Posted in dinner, Family Recipe, Gluten Free, Pork, Recipes, write 31 2017

What I Like About Fall and “Soy Sauce” Pork Chops (GF, DF, Paleo, W30)- Blog Post #13

writer's workshop

I didn’t feel good on Wednesday night so I did not get this post up for the week.  Headache and tiredness.  Yuck!  It was an early night for me.

This week’s prompt is what do I like about fall.

  1.  The flavors of fall – cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves
    pumpkin pie spice
    Pumpkin Pie Spice
  2. Pumpkin Spice Latte, Maple Pecan Lattes, and Blackberry Pie Lattes.
    I get the Blackberry Pie Lattes from a local coffee shop called Winans.
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  3. The crisp air – I can wear my Mickey Mouse hoodie.IMAG0170
  4. My Autumn Glory Maple Tree
    Halloween – My town is known for decorating for Halloween.  They usually have a parade celebrating Halloween.  We’ve never done it though.
    The boys are getting too old for trick or treating.  Insert sad face.
  5. The decorations

    Bonfires
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  6. Our dog can go on more car rides because it’s not too hot.
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  7. Thanksgiving
    The last Thanksgiving with Tanya (2015)
  8. The trees changing colors
    The two things I don’t like about fall are :
  1.  Foggy mornings
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  2. Extreme Storms – Rain or wind or a combo of both

Mama’s Losin’ It

When my father-in-law was alive, he would marinade pork chops in soy sauce.  Hubby loved those soy sauce pork chops.

Soy sauce has wheat in it.  So for a gluten free diet, it’s a no go.

For a while I switched to gluten free soy sauce but at over $4 a bottle, I didn’t like those prices.

Then I did the Whole 30 in April/ May of 2017.  I began to use coconut aminos.

The problem with coconut aminos is that it is $6 a bottle.  Yikes!

Then I found out Trader Joe’s has their coconut aminos for $2.99 a bottle.  WIN!

So I stocked up on the coconut aminos.

Now I can make Asian dishes and “soy sauce” pork chops without feeling sluggish afterwards.  YEAH!

My family loved my “soy sauce” pork chops.  They did not know the difference.

If you don’t eat gluten free, you can use regular soy sauce.

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”Soy Sauce” Pork Chops

  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

Ingredients

– 1 lb. boneless pork chops

– ¼ c. coconut aminos

– salt to taste

Directions

  1. In a container or Ziploc bag, place the pork chops and coconut aminos
  2. Allow the meat to marinade for at least 2 hours or overnight.
  3. Cook on a medium high heat for 5 minutes on one side.  Season with salt before flipping the pork.
  4. Flip and cook for 3 minutes on the other side.
  5. Enjoy!

We ate our dinner with pressure cooker applesauce, plain white rice, and mixed veggies.  If you were doing the Whole 30, I would serve it with the applesauce, cali rice, and green beans.  Yum!

Happy eating,
Traci

Posted in Chicken, chicken 1, dairy free, DIY, Gluten Free, Pork, Recipes

Lemon Garlic Marinade (Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Paleo, Whole30)

When I went grocery shopping last Sunday, I got some boneless pork ribs.  I almost bought a bottle of lemon garlic marinade for the ribs but decided not to get it.

I decided to make my own lemon garlic marinade for the ribs instead of buying that bottle.

When I served dinner last night, Hubby was delighted with the ribs.  Since there were a couple left over, he claimed them as his own for our left over night.  So I think this marinade is a winner.

This marinade would be good on pork chops, boneless pork ribs, pork roast, or even chicken breast.

Bonus:  It’s Whole30 friendly.

Oh, and I finally figured out how to make my recipes printer friendly.  That’s been a big problem during the 7 years I’ve had this blog.

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Lemon Garlic Marinade

  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

Ingredients

-1 lemon, zest and juiced

-1 clove of garlic, minced or 1 Tbsp. minced garlic

-2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

-1 tsp. Salt

-1 tsp. Pepper

-2 tsp. oregano

Directions

  1. In a gallon sized ziploc bag, add the ingredients. Close the bag. Knead the bag until the ingredients are combined.
  2. Add either boneless ribs, pork chops, or chicken breast.
  3. Allow meat to marinade for 4 to 12 hours or freeze for up to 3 months.
  4. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place meat in a baking dish.
  5. Cook the pork or chicken for 20 to 30 minutes.
  6. Once cooked, remove from the oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving.
  7. Serve and enjoy!

The pork should be cooked to an internal temperature of 145 degrees and chicken should be cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees.

Happy eating,
Traci

Posted in Pork, Recipes, slow cooker, Write 31 2016

Balsamic Pork Roast (Day 18)

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Welcome to Day 18 of 31 Days of Slow Cooking.

This a bittersweet dinner recipe for me.  I cooked it for the second time on the day my sister passed away.  I got the call from my mom when I was about to sit down with my family to enjoy the dinner I prepared.

I attempted to eat some of the meal but was so worked up that I could not enjoy it what so ever.

The rest of my family enjoyed the flavor of the pork.  The balsamic vinegar lends a bit of sweetness to the pork but is not overpowering.

Balsamic Pork Roast

Stars of the Recipe:

  • 2 lb. pork roast
  • Salt to taste
  • ½ tsp. Garlic powder
  • ⅓ c. chicken or vegetable broth
  • ⅓ c. balsamic vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp. worcestershire sauce
  • 1 Tbsp. honey

Steps:

  1. Season pork roast with salt and garlic powder.
  2. Place in slow cooker.
  3. In a medium bowl, mix together broth, vinegar, worcestershire sauce, and honey.
  4. Pour the mixture over the pork roast.
  5. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 4 to 6 hours.
  6. Enjoy!

Printable Recipe

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Posted in dinner, Pork, Recipes, slow cooker, Write 31 2016

Honey and Apple Pork Roast (Day 15)

honey-and-apple-pork-roast

Welcome to Day 15 of 31 Days of Slow Cooking.  We are at the halfway point of the 31 days of slow cooking.

The Imaginative One is working towards his cooking merit badge.  He’s done the camping portion of the merit badge.  Now it’s time for him to create a menu and then cook it for us.  We are having baked pancakes made with pancake mix rather than from scratch.  He’s putting together sandwiches for our lunch.  For supper, we are having chicken nuggets and French fries.  They didn’t say it had to be healthy.

I’m still helping him with the cooking because there are some basics he doesn’t know.

It’s interesting having him cook in the kitchen.

This is a great fall dish.  It’s easy to put together with great flavor.

Honey and Apple Pork Roast

Stars of the Recipe:

  • 3 lb. pork roast or pork tenderloin
  • 2 Granny smith apples, peeled and sliced into thin slices
  • 2 Tbsp. honey
  • 2 Tbsp. cinnamon or pumpkin spice blend

Steps:

  1. Place apples in the bottom of the slow cooker.
  2. Make slits in the pork roast.  Insert 2 thin slices of apple in those slits.
  3. Place the pork roast in the slow cooker over the apples.
  4. Pour honey over the pork roast.
  5. Sprinkle cinnamon or pumpkin spice blend over the pork roast.
  6. Cook on low 8 hours.

Printable Recipe

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Posted in Pork, Recipes, Write 31 2016

Barbecue Pork Chops (Day 12)

barbecue-pork-chops-2

Welcome to Day 12 of 31 Days of Slow Cooking.

So I’ve discovered a cool trick for adding photos to my blog posts.  I’ve always been afraid of using up the limit of storage I’m allowed to have on the blog so I was very sparingly putting photos on the blog.

I can now put them on my Google Photos, right click on the photo and choose the copy the image on the menu, and then paste it into my blog post.

I did that for a few blog posts but then was tired of how I couldn’t resize the photo.  This weekend I realized I could resize the photo manually.  Sweet!  Now I can share more photos without worrying about the amount of storage I’m using.

Here is a photo of Hubby and I when we went to the Goo Goo Dolls back in early August.

This is one of those easy dump and go type recipes.  You can change up the flavor depending on which type of barbecue sauce you use for the pork chops.

Barbecue Pork Chops

Stars of the recipe:

  • 1 & ½ pounds of bone-in pork chops
  • 1 c. barbecue sauce
  • ½ large onion or 1 small onion, diced

Steps:

  1. Place the pork chops in the slow cooker.
  2. Top with diced onions.
  3. Pour barbecue over pork chops.
  4. Cook on high for  3 to 4 hours or on low for 6 to 8 hours.

Printable Recipe

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Posted in Ingredients, Main Dish, Meat, Pork

7 up Pork Chops

image

I originally posted this recipe in September of 2010.  However, I did not have a picture of the pork chops.  Since we had them for dinner tonight, I made sure to take a picture of the chops.

Last night I baked these pork chops.  Hubby ended up being called into work early so he came back to get the food during his break.  The manager where he works saw his dinner and asked if there were any pork chops left over.  It so happened that the Wee One did not want his chop because it was too big.  Hubby made a detour to our house and got his manager the remaining chop.  The manager loved the chop!  Score!

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7-up pork chops

Stars of the recipe:

  • 4 to 6 pork chops
  • 12 oz. can 7 up, Sprite, or lemon lime soda
  • 1 envelope onion soup mix

Steps:

  1. Place chops in baking dish.
  2. Pour soda over chops and sprinkle with dry soup mix.
  3. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.
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Happy eating,
Traci

Posted in 31 days, easy, Pork, sandwich

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Sandwiches plus a trick

I’ve signed up for a 31-day writing challenge.  Every day in October, I post a new slow cooker recipe, a link to a previously posted slow cooker recipe, or a recipe from another blog.

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This pulled pork is super easy and only requires three ingredients.

I went on a field trip to the Freedom Center in Cincinnati yesterday.  When I got home, I was exhausted, so having the pork in the slow cooker made having dinner easier.  I shredded the pork and made some root beer barbecue sauce for the sandwiches.  Imaginative One made some French fries to go with the sandwiches.  The pulled pork sandwiches were such an easy dinner.

I ended up freezing the remaining pulled pork for future meals.

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Easy Pulled Pork

adapted from Recipes that Crock

Stars of the recipe:

  • 2 – 3 lb. pork tenderloin or shoulder butt pork roast
  • 1/2 c. chicken broth
  • seasoning salt or favorite barbecue seasoning blend

Steps:

  1. Place pork in the slow cooker.
  2. Sprinkle seasoning salt or barbecue seasoning blend over the pork.
  3. Pour the chicken broth over the pork.
  4. Cook on low for 8 hours.
  5. Shred.
  6. Enjoy buns with your favorite barbecue sauce.  (I used my recipe for root beer barbecue sauce.)

A trick to shred up cooked-up pork quickly and efficiently

  1.  Pull the cooked pork out of the slow cooker.
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2.  Place pork in a stand mixing bowl.  Use the paddle to shred up the meat.

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3.  Put the shredded meat back in the slow cooker until you are ready to serve dinner.

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If you enjoyed this recipe, please share it on Facebook or Pinterest.  Here is a link to my Facebook page and my Pinterest page.

Happy eating,
Traci

Posted in 31 days, dinner, Pork, slow cooker

“Oniony” Pork Chops – 31 Days of Slow Cooking (Day 9)

I’ve signed up for a 31-day writing challenge.  Every day in October, I post a new slow cooker recipe, a link to a previously posted slow cooker recipe, or a recipe from another blog.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I drop Imaginative One off at Kung Fu and just sit and wait for him.  I wrote rough drafts of future posts yesterday while I waited for him.  One of the rough drafts was for “oniony” pork chops – today’s post.

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Okay, I know oniony is not a word, but it’s the only adjective I could think of to describe these pork chops.

My family loves pork roast and pork chops.  I can always rely on my boys being happy with my dinner plan if pork chops are involved.

These pork chops are no exception.  The score for the loving family dinner.  🙂  This recipe is also super easy.  Score again!  🙂

Hint:  Make sure you defrost the meat the night before.  I put the pork chops in the freezer in the crock pot without defrosting them.  Since I hadn’t defrosted them, they stuck together.

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“Oniony” Pork Chops

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Stars of the recipe:

  • 2 lbs. bone-in pork chops (Bone in pork chops handle being cooked longer.)
  • 1 package of onion soup mix or homemade onion soup mix
  • 2 c. chicken broth

Steps:

  1. Place pork chops in a 4 or 5-quart slow cooker.
  2. Sprinkle onion soup mix over chops.
  3. Cover with chicken broth.
  4. Cook on high for 3 to 4 hours or low for 6 to 8 hours.  (Pork chops should reach an internal temperature of 145 degrees.)

You could serve this with baked potatoes cooked in the same crock pot as the pork chops or makeover mac and cheese on the side.  I served mine with pasta Roni and green beans.

If you enjoyed this recipe, please share it on Facebook or Pinterest.  Here is a link to my Facebook page and my Pinterest page.

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Happy eating,
Traci

Posted in dinner, easy, Main Dish, Meat, Pork

One Pan Pork Chop Dinner

This is an easy meal to impress your guests with.

On Sundays, we usually eat dinner with my mother-in-law.  It’s a tradition that started when Hubby and I were just married.  My father-in-law usually made the dinner.  When he died, we continued the tradition.  Sometimes I make the dinner.  Other times my mother-in-law makes the dinner.  Then there are times we eat out for Sunday dinner.

This is one dinner that I made for our Sunday dinner.  It was easy to put together.  It’s important to make sure the pork chops are thin cut so they bake in the same amount of time as the veggies.  Serve bread on the side to make a whole meal.

One Pan Pork Chop Dinner

adapted from Eat at Home

Stars of the recipe:

  • 4 to 6 thin cut pork chops
  • 1 lb. fingerling potatoes or red or yellow potatoes cut into either halves or quarters depending on their size
  • 3 – 4 c. cut veggies (I used broccoli and zucchini)
  • your favorite seasoning mix
  • salt
  • pepper
  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Steps:

  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
  2. Brush Extra Virgin Olive Oil on a big baking sheet.
  3. Toss the potatoes in a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil and coat with salt and pepper.  Place on the cookie sheet
  4. Toss the veggies in a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil and coat with salt and pepper.  Place on the cookie sheet next to the potatoes.
  5. Place the pork chops in the remaining space on the sheet or on another baking sheet.  Coat with your favorite seasoning.
  6. Bake at 425 for 25 to 30 minutes or until the pork chops are fully cooked (145 degrees Fahrenheit) and potatoes are tender.
  7. Enjoy with a salad and/or favorite bread.

This post has been linked to:
Treasure Box Tuesday