Crock Pot Parmesan Honey Pork

I love my crock pot cooking!  I saw this recipe on Pinterest and had a pork roast in the freezer and the ingredients in my pantry - a match made in heaven (and in my wallet)!

It's a super easy, super simple recipe.  Since you make a gravy with the drippings I of course had to serve it with mashed potatoes!  The one change I made is that I strained the drippings so that the gravy was smooth without all the lumps and discards from the drippings in it. 

You can find the recipe HERE.

Make your own yogurt (or Greek Yogurt)

I was really excited when my sister in law forwarded me this crock pot yogurt recipe!  I eat plain yogurt with fruit (or plain.... I know, it's an acquired taste I think...)  almost every day for breakfast or when I need a snack/dessert.  I love to eat it with my thawed strawberries!! 

Oh my word, it was so super easy and totally cheaper than buying yogurt.  Especially, Greek yogurt!!  You just strain your yogurt longer to make Greek yogurt.

My own Greek yogurt on the left, and my own regular yogurt on the right!  This was all from one batch! 

Crock Pot Yogurt Recipe
original recipe from HERE

1/2 gallon milk (8 cups)*
1/2 cup plain unflavored yogurt**

 *  The first time I made it I used 1% milk.  The next time I used mostly skim and about 1 cup of 2%.  The first time it made more yogurt - maybe because there was more fat in it?  Of course whole milk will make a creamier yogurt.

**  For your starter, any kind of yogurt with live active cultures will work. I used plain greek yogurt the first time, and the second time I used my own starter.  Be sure to save a half cup of this batch of homemade yogurt to use as a starter next time!


1.  Pour the half gallon of milk into your crock pot and turn it on low. Cook it for 2 hours and 45 minutes.

2.  After 2 hours and 45 minutes, turn the crock pot off and let it sit down 3 hours.

3.  Spoon a small amount of the milk into a small bowl and add the half cup of yogurt to it. Mix together thoroughly.

4.  Pour this mixture back into the milk in the crock pot and mix it around well with a whisk.

5.  Put the lid back on your crock pot and wrap the crock pot with a large beach towel or blanket (make sure the crock pot is unplugged and turned off!).  Apparently, it helps keep the heat in the crock pot and allows it to cool more slowly.

6.  Let the beach-towel-wrapped crock pot sit for 8-12 hours (or overnight). After 8-12 hours, it should be thickened.

7.  Line your fine strainer/siv with a paper towel, and place over a bowl.  Pour your yogurt onto the paper towel lined strainer.  Let your yogurt drain.  The longer you strain it, the thicker your yogurt will be.  The thickest makes the Greek yogurt.  While straining, gently take a spoon and scrape the yogurt from the paper towel.  (I used two strainers the last time I made it to make it go faster.)

8.  Spoon yogurt into jars or plastic containers and refrigerate a few hours before eating.
This will keep for one to two weeks in the refrigerator. Be sure to save a half cup to use as a starter for your next batch of homemade yogurt

Super Easy Beef Enchiladas

 

Do you have your Cinco de Mayo menu planned yet?

 

I don't love Enchiladas, but these looked so yummy on Pinterest, so I thought I'd give them a try...  They were good!  Nothing fancy, but yummy!  I will make them again!

 

Easy Beef Enchiladas Recipe

Recipe from HERE

• 1 1/2 to 2 pounds stew meat or other beef cubed (top sirloin is great)
• 1 large can mild (red) enchilada sauce* (at least 19 oz.)
• 2 beef bouillon cubes (I didn't have, so didn't use)
• 1/2 can refried beans (optional)
• 5-7 burrito size flour tortillas
• 1 cup or so of shredded cheddar cheese

 

Directions:

Put beef, bouillon, and enchilada sauce into the crockpot on low 7-8 hours, or until meat is very tender. (I cooked on high for 4 hours)

When beef is done (very tender and flakes off when stirred), taste and add more salt, if desired. Heat up refried beans in the microwave (covered and in a microwave-proof dish, of course)and put your oven on broil. On an oven-proof plate, or cookie sheet even, lay out a tortilla. Place on tortilla about 1/2 cup of the meat, drained by using a slotted spoon, and a spoonful or two of beans. Pour some of the remaining enchilada sauce from the crock pot over the burrito to cover it. Sprinkle with some cheddar cheese. Broil until cheese is bubbly, about 2-4 minutes.  (this recipe does an individual enchilada at a time, but I just rolled them all put them in a pan and then did the broil thing)

 

Serve.
Makes 5-7 burritos, depending on how full you make them. 

What it looked like on the inside.

I made some baked taquitos with some of the filling too.  Yum!

Pinterest Dinners

So, if you use Pinterest, I'm sure you've had the same experience as me, some recipes are hits, some are fails, and some are just okay.  Here are a few of my okays.  The vegetarian chili is the best of these recipes.  You might love them, it seemed like other people did, hence why I tried them.

Chicken Enchilada Soup:

I'm not a huge fan of red enchilada sauce, but I thought I would try this soup anyway.  It was good.  John liked it, but I don't think I'll make it again just because there are a thousand other recipes out there I like better.  You can find the recipe HERE. 

Monterey Chicken:

 

This was also good, but not fantastic... I changed it to be cooked in the crockpot, because I was short on time.  I put frozen chicken breasts in the crockpot (meaning I did not flatten them) and cooked them with garlic powder, minced onion, and BBQ sauce.  Once cooked, I added the cheese, Ro-tel, and bacon pieces.  Once again, probably will never make again, but HERE is the recipe if you'd like to try it. 

 

Vegetarian Quinoa Chili:

This was also good, and a great meatless version of chili.  For real, my husband didn't know there wasn't meat in it until I told him...  It is very hearty.  My uncle, who was visiting, said it should have another can of kidney beans too.  I found this recipe HERE, and was surprised when I clicked on the link and it took me to a blog of someone I knew ten years ago!!  My first job out of college was with the American Cancer Society, and Maria was one of our (best) interns.  I loved working with her, and she is seriously the sweetest person ever.  I don't know if this is going to go in my regular dinner rotation, who am I kidding, I don't have a regular dinner rotation -   I just like my chili recipes enough to not sub in a meatless version.  But, it is really good if you are looking for vegetarian dishes!!  

Three Packet Pot Roast

I found this recipe on Pinterest.  The link to it is HERE. 

It smelled really great while cooking.  The flavor of the sauce was super yummy.  I overcooked my pot roast a little though, because I forgot to check on it...  I later saw my uncle go dip his rolls in the leftover juices that the roast cooked in, so he must have thought it was pretty yummy too.  Super simple!

Three Packet Pot Roast Recipe

Brown Gravy Packet (I always buy the lower sodium ones)

Zesty Italian Dressing Packet

Ranch Dressing Packet

1-2 lb beef roast

1/2 c. water

Mix packets together rub over and pour over roast.  Add water.  Cook in crock pot.  About 3 hours on high or 6 hours on low - depending on your crock pot. 

Enjoy!



Crock Pot Lasagna

I was looking through a crock pot cookbook, and saw some recipes for crock pot lasagna. I thought I would try it out, but with my own lasagna recipe. My cut piece of lasagna picture up top doesn't look really great, and this is why: I was layering all of my lasagna in the crock pot while talking on the phone with my sister, I put the cheese on top, and all of a sudden I realized I hadn't added any of my meat yet!! So, I tried to lift up pieces, and layers, and put the meat in, but it didn't work very well in making a pretty dish... Oh well, it still tasted DELICIOUS! Husband and kids devoured it. My husband even thought I made the noodles - that's how yummy they turned out!

Really, the only difference in this lasagna and me making it the regular way is I didn't cook the noodles ahead of time to speed up the cooking time, and I didn't have to wait around for lasagna in the oven, I could turn the crock pot on and leave.

**  Update - I now use more cheese than this:  Italian cheese and Mozzarella cheese (usually 16 oz.)

Crock Pot Lasagna:

1 lb. ground beef (browned)

1 lb. Italian sausage (browned)

15 oz. low fat ricotta cheese

12 oz. low fat cottage cheese

8 oz. Italian blend shredded cheese (or whatever kind of cheese you want to use)

1 T. dried parsley (you can use fresh to taste)

1 clove of garlic (crushed)

1 16oz. lasagna noodles (uncooked)

1 2lb 13 oz. jar of spaghetti sauce (I used Ragu Garden Combo., or make your own)

1. Combine your browned meats. Set aside.

2. Mix together the next 5 ingredients, reserving a good handful of cheese to sprinkle over the top of the lasagna. (I have also in the past, sprinkled in basil and oregano into the cheese mixture, but I didn't do it this time for some reason. I think it just depends on how flavorful your spaghetti sauce is to what spices you add to your cheese mixture.)

3. Grease your crock pot.

4. Begin layering (But, not while you are on the phone...). Put about one cup of sauce in the bottom of your crock pot, followed by enough lasagna noodles to make one layer to cover the sauce, then spread a portion cheese mixture, then sprinkle a portion of meat mixture, then cover with a portion of sauce. Repeat, until all ingredients are used, ending with sauce on top covered with your reserved cheese.

5. Cook on high for 3 hours, or low for 5 hours, or until noodles are soft.

*** You could also add layers of mushrooms, or cooked spinach, or zucchini, and carrots if you want to make a vegetable lasagna instead of meat. Or for the ultimate lasagna, add everything!

Enjoy!!