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

Sausage and Peppers

3 mild Italian sausages

3 hot Italian sausages

1 red pepper

1 yellow pepper

1 orange pepper

1 sweet onion

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

There are several ways that you can prepare this dish. I kept the sausage separated from the peppers and onions so that you could decide on how you want to prepare the meal. I will include steps on how I like to prepare the meal and then options for other ways.

1.     Defrost the sausage and peppers in the refrigerator the night before.

2.    Cut the sausage into about bite size pieces.

3.    Place the sausage with the pepper and onion mixture into an aluminum pan covered with foil.

4.    Cook in the oven at 375 degrees for about 20 mins.

5.    Uncover and cook for another 20 mins. (I like to cook mine so that the sausage and peppers begin to brown and caramelize in the oven. )

*You can serve this meal on pasta with sauce. Or you can serve it as a sandwich. I sometimes like to eat mine in a bowl with some parmesan cheese and a salad.

*You can cook this meal in a pan on top of the stove.  The sausages do give off some grease so cooking them separately would help you control the grease if you were worried about that.

*You can also cook the sausage on the stove and cook the peppers in the oven.

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.

Marinated Pork Chops

Marinated Pork Chops

Recipe from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

3/4 cup Vegetable Oil

1/3 cup Soy Sauce

1/4 cup Vinegar

2 T. Worcestershire Sauce

1 T. Lemon Juice

1 T. prepared Mustard

1 t. salt

1 t. pepper

1 t. dried Parsley

1 Garlic Clove, minced

6 (1 inch thick) Pork Chops

Directions:

Combine all ingredients (except Pork Chops) in a Zip Lock Bag.  Add Pork Chops.  Remove as much air as possible, seal and freeze.  Defrost.  Discard marinade.  Grill over medium heat for 20-25 minutes, turning occasionally, until juices run clear. 

Crock pot Pork Loin

 

Ingredients

2.5-3 pound pork loin

1-1.5 (1 ounce) envelopes dry onion soup mix (they’re VERY salty, so use carefully)

1-1/3 cups water

1cup red wine

1/4 cup minced garlic

1/4 cup soy sauce (I used low-sodium)

fresh ground pepper to taste

Directions

1.    Place pork tenderloin in a slow cooker with the contents of the soup packet. Pour water, wine, and soy sauce over the top, turning the pork to coat. Carefully spread garlic over the pork, leaving as much on top of the roast during cooking as possible. Sprinkle with pepper, cover, and cook on low setting for 4 hours. Serve with cooking liquid on the side as au jus.

Freezer meal directions:  pour soup mix, water, wine, soy sauce and garlic in freezer bag.  Mix ingredients together.  Place pork loin in baggie, squeeze out air and freeze.

Cooking instructions from frozen:
Defrost.  Cook in slow cooker on low for 4-6 hours.

**Gluten-free if using GF soy sauce, and dry onion soup mix