Crockpot Alton Brown Pork Loin

Posted on by aurorameyer

AB Crockpot Pork Loin
I haven’t been shy about my love for all of AB’s recipes (for example our Christmas ham, gyro meat and a peach buckle). This one started out as a delicious grilled summer meal, but quickly morphed into a scrumptious year round crock pot meal. Extra bonus, we make it ahead and freeze it so it’s super simple to just pop into the crockpot!

Crockpot Alton Brown Pork Loin

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Ingredients
  

  • 1 whole pork tenderloin approximately 1 pound
  • 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice concentrate is also fine!
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder we actually use regular minced garlic
  • 1 in chipotle chile pepperadobo sauce (out of the can we use about three or four chipotles and half of the sauce)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt We omit (but you can feel free to add!)
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro leaves We omit (but you can feel free to add!)

Instructions
 

  • Place the lime juice, honey and garlic powder in a ziptop bag and shake to combine.
  • Add the chipotle pepper (s) and squish together to combine.
  • Add the pork tenderloin to the bag and seal, removing as much air as possible and squish to coat the tenderloin. (At this point, we usually freeze this mixture together.)
  • If not freezing, marinate in the refrigerator for 6 to 24 hours (we like overnight).
  • When you're ready to cook, dump the entire mixture into the crockpot, marinade and all. Cook on low for 8 to 10 hours. (Always double-check your specific crockpot settings for correct cooking times).
  • If you can, flip it once, but if you can't it's ok.
  • When you're ready to eat, remove the pork loin. Make sure to reserve the juices! We enjoy pouring it over rice to go with the pork.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

My opinion:
Like I said above, this is great year round. It’s just as good with a salad as it is over rice. Enjoy!

p.s. Summer 2016 update: without the chipotles in adobo sauce, our toddler eats this up! We just add the chipotles and adobo sauce to our plates. 

Crockpot Chicken Cacciatore with Spaghetti Squash

Posted on by aurorameyer

Like everyone else the two days before the holidays are hectic. Putting finishing touches on things, wrapping up at the office, there are a million things vying for our attention the last two weeks of the year. Which is why I’ve turned to the trusty crockpot to make our dinners this past week. After a quick search on my new favorite recipe finding site, Pinterest. I found this simple, basic Chicken Cacciatore (originally from this blog, I think) and it was wonderful.

Since we were out of a few ingredients (like mushrooms, feel free to include them if you want!) I made a few tweaks.

Ingredients:
2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 t salt
1/2 t freshly ground pepper
1/2 large onion, sliced into half moons
1/2 large carrot, shredded
1 bell pepper, seeded and sliced 1/4 inch thick (I used green, it was what we had on hand)
1 (14 1/2 ounce) can diced tomatoes (I used the ones with onion and garlic added)
3 tbs tomato paste
2 tbs minced garlic
Italian seasoning to taste
1 large spaghetti squash

Directions:
Chop up the vegetables and place them in the bottom of the crockpot. Sprinkle the chicken breasts with salt, pepper and Italian seasonings. (Frozen is ok!) Place the chicken on top of the veggies. Mix the tomatoes, tomato paste and garlic. Pour the mixture over the chicken. Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours. (I cooked on high for 4 hours. ) When there’s an hour left for the dish to cook, poke at least 12 holes in the spaghetti squash. Roast in a 375 degree oven for at least an hour, remove and let cool. If you want to reduce the liquid once the chicken is done cooking, remove the chicken from the crockpot and pour the vegetables and sauce into a large saucepan. Bring the sauce to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes uncovered, or until it is thickened. While the sauce is simmering, cut the spaghetti squash in half and scoop out the seeds and fiberous middle. Use a fork to pull the remaining flesh into strands. Plate the spaghetti squash and pour the sauce and chicken over the squash.
My opinion:
This was so easy, I made a freezer bag of the ingredients so I could just toss it in the crock pot on another super busy evening. I’ll add a bit more garlic and Italian seasoning next time. This would be equally good over rice or pasta. Enjoy!

Copycat Luby’s Tortilla Soup

Posted on by aurorameyer

Copycat Luby's Tortilla Soup by Dispatches from the Castle

The best tortilla soup is either at Luby’s in San Antonio or Magnolia’s in Austin. Seeing as how I no longer live in Texas, it was high time I learned to make this amazingly tasty, wonderful, cold winter night meal.

Copycat Luby's Tortilla Soup by Dispatches from the Castle

Copycat Luby's Tortilla Soup

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Ingredients
  

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 cup chopped onions
  • 2 teaspoons chopped garlic
  • 1 poblano pepper seeded and chopped
  • 1 jalapeno pepper seeded and chopped
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 6 cups chicken stock
  • 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves we were out, it is winter after all!
  • 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
  • 1 avocado diced
  • tortilla chips broken

Instructions
 

  • In a large heavy pot, heat the oil on medium-high heat. Add the onions, garlic, peppers, salt, cumin, and coriander for 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 20 minutes. Add the chicken and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the cilantro and lime juice, and stir well. Remove from the heat and cover to keep warm.

Notes

We modified and put everything in the crockpot minus the tortilla chips and avocado. Let it cook on medium for about 6 hours. In the future, we’ll up the spices and use more jalapenos. It was very close to Luby’s version.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Don’t forget! #cookchat this Thursday, January 20 at noon! Hope to see you there!

Crockpot Pot Roast

Posted on by aurorameyer

This is the EASIEST pot roast recipe, ever. Also, according to the Missouri Beef Council (I’m on the Beef Running Team!) Bottom Round and Top Round Roasts are on the list of 29 leanest beef cuts.

Crockpot Pot Roast by Aurora Meyer on aurorameyer.com

Crockpot Pot Roast

This is the EASIEST pot roast recipe, ever
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 8 hours
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Servings 4 people

Ingredients
  

  • 1 Top or Bottom Round Roast for us it depends on what’s on sale about a pound fits into our crock pot. Use what will fit in yours
  • 1 cup Beef broth see directions (you might need a bit more)
  • 1 tablespoon garlic crushed and minced
  • 1 tablespoon steak seasoning
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil

Instructions
 

  • Put the oil in a pan and turn the heat to medium-high. Sprinkle the beef with your choice of steak seasoning and garlic. Sear each side.
    Put the beef in the crockpot and pour beef broth just 2/3 of the way over the beef. (This will depend on the size of your crockpot.)
    Cook on medium for up to eight hours, if you like your beef to fall apart. Cook for six hours if you like it to stay together. (All of these times vary depending on your specific crockpot.)
    We often freeze the beef after searing to make a quick and easy toss in the crockpot meal. We’ve had luck adding the beef to the crockpot still frozen and pouring the beef broth in. When we start frozen, we cook it on high for about six hours and turn it to low when we get back from work. Serve with broth, which you can thicken with cornstarch, arrowroot or cheese.

Notes

My opinion:
This is a great fall/winter meal that is easy to vary depending on your tastes. 
Keyword beef roast, crockpot beef roast, pot roast
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!