Apple Cider Pulled Pork

Serves 6-8

ingredients:

*1 1/2 cups sweet apple cider plus 1 1/2 cups hard apple cider (or just use 3 cups of sweet cider
*1 cup organic or low sugar ketchup (look for one without high fructose corn syrup)
*1/2 cup brown sugar
*1 Tb. cumin
*1 Tb. paprika
*1 Tb. garlic powder
*3 Tb. hot sauce
*4 onions, peeled and sliced
*4 pounds pork shoulder, preferably organic (you will want to remove the layer of fat on the pork; I find it easiest to do this once it has cooked and before you shred it, but you can do it before you cook it, if you like)

directions:

1. In a large bowl, mix together both ciders, ketchup, brown sugar, cumin, paprika, garlic power and hot sauce.

2. Place half of the onions in the bottom of a 4 1/2- to 6-quart crockpot/slow cooker.

3. Put the pork shoulder on top of the onions and pour the sauce over the pork. Top with the rest of the onions.

4. Cover slow cooker with lid and cook pork mixture on high for 4 hours (or on low for 8 hours), or until pork is very tender.

5. With tongs, carefully transfer pork to large bowl. Turn crockpot to high, cover, and heat sauce to boiling to thicken and reduce slightly (alternatively, this can be done in a pan on the stove).

6. While sauce boils, use 2 forks to pull pork into shreds. Return shredded pork to crockpot with the sauce and allow to cook for an additional 30 minutes on the high setting.

7. Serve pulled pork with or without whole grain sandwich buns; I love it with braised greens, cole slaw and/or cranberry chutney!

http://www.healthygreenkitchen.com/crockpot-pulled-pork-with-apple-cider.html

Crockpot Chicken Fajitas

Ingredients

2 peppers -sliced

1 onion - sliced

1.5lbs chicken breast, boneless, skinless

1/2c. chicken broth

Taco Seasoning (either a packet or see below for homemade taco seasoning)

1 tsp salt

Mix everything into a freezer bag, make sure everything is coated evenly with seasonings before freezing.  NO NEED TO THAW…..Run the chicken mixture bag under running water until it thaws just enough to separate from the bag, place the frozen chicken mixture into the crockpot, cook on low for 4 hours. Shred chicken, serve in warm tortilla with cheese and sour cream.

Rosemary and Garlic Pork Loin

(based on a recipe from Bon Appétit, June 1999)

SERVES 8

Ingredients:

4 large garlic cloves, pressed

4 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary or 2 teaspoons dried

1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 2 1/2 to 3 lb. boneless pork loin roast, well trimmed

Preparation:

Mix first 4 ingredients in a bowl.  Rub garlic mixture all over pork.  Place pork in large zip lock bag.  Add chicken broth.  Seal and freeze.

Cooking:

Completely thaw in refrigerator.  Place roast in crock pot, fat side down, and cook on low 4-6 hours.  OR place roast in roasting pan and cook in oven at 400 degrees for 90 minutes or until roast reaches 155 degrees.  Let stand before serving.

Pulled Chicken BBQ

Ingredients

4 boneless skinless chicken breast                         3 tbsp. brown sugar

1 ½ cups ketchup                                          ½ tsp. black pepper

 3 tbsp. apple cider vinegar                                   1 ½ tsp. onion powder

3 tbsp. molasses                                          ½ tsp. cumin

1 ½ tbsp. yellow mustard                               ¾ tsp. garlic powder

1/3 cup steak sauce                                               1 ¼ tsp. tabasco

2 tbsp. liquid smoke

Cooking directions:

1.     Place all four chicken breasts in the bottom of a crock pot.

2.    Pour the barbeque sauce over the chicken breasts.

3.    Cook on low for 6 hours.

4.    The sauce will thicken while cooking.

5.    Shred the chicken in the crockpot and serve.

Serving Suggestions: Serve chicken bbq on buns with coleslaw, corn, and baked apples.

**You may need to up the spice level after cooking. I realized that once I shredded the chicken it wasn’t as spicy, but it was perfect for my children. I actually put extra ketchup on one of my kid’s sandwiches so that she would eat it. (She can be very picky with meat dishes). I hope you enjoy it!!

Chicken Broccoli Alfredo

Ingredients:

1 ½ pounds chicken breasts
1 (16 oz) bag frozen broccoli florets
2 (16 oz) jars Alfredo sauce
1 (4 oz) can sliced mushrooms, drained

Directions:
Place all ingredients in a resealable gallon-sized freezer bag and mix together.
When ready to eat, remove from freezer and thaw in fridge for 24 hours (you can put into slow cooker frozen, just cook it longer).
Cook on LOW for 4-6 hours.
Serve with cooked fettuccine noodles

Slow Cooker Roast Beef

Ingredients:

1 3-4 lb. beef roast

1 (1.25 oz.) envelope onion soup mix

1 (12 fluid ounce) bottle beer (I used water for this batch, but it's delicious with beer)

3 sliced onions

Instructions:

Place all ingredients in a zip lock bag.  Freeze.

To cook:  Thaw completely in refrigerator.  Place contents of zip lock bag in slow cooker.  Add liquid if desired.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Cook on LOW for 8-10 hours until meat is easily pulled apart with a fork.

Variation options:  Can slice 1 lb. of fresh mushrooms into the bottom of slow cooker before adding roast.  After cooking, use droppings to make gravy (add milk and flour and stir until thickened) and serve over mashed potatoes or noodles.