When I was working 10 to 12 hour days, I was usually exhausted by the time I walked in the door. Between work, school activities, and household duties, I was glad when I was out of the kitchen and had dinner on the table in 15 minutes. It meant more time with my family. My work schedule has changed quite a bit since then.

I have a bit more flexibility when it comes to making dinner now. If I choose to make a 30 minute meal on a weeknight,  I can without having the fear that I won’t get to spend time with my family and I don’t have to worry the kids won’t be in bed on time. For the nights we have the family activities like our 4-H meetings, I am able to throw a 15-minute meal together and we are to our meetings on time without having to rush through dinner.

This simple meal is one of those quick 15-minute meals that you can make on any weeknight or when you know you have any weeknight activity or meeting. And it’s a great recipe to use leftover rice from a previous meal.

Tex-Mex Skillet

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

• 1 pound bulk pork sausage
• 1 15-ounce can tomato sauce
• 1 12-ounce can whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 hot red pepper, seeded and diced
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 Tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 cup cooked rice

Directions:

1. In a medium skillet, cook the sausage till brown. Drain off fat. Stir in tomato sauce, corn, red pepper, water, chili powder and onion powder. Bring to a boil.
2. Stir in cooked rice into the skillet mixture. Remove from heat. Let stand about 5 minutes before serving.

Note: The red hot pepper adds just a bit of heat to this dish without the seeds but you can substitute a sweet pepper for the red hot pepper if you chose. This recipe can be adjusted to make 6 to 8 servings or another weeknight meal.

If most of you fellow foodies are like me and enjoy watching Ree (Pioneer Woman), then you must have seen her episode this past Saturday where she wakes up at the crack of dawn to throw a pork butt into the oven for a mouth watering lunch. I do mean mouth watering!

On my last grocery shopping trip, our grocery store was having a BOGO sale in the meat department so I stocked up. I added Ree’s recipe to my shopping list to try out and was on last night’s meal plan. I didn’t want to wait till the weekend totry out the recipe, so I improvised the recipe by using the crock pot. I cooked it on the low setting for 8 hours; little longer than the 6 hours her recipe called for and it still was falling off the bone, tender and juicy. I had used a 12 ounce can of chipotle peppers in adobo and it was a bit spicy, even for my husband and I. (We love spicy food!) However, it was way too spicy for the kids. Next time I’ll cut back on the peppers to maybe half the can so they are able to eat it. I’m still trying to think of a way to balance the flavors a little better so one ingredient isn’t overpowering the other. Here’s the recipe:

Pioneer Woman’s Spicy Dr. Pepper Shredded Pork

Servings: 18

Ingredients:

• 1 whole Large Onion
• 1 whole Pork Shoulder (“pork Butt”) – 5 To 7 Pounds
• Salt And Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• 1 can (11 Ounce) (I used 12 ounce can) Chipotle Peppers In Adobo Sauce
• 2 cans Dr. Pepper
• 2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2. Peel the onion and cut it into wedges. Lay them in the bottom of a large dutch oven. (I used the crock pot.)
3. Generously salt and pepper the pork roast, then set it on top of the onions in the pan.
4. Pour the can of chipotle peppers over the pork (include the sauce.) Pour in both cans of Dr Pepper. Add brown sugar to the juice and stir in.
5. Place lid tightly on pot, then set pot in the oven. Cook for at least six hours, (6-8 hours using the crock pot and I didn’t touch it.) turning roast two or three times during the cooking process. Check meat after six hours; it should be absolutely falling apart (use two forks to test.) If it’s not falling apart, return to the oven for another hour.
6. Remove meat from pot and place on a cutting board or other work surface. Use two forks to shred meat, discarding large pieces of fat. Strain as much of the fat off the top of the cooking liquid as you can and discard it. Return the shredded meat to the cooking liquid, and keep warm until ready to serve. (You can also refrigerate the meat and liquid separately, then remove hardened fat once it’s cold. Then heat up the liquid on the stovetop and return the meat to the liquid to warm up.
7. Serve on warm flour tortillas. Top with shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, grated cheese, avocado slices, salsa, and whatever else you’d like.

Recipe and from by Ree (Pioneer Woman)

For those of you who have tried the recipe, have any suggestions for balancing the flavors?

As promised, here is one of the savory recipes for our meal plan this week. This is a busy month for us with lots of different activities so my meal plan for the week is pretty simple. Yesterday, we had Pork Chops slow cooked in a honey soy sauce served over rice, broccoli and some homemade rolls. The pork chops turn out really tender and tasty.

Slow Cooker Pork Chops

Summary: A delicious meal made in the slow cooker that comes out tender and tasty.

Ingredients:

4-6 pork loin chops (depending on size of your family)
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup ketchup
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1 Tablespoon honey
1/4 cup orange juice
1 Teaspoon Chinese Five Spices

Directions:

• In a mixing bowl, whisk together soy sauce, brown sugar, ketchup, garlic, honey, orange juice and spices.
• Place pork chops in slow cooker.
• Pour honey soy sauce mixture over the top of pork chops.
• Set slow cooker to low setting and cook for 6 hours.

• 

Noel’s Quick Notes:

Plate pork chops over cooked  rice of your choice and spoon honey soy sauce mixture over the top. Serve with your family’s favorite steamed vegetables.

Variations:

Can substitute beef or chicken in place of pork chops.

Serves: 4-6 people

Cooking Time: 6 hours

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Total Cook Time: 6 hours, 5 minutes

Meal Type: Dinner

My Family Rating: 5 stars

 

Here is a delicious recipe I found while working on my weekly meal plan and adjusted it a bit to my liking. The sweetness of the apples and brown sugar combined with cinnamon and a little bit of curry really make this dish yummy! Served with curry rice and a green salad.

  

Pork Chops with Apple Spice Gravy

Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon vegetable oil

6  pork chops (family pack)

Salt and pepper

4 Tablespoons flour

2 Granny Smith Apples, peeled, cored, thinly sliced

2 Tablespoons butter

2 Tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon Curry powder

2/3 cup apple juice

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Dash allspice or nutmeg

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In a large skillet, melt oil over medium heat. Sprinkle both sides of pork chops with salt and pepper; coat lightly with flour on both sides. Brown the chops in the oil for about 3 minutes on each side or until browned. Arrange the browned chops in a 9x 12 baking dish.

To the skillet with drippings, add the sliced apples, butter, and brown sugar . In a bowl, mix apple juice, cornstarch and seasonings  until smooth and pour over the apple mixture. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 4 to 5 minutes. Pour the apple mixture over the chops. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 45 minutes.

Yes, this dish does take an extra 15 minutes to cook. Not the usual for my 30-minute family dinners, but it’s worth it!

As always, my quick and easy recipes for Busy Moms can be found on my website Noel’s Kitchen Tips.com.

Visit my A Busy Mom’s Kitchen Amazon Kitchen Store  for some of my recommeneded appliances, storage and kitchen needs along with some of my favorite cookbooks and aprons to help you with your family meal planning. For high quality kitchen tools for your kitchen, visit www. NoelsKitchen.com

Would you like to join our growing Family Cooking Club? Share recipes and tips with others? Join the Family Meals Matter Cooking Club on Facebook.  

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Easy Slow Cooker Family Suppers

The slow-cooker as I”ve said in so many of my previous posts is truly a time-saving resource for when you don’t have a lot of time to spend in the kitchen. It’s a great kitchen tool that helps busy families make those budget-friendly hearty meals, snacks and desserts.  Yesterday, our family spent a beautiful morning shopping and came home to work on a few household projects. I was able to throw this meal together in 15 minutes before we left the house.  Below is a recipe for Pulled-Pork Tacos, which has great flavor and the cilantro makes this meal refreshing.

 

 

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Tacos

Ingredients:

1 3 1/2 pound pork shoulder roast

2 cups of your favorite salsa, plus more for serving

1 cup of your favorite beer

1/2 cup sliced onion, plus more for serving

2 Tablespoons Taco seasoning

1 Tablespoon cooking oil

12 Corn or flour tortillas

Sour Cream

Cilantro

1 Lemon or Lime

Directions:

Optional: Trim excess fat from pork shoulder roast. ( A little fat will add more flavor to the meat.)

In a saute’ pan, heat cooking oil and add pork shoulder roast and sear on all sides. Drain off any cooking oil. Sprinkle Taco seasoning over the entire pork shoulder roast.

In a 6-quart slow cooker on low setting  add onions, beer and 1 cup salsa.  Stir ingredients together. Add pork shoulder roast and turn to coat. Add 1 more cup of salsa.

Cook until meat is tender and pulls apart easily 6-8 hours. Warm torillas in the microwave or oven 20 minutes. wrap in foil to keep warm. Shred the pork while still in the slow cooker and stir.

Serve on warm tortillas with extra salsa, sour cream, cilantro, lemon or lime and a glass of lemonade or ice tea.

As always, my quick and easy recipes for Busy Moms can be found on my website Noel’s Kitchen Tips.com.

Visit my new Amazon Kitchen Store  for some of my recommeneded appliances, storage and kitchen needs along with some of my favorite cookbooks and aprons to help you with your family meal planning. For high quality kitchen tools for your kitchen, visit www. NoelsKitchen.com

Would you like to join our growing Family Cooking Club? Share recipes and tips with others? Join the Family Meals Matter Cooking Club on Facebook.  

 [print_link]