Bacon Wrapped Maple Glazed Pork Loin

The main course for the perfect special occasion dinner is a pork loin, wrapped in bacon and glazed with pure maple syrup.  I originally got this recipe from my sister, who is also a very good, southern cook.  She made this while she was visiting once and it was so good.  I did adapt it a little by adding the maple syrup because of something I had at a local bed and breakfast called Federal Grove.  Federal Grove is a civil war era, plantation style house that has been turned into a bed and breakfast, restaurant and an event venue.  It is also the southernmost maple syrup producer in the United States.  They have a maple syrup festival during the month of February and they feature dishes using the syrup.  It smells wonderful before you even get in the door.  They serve a maple glazed pork chop, which gave me the idea of adding the maple syrup to this.  I am going to visit Federal Grove soon and do an entire blog about it with pictures.  If you are in the area, you should go there to eat.  The house is also very interesting and furnished with all period antiques that are also for sale.  If you are ever in the area, make it a stop on your trip.  You won't regret it.

Here is what you will need for this delicious recipe:

Whole boneless pork loin, brown sugar, spicy brown mustard, bacon, soy sauce, Worcestershire, Federal Grove maple syrup, garlic salt, salt and pepper.

Ingredients:

1 whole boneless pork loin  4-6 lbs.

1 cup brown sugar 

2 Tbs. spicy brown mustard

1 Tbs. soy sauce

1 Tbs. Worcestershire

1/2 cup pure maple syrup plus some or drizzling when basting.

10-12 bacon slices

salt, pepper and garlic salt to taste



Mix 1 cup brown sugar, 2 Tbs. spicy brown mustard, 1Tbs. soy sauce, 1 Tbs. Worcestershire, 1/4 cup maple syrup.  Remove the layer of fat on top of the pork with a sharp knife or most of it. Sprinkle it with salt, pepper and garlic salt.  Pour the brown sugar glaze over the top.

Wrap the pork with bacon slices covering it all.  Drizzle the top with the maple syrup.

Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour at 375 degrees.  Remove foil and with a spoon re glaze the top with the dripping in the pan.  Recover and cook for 30 more minutes.  Uncover and re glaze again with the pan juices, you can drizzle with more syrup if you like now also.  Cook uncovered until bacon is brown and crispy... about 20 more minutes.

This is your finished pork loin. Let it rest for about 5-10 minutes before slicing.

This will be so tender and will slice in nice thin slices.  You can put the pan juices over it after slicing or leave as it is.  Make sure each portion has some of the sweet, crispy bacon with it...that's the best part to me! 

Slow Cooker Turkey Breast with The Perfect Turkey Gravy!

We love turkey in our family, especially my son, so we like to have it more than just for holidays.  If you have watched the movie "The Christmas Story" where the father is so in love with turkey, that is how my son feels about turkey...lol.  This is a good cooking method for a turkey breast, especially in the summer when you don't want the oven on for hours, because of the heat.  This is also a good method if you want to free up your oven for your other side dishes and such. 

This produces a really moist turkey breast.   It also produces a really rich turkey stock for your dressing and gravy.  I like to be sure I get a lot of broth, because I use a whole lot in the dressing and I make quite a bit of gravy.  If we ran out of gravy, my bunch would be grumpy.  

 Here is what you will need.

3 stalks of celery, cut in fourths

1 sweet onion, sliced and separated into rings

2 large carrots, peeled and chopped in large pieces

7-8 lb. turkey breast

oil (olive, vegetable, or canola)

Nature's Seasoning Blend (you can just use salt, but I like this blend)

Lawry's rotisserie chicken seasoning (or whatever chicken seasoning you prefer)

black pepper

1 stick of butter

4 cups water

Place all of the vegetables in the bottom of a large slow cooker that has been sprayed with nonstick spray.   Rinse the turkey breast and pat it dry with paper towel.  Brush it all over with the oil.  This just helps the seasoning to stick.   Sprinkle inside the cavity and all over the outside surfaces with the Nature's Seasoning blend , rotisserie chicken seasoning, and black pepper.   Place the turkey breast with the breast side down on the vegetables in the slow cooker. Place the stick of butter, whole in the cavity of the bird.  The butter will melt down into the meat as it cooks and will enrich the broth also. 

Cook on high for 1 hour, turn down to low for 7 hours.  All slow cookers cook at different rates so if you know yours cooks very low, you might let it go 8 hours on low.   Mine cooks pretty hot, so 7 was good for mine.  Carefully remove the breast to a cutting board and allow it to rest for a bit before carving. 

Strain the stock to remove the vegetables so you can use it for dressing and for your turkey gravy.  Gravy seems to intimidate some cooks, especially if you only make gravy for holiday meals.   I can't imagine that, because in our family, we'll put gravy on just about anything, so we make it often.  Gravy making is really not all that difficult, if you just know a few basic things and follow them. This recipe makes a good amount of gravy, because my family puts it on everything...turkey, mashed potatoes, even the dressing and they want some for their leftovers also.  Here is my recipe for the "Perfect Turkey Gravy"!

Turkey Gravy

5 Tbs. butter

5 Tbs. flour

5 cups of turkey stock

salt to taste

black pepper to taste

pinch of garlic powder

1/2 tsp. poultry seasoning

1/2 cup of half and half or heavy cream

In a large saucepan, melt the butter.  Add the flour and whisk and cook it until it bubbles.  Cook for about a minute, whisking constantly.  A good whisk is a must have when making gravy to keep it smooth.  Add the turkey stock, slowly and whisking continuously until the flour is all smooth and incorporated.  Bring this up to a boil and boil until the gravy starts to tighten up or get thicker.  When it coats a spoon, turn the heat down and add the seasonings.  This is not a really thick gravy, but it should have some body to it.   Taste for salt and pepper, because the turkey stock will be salty from the seasonings on the turkey.  It may not need salt.  I do like to add black pepper to taste.  At the very end and when it is no longer boiling, whisk in the cream.  Half and half or heavy cream can be used. 



Here is the finished product!  It's rich and wonderful and just puts the finishing touch on your holiday meal! 





Roasted Pork Loin with Mushroom Gravy!

This transforms a pork loin into something worthy of serving to company or special enough for your holiday menu, but it's so easy you won't believe it!  This is also a relatively low fat recipe, believe it or not with not very many ingredients!   Usually, anything with gravy, that is not the case!  I like this cooked in the oven, but you can use your slow cooker also with some adaptation, I will give those instructions at the end.  

 Here is what you will need: 

3-5 lb. pork loin

1/2 tsp. seasoned salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

2 tsp. minced garlic

1  (10 3/4) oz. can  cream of chicken with herbs soup (I used Campbell's)

1 medium sweet onion, diced

2 cups fresh mushrooms, sliced (I use a white button mushroom)

2 Tbs. soy sauce

3 cups water

2 Tbs. cornstarch

1/2 cup cold water

Place the pork loin in a roasting pan or heavy baking dish!   If you spray it with some nonstick spray it cleans up easier.  Sprinkle with the seasoned salt, black pepper and garlic.   Spoon the soup over the top of the pork loin.  You can substitute cream of mushroom soup or plain cream of chicken soup, but the cream of chicken with herbs gives the gravy a nice flavor!  

 Place the diced onion and sliced mushrooms over the soup.  Sort of press them into the soup so they stay on top for now.  Sprinkle the 2 Tbs. of soy sauce over the mushrooms.  I don't add a lot of salt to this recipe, because the salt in the soup and the soy sauce is sufficient with just the 1/2 tsp. seasoned salt.   Pour three cups water around the pork loin in the bottom of the baking pan. 

 Cover tightly with foil or if you are using a roasting pan, place the lid on and place in a 350 degree oven for 2 hours.

Mix the 2 Tablespoons cornstarch into 1/2 cup cold water in a bowl or cup until there are no lumps and it's smooth.  Carefully remove the pan from the oven and take foil or lid off.  Whisk the cornstarch mixture into the pan juice around the pork loin.  Turn the oven up to 450 degrees and place the pan back in the oven, uncovered for about 20 minutes.   This will thicken the juice and make your gravy.  It also sort of browns the top of the pork loin so it looks nice.

Plate the pork loin on a platter and allow it to rest for about 10 minutes before slicing in thin slices!  Spoon some of the mushroom gravy over the pork loin and place the rest in a gravy boat or bowl!  This makes plenty of gravy for serving on the side! 

We like this served with mashed potatoes, but you could serve with rice or egg noodles also.  If you have picky eaters, you can leave the mushrooms out completely and it's still delicious! 

***Slow Cooker Instructions:   Follow all of the same steps above, except decrease the water in the crock around the pork loin to 2 cups.  Slow cookers do not allow for much condensation during cooking so you never need as much liquid. Cook on low for 8 hours.  

An hour before serving turn the slow cooker up to high.  Make your cornstarch slurry and whisk into the juices, cover and let it go for an hour on high.  Whisk at the end to be sure it's smooth.   This method doesn't produce as pretty a pork loin...can pork be pretty???  I think it can...lol!!!  However, it tastes just as good! 

 If you are serving this for company or a holiday meal and want a pretty presentation, you can place it in the oven at 450 degrees to thicken the juices and brown the top like I did in the oven method.  Some slow cooker liners are oven proof, but some are not, so be sure of what yours is before you put it in the oven at a high temp.  You might need to transfer the pork loin to a baking dish if go to this trouble.  

See, this is pretty pork!!! 





Teriyaki Pork Chops!

 

 

We love anything that is flavored with Teriyaki and especially pork.  These "Teriyaki Pork Chops" are really very easy, but the flavor is just wonderful.   

There is a Japanese restaurant in our city that we love to eat at and one of the chefs told me the key to good teriyaki sauce is pineapple juice.  They make their own and it's really the best.  Any time I make anything 'teriyaki' I add some pineapple juice to it.  The acid in it is also a natural meat tenderizer.   

Here is what you will need for these yummy pork chops:

 

5-6 boneless pork loin chops (1/4 -1/2 inch is best)

1/4 cup olive oil or vegetable oil

1/4 tsp. seasoned salt

1/4 tsp. lemon pepper seasoning

2 tsp. minced garlic

1/4 cup pineapple juice

1/3 cup teriyaki sauce (I use Kikkoman)

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 cups water

 

Sprinkle the chops on both sides with the seasoned salt and lemon pepper.   In a heavy skillet with  lid, brown the chops on both sides in the olive oil.  

 

In a bowl, whisk together the minced garlic, pineapple juice, teriyaki sauce and brown sugar.  Pour over the chops.  Pour 2 cups of water around the sides of the skillet.   The liquid should just cover the chops, so if you need a bit more add some water.  Bring to a boil and as soon as it boils, turn down to a simmer and cover. 

 Cook for about 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the chops.  Turn the chops over half way through to get that glazed look on both sides.  If your sauce seems to be getting too thick, add a tad bit of water.   The pork chops should be fork tender.

 

These are great served with fried rice or rice pilaf or Twice Baked Potato Casserole!

 

 





Smothered Chicken!

Smothered Chicken is one of my son, Bo's favorite dishes.  Of course, he hasn't met much in the way of chicken that he didn't like.  He is a chicken eatin' boy and always has been!  This is a simple thing to prepare and doesn't take all day, but it does require  a little prep time.   Here is what you will need:

6 boneless chicken breasts

12 pieces of bacon

6 slices Swiss or Provolone cheese

2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/ 4 cup Worcestershire sauce

1 cup barbeque sauce of your choice

seasoned salt

black pepper

garlic powder

Cook the bacon in skillet until is is just almost done, but not completely crisp.  Remove from pan.  Sprinkle chicken with seasoned salt, black pepper, and garlic powder.  Brown chicken breasts in the bacon drippings in the skillet on each side.   Do not cook through, just brown for about 5 minutes. 

Remove chicken to a baking dish you have sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.  Pour a little soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce on each breast.  Brush each chicken breast with barbeque sauce.  Use about 1/2 of the barbeque sauce and save the other half.  Place 2 strips of bacon on each piece of chicken.  Wrap the dish tightly with foil and place in a 350 degree oven for about 40 minutes.  

Remove foil and brush each piece with more barbeque sauce to your taste. Place a slice of cheese on each breast and then sprinkle with some of the cheddar cheese.   You can just use the Swiss or Provolone cheese, but the color of the cheddar makes the dish prettier.  Turn the oven up to 425 degrees and place back in the oven until the cheese melts and bubbles, about 10 minutes or so.  Don't let it stay in too long or the cheese will melt and disappear.  

This is really good served with The Holiday Potato Puff or Easy Cheesy Au Gratin Potatoes  You can use any barbeque sauce, but my recipe for My Homemade Barbeque Sauce works really well!







Cider Glazed Pork Chops!

These "Cider Glazed Pork Chops" are another of my Aunt Ann's recipes, so you know they are good!  They just say Fall to me!   This recipe comes together so quick and easy and it's special enough for company!   The whole family will love it! 

 Here is what you will need:

5-6 center cut pork chops (bone-in or boneless, doesn't matter)

salt and black pepper

2 Tbs. oil

1 Tbs. butter

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup apple cider ( can use apple juice)

1 Tbs. soy sauce

1 Tbs. Dijon or spicy brown mustard

1/4 tsp. ground ginger

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

pinch of cayenne ( optional)

Melt butter in oil in a heavy pan that has a lid.  Sprinkle chops with salt and black pepper.  Brown them well on each side.  

While the chops are browning, mix all of the other ingredients in a bowl for the glaze.   When the chops are brown, pour the glaze overall.   Turn the chops over in the glaze to coat.  Cover with the lid and simmer for 25-30 minutes on low or until the chops are tender and the glaze has thickened. 

These are great served with Fried Apples!





Eggplant Parmesan!

 

 

Eggplant seems to be such a misunderstood little vegetable, especially in the south. I get so many questions about what to do with it.  I sometimes wonder how much eggplant is actually sold in the produce departments of groceries?  Why do I spend time wondering about such things?  Who knows, it's just one of the weird things I think about...lol.   My favorite way to cook eggplant is to make eggplant Parmesan or to slice it lengthwise very thin and use it for the 'pasta' in a vegetarian lasagna.  This is a really easy recipe for eggplant Parmesan and it's a great vegetarian meal...bet you thought you would never see me write that...or for those 'meatless Monday' meals people keep talking about.  I can have this eggplant Parmesan, a salad and bread and never even miss the meat.  Cooked correctly, eggplant is a viable meat substitute in some dishes, not nutritionally, but at least aesthetically.

 

 

Here is what you will need for this:

 

1 medium eggplant, peeled and sliced in 1/4" slices (make sure it's still fairly firm)

2 eggs

2 Tbs. milk

2 cups Italian seasoned bread crumbs

1 cup Parmesan cheese, divided

salt

black pepper

3 cups Mozzarella cheese

2  24oz. jars pasta sauce or marinara sauce

2 tsp. dried basil

2 tsp. dried oregano

2 tsp. dried parsley

1 Tbs. sugar

 

 

Whisk eggs and milk together in a shallow dish.

 

Mix bread crumbs and 1/2 cup Parmesan in another shallow dish.

 

Dip eggplant slices in egg wash and then in bread crumbs.  Place on a cookie sheet (might take 2) that is lined with foil and sprayed liberally with nonstick spray for coated with olive oil.   I use nonstick Reynolds Wrap which is one of the best things ever.  You have to try it!

 

Place in a 400 degree oven and cook on one side for 20 minutes.  Turn them over and cook for another 20 minutes. 

 

 

Mix pasta sauce with sugar and dried seasonings.  Sprinkle eggplant with a little salt and pepper. Place 2 cups sauce in the bottom of a long dish. Place a layer of eggplant slices over the sauce. Pour another 2 cups of sauce over the slices.  Sprinkle with half of the Mozzarella cheese and half of the rest of the Parmesan cheese. Lay another layer of eggplant on top of this.  Cover with the rest of the sauce.  Sprinkle with the rest of the mozzarella and the rest of the Parmesan.  Place in a 350 degree oven for 30 to 40 minutes or until the cheeses are just browned slightly. 

 

 

 

Allow to stand for about 5-10 minutes and serve over a bed of pasta.

 

Eggplant Parmesan!





Slow Cooker Hoppin' John!

Ever since I was a little girl, my mother has always cooked black eyed peas and cabbage, along with corn bread on New Year's day.  She was always very adamant about us having to have this for health, wealth and good fortune.  I didn't realize until I got older that most folks in the south believed this bit of folklore or superstition.  Some actually cook some form of greens instead of cabbage...turnip greens, mustard greens or collards, but my mother always cooks cabbage.  If you go to any grocery store in our area the week before New Year's Day, there will be a big display of black eyed peas and plenty of heads of cabbage. If you wait until the night before New Year's Day, there won't be any left.

  The belief is that the black eyed peas represent good fortune and prosperity and the greens or cabbage also represent money...you know, because they are 'green'.   Some say this tradition with the black eyed peas came about during the Civil War, because the northern troops burned all of the crops and took everything from the southern folks that was good to eat, but because black eyed peas were only grown to feed to the livestock they left those alone.  The southerners had to eat them to survive.  Others say that the tradition started over 1500 years ago in Europe and was brought to this country.

I have a secret confession to make, I don't really like the taste of black eyed peas.  I know I am supposed to like them, they are a southern thing and I am writing about and trying to further southern foods and culture, but I just don't like black eyed peas.  Just cooked by themselves, they taste a little like dirt to me. I thought I might be odd in this thinking, but I have an aunt that says the same thing. 

Now if you dress the ugly little critters up some and give them enough spice, I can eat them up.  Needless to say, growing up in a family where you had to eat what was put in front of you, I have eaten plenty of them just plain.  However, when I started cooking them for my own New Year's good luck, I knew they had to be dressed up a little.  Otherwise, I was just going to have to do without luck. Hoppin' John was the perfect solution.   This is a thick soup of black eyed peas, rice, spices and some type of meat...pork mainly.   Here is what you will need for this:

1 lb. dried black eyed peas, washed
8 cups water
4 chicken bouillon cubes (I used Knorr)
1 Tbs. bacon drippings
1 medium onion, diced
1 medium green pepper, diced
2 stalks of celery, diced
1 Tbs. garlic, minced
1 lb. breakfast sausage,  crumbled and browned
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. Cajun Seasoning (I used Tony Cachere)
dash of Tabasco sauce (according to your taste)
2 cups rice, uncooked
jalapeno rings for garnish

Place all of the ingredients, except the rice in a slow cooker.  Cook on low for 8 hours or overnight.  Cook rice.  Place a scoop of rice in each bowl and ladle the Hoppin' John over all.  Now you have black eyed peas that most anyone will want to eat!

  Hoppin' John!



Cinnamon French Toast Casserole!

 

I really like breakfast dishes that can be made the night before and just popped into the oven in the morning.  It makes having a nice breakfast for overnight guests or just family really easy and hassle free.  This French Toast casserole needs to be assembled the night before and then all you have to do is bake it and maybe cook some bacon or sausage to go with it.   Here is what you need for this:

8 slices bread (slightly stale bread works best)
1 stick butter, divided
1 cup brown sugar
6 eggs
1  1/2 cups half and half (can use whole milk)
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. vanilla
pinch of salt
1 cup chopped pecans

Melt 6 Tbs. of butter and mix with the brown sugar.

Spray a 2 1/2 quart square or rectangular casserole dish with nonstick spray.  Lay 4 of the bread slices in the bottom, overlapping if necessary.  I used sliced Italian bread.   Sprinkle half of the butter/brown sugar mixture over the bread.

Lay the other 4 slices of bread over the first 4 and sprinkle with the rest of the butter/brown sugar mix.  Dot with the other 2 Tbs. of butter and sprinkle the cup of chopped pecans over the top.  In a mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, half and half, cinnamon, vanilla, and salt.  Pour this mixture over all.  Press the bread down to get it all wet with the egg mixture.  Cover tightly and refrigerate overnight.  The next morning remove from refrigerator and preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Bake for 40-45 minutes.  If it starts to brown too much on top, cover with foil. I usually remove it at about 40 minutes and it never browns too much, but all oven are different.

Remove from oven and let stand for about 5 minutes before serving.  You can sprinkle with some powdered sugar and serve with maple syrup.   This serves 2-4 people, if you have a bigger crowd, just double everything and prepare in a 9"x13" baking dish.

French Toast Casserole!



Kentucky Bourbon Brown Sugar Ham!

Baked ham is always good for a holiday meal or an anytime meal actually, but we think of it for holidays usually.  What I like about a ham, is that you not only get a wonderful meal out of it initially, you can get so many meals and uses out of the leftovers.  It's rare that you would ever eat a whole ham at any one meal, unless you have a really large crowd.  This is what is sometimes called 'city ham'...not by those of us that actually know what country ham is most of time, but they call it that at Cracker Barrel it seems and it does help to differentiate between the two.

 What I am trying to say is this recipe is for 'city ham' not a country ham, which is a whole different process.  You can buy a fully cooked ham or a semi cooked ham, a boneless ham, semi boneless ham or bone in ham...doesn't matter one bit. This recipe is not really for a 'fresh ham' which requires different cooking times and is more like cooking pork loin. 

  Different brand hams will be available in different areas of the country, but I prefer a Kentucky Legend Ham (imagine that...lol).   I like to buy a whole ham if possible, but if you do bake a half ham that has been cut, put that cut side down in the pan to prevent the ham from drying out.

 That brings me to the spiral cut hams, I am not a big fan. I know they are really popular and Paula Deen sells the heck out of them and for a cook that doesn't really know what to do with a ham, they are a pretty good option.  You can put that packet of stuff they stick in there with them on it and warm it up (ewww) and it will be good to go, or at least edible.  I find that with this cooking method that I like to use,  they tend to dry out, because of being spiral cut.  They are just not as suitable for this long slow cooking method.

 Even when hams say "fully cooked" and you read things written by foodies and experts and such that say, "you can take that ham right out of the package and slice it and eat it"...please don't do that.  That would turn even me against ham and I love everything about a pig...well almost.  In my humble opinion, you also cannot simply warm those hams up in the oven to 160 degrees (which is also said a lot).  Now if you do, it won't kill you  or anything, but the flavor just won't be there and it won't be tender and juicy and succulent like a ham that is baked properly.

 Some people prefer a semi boneless or bone in ham over a boneless ham and the ones with the bone will be a little more flavorful, but the boneless ham gives you more bang for your buck, carves better and will feed more people...both, cooked this way are excellent.

Anytime I bake a ham, people always ask where did I buy it.  They always think it's from a ham store or something, which is funny to me.  I would never pay what those places charge for a baked ham...it's crazy.   You can bake a much better ham at home with the right method. 

Here is what you will need:

1 ham, fully cooked or semi cooked
whole cloves
1 can pineapple slices, juices reserved
2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup good Kentucky bourbon
2 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbs. prepared yellow mustard

With a sharp knife score your ham in about 1" squares.  It is probably already sort of scored somewhat, but just make those cuts a little deeper in squares.  Place a whole clove in every other square.  You don't have to do each one, cloves go a long way and can be overpowering. Place the pineapple rings over the ham. Reserve the pineapple juice.  The pineapple rings help hold the glaze on the ham and sweeten it.  You can also stick a maraschino cherry in the middle of each pineapple ring for a pretty presentation.

Preheat oven to 350.  Mix pineapple juice, brown sugar, bourbon, Worcestershire, and mustard and spread over the ham. Pour about 1 cup water in the bottom of the pan.  Cover tightly with heavy duty foil and bake for 1 hour.  Remove and baste the ham again with the pan juices.  Cover with foil again and cook for another hour. Turn the oven off.  DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN. Let the ham sit in the oven until it completely cools down.  This does wonderful things to a ham that you cannot do any other way.  When you take it out and uncover it, the ham will still be hot, unless you left if in there for a couple of days or something...lol.   Sometimes I put one in the night before a couple of hour before bedtime and then turn it off after the two hours and let it just hang out in the oven all night long.  Take it out in the morning and carve it.   It's just perfect!  There are two things that make this ham better than most, the bourbon and the cooking method.  Don't change either one and you will be pleasantly surprised!



Kentucky Bourbon Brown Sugar Ham

Slow Cooker Baby Back Ribs!

I love pork ribs...most any kind of ribs, baby back, country style, spare ribs.  I do enjoy good smoked ribs, cooked in a smoker over hickory wood... by someone who knows what they are doing, like a good barbeque place.   However, sometimes you just want to do them yourself and it's winter and it's cold and rainy or snowy outside and you just don't want to get that grill or smoker out, so what to do?

As I have told you before, I have a love/hate relationship with  slow cookers.  For some things, they work great...like the  Mississippi Roast, the best roast known to man or woman or child!   For other things, I am not so thrilled with the results.  They just don't have the same browning, and thickening abilities that you get on the stove or in the oven.

Therefore, I have had mixed results with ribs in the slow cooker.  I have fairly good results with country style ribs and spare ribs to some extent, especially if I am cooking them with sauerkraut or in a sauce like Teriyaki.  But for baby back ribs, I like them to be really tender, but still on the bone and also with a nice glaze on them when they are done.   I am happy to say this method and recipe results in some of the best ribs I have ever cooked, even when compared to grilling and smoking.  

There are just a few tips when cooking baby back ribs in the slow cooker that make a world of difference.

 Here is what you will need:

2 full racks baby back ribs, cut in thirds
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 cups brown sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. seasoned salt
1 tsp. smoky paprika
1 Tbs. liquid smoke (optional)
1 cup  Coca Cola (you can also use Dr. Pepper or even apple juice)
2-3 cups barbeque sauce of your choice (depending on how much you like your ribs sauced)

Cut the ribs in thirds or fourths if you want to serve smaller pieces.  Leave the membrane on the back that they usually tell you to remove.  It helps to keep them from falling apart. Sprinkle both sides with the Worcestershire sauce and soy sauce.  

Mix together the brown sugar and the other seasonings.   Rub this mixture on both sides of the ribs liberally.  There might be more than you need for two racks and I actually did three when I did these.

Spray a large slow cooker, like a 6-7 quart one,  with nonstick spray.   Now, there are some who say to stand the ribs on their ends in the slow cooker to get better results.  I don't see the need for this with this method though.  I just lay them on top of each other in the slow cooker.  Once they are all in and cozy, I pour the Coke around the edges.  It's not much liquid and that is a good thing.  It's just enough to create some sweet steam.  You do not want your ribs to stew.  Stewed barbequed baby backs are not all that appetizing.   That is why some say to stand them on their ends, but since we aren't adding hardly any liquid, you don't have to and you can fit more in.  If you are using the liquid smoke, put it in now also.

It's best to cook on low for 8 hours...low and slow is best.  If you got a late start, you can cook on hi for  4-5 hours depending on your slow cooker and how fast it cooks. They all seem to vary.  How many you have packed in there also makes a difference.  

When they have cooked the 8 hours and you take the top off and look at them, don't panic!   They  are not pretty at this point.  Nope, they are actually what we in the south call, butt ugly, right now.  Don't worry though, they will be pretty when we get finished.   I promise!   I had pictures of this step by step to show you, but when I went to find them they had vanished.  I think they were so ugly they deleted themselves or something...lol.

This next step is critical to this whole thing, so don't skip it.   Carefully, remove the riblets from the slow cooker and place on a large baking sheet or baking pan cover with foil  (makes cleanup so much easier).   Now slather them, front and back, with the barbeque sauce of your choice. I used my own homemade sauce, which I will give you the recipe for  at the end of this post. Place in the oven at 425 degrees for about 15 to 20 minutes or just until the sauce has sort of caramelized and browned a bit.  Don't let them burn.  Now they aren't ugly anymore...see!

  



My Homemade Barbeque Sauce:

1/2 cup finely diced onion
1 Tbs. butter
1 Tbs. oil
2 cups tomato ketchup
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup Coca Cola
1/4 cup vinegar (apple cider or white)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. seasoned salt
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. celery seeds
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper (optional)
dash of Tabasco sauce
1 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbs. soy sauce
1 Tbs. spicy brown mustard ( can use 1/2 Tbs. yellow mustard)

Saute onion in butter and oil.  Add  all of the other ingredients and bring to a boil.  Turn the heat down to a simmer and let it simmer for at least an hour.   Stir this often as it can stick due to the sugars.  The longer it simmers the better it gets.   If you can make it the day before and refrigerate, it's even better.

This sauce makes all of the difference in barbequed food.  When I don't use it, I can tell a huge difference.  This will be more sauce than you probably need and you can refrigerate and keep this for about a week to use on other foods.





Stuffed Pork Chops!

This has been one of my son's favorite dishes since he was a little boy.  It's something my mother always made and since he loved it so much, I made it a lot also.  These stuffed pork chops just seem like fall and cooler weather to me.  I guess it's the stuffing and the fact that they have to bake in the oven for an hour so we don't make them much in the hot summer months here.  

This is a actually a simple recipe, but if you serve it for company or a special occasion they will think you really fussed over it.  The main trick to this is learning to butterfly your own chops.  You can buy them butterflied already, but you will save so much money if you do your own and you can control the thickness of the cut also.  

This will make about 8-9 stuffed chops.  If you don't need that many for one meal, you can freeze half of them for future use.  Just make two dishes and under bake the one you are freezing by about 15 minutes.  Then when you reheat it in the oven and it won't be dry.   Here is what you will need:

3-4 lb pork loin cut in 1" chops and then butterflied or 8-9 butterfly cut chops

1 box stuffing mix for pork  (with ingredients required for preparing)

1/2 stick butter

salt

black pepper

seasoned salt

1 cup apple juice, divided

If you are using a whole pork loin (3-4 lbs.), with a sharp knife cut it into 1" chops and then butterfly by making a pocket in each one as shown in the picture.  Don't slice all the way through.   Prepare the stuffing mix according to the package directions, adding 1/2 cup apple juice to it in addition to the water and butter required.  The stuffing needs to be a little more moist than called for due to the baking time required or it will dry out.  Melt the butter in a pie plate or pan and dip the chops in the butter, then stuff each one with about 1/4 cup of stuffing mixture.

Seal the stuffing into the chops and sprinkle each chop with salt, black pepper, and a little seasoned salt.  Spray a 9x13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and arrange the chops in the pan. Pour the other 1/2 cup of apple juice around the pork chops.  You don't want much liquid at all in the pan.  Cover tightly with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.  Uncover and bake at 375 degrees for 15 more minutes just to brown the tops of the pork chops. Spoon some of the cooking juices over the tops to moisten.   These are great served with mashed potatoes or rice and can be served plain or with a little pork gravy.   Fried Apples also go great as a side with these!





Southern Chicken and Dressing Casserole!

  

This is like putting Thanksgiving dinner in one dish. It's chicken and stuffing and a creamy gravy all cooked together. It makes a big casserole so it feeds a crowd.  You can actually use chicken or leftover turkey in this and it's a good way to use up leftover turkey during the holidays. 

This is really good served with mashed potatoes, southern green beans, and banana split fruit salad.  Add some easy homemade buttermilk dinner rolls   and you have a meal that is a celebration.   This is great to make the night before also to save prep time.    This does make a large casserole so if you are not cooking for a family or company you can make two and freeze one for another meal.  I love things that I can do this way.  Then, I always have a casserole in the freezer to pull out at the last minute when I get busy and don't have time to cook a whole meal from scratch.   This casserole uses some convenience items, like the herb stuffing mix, but if you want to use your own cornbread with some poultry season added, go for it.  This is not a cornbread dressing recipe, it is a casserole.  If you are looking for an actual cornbread dressing, go to Southern Cornbread Dressing. 

Here is what you will need for this casserole:

4 cups of cooked chicken, chopped in bite size pieces ( you can use turkey also)

1 (12 or 14 oz.) pkg. herb seasoned stuffing mix ( I use Pepperidge Farm or you can substitute your own cornbread crumbled)

1 1/2 stick of butter, divided

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can cream of celery soup

1 can chicken broth

1 cup milk

1/2 cup finely diced onion

1 cup finely chopped celery

1 cup sliced water chestnuts (optional)

1/2 tsp. seasoned salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1/2 tsp. poultry seasoning

Mix chicken, soups, 1/2 can of the chicken broth, milk, onion, celery, water chestnuts, salt, pepper and poultry seasoning.

Melt 1 stick of butter.  Mix the butter and the rest of the chicken broth with the stuffing mix.  Place 1/2 of the stuffing in a 3 quart casserole dish you have sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. 

                                   Pour the chicken mixture over the stuffing layer.

Top with the remainder of the stuffing mixture and dot with butter.  Place in a preheated 350 degree oven for 50 to 60 minutes or until hot and bubbly around the edges.