

After the time has elapsed, spread a length of foil out on your kitchen countertop. Place the fish inside (lots of the sauce will stay in the dish. this is fine. trust me,  you don't want the sauce.) and crimp the sides of the foil to make a fully enclosed packet. You can stagger-stack all the fish fillets to make one large packet with all of the fish, or you can wrap each fillet individually. 

Your choice.

Put the packet(s) into your crockpot and cook on high for 2 hours, or until the fish flakes easily with a fork.

Taste. 

Then take outside and throw away.

The Verdict.

The "finished" picture up top is taken on the brick outside by the garbage bins. Thankfully I made this the night before the garbage was picked up---

I've made fish in the crockpot dozens and dozens and dozens of times, and have NEVER had this happen. The fish smelled really really fishy (I think it was a weird chemical break-down with the vinegar?) and the sauce tasted just how it looked.

really, really bad.

We had baked potatoes for dinner instead.

still want fish? these are the good ones!

Salmon with Lime Butter

Sweet and Spicy Salmon

Cedar Planked Salmon

Jamaican Salmon

Orange Honey Tilapia

Parmesan Tilapia

My Totally Together: Shortcuts to an Organized Life book/planner hits bookstores today. You should get it! :-)

have a great day! have any flops? feel free to share!

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