Slow Cooker Pork Chops

Easy and simple sums up this recipe with many ways to add flavour by choosing different seasonings.    

Slow Cooker Pork Chops

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1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon ground mustard

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoons herb seasoning mix

4 to 6 boneless pork chops, about 4 ounces each 

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

14 oz mushroom or chicken broth

2 crushed garlic cloves

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

In a shallow bowl, combine half of the flour (1/4 cup), ground mustard, black pepper, salt and herb mix. Add the pork chops, one at a time, and dredge to coat. 

In a large skillet, brown the chops in the oil, for about 4 minutes each side.

Transfer the seared pork chops to a 5 quart slow cooker. Pour broth over top of the chops add the crushed garlic and Worcestershire sauce. Cook, covered, on low for about 2 to 3 hours or until meat is tender.

Remove the pork chops from the slow cooker to a serving plate and keep warm. Whisk the remaining flour (1/4 cup) into the cooking juices until smooth. Cook covered on high until gravy thickens.

Have a nice weekend and stay safe everyone! - JD 

Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken

I must admit that I have been watching too many Tasty videos. Therefore, I decided to put another Tasty recipe to the test. Their honey garlic chicken with vegetables is an easy one with not too much fuss... the green beans are added in the last 30 minutes of cooking time, though. This is a great way to have a "Sunday Roast" meal mid week.

Tasty's Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken 

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Marinade:

1/2 cup of honey

1/2 cup of soy sauce

4 cloves of garlic

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

8 chicken thighs

1 bag baby carrots, rinsed

1 bag mini potatoes, washed and cut in half 

1 lbs of green beans, washed and ends trimmed

1 large crock pot

In a large bowl blend the honey, soy sauce, garlic, basil, oregano, red pepper flakes and black pepper. Stir to combine. Set aside.

Place 4 of the chicken thighs in the bottom of a large crock pot.

Add half of the marinade over top of the chicken thighs.

Add the potatoes and carrots on top of the chicken.

Then add the remaining chicken thighs on top. Add the remaining soy marinade over the chicken thighs.

Cook on LOW for 8:00 hours

OR 

Cook on HIGH for 4:00 hours

During the last 30 minutes of cooking time add the prepared green beans to the slow cooker.

Optional: When done remove all the chicken thighs from the slow cooker and place on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and BROIL for 3 to 4 minutes. 

Serve! 

Notes: I chose to cook on high. Everything turned out and was done nicely except for the green beans. Maybe the greens beans I bought were too crisp to start off with regardless they could have used a bit more time. I know I would rather have some crunch to my vegetables then an over cooked soggy vegetable. The chicken on the bottom of the crock pot had the most flavour and was a nicely browned while the chicken pieces on top were pale, as you can see from my photo. On Tasty's video they place each vegetable separately on the plate however I found that I could not do that because after removing the chicken to broil; all the vegetables mixed and fell into each other. Still, nothing to worry about though. The meal was tasty!

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Have a great Thursday everyone! - JD 

Crock Pot Cauliflower and Cheese

Still going through my cauliflower phase and this recipe is an easy way to make a delicious dish with little to no effort. I normally do not cook with cans of soup due to the salt content; however for this recipe I had all the ingredients, the can of soup and evaporated milk, and decided to give it go anyway. 

Crock Pot Cauliflower and Cheese

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1 medium/large head of cauliflower, cut into florets

1 small onion, finely diced

1 can of condensed cream of mushroom soup

1 can (370ml) of evaporated milk

1 teaspoon paprika 

1-2 teaspoons Colemans mustard powder

salt and pepper, to taste

3 cups of grated cheddar cheese

Grease the inside of a 3 to 4 quart crock pot.

Place the cauliflower florets inside the crock pot.

In a large saucepan combine the diced onion, soup, evaporated milk, paprika, mustard powder, salt and pepper, and the grated cheese. Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the cheese has melted.

Pour the sauce over the cauliflower. Give a stir if you feel the need to. Then place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on low for 3 to 4 hours. It depends on how tender you would like the cauliflower to be.

Notes: I used old cheddar cheese however do not recommended using extra-old cheddar. It is acidic and may make the sauce go grainy. Also cooking on high may curdle the sauce so cooking on low is strongly recommended. You may try adding curry powder, chili powder, turmeric, crushed garlic and fresh chives. Even though I had set the slow cooker to 4 hours, I found that by 3 1/2 hours the cauliflower had the perfect tenderness for my liking. The sauce was not heavy or stodgy perhaps because I added the whole can of evaporated milk; possibly if I had added less the sauce would have been a bit more thick. 

Have a good weekend everyone! - JD