The BEST Crockpot Pulled Pork Recipe Ever!

Normally my hubby is in charge of smoking our pork loins for pulled pork sandwiches. I had one in the freezer I bought several months ago I was wanting cooked. His schedule has been so busy I decided to try cooking it in my crockpot. I've ate other people's crockpot pulled pork so I knew it could be good if done right. Hubby didn't have any of his rub mixed up so I needed a recipe.

I found this one online:

Best Odds Pulled Pork
This traditional pulled pork rub will give you the best odds for making a great batch of Carolina Style Pulled Pork.

Ingredients:
•1/4 cup brown sugar
•1/4 cup paprika
•3 tablespoons salt
•2 tablespoons black pepper
•1 tablespoon cayenne
•2 teaspoons dry mustard

Mix all ingredients well in a bowl. Generously coat all sides of meat and let sit at least 30 minutes. Coating the meat can get messy so I just cut the plastic wrapper off the roast while it was still in the grocery bag, sprinkled the rub on and let it sit the 30 minutes in the bag.

I then added enough water to just cover the bottom of my crockpot with two chicken bullion cubes, two quartered onions, 1 tsp of liquid smoke and then the roast. I cooked it on high for about 6 hours (my roast was a 7 pound roast). You want the roast to be on the verge of falling apart.

Once it was done I removed the roast and was easily able to take off the fat and discard. Then I shredded it with a fork. I poured out all the liquid but about 1 cup and the onions. I threw the shredded pork back into crockpot with the reserved liquid to keep it from drying out.

The rub flavors the meat and juices so wonderfully, we didn't use any bbq sauce on our sandwiches.

Dinner tonight....

was Pan Fried Pork Medallions with Apples.

When I was a little girl my mother would serve fried apples with her pork chops. I picked up (dirt cheap) a 1/2 pec of apples at the farmer's market last week thinking with fall here it would be a great different dish to serve.

I found this ONE posted on Dining Alone. The recipe is from the Two at the Table cookbook.



2 Tbl butter
half of a 1 1/2 pound pork loin
salt & pepper
2 granny smith apples, peeled and cored
2 Tbl brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
dash of ground cloves

In a skillet, melt butter over medium high heat. Cut pork loin into 1 inch thick medallions, season with salt and pepper. Slice apples 1/2 inch thick.

Add medallions to pan and brown both sides, about 10 min per side. Reduce heat to medium low and add brown sugar, stirring to dissolve. Add apples, cinnamon and cloves, gently toss and turn to evenly coat. Cook for 10 minutes, turning frequently, or until apples are tender but not mushy.

Since I was running late with dinner, I even got my apple peeler/corer out which made quick work of the apples. Have I told you how I love my apple peeler/corer? lol Anyway, I suck at peeling apples.

It was delicious! So delicious the boys were standing waiting for it to get done and I totally forgot to take a picture. It turned out looking just like Dining Alone's pictures.

I like cooking something out of the ordinary once in a while. How about you? Have you cooked/ate anything new lately?

BEAUTY AND BEDLAM

Meal Plan Monday

If you would like to join in on Organizing Junkie's Meal Plan Monday's, check out her site. There are lots of great cooks that link their weekly menus there and share their recipes. There is something for any kind of diet!

Monday Big Beef Burrito Supremes

Tuesday Cheesy Tuna Casserole

Wednesday Crock Pot Roast Burgundy

Thursday Southern Smothered Cube Steak, Baked Potato, Corn

Friday Crock Pot Sweet & Sour Chicken Breasts

Saturday Leftovers

Sunday Smoked Pork Roast, Cabbage and Potatoes

What's For Dinnner? Smothered Pork Chops

Smothered Pork Chops, YUM! Everyone has their favorite recipe for smothered pork chops. I fix them several different ways myself depending upon what I have on hand.

Tonight's pork chops won't have any cream of whatever soup. I only had chicken and didnt want to use it.... so here's what I did. This makes the meal cheaper too.

Place: pork chops in prepared pan. (pam or lightly greased)
Dump: 1 envelope of Lipton Onion Soup Mix & 2 envelopes of brown gracy mix over chops
Pour: 2 cups cold water over all.
Cover: pan with foil.
Bake: 375 degrees for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Serve with a baked potato, vegetable and bread. Tonight's bread is going to be stove top stuffing.

Dinner is served!

Monday Meal Plan Menu 5/11-5/17

Organizing Junkie is home to Menu Plan Monday.

Monday Olive Garden's Cheese Lasagna Rollatini with Chicken

Tuesday Asian Crockpot Chicken

Wednesday Goulash

Thursday Savory Baked Pork Steaks, Baked Potatoes, Salad

Friday Tuna Salad Sandwiches

Saturday Grilled Hamburgers & Hot Dogs

Sunday Crock Pot Roast, Potatoes, Carrots

Monday Meal Plan Menu 4/20-4/26

Organizing Junkie is home to Menu Plan Monday.

Monday Chicken Strips & FF

Tuesday Ham & Rice Casserole

Wednesday Goulash

Thursday Pork Chops, Baked Potatoes, Buttered Corn

Friday Smoked Pulled Pork

Saturday Grilled Hamburgers & Hot Dogs

Sunday Crock Pot Roast, Potatoes, Carrots

Recession Buster Blasts #18-Crescent Roll Sausage Pie

1 8oz can Crescent Rolls (or you can make your own dough...RECIPE)
1 8oz package Sausage Links (cooked or you can use brown & serve) (ham can be used)
1 cup spinach (can use broccoli instead)
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
4 eggs lightly beaten
3/4 cup milk
2 Tbl chopped green pepper
1/4 tsp oregano
salt & pepper to taste

Separate crescent dough into 2 large rectangles. Place in ungreased deep dish pie pan, pressing over bottom and half way up sides to form crust.

Seal perforations. Slice cooked sausage and arrange in bottom. Sprinkle cheese on sausage. Combine remaining ingredients and pour over cheese.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

Serves 6
Estimated cost: $3.55


For a fun recipe check out The Grocery Cart Challenge. Gayle has posted another chocolate recipe that she will use for teachiing her class. It's Chocolate Playdough! To share or check out all the recipes shared visit her recipe swap every Thursday.






LE2

Recession Buster Blasts #17-Kraut & Sausage Skillet

16 ounces smoked sausage or beef Polish sausage
32 ounces Polish-style sauerkraut, undrained
3-4 medium potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (unpeeled is great)
1 large jalapeno pepper, chopped

Cook sausage in large skillet over medium-high heat approx 7-8 minutes. Add jalapeno for last two minutes. Slice sausage on diagonal into 1-inch chunks.

Add sauerkraut and cubed potatoes; bring to a boil. Cover; reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes or until potatoes are tender.


LE3

Pork with Spicy Cranberry Sauce

This is a zippy, 30 minutes or less favorite of mine. Hope you enjoy as much as we do.

4 thick pork chops
3 tablespoons butter
1 med onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup red wine
1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
2 tablespoons minced red roasted peppers (or 1 teaspoon minced jalapeno peppers)
2 tablespoons honey

Heat oven to 200 degrees.

Season chops on both sides with salt and pepper.

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt the butter. Add the chops and cook until lightly browned on the bottom, about 5 minutes. Turn the chops, cover the pan, then reduce heat to low and cook until the chops are done, about another seven to eight minutes.

Transfer the chops to an oven-safe plate, cover with foil and place in the oven to keep warm.

Return the skillet to the stove over medium-high heat. Add the onion, wine, cranberries, peppers and honey. Bring to a simmer and cook until the cranberries pop and the liquid has reduced to create a thick sauce, about 5 minutes. Season the sauce with salt and pepper.

To serve, drizzle each pork chop with some of the cranberry sauce.

LE4

Savory Baked Pork Steak

Living frugally requires you to know how to cook the not so tender, not the most favorable cuts of meat.

When I married my hubby over 16 years ago I was a single mother, working two jobs and going to night school. My ex-husband didn't understand what the three letter word J-O-B meant (still dont), so therefore I never received child support. Still dont, but that's another chapter. To surrive and make ends meet, I had to learn to cook and learn to cook those cuts of meats that are usually on sale but not the best cut in the world. My hubby wasnt particularly fond of pork steak but has learned to tolerate them due to my different ways of fixing them.

Here's one of his most liked (we cant really call it a favorite, lol) most tolerated pork steaks dinners. If I use pork chops, he likes it a lot better. I have even used fried hamburgers, chuck steak and round steak.

4 pork chops or pork steak (can use boneless or bone-in)

1 can cream of chicken soup
1 package brown gravy mix
1 soup can water
3 cups frozen corn (about two cans drained)
1/2 onion chopped

Dredge pork chops in flour, salt and pepper. Fry in hot skillet with 1 Tbsp. oil for 3-4 minutes per side until brown. Remove browned chops to a plate. In same skillet slightly cook the onions, scraping up any stuck on bits from the pork chops.

Baked Method: In 9 x 13 pan, mix soup, water and gravy mix well. Stir in corn. Place steaks on top. Spoon corn gravy over steaks. Top with fried onion and browned bits. (Do not pour oil from frying pan.) Cover tightly with foil and bake 1 hour on 350.

Skillet Method: Stir in the soup, dry gravy mix, and can of water. Stir in corn until all is well mixed and boiling. Place the pork chops back in the pan in the gravy. Cover with a lid or foil and reduce heat to low. Let this simmer until tender, at least 30 minutes. They can simmer longer depending on thickness of the pork chops.

Serve with rice or baked potatoes.