Thai Pork

*excuse me while I go off on a tangent for a minute* (its what I do best)

My friend called me a few days ago. She had gotten a flat tire on the freeway. Luckily the timing was right and we could go help her fix it asap. In a span of about 15 minutes we had the car ready to go. We got back in our truck, closed the door and a second later a huge truck flew right past us, barely missing us all the way safely off on the shoulder of the road. We then watched as this vehicle drove about 20 more seconds before crashing off the freeway into the guard rails at full speed. It was a dreadful sight (the driver was okay, his truck was not).
This driver was drunk.
If we hadn't have been parked behind my friend or come to help her with her flat, he would have easily hit right into her and her blond hair, blue eyed babies napping in the back seat.

We were all a bit frazzled of course.

The next night she had us over for dinner as a thank you. And the main course was fabulous.

She called it, the You saved our lives Pork.
I called it, fantastic!

Thai Pork

2 lb boneless pork loin, trimmed
2 large red bell peppers, cut into strips
1/3 cup teriyaki sauce
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp red pepper flakes (more or less for heat)
2 cloves of garlic minced

Add all ingredients to slow cooker and cook on low for 5-7 hours.
At the end, shred the pork and add 1/4 cup peanut butter.
Serve over Jasmine rice. Top with sliced green onions, chopped peanuts, and lime wedges.

Zucchini Soup

FYI...the picture doesn't do this dish justice...it's from my phone...! :(

This soup is perfect for cold days. So I whipped up a batch of this and I have rolls rising right now...that will be popped into the oven shortly....for a quick, flavorful meal...! (and it's easily adaptable to the crockpot...just follow the steps, set on low - let it cook all day - but add the peppers 1 hour before serving...)

You'll need:

1 lb. Italian Sausage
1 C. chopped Onion
2 C. chopped Celery
2 lg. Zucchini (cut into chunks)
2 Green Bell Peppers (chopped up and seeded)
(2) 28 oz. cans stewed chopped Tomatoes
2 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Italian Seasoning
1 tsp. Oregano
1/2 tsp. Basil
1 tsp. Sugar
1/4 tsp. Garlic Powder

Brown the sausage with the onion. Drain the fat. In a large soup kettle, combind all ingredients except peppers. Simmer 1 hour, stirring occassionally. Add bell peppers and simmer 15 minutes before serving.

Some other tasty variations: Add corn, yellow crooked neck squash, pearl barley or (because normally I double this) use half sausage/half hamburger. I sometimes even cheat (like today) and use frozen bell pepper strips that you can find in your grocers frozen section...(yellow, red & green - doesn't matter!) to speed things along. It's super easy...and such a great use of all that left-over Zucchini...! (tho' I admit...I'm not having an excess of that this year!!!) ;)

Enjoy!

Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili

2 (14oz) cans chicken broth
3-4 chicken breasts, trimmed of fat
3 cloves garlic
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp dried oregano leaves
1 tsp salt
1 tsp crushed red pepper
2 cans great northern beans
1 can white shoepeg corn (I use regular corn)
3 Tbsp lime juice (I used a little more)
2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro (I didn't put this in)

Add Chicken, broth, cumin, oregano, garlic, salt, and red pepper to slow cooker. Cover and let cook for about 6-8 hours on low or until chicken falls apart. Shred the chicken with 2 forks. Drain and rinse the beans and corn and add them to the slow cooker. Add chopped cilantro and lime juice to slow cooker. Put cover back on and let cook for 30 more minutes until heated through. I got this off Good Things Utah and it is SOOO good!

Creamy Pesto Crock Pot Chicken

Well hot dog! Dont you just love when you throw ingredients into your slow cooker with no recipe and it actually turns out? This dish tastes great and smells like basil while its cooking. Mmm. I love me some basil.

You will need:

1 pound chicken tenders or breast
1 can cream of chicken or mushroom
1 cup prepared pesto (Im sure you could use a dry mix, but prepared is what I had on hand)
1 can of artichoke hearts drained and quartered
1/2 cup sundried tomatoes cut into small bits
1/2 cup milk or cream (more or less to desired sauce thickness)
salt
pepper
garlic powder
a handful of pine nuts
Add to crock pot and cook on high for 3 hours. Serve over pasta and along side a vegetable. We ate it with asparagus. I could eat anything with asparagus but thats a whole nother post.....
Enjoy.

Cafe Rio Sweet Pork

I couldn't remember if I had posted this recipe for you guys, but its worth repeating if I have.
ENJOY!!
Café Rio Sweet Pork
3-4 lbs pork roast or pork loin
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dry ground mustard
1/2 onion
2 garlic cloves
Sauce
1 (14 ounce) can enchilada sauce
3/4 cup Coca-Cola or Dr. Pepper cola
1 cup brown sugar
Directions:
Cut pork in large chunks. Put in large crock pot and add water to about half way up the side of the pork. Add seasonings. Cut onion in 4 large pieces, crush garlic and add to crock pot. Cook pork on low all day (10-11 hours) or on high for 3 to 4 hours, or until tender and pork pulls apart easily. Drain water and remove onions and garlic. Shred pork and return to crock pot.
In a separate container mix the enchilada sauce, soda and sugar. Add sauce to pork in the crock pot. Cook 1 hour longer. (You can cook less at this point if you don't have time.).

Crockpot Cheese Dip

1 pound processed american cheese, cubed
1 8oz pkg cream cheese
1 medium onion, diced
1 can diced tomatos with green chiles
1 4oz can diced green chiles
1 pound of ground beef, cooked and drained

Mix all ingredients together in a crock pot. Cook on low heat until cheese melts. Serve with corn chips