Apple Bacon Pork Roast - Crockpot Meal

The biggest reason I love cooking in the crockpot is that it is super easy... almost fool proof. My next meal this week was the Apple Bacon Pork Roast and as good as it was when it was fresh, it was actually even better as left overs. I found the recipe here. This is the picture that enticed me...

Looks great right??? I knew instantly this was going to be one of my first recipes to try and let me tell you, it was as good as I thought it would be. The only down fall was that the roast is cooked with apple slices inside and I think because I started the roast @ 7:00 am and we didn't eat until 5:00 pm that they got a little mushy. I think had I started the roast around noon and only cooked it on high for 4-6 hours they wouldn't have been ewwwy. In any case, the meat and bacon was to die for... literally. The smell, flavors, MMMMM. So here's how I started my roast.

The recipe calls for slicing the roast into inch slices 3/4th of the way through, then placing apple slices inside the slits. Once the apples are inside, place the bacon on top. I did mine in a lattice style. Once the bacon is on sprinkle brown sugar on top. The roast goes from above to below and no, that isn't bacon fat, that's juice.

I served my roast with mashed potatoes and gravy, beets and corn. It was so delicious! Since my kids decided to eat like birds I have way more than enough for probably 2-3 more meals.

Crock Pot Apple Bacon Pork Roast

 

Prep Time - 10 minutes

Cook time - 4 hours

Total time - 4 hours, 10 minutes

Serves - 6-8

Ingredients

·         3-4 Pork Loin Roast

·         2 large apples sliced (I prefer fuji)

·         6 slices of bacon (1/2 cooked)

·         ⅓ cup brown sugar

Glaze

·         ½ cup brown sugar

·         ¼ cup apple juice

·         1 tablespoon Dijon or grainy mustard

·         dash cinnamon

Instructions

1.      Slice your pork loin into one inch slices about ¾ of the way through. That way the roast is still connected in one piece.

2.      Place roast in a large crock pot and place the apple slices in the slits.

3.      Lay the bacon slices over the top of the roast, and sprinkle with brown sugar.

4.      Place lid on the crock pot and allow the roast to cook for 3-4 hours on high or 6-8 hours on low. Final cook time will depend on your crockpot.

5.      Slice and serve with the glaze below.

Glaze

1.      Blend glaze ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, until the mixture comes to a boil. Remove from heat and set aside.

** Now I wasn't too sure when to put the glaze on because the recipe doesn't state, so I just dumped it over the whole thing and let it cook together while I got my sides ready so about 10 minutes. When pulling it out of the crock pot I poured some juice on top to provide more moisture.

Chicken Fajitas

In my effort to crockpot more and branch out from our normal every day food, I decided to try the Chicken Fajitas recipe that I saw on Pinterest. It sounded wonderful. Even though I don't like peppers, I still wanted to try the recipe (minus those nasty peppers). My kids loved the recipe... me, not so much. I think a full packet of taco seasoning is just way too much or something. It wasn't awful, just not as wonderful as I was hoping. I think I am going to give it one more shot, but this time I am not going to put nearly as much seasoning in it and see how it does. If I were to give this recipe a star rating, it would only get 2 out of 5. 

Chicken Fajitas
( 5-6 servings)

·                     1 1/2 pound chicken breast

·                     2 peppers (your favorite)

·                     1 onion

·                     1/2 cup chicken broth

·                     taco seasoning packet

·                     1 tsp. chili powder

·                     1/2 tsp. paprika

·                     1 tsp. salt

You will also need tortillas, cheese, cream, etc.

1.            Put all the ingredients in a large freezer bag. (Make sure you label the bag with instructions.)

2.            When it’s time to cook it, dump it all in your slow cooker and cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 5-6 hours.

3.            When it’s cooked, shred the meat and add it back to the pepper mixture and serve on warm tortillas and your favorite toppings.

Smothered Beef Burritos

As part of my "Cook with a plan 2015" Tonight was Smothered beef burritos. I had never made this before but it sounded super delicious, and let me tell you, it truly was. The beef mixture was to die for, and the enchilada sauce was fantastic! Both of my kids gobbled it up. My six year old daughter even ate every single bite of her burrito and this is the child that refuses to eat burritos and opts for a tortilla with cheese only instead. This will definitely be added to the future meals list. There was even enough of the beef mixture left to make me a lunch for tomorrow and also 1 more meal for all 3 of us. I love meals like this. Tonight I plan on making up the last of the mixture into burritos and freezing them as is so I just have to pop them into the oven when I'm ready to eat them.

Smothered beef burrito

  Serves: 5-7

Ingredients

1 1/2-2 lb stew meat  - 5.98

2 cans Old El Paso enchilada sauce  - 1.38 each = 2.76

2 Knorr Beef Stock tubs  - 4 tubs for $3.48 = 1.74

1/2 can(s) refried beans  - $1.00 = .50

5-7 burrito sized flour tortillas  - Package of 16 for $5.46 = 1.37

cheddar cheese, shredded - 2lb bag (maybe a cup was used) for $8.88 = .56

Total cost for tonight's dinner ---$12.91 and as mentioned there is plenty for another meal. Definitely a win in my book.

Directions

1. In crock pot put beef, enchilada sauce and bouillon and cook on low 7-8 hours (or high 3-4), until beef is fork tender.

2. When beef is done taste and add salt if needed. Heat up refried beans and put oven on broil. On oven proof plate or cookie sheet place tortilla and 1/2 cup of beef and spoonful of beans.

3. Roll into burrito and pour enchilada sauce over to completely cover. Sprinkle with cheese and broil until cheese melts.

Pikachu Hat

This fall I got a job as a teacher's aide in the Special Education department at the local high school. After getting to know the kids for a couple of weeks, I realized that I really wanted to make each of my students a hat that reflected who they are. I plan on showcasing each hat over the next few weeks. Some hats I made based on a pattern, others I just winged it. Due to medical issues I wasn't able to start the hats until the first weekend in December. For one of my students, I made a Pikachu hat. She has loved pikachu since she was 3 years old. The moment that I found out that she loved pikachu I knew that this was the hat for her.  I used my basic half double crochet pattern for the hat part, then embellished with the eyes, cheeks, nose, mouth and ears. If anyone is interested in the pattern instructions, please leave a comment and I will share. 

Crockpotting through the year

2014 was a terrible year for me. I had very high hopes that the year would be wonderful, but even from the beginning it started out really bad. Thankfully half way through the year things started getting much better, and have continued improving. I moved from Tennessee back to Arizona, I got a job as a teacher's aide at the local high school, and I was given a house to live in rent free. I finally was able to get medical insurance and have been getting all a full work up and finding out why I have been so tired. Since school started in August I have felt like an inadequate mom because most nights I just have not had the energy to cook for my kids. Now that I know why I had no energy, I have made a plan to correct the issue. This week I have made a plan on how to correct this, and save money in the process. I made a menu plan for the whole month. 4 days a week will be crockpot meals, 3 days a week I will actually cook. Since my family is a family of 3 (with 1 growing boy stomach, and 1 bird like stomach) 31 days of meals really isn't necessary. Most of these crockpot meals will be enough for at least 2 meals, if not more. I'm ok with this. I'm thinking the food I purchased today will be enough for 1.5-2 months. So here is my meal plan for the month. 

I decided today would be Creamy Italian Chicken with rice, cheese and tomato. I got to say, YUMMMMMM!!!!!I first found this recipe on the website Sparkpeople.com. Those that are trying to lose weight can use this recipe and modify it just a touch to make it healthier. After a conversation with my sister I realized that I can add the extras to it to make it like a Hawaiian Haystack. Definitely a win on both account.This morning I put the chicken on to cook this morning before I left to go shopping, and added the final touches after I finished bagging all my meals. Man was that a workout!!! Here's the Recipe. 

Creamy Italian Chicken

Cooking Time - 6-8 hours on low (can be longer if necessary)

                           4-6 hours on high

Ingredients:

2 lbs Boneless, skinless chicken breasts -    $4.00

2 cups chicken broth -                                  $1.00

1 cup Wishbone Italian Dressing -               $0.50

1 pkg Philadelphia Cream Cheese                $2.19

1 can Cream of Chicken Soup                      $0.75

                                Total cost                      $8.44

Directions:

Place chicken, broth, and dressing in crock pot and cook until chicken is tender. About 30 minutes before serving, cook rice (I use my awesome rice cooker). While rice is cooking, shred chicken and add soup and cream cheese to the crock pot and mix well so there are no lumps. Sometimes I will remove the chicken while I shred it, sometimes not. Today I was able to use a spoon and shred it against the sides of the pot. Allow to heat through once again before serving. I usually put about 1/2-1 cup of rice on plate/bowl, about 1/2 cup of mixture, 1-2 oz of cheese, and a couple of tomato slices diced. If I am really making it into a hawaiian haystack then I will also add celery, pineapple and the chinese noodles.

The total cost for today's meal was less than $10 (Including the cost for rice, cheese and tomato) and I have enough of the chicken mixture for at least 1 more meal, if not more so in reality I only spent about $5 for tonight's dinner. I love a bargain. I hope you enjoy this dinner as much as my family does. My bird eater actually ate 2 servings.