Made By Melissa

Nate loves pulled pork and this recipe could not be any easier. I have had this saved in my allrecipes.com recipe box for a quite a while since it has gotten such rave reviews, but I loathe root beer so I was hesitant to try it. The I realized I could just make it with coke! The pork was very tender and shredded easily.

You can use your favorite bottled BBQ sauce with the pulled pork, but I had some extra time the day I made this, so I decided to try the Neely’s BBQ sauce from Food Network. I am not sure how I feel about the show Down Home with the Neely’s, the only episode I have seen was the one where they made barbecue spaghetti with this barbecue sauce recipe. The BBQ sauce was very good, a little bit spicy for me, but I am kind of a wuss. Next time I will probably decrease the amount of pepper slightly.

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

• 1 (2 pound) pork tenderloin
• 1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle root beer (I used coke)
• 1 (18 ounce) bottle your favorite barbecue sauce (I used Neely’s BBQ sauce, recipe below)
• 8 hamburger buns, split and lightly toasted

Poke holes in the tenderloin with a fork, season with salt and pepper. Place the pork tenderloin in a slow cooker; pour the root beer over the meat. Cover and cook on low until well cooked and the pork shreds easily, 6 to 7 hours. Note: the actual length of time may vary according to individual slow cooker. Drain well. Stir in barbecue sauce. Serve over hamburger buns.

Neely’s BBQ Sauce

• 2 cups ketchup
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 5 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 5 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 tablespoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1/2 tablespoon onion powder
• 1/2 tablespoon ground mustard
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

In a large saucepan, combine all ingredients. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat to simmer. Cooked uncovered, stirring frequently, for 2 hours.

There are several versions of chicken taco soup out there, but I decided to make this one from Melissa’s blog.  I love that you can throw the ingredients in the crock-pot in the morning and have a warm, delicious, hearty soup for dinner. Original recipe is from allrecipes.com.

Slow-Cooker Chicken Taco Soup

• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 (16 ounce) can chili beans
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans (I used kidney beans)
• 1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained (I used frozen)
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle beer
• 2 (10 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained
• 1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning
• 3 whole skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced

Place the onion, chili beans, black beans, corn, tomato sauce, beer, and diced tomatoes in a slow cooker. Add taco seasoning, and stir to blend. Lay chicken breasts on top of the mixture, pressing down slightly until just covered by the other ingredients. Set slow cooker for low heat, cover, and cook for 5 hours.

Not quite as easy as throw-ingredients-in-crock-pot and go, there is a bit of prep work, but these pork-chops are very good. We have made this a couple times now, the first time I over cooked them and the “sauce” burnt to the bottom of my crock-pot, so I now double the sauce ingredients and have not had a problem. This recipe comes from southernfood.about.com, Carrie also has a similar recipe in her blog.

Super Easy Pork Chops

• 4 pork chops, about 3/4-inch to 1-inch thick
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced (I increase to 2, but double the ingredients for a total of 4)
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/4 cup chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar or honey
• dash cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon water to make smooth paste

Season pork chops with salt and pepper to taste. In a skillet over medium heat, heat olive oil. Add pork chops and sear until nicely browned on both sides. Transfer pork chops to crock-pot. Add garlic to pan droppings and sauté until it begins to brown; stir in soy sauce, broth, sugar, and cayenne pepper.

Stir to blend; bring just to a boil. Pour sauce over the chops. Cover and cook on low until pork chops are tender, about 6 to 7 hours. My crock-pot tends to run hot, so I cook it on “warm” if it is going to be 6-7 hrs, otherwise “low” for only about 4 hours. Stir in cornstarch and water mixture until well blended. Cover and cook about 20 minutes longer. I usually just transfer the sauce to a small pot and reduce on the stove for a couple minutes until it thickens.

There are a couple different versions of this recipe floating around- some with a whole chicken, some with chicken parts, different herbs etc. I chose to go with this one from crockpotrecipes101.com. I made a few changes, based on what I had on hand. This chicken came out well, not as good as I thought it would be, but something I will probably make again. All of the extra roasted garlic was a huge bonus though! I added red potatoes to the crock-pot, one less side for me to cook.

Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic

• 40 cloves garlic (about 3 heads of garlic)
• 2 sprigs rosemary (I used dried)
• 2 sprigs thyme (I used dried)
• 2 sprigs sage (I used dried)
• 2 sprigs Italian parsley
• Ground pepper to taste
• 3 pounds roasting or fryer chicken
• 3 stalks celery
• 4 red potatoes, quartered
• Loaf french bread - optional

Rinse chicken in cold water and pat dry. Put celery on the bottom of the crock-pot. I rubbed the chicken with olive oil inside and out, then sprinkled with the dried herbs. Put 1 sprig of each herb into the cavity of the chicken. Place chicken on top of the celery. Add potatoes around chicken. Cut up the rest of the herbs and sprinkle on top of the chicken. Add ground pepper to taste. Peel garlic, leave skin on, and place on top and around chicken. I have a 6qt. crock-pot, so I added about 3/4 cup chicken broth. Cook on low for 8-9 hours. Remove chicken from crock-pot and place on a platter, arrange potatoes around chicken and top with some fresh parsley. The cooked garlic can be used in place as garlic butter for the french bread. Just squeeze and spread onto bread slices.