Slow Cooker Hawaiian Pulled Pork

I was watching The Kitchen on Food TV last week and I saw Katie Lee make this pulled pork recipe. It looked delicious so I decided to try making it for Superbowl Sunday. It was really good. I served it in dinner rolls topped with coleslaw for yummy sliders. I liked it because it was different from the usual barbecue pulled pork. I think this recipe will become a family favorite. I’m definitely going to be making it again!

SLOW COOKER HAWAIIAN PULLED PORK`

• 5 lbs. boneless pork butt or shoulder
• 1 Tbsp. onion powder
• 2 tsp. garlic powder
• 2 tsp. kosher salt
• 1 tsp. ground black pepper
• 1 can (8 ozs.) crushed pineapple
• ½ cup hoisin sauce
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp. rice vinegar

1. In a small bowl, mix the onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
2. Rub the mixture all over the pork.
3. Put the pork in a slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours.
4. Shred the pork with 2 forks, removing any large pieces of fat.
5. Pour the broth into a fat separator or skim off the fat.
6. In a bowl, whisk 2 cups of the skimmed broth with the crushed pineapple, hoisin sauce, honey, soy sauce, and vinegar.
7. Put the pork back in the slow cooker and stir in the sauce.
8. Cook on low for 1 more hour.
9. Serve the pulled pork on Hawaiian buns topped with coleslaw.

[Adapted from Food TV]

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Slow Cooker Spicy Garlic Meatballs

This is a play on the old standby meatball recipe made with grape jelly and barbecue sauce that you find on Welch’s and Sweet Baby Ray’s websites. Mixing grape jelly and barbecue sauce, or grape jelly and any other kind of sauce, is a fairly common way to fix slow cooker meatballs in the U.S. For this recipe, I used a sweet and spicy barbecue sauce and added minced garlic for an added level of flavor.

SLOW COOKER SPICY GARLIC MEATBALLS

• 2-3 lbs. frozen meatballs
• 2½ cups grape jelly
• 1 bottle (18 ozs.) spicy barbecue sauce
• 4 cloves garlic, minced (optional)

1. Mix grape jelly, barbeque sauce, and garlic together in a slow cooker.
2. Add meatballs and stir till meatballs are well-coated with sauce.
3. Cook on high for 3 to 3½ hours, stirring the meatballs halfway through the cooking time.

 

Slow Cooker Sweet and Spicy Party Meatballs

We’re having another potluck at work tomorrow so I thought I would fix these to take to the office. Crockpot meatballs with grape jelly and some other ingredient is one of those recipes that’s been around for years and everyone has their own version of. My version can be fixed mild or spicy (which my Old Goat loves). It’s great because it’s super easy to do. Just mix all the ingredients in your slow cooker and turn it on. If I’m around, I’ll occasionally stir the meatballs, but if I’m out or asleep, then I don’t bother.

This recipe makes a lot of meatballs – perfect for a party or a potluck. I get the big bag of frozen meatballs from Costco. If you want to make less, you can cut the recipe in half or one-third. Also, to make your meatballs really spicy, omit the chili sauce and use 3 bottles of hot & spicy ketchup. If you want it medium spicy, use 2 bottles hot & spicy ketchup and 1 bottle chili sauce. If you prefer it mild like my kids do, then follow the recipe below.

SLOW COOKER SWEET & SPICY PARTY MEATBALLS

• 1 bag (6 lbs.) frozen meatballs
• 1 bottle (14 ozs.) Heinz hot & spicy tomato ketchup
• 2 bottles (12 ozs. each) chili sauce
• 1 jar (32 ozs.) grape jelly

1. In the bowl of a 6-quart slow cooker, whisk together spicy ketchup, chili sauce and grape jelly.
2. Pour in frozen meatballs and stir until meatballs are coated with sauce.
3. Cook on low for 5-6 hours or on high for 3-4 hours.

Slow Cooker Pork Chops with Creamy Hash Browns

This pork chop recipe is one that’s been around for years. If you just Google “slow cooker pork chops and hash browns,” you’re bound to come across a few variations of it. You can make it with cream of mushroom soup, O’Brien style potatoes, a different kind of cheese, the possibilities are many and varied.

This version was given to me by one of my officemates years ago and I’ve fixed it this way ever since. It’s easy and delicious. The best part is I have one of those slow cookers that lets you brown the meat right in it so I don’t have to dirty a separate skillet. Toss together a green salad and dinner’s ready in 2 shakes of a leg…. or 2 shakes of a dressing bottle.

SLOW COOKER PORK CHOPS WITH CREAMY HASH BROWNS

• 6 pork chops
• 1 tbsp. canola oil
• 1 can cream of celery soup
• ½ cup milk
• ½ cup sour cream
• 1½ cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
• 1 pkg. (30 oz.) frozen shredded hash brown potatoes, thawed
• 2 cans (2.8 oz) French-fried onions
• salt and pepper, to taste

1. Season pork chops with salt and pepper.
2. In a large skillet, brown chops in oil on both sides and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, combine the soup, milk, sour cream and 1 cup of cheese.
4. Stir in the hash browns and one can of onions; season with salt and pepper to taste.
5. Transfer hash brown mixture to a greased slow cooker and lay pork chops on top.
6. Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours.
7. Sprinkle top with remaining onions and cheese.
8. Cover and cook 15 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.

 

Slow Cooker Irish Beef & Guinness Stew

It’s St. Patrick’s Day tomorrow. Even though we don’t have any Irish blood, I fix a big Irish dinner in honor of St. Patrick’s Day every year. We’re Catholic so I guess it’s not unusual for us to celebrate the saint’s feast day.

I always fix Corned Beef & Cabbage for the family on St. Patrick’s Day, even though I’ve since learned that it is not a traditional Irish dish. In fact, most Irish people have apparently never even tasted corned beef! But a couple of years ago I decided to break with tradition and try making something different. I’m not much of a beer drinker and Guinness tastes terribly bitter to me, but I’d always been intrigued by photos I’d seen of Irish beef and beer stews. They always look so delicious so I decided to take the bull by the horns (or the beer by the bottleneck) and try my hand at fixing my own Irish stew. Surprisingly, the family liked it! So I wrote my recipe down and here it is.

Serve the stew with roasted or mashed potatoes on the side.

SLOW COOKER IRISH BEEF & GUINNESS STEW

• 3 lbs. boneless beef chuck
• flour for coating meat
• margarine for browning meat
• 8 strips of bacon, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• ½ medium onion, diced
• 1 bottle (12 oz.) Guinness stout
• 3 carrots, peeled and sliced into rounds
• 1 cup beef broth
• 5 tbsp. tomato paste (about half a 6-oz. can)
• 1 tbsp. brown sugar, packed
• ½ tsp. salt, more or less
• ¼ tsp. pepper, more or less

1. Cut the meat into 1½-inch cubes and coat each piece with flour.
2. In a large skillet, sauté the bacon until it renders its fat and starts to crisp up.
3. Add the garlic and onions to the bacon and continue to sauté until the onions start to turn translucent.
4. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon-onion mixture to a slow cooker.
5. Add 2 tbsp. margarine to the remaining bacon grease in the skillet and brown the beef cubes on all sides, a few pieces at a time, adding more margarine as needed.
6. Transfer the browned beef cubes to the slow cooker with the bacon-onion mixture.
7. Stir in the Guinness, carrots, beef broth, tomato paste and brown sugar.
8. Season with the salt and pepper, adding more or less to your taste.
9. Cook on high for 4-5 hours or on low for 7-8 hours.

NOTE:   If desired, you could add button mushrooms to the dish.
              This recipe can be doubled for a crowd.

VARIATION:  You can make Individual Irish Stew Pies if you like. Just cook the stew following the recipe. Spoon some warm stew into ramekins or individual gratin dishes. Cut out a piece of ready-made puff pastry a little larger than the dish you’re using and drape it over the top of the dish leaving a ½ to 1-inch overhang. Brush the puff pastry with a little egg wash (1 egg beaten plus 1 tablespoon of water). Bake at 400º F for about 15 minutes or until pastry crust is golden brown.