This recipe is very easy, totally delicious and we rate it as pure comfort food. Fork tender pork tenderloin with pinto beans in a delicious gravy AND it all goes together in the crockpot!!

I like to serve this over rice, but it is also tasty stuffed into warm flour tortillas, or over a bed of toasted tortilla chips and smothered with cheese, avocado and sour cream. The possibilities are ENDLESS which is a (very) good thing at our house. 

I like to use a 2 pound pork tenderloin for this recipe because it is nice and lean, but any LEAN 2-3 pound pork roast will work.

My crockpot is a big oval one and it tends to run a little hot, so the pinto beans in this recipe are soft and the pork is "fall apart tender" in 5 hours on the LOW setting.

Depending on YOUR crockpot, it could take as many as 7 hours on LOW, but that is unlikely, just start checking for meat tenderness after 

5 hours.

2 pounds pork tenderloin (thawed)
1 1/2 cups DRY pinto beans (rinsed, but DO NOT soak)
1 (4 ounce) can of MILD green chilies (I use Ortega)
3 teaspoons chili powder (2 if you are serving children)
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon dry oregano
1 clove garlic minced
1 cup chopped sweet onion

Brown the pork well and put it in the crockpot. Saute the onions and garlic in the same pan and then put it in the crockpot, a long with the DRY beans, spices and canned chilies.

Pour some water over the meat and beans (just enough water to MOSTLY cover everything) it should look like this:

Make sure the liquid gets 

under the meat too!!

After cooking everything on LOW for a few hours, check the liquid level in the crockpot and add a little more water if necessary,  but not TOO much. 

Cook on LOW for 4-6 hours (or until the pork gets fork tender), take the meat (only) out of the crockpot and set it aside while you thicken the gravy. If you are using a pork roast, remove any fatty sections and bones. Pull the meat apart just a little.

Turn the crockpot to HIGH and thicken the broth and beans with a slurry of cornstarch and water, then put the meat back in the thickened gravy (to heat it back up)

THIS IS THE BEST-BEST-BEST GRAVY!!!

IT's DINNER TIME !!!

NOTE: A word about the heat or spice level in this recipe. My hubby does not like a lot of (hates) "heat" in his food. He likes strong flavors, but he just doesn't like "fire" as he calls it. If you like a little "heat", just add 1/4+ teaspoon of cayenne to the cooking liquid.

NOTE: If you have any beans left over after dinner, they make DELICIOUS refried beans. Just mash them in a hot/greased cast iron frying pan with a little of the "gravy", and fry them for a few minutes. You will never buy refried beans in a can again!!

ENJOY !!!

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November 09, 2021

Are you tired of the same old chili recipe? Try this chicken chili!! It is delicious, hearty and super easy to make. Comfort food, through and through. Oh, and it freezes well too!!!

The night BEFORE you want to eat, put most of the ingredients into the crockpot and cook on low all night (or about 8 hours). The next morning, add the raw chicken breasts (chicken thighs are delicious too)and shredded carrots and let it cook all day on low. It will make your house smell scrumptious!!!

1 1/2 cups DRY Great Northern white beans (the small ones)
3 raw boneless skinless chicken breasts (or several thighs)
1 cup chopped onion (sauteed)
4 ounce can mild green chiles (I use Ortega brand) 
2 cups grated carrots
3 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 clove garlic minced
1/2 teaspoon dry oregano leaves
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (more if you like "heat")
1 teaspoon salt (use salt ONLY if you are using salt free broth)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
6 cups chicken stock (see note below about salt)
1 cup Monterrey Jack Cheese shredded

Wash and sort the dry beans (no need to pre-soak) and put them in the crockpot. Add the chicken stock, sauteed onion, seasonings and green chile's. Cook on LOW setting overnight (or about 8 hours).

In the morning, remove about 1 cup of the beans and mash them thoroughly. (I put them in the blender)  Return the mashed beans to the crockpot; this will thicken up the broth in the chili.

Cut the raw chicken into large pieces and add it to the crockpot along with the shredded carrots.  Cook this on LOW for another 6 to 8 hours depending on how big your chicken pieces are.

About 30 minutes before you want to serve the chicken chili, add the shredded Monterrey Jack cheese and stir. This adds such a wonderful taste and texture.

I hope you like this hearty
chili as much as we do

NOTE: If you use salt free chicken broth, go ahead and put the teaspoon of salt into the chili. Taste it again after it is finished cooking (and after you've added the cheese) to see if it still needs more salt.   If you use chicken broth made from bullion, don't add ANY salt to the recipe, as the bullion broth is already quite salty.

NOTE: I hope you don't leave out the grated carrot, it really adds a wonderful taste and texture to the chili.

NOTE: We are fairly timid when it comes to spicy heat in our food, so I use an 1/8 teaspoon of cayenne and it is absolutely perfect for us. If you like more heat in your food, just add more cayenne.

NOTE: This makes a big pot of chicken chili. It freezes well.

ENJOY !!!

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May 23, 2020

My picky-picky husband is a "meat and potatoes" man through and through. If a meal doesn't center around meat.....well, he doesn't call it a real meal. 

That's why I came up with this "Meat-less Spaghetti" (for myself) to counter hubby's "steak night". It is total COMFORT FOOD !!!

1/4 cup olive oil

1 medium sweet onion (chopped)

(2) 14.5 ounce cans diced tomatoes (Italian style)

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (not garlic salt)

pinch of cayenne pepper  (see note below)

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (see note below)

2 teaspoons dry basil leaves

1 teaspoon dry oregano

2 teaspoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

8 ounces button mushrooms

12 ounces spaghetti noodles

Saute chopped onion in the olive oil until they look sort of transparent and smell "sweet-ish". Put cooked onions (don't drain) in a large Crockpot (I think mine is a 7 quart size?). Add the diced Italian style tomatoes, garlic powder, cayenne, basil, kosher salt, black pepper and sugar; mix well. Cook on high for about 3 hours.

After 3 hours, clean the mushrooms and take the stems off. Chop the stems in the food processor and slice the mushroom caps (nice and thick), then put them in the sauce to cook for about 30 minutes.

While the mushrooms are cooking, boil the spaghetti noodles (in salted water) until they are HALF WAY DONE (important).

Strain the partially cooked noodles and turn the Crockpot down to LOW. Add the noodles to the sauce and continue cooking for about 30 minutes. Stir and serve.

I like mine with Parmesan!!

ENJOY !!!

NOTE: Remember, kosher salt measures differently than table salt because the tiny grains (in table salt) pack together much closer. The measurement in this recipe is for kosher salt. If you only have table salt......use less.

NOTE: Cayenne pepper is pretty spicy. I have measuring spoons that go down to 1/16th of a teaspoon, so that's what I use......it is basically a "pinch" of cayenne. You can substitute 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes for the cayenne.

NOTE: Make sure you only boil the spaghetti noodles half way. This is an important step since they pick up a ton of flavor from the sauce as they cook the rest of the way in the Crockpot.

NOTE: You will have to cut this recipe in half if you only have a small Crockpot.

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March 30, 2018

So, you don't want to heat up your kitchen? Try this
super easy slow cooker recipe, it is excellent for any busy day. Pork seasoned with fresh apples and cinnamon and cooked on low for 4 hours, it is moist, delicious and super tender.

There isn't much of a strict recipe here, just a few simple steps.

Using a pork loin roast(about 2-3 pounds) **Not a tenderloin**
1 large apple  (any kind you like)
honey
1/2 cup chopped onion (more if you like)
1/2 cup chopped celery(more if you like)
1 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Slice the pork loin into  nice thick slices but not all the way

through the meat....cut about 75% of the way through. Sprinkle the salt and pepper in between each slice

Put a nice thick slice (or two) of apple into each cut.

Drizzle with honey

Saute the onions and celery in a little butter until they are almost tender, then lay them on top of the pork and apples and sprinkle everything with just a little more salt and pepper and the cinnamon.

Using a long spatula, lift everything into a greased slow cooker.

Cook it on low for 4 hours. 

Pour a little bit of the broth (that will have formed under the roast) over the meat on your plate and serve.

ENJOY !!!

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December 17, 2017

It doesn't get any easier than this one folks. Four ingredients thrown into a Crockpot and six hours later, dinner is ready.

2 to 3 pound boneless pork loin (see note below)
1  16 ounce bottle of your favorite flavored barbecue sauce
8  ounce can crushed pineapple (juice and all)
1/2  teaspoon liquid smoke

Stir the barbecue sauce, undrained pineapple and liquid smoke together and pour it over the raw pork loin (in the Crockpot).

Cook on LOW for five to six hours (I cook it for 6 hours). Turning the meat over once or twice during that time.

Just before you are ready to eat. Remove the meat and thicken the sauce (I use a cornstarch slurry), then put the pork back in the sauce to keep it hot till it's time to eat.

This sauce is absolutely delicious. Even my picky-picky husband gave it a thumbs up (twice!!) and it could NOT be easier.

NOTE: I'm sure this would work with a pork tenderloin, but I haven't tried it so I can't recommend a cooking time.

ENJOY !!!

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June 04, 2016

This is a great method of making mashed potatoes for a crowd. It seems like I'm always short on time (or a burner) when it comes to last minute side dishes during the holidays, so this method is a big help.

 

TO FEED A BIG CROWD
5 pounds peeled potatoes cut into 1" cubes
1 cup water
1/2 cup butter cut into small cubes
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 to 1 1/2 cups HOT half and half (divided)

The ABOVE ingredients will take a large

(7 quart) crock-pot:

If you are just feeding a family of 6, cut the above ingredients in HALF and

it in a

4 quart crock-pot:

 

 

In either case, spray the crock-pot with cooking spray and put your raw cubed potatoes and butter pieces in the crock-pot.

Mix the water with the salt and pepper and pour it over the potatoes and butter pieces:

 

Cover with a lid and cook on high for 4 hours (or till tender). TIP: If you put a couple of potholders on the top of the crock-pot lid (as shown in the above photos), then the potatoes will be cooked in 3 hours instead of 4.

 

After the potatoes are tender, DO NOT DRAIN. Give the potatoes a rough mash with a hand held potato masher first, then add one cup of HOT half and half and finish whipping them with a hand held electric mixer (right in the crock-pot). Add the final half cup of half and half if you think the potatoes need it.

 

These mashed potatoes can be kept on the warm setting of the slow cooker for up to two hours.

 

Even if your crock-pot doesn't have a warm setting, you can still keep these mashed potatoes hot by covering the whole crock-pot with a heavy towel. They will stay hot for quite a while. 

 

 

 

 

ENJOY !!



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November 19, 2014