Pork Loin Roast with Potatoes

I served this up for Sunday dinner and David looooooved it. He requested it go on the blog- so on it goes. (He was saying things like "best roast you've ever made" - but it was fast Sunday and we all know how good food tastes at dinner on Fast Sunday.) I think the biggest difference was making my own onion soup mix. I was just out of soup mixes, so I searched for a homemade one but it was really good. Unless you're in a huge hurry - it's totally worth it.




Pork Loin Roast with Potatoes
Source: Taste of Home
Onion Soup Mix Source: AllRecipes

Ingredients:
1 envelope onion soup mix OR

{1/4 cup dried onion flakes
{2 tablespoons low-sodium beef bouillon granules
{1/4 teaspoon onion powder
{1/4 teaspoon parsley flakes
{1/8 teaspoon celery seed
{1/8 teaspoon paprika
{1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon dried rosemary, crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
3 cups water, divided
1 bone-in pork loin roast (4 to 5 pounds)
2 to 3 pounds small red potatoes, cut in half (I used regular potatoes)
1-1/2 cups sliced onions


Directions:
In a large bowl, combine the first six ingredients. Stir in 1/2 cup water; let stand for 3 minutes.Place roast, fat side up, on a greased rack in a roasting pan. Pour remaining water into the pan. Combine potatoes and onions; spoon around the roast. Brush vegetables and roast with seasoning
mixture.
Bake, uncovered, at 325° for 2-1/2 to 3 hours (or 300 for 3-4 hours) or until a thermometer reads 160° and potatoes are tender. Baste and stir potatoes occasionally. Tent with foil if browning too fast.

Let stand 10 minutes before slicing. Yield: 8-10 servings.
Thicken juices for gravy if desired. (Add juices and about 1 cup of cold water and 1 tbs cornstarch to a small pan, heat until boiling.)

BBQ Ribs

I'd never even considered making ribs for dinner until one day I was talking to my sweet sister, Jenna, about meal planning/meal ideas/grocery budgeting/etc... and she mentioned that they have ribs fairly often and that they were really easy and delicious. I was impressed and a little intimidated, but when I saw some pork back ribs go on sale (2.98/lb) I decided to give it a try. For just under three dollars a pound, that's the same price as having hamburgers for dinner (we use the whole pound of hamburger, and I try to get that on sale for the same 2.98/lb). I bought the ribs and then called Jenna to make sure that I wasn't getting myself into something crazy. I don't know why I was so worried, these were the easiest thing I've made for dinner in the last two weeks and they were SO delicious. I just stuck them in the crockpot all day while we were at church, then came home and tossed a couple of ears of corn in the oven for a half hour and made some instant mashed potatoes. It was the most delicious Sunday dinner! I don't ever remember eating ribs before, so it was a fun experience (albeit a messy one) and I am already trying to figure out how to get them on my meal plan asap.

BBQ Pork Ribs
Source: Adapted from Jenna Haderlie

Ingredients:
1 lb Pork Back Ribs (Jenna said that she uses boneless ribs, but we picked up the ones that were on sale and after being in the crock pot all day the meat just falls off the bone.)
1 Cup Dave's Rich and Sassy BBQ sauce
1 Tbs Onion Flakes
Salt & Pepper

Directions:
Cut ribs into sections (about every 4th rib or so) and season with salt and pepper. Lay in crock pot and sprinkle onion flakes on top. Cover in BBQ Sauce and cook on low for 8-9 hours. About a half-hour before dinner, check the sauce - if it's dried out a little, add a little more sauce. Transfer to a serving plate and serve hot! (With lots of napkins!)


One note: David and I usually buy the Kraft or Bullseye BBQ sauce brand. However, we went to a friends house for dinner and they served brisket with some Famous Dave's Rich and Sassy BBQ sauce and we were in heaven! I honestly didn't know that the sauce would make so much of a difference, but we about died it was so good. Then we had some Sweet Baby Rays BBQ sauce at a different dinner, and again we were blown away by how delicious it was and how big of a difference it made. The point of this is that when we made the recipe we used the good BBQ Sauce and it was incredible! I would definitely recommend splurging just a tiny bit more and getting the good sauce. It makes a difference!

BBQ Pork Chops

I've been on the lookout for yummy pork chop recipes that are a little different than our usual. Pork keeps going on sale for like $1.40/lb, which is pretty killer and so I've been trying to rotate it through our meal plans fairly frequently. I'm so glad that I stumbled across this recipe. The sauce by itself was pretty tart, but when it was thinly covering the pork chop it added the perfect amount of flavor. I was very impressed! Plus, the addition of the carrots and onions on top were delicious. I paired this with some yummy garlic mashed potatoes. Add a side salad and maybe a piece of fruit and this is a perfect Sunday Dinner. 

BBQ Pork Chops
Source: Adapted from Crock Pot Pork Chops

Ingredients:
4-5 pork chops
1/2 cup carrots, sliced
1/2 cup onion, sliced
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1/2 cup barbecue sauce
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup water
2 table spoons vinegar
2 table spoons Worcestershire sauce
1 table spoon yellow mustard
dash of salt and pepper (to taste)

Directions:
In a small sauce pan, combine barbecue sauce, lemon juice, water, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, and yellow mustard. Add carrots and sliced onions. Simmer 5 minutes.

Season pork chops with salt and pepper. Brown in a frying pan, 2-3 minutes on each side. Place in the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Pour sauce and vegetables over pork chops. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.

Other options:
Place in crockpot. Cook 8 hours on low or 3 hours on high.

French Dip Sandwiches

This recipe is from the wonderful ladies at Our Best Bites. My sister-in-law, Wendy, first introduced us to this delicious dish and we were hooked! I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to shred the roast and how quickly it came together in the morning. I love when we find a new recipe that I can envision myself making it for my children someday. I'm sure they will love it as much as we do.

French Dip Sandwiches

1 2.5-3 lb. beef roast
2 Tbsp. olive oil
salt and pepper
2 packages dry onion soup mix
2 c. water
2 cans beef broth
6-8 large buns
Provolone cheese, sliced


Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat and rub roast with salt and pepper.

When very hot, carefully place roast in pan and sear on all sides. You're not cooking the meat, you're just browning it quickly on all sides to add flavor and seal in the juices.

Place in crockpot and sprinkle with onion soup mixes. Pour water and beef broth over roast.

Cook 8-10 hours on low or cook 4-5 hours on high and another 3-4 hours on low. It's hard to screw this part up; basically, the longer it cooks, the more tender it will be. But you know it's done when you pop a fork in it and the meat just falls apart. When meat is ready, shred with a fork.

Place meat in crusty rolls. Top with cheese and broil open-faced in the oven or toaster oven for a few minutes, until bread is golden and cheese is melty.

Ladle juices into small cups for dipping and enjoy!


***

FREEZER DIRECTIONS:

Prepare roast through the searing step; after meat has cooled, place in a plastic freezer-safe container (think Gladware), cover with onion soup mix and boullion, and freeze. When ready to cook, pop it straight into the crockpot (frozen), add 2 cups of water, and set to high until warm or, even better, simmering. Turn to low; cook for a total of 8-10 hours.

Beef Stroganoff

This is one of the first meals I ever remember eating at my in-laws house. It's definitely a family favorite. It says to use round steak, but I use pretty much whatever steak is on sale (price-matching at Walmart is the key to getting a good deal.) Fry the meat, throw everything in the crockpot and enjoy!

Beef Stroganoff
Source: Sue Peaden

Ingredients:
1 lb round steak (thin)
3-4 cans cream of chicken soup
1/2 to 2/3 milk per can of soup
1/2 to 1 tub sour cream (to taste)
1 1/2 tsp worchestershire sauce
 Garlic Salt
Onion Salt
Salt
Pepper
Rice

Directions:
Combine cream of chicken soup, sour cream and Worcestershire sauce in large crock pot. (David combines it in a bowl, then transfers it to the crock pot.) Cut up steak into small pieces and brown in frying pan. Season with garlic salt, onion salt, salt and pepper to taste. Pour steak and all juices into crock pot with soup mixture. Cover and cook on low for 3 hours. (Sometimes we add a little bit of milk to make it a little more saucy.)

1/2 hour before stroganoff is done, cook rice. (We make 8 servings and then use this stroganoff for leftovers for the rest of the week.) Serve immediately.