Hawaiian Meatballs in Crock Pot

I found this recipe on Six Sister's website (which I love) and had to try this one right away.  Super simple and I had everything on hand.  My kids loved it.  I threw it together over lunch when I knew I wasn't going to be home for dinner that night.  It smelled so good I had to put a small bowl together for me to taste before I left.  My hubby fixed it with white rice and it was all gone when I got home.  It will easily added into our regular rotation of meals.  The crock pot is becoming my go to these days with the craziness of school, sports and work.  I needed to find some recipes that my family likes and here is one that fits that to a tee.

Hope you enjoy!

Hawaiian Meatballs in Crock Pot

32 oz. package of precooked, frozen meatballs

13.5 oz can of pineapple chunks (save juice)
1 large green pepper, diced
1 cup of brown sugar

2 tbl cornstarch
2/3 c white vinegar
2 tbl soy sauce

Place meatballs in crock pot and top with green pepper and drained pineapple chunks. In a separate bowl, mix reserved pineapple juice, brown sugar, cornstarch, vinegar and soy sauce. Pour sauce over all in crock pot. Cook on low for 3-4 hours or until heated through. Serve over rice.

Pork Roast in the Crock Pot

My hubby bought a lot of pork roasts on major sale and they are several in the freezer.  I wanted to find an easy recipe to cook one in the crock pot and this is what I found.  It was so easy and I had everything on hand to throw together over my lunch hour.  It feel apart as I took it out of the crock pot.  It was so moist and perfect for a midweek meal.  I am always looking for quick meals during the week and this was perfect for that.

Enjoy!

Pork Roast in Crock Pot


2 1/2 lb Boneless Pork Roast
1 sweet onion sliced thin
1 c hot water
1/4 c brown sugar
2 tbl soy sauce
2 tbl ketchup
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Place the sliced onion in the bottom of your crock pot and then place your pork roast on top of the onions.  Whisk the rest of your ingredients in a small bowl and pour over top of the roast.  Cook on high for 4-6 hours.

Pork Tenderloin

I found a beautiful port tenderloin very inexpensively at the store and I hit Pinterest first thing to see if I could come up with a great way to cook it.  I found this recipe here and it was super easy but my pork tenderloin was 3lbs.  I doubled the sauce for the marinade and doubled the cooking time.  I always use a metal 9x13 pan when I bake meat.  That way you can use the pan on the stove top if needed.  Which you will need later to make the pan sauce. 

It was wonderful and so very moist.  My oldest ate 4 pieces in no time.  We had some left over which my hubby ate the next day.  I served it with mashed potato's, steamed broccoli and rolls.  It was a wonderful Sunday dinner on a snowy day.

Hope you enjoy!

Pork Tenderloin

Marinade:
1⁄2 cups olive oil
1⁄3 cup soy sauce
1⁄4 cup red wine vinegar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1-2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1-2 tbsp dry parsley
2 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1 lb. pork tenderloin

Directions:
Combine all marinade ingredients and reserve 2-3 Tbsp. Place the pork tenderloin and marinade in a Ziplock bag and let marinate for at least 3-4 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a hot skillet over medium-high heat, sear each side of tenderloin for 2-3 minutes. Place in the oven and cook for 30-40 minutes or until the meat has reached 160 degrees. Let rest for at least 5 minutes before slicing.

Pan Sauce:

Pan scrapings from pork tenderloin
1/2 cup of chicken broth
2-3 tbsp of pork marinade (thoroughly mixed)
1-2 tsp butter

Meanwhile, place the cooking pan back on the stove over medium heat. Add the chicken broth and scrape up all the browned pieces from the bottom of the pan. Add the marinade and let it boil down for 2-3 minutes. Add the butter and remove from heat stirring until butter has melted. Pour over the pork tenderloin. 

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

I LOVE chocolate covered strawberries.  But the strawberries have to look amazing for me to even think about making them.  I have made them twice recently and wanted to share how I make them.  I tried to turn them into footballs for the Super Bowl back in February but that didn't turn out so well.  I used white chocolate chips and they didn't melt too well and clogged the plastic mustard bottle I tried to use to decorate with.  I need to use the almond bark next time and it should work a lot better.

My football attempt for the Super Bowl

I made these for a casual St Patrick's Day get together we had and the looked beautiful.  But I forgot to get them out of the fridge and serve them that night :)  I am glad I did forget though.  I didn't put them on wax paper for drying, I put them on the pretty serving platter right away and the chocolate stuck to the glass platter.  So we missed out on about half the chocolate goodness.

Chocolate Covered Strawberries
1 quart strawberries
1 container Bakers brand Dipping Chocolate

Wash and dry strawberries.  Melt chocolate according to package directions.  Dip Strawberries in chocolate and place on WAX paper covered plate.  Refrigerate several hours and transfer to a serving tray. 

My pretty ones ready to eat!

Chicken Tetrazzini

I have two recipes for this and wanted to try this one I found on Pinterest.  The sliced almonds caught my attention and I wanted to see how it turned out.  Here is where I found this recipe but I did remove the onions because they are just too much for my son.  I will have to make my sisters recipe one of these days and see which one you like better.   I have included the freezer directions that came with this as well, but I haven't tried them. 

I loved this.  My family did eat it and my youngest did as well.  But it wasn't their favorite like the Swedish Meatballs where last week.  I got asked to make them again this week by my oldest. 

Hope you enjoy these.  I am looking forward to my lunch today :)

Chicken Tetrazzini

1 box spaghetti
1 1/2 c cheddar cheese
1 1/2 c Monterrey jack cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
10 ounces milk (just over 1 1/4 cups)
1 small bag of sliced almonds
2 cups cooked and cubed chicken


Cook spaghetti until al dente. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Pour into a 9×13 pan and bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.


To Freeze: Prepare up until baking. Cover well and freeze. To serve: Thaw and bake as directed.

Overnight Breakfast Casserole

I love a good breakfast casserole.  Breakfast is one of my favorite meals to eat any time of the day.  I love it when you can make something ahead, wake up and pop it in the oven while you are getting ready for the day.  I wish I could say I do this for during the week.  But that NEVER happens.  I am lucky to get a bowl of cereal for myself in the morning.  But on the weekends or when we have guests coming to stay, I like to put one of these together and have it ready to go.  I put this together in no time.  It doesn't take too long and if I kept browned sausage in the freezer like I do my chicken this might go easier.  (Light bulb just went off - going to have to try that out)

Overnight Breakfast Casserole
10 eggs
2 1/4 c milk
1 1/2 tsp ground mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1 lb pork sausage, browned and drained
2 c white bread, cubed
1 1/2 c shredded cheddar cheese

Place cubed bread in a greased 9x13 baking dish.  Cover with sausage. In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs, milk, mustard and salt for 1 minute.  Add 1 c of cheese and mix to combine.  Pour over bread and sausage.  Cover with remaining 1/2 c of cheese.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.  Remove from fridge while oven is warming up.  Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean from center.  Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!!!

Barbecue Ribs

My family LOVES ribs.  I could make 10 lbs and they would eat them all.  I make them with either pork or beef; bones in or without.  I have finally found the easiest possible way to make them.  My husband has put a rack of them in foil and slow cooked them for hours and slathered them with barbecue sauce. They were really good don't get me wrong but that is only practical on the free weekend.  I needed to find a way to fix them during the week and fast.  So this is what I came up with.  I made them for my sister and her family 2 weeks ago and go rave reviews.  My son can eat an entire rack by himself so they must be good.

Hope you enjoy them!

Barbecue Ribs
Pork or Beef ribs bone in or without
Barbecue sauce

If they are boneless than I place them in my crock pot haphazard. If they are bone in I make sure they are cut apart and individual pieces and place them in the crock pot.  Cook on high at least 4 hours.  Cover cookie sheet with aluminum foil.  Place ribs from crock pot onto foil lined cookie sheet.  Slather them with barbecue sauce.  Place in 350 degree oven for 15 minutes.  Flip over and slather more barbecue sauce and bake another 10-15 minutes. 

When you take them out of the crock pot after 4 hours and they had bones they won't any more.  They will fall right off and melt in your mouth!

Swedish Meatballs

I had seen several recipes using meatballs in the crock pot and I wanted to find something that I could throw together quickly while I was home for lunch yesterday.  I went through my pinned recipes on Pinterest and nothing was what I was looking for.  I searched on "meatballs crock pot" and found this recipe.  I had everything in my pantry or fridge and I put it together in minutes before I headed back to work.  When we got home on a snowy night with everything cancelled because of weather, it smelled fabulous.  I cooked some egg noodles, rolls and a vegetable and we were set.  My oldest inhaled it.  She asked if she could take the leftovers to school the next day. 

Hope you enjoy!

Swedish Meatballs
1 pkg frozen home style meatballs
1 can french onion soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can mushrooms, drained
8oz sour cream

Place frozen meatballs in crock pot.  Mix soups, mushrooms and cream cheese and pour over the top of the meatballs.  Cook on high 4 hours or low 7.  Serve over cooked egg noodles.