Crockpot Pork Chops

So happy together... my two crockpots.

Crockpot on the right has our roasted new potatoes and carrots, which are just delicious.  On the left was a new recipe for pork chops I was trying for the first time today.  I found this recipe on Pinterest, and you can view the original at Kristi's Recipe Box.  I made a couple of minor adjustments, and here's my result.

Crockpot Pork Chops

Ingredients:

~4-6 thin boneless pork chops
~1/4 cup olive oil
~1 cup chicken broth
~2 cloves garlic, minced
~1 tablespoon paprika
~1 tablespoon seasoned salt
~1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
~1/2 teaspoon salt
~1/2 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

Place pork chops in crockpot.  Mix together chicken broth and olive oil; add garlic and other spices and stir well.  Pour mixture over chops.  Cover and cook on low for about 3 hours.

Between the pork chops and the potatoes & carrots cooking this afternoon, the house smelled really good!  All of us enjoyed this meal, most especially my husband!  It is actually quite easy to make, and the spices could be varied depending on what you have on hand or what you're in the mood for.

~nikki

Browned Butter Gnocchi

Yum!

I shared a recipe on Pinterest a while back which I found in my February issue of Cooking Light magazine.  You can view the original recipe here.

I was excited to try something new, as we have never eaten gnocchi before.  I'm happy to say that we all really enjoyed this dish.  It was simple enough to make, too.  The husband went back for a big plate of seconds, and even the kids seemed to like it.  My daughter called it "Gnocchi, gnocchi!"

I made a couple of minor adjustments to the recipe, and here's what I did:

Browned Butter Gnocchi

Ingredients:

~2 (16 ounce) packages gnocchi
~12 ounce package frozen chopped broccoli
~4 tablespoons butter
~2 tablespoons olive oil (don't know for sure that that's the amount I used...I didn't measure)
~black pepper
~pine nuts (about 1/2 to 1 tablespoon per serving)
~shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (a sprinkling to taste on each serving)

Directions:

Cook gnocchi in a large Dutch oven according to package directions (mine needed to boil only for about 3-4 minutes).  Add broccoli during last minute of cooking; cook 1 minute and drain.  (Since I was using frozen broccoli, I did partially cook it in the microwave first for 3 minutes.)  Heat a large skillet over medium heat.  Add butter and oil; cook until butter browns.  (The original recipe said to cook for 7 minutes or until butter browns... well, my butter browned very quickly!  I definitely didn't come anywhere near 7 minutes.)  Add pepper to taste; add gnocchi mixture to pan and stir to coat.  Sprinkle each serving with pine nuts and cheese.

From skillet...

...to plate.  Enjoy!

This recipe will definitely be featured in my monthly meal plan next month.  Success!

~nikki

just for fun AND how I stay organized in the kitchen

So, let's just tell the truth about cooking...

Sometimes the food I serve my family for dinner does not require a recipe.  Or any effort for that matter!

The other day was just such a day in my kitchen, and my daughter even pitched in to place some frozen food on a cookie sheet for baking.  Gotta love that!!

And I really loved how she used her hot pad (play version from her kitchen set).  She told me the reason she was using her hot pad was because the food was so cold!

Sometimes we have a super easy, absolutely-no-effort-needed type of meal like this one (which, by the way, was some frozen food from Market Day--Alaskan cod and mozzarella bites, which is what Hope was in charge of).  And sometimes we have something that requires a little work, or a lot of work, or remembering to prepare the meal ahead of time.  But, regardless of the type of meal we're having, here's what is almost always the same:

(1)  Our family eats together, at the same time, seated at our dinner table.

and 

(2)  The meal was listed on my monthly meal plan

That's right... a monthly meal plan!  Over the years, I have tried lots of different ways to approach dinner planning.  I've tried using index cards, and I've tried listing out a week's worth of meals (either assigned or not assigned to specific days), but what is currently working really well for me is the use of a monthly calendar where I record the dinners I will be serving my family (even planning for those super easy ones, or the nights when I don't plan to cook at all--going out or getting pizza...whatever!).  

I've been using a monthly calendar for quite a while now, but something I've recently added is making my life a lot easier.  I simply expanded the calendar grid by adding extra rows, so that each week is represented by two rows on the calendar.  The first of the two rows lists what dinner we'll be having.  The second row is where I'm listing out the ingredients I'll need to make that dinner.  Then when it's time to create my weekly shopping list, it's super easy to take a look through my kitchen and see what is needed for the week's dinners.  I've also started using a free grocery list app on my iPhone, so really the process is becoming quite efficient for me.

Here's a look at my February calendar (please note the photos are not the best... I do let my 4 year old color on the calendar picture and it gets a little wrinkled as a result):

Red = dinners, Purple = ingredients needed

How do you plan your family's meals?

Happy Cooking and Happy Planning!

~nikki

Crockpot Potato Soup

A couple of months ago, I was on the hunt for a crockpot recipe for potato soup.  I certainly found a lot of versions of this dish, but my husband was pretty particular about what he did and did not want with this soup.  Any recipes that were overly cheesy were out, as were recipes that included broccoli (how dare we include broccoli!?!).  I found a simple enough recipe that I thought he (and the rest of us) would enjoy, via Pinterest.  (Here's my pin)  The original recipe comes from Life on Mars and can be found here.

This is how my hubby wanted his...
with cheese and crumbled bacon pieces
(Cute that he didn't want a recipe that
was too cheesy, but then he covered
his soup with chesse...)

Crockpot Potato Soup

Ingredients:

~5 pounds of potatoes, peeled and cut into small chunks
~4-5 cups of chicken broth
~1 stick of melted butter
~1 cup of half-and-half
~salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste

For toppings:

~shredded cheese and crumbled bacon pieces (that's what we use, but you could certainly add other toppings to suit your tastes)

Directions:

Place the chopped potatoes in the slow cooker.  Pour in the chicken broth until the potatoes are just covered.  I cook this on high for about 4 hours (you want the potatoes to be really soft).  Since I don't have an immersion blender, I use a potato masher to blend the potatoes to the consistency that we like (really smooth...but you could leave it chunkier if that's what you like).  Add in the half-and-half, melted butter, salt, pepper, and garlic powder and stir until combined.  Cook uncovered for 20-30 minutes to let it thicken up.  Serve with toppings of your choice.

~nikki

Crockpot Mac & Cheese

One of the meals my family seems to really love in particular is my variation on mac & cheese, of course, prepared in my crockpot.  I looked for a crockpot mac & cheese recipe for a bit (there are lots) and tried one that turned out kind of pasty.  I've played around a bit and have found what works for me that we all enjoy eating.

Crockpot Mac & Cheese

Ingredients:

~2 cups milk
~1/2 stick melted butter or margarine
~1 can evaporated milk
~2 eggs
~salt & pepper
~3 cups shredded cheese (I use cheddar blends like cheddar jack, or one called gourmet blend)
~1/2 box elbow macaroni
~1/2 cup to 1 cup grated Parmesan
~1 additional cup of shredded cheddar blend cheese

Directions:

Grease crockpot with cooking spray.  Combine milk, melted butter, evaporated milk, eggs, and salt and pepper and whisk until smooth.  Add 3 cups shredded cheese and the macaroni.  Stir gently to coat evenly.  Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese on top and add 1 cup shredded cheddar blend cheese.  Do not stir.  Cover and cook on low for about 3 hours.

You can see in the above photo (which was taken after dishing up my kids' portions) what might happen along the edges.  Even though I cook this on low and only for about 3 hours, the edges can really brown.  What I try to do is sort of scrape away the macaroni from this almost-burned edge while the dish is cooking. I haven't really figured out any way around this happening, and what is left in the middle is plenty for us, believe me!  So I don't worry about it...

With all that cheese, it's also not the most healthy dish I make...and that's okay, too.  I use skim milk, low fat evaporated milk, and sometimes the reduced fat cheeses (made from 2% milk).  So, while it is a bit calorie-high I'm okay with that.

~nikki