Crock Pot Pork Chops with Apples and Shallots

Yesterday I adapted my original Pork Chops with Apples and Shallots recipe for the crock pot, and got equally tasty results.  The texture of the pork was different, though- fall apart pork roast style.  I thought I'd share the adaptations I made for the crock pot, and hope you enjoy!

Pork Chops with Apples and Shallots

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 medium shallots, quartered lengthwise
• 2 granny smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced into eighths
• 1/2 cup white wine and 1 cup chicken broth, or 1 1/2 cups apple cider (I used the white wine and water because I was out of broth)
• 4 bone-in pork chops
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Place shallots, apples, and the wine/broth mixture or cider in crock pot.
2. Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat.
3. Pan sear pork chops until just golden on each side.  Season with salt and pepper, then transfer to crock pot, on top of apples and shallots.
4. Cook on low 4-6 hours.
5. Turn pork chops in juices before serving.  Serve pork chops with warm apples and shallots and a spoonful of crock pot juices spooned over top.

Crispy Crock Pot Pulled Pork Tacos

Digging myself out of the pit of overdue posts, I present these amazingly flavorful carnitas (aka: pulled pork). They were a bit spicy, but in a good way.  That heat in the back of your throat way, which I can deal with more than the singing my tongue all the way through way.  I pinned these courtesy of Gimme Some Oven, which is a rising star in my favorite recipe sites.  An honor well earned, if this recipe is any indication for you.

Also?  Tacos are REALLY hard to photograph.  Just sayin.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4.5-lb lean boneless pork roast, excess fat trimmed (of which there was much in my particular cut; I actually find that to be the norm), cut into 3-inch pieces
• 8 ounces of beer (Mmmm, beeer.  Note this is not a full can- you get to drink the rest!  Bonus!)
• 1 large white onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon chipotle chili powder (and yes, this does make a difference; don't cheat with regular)
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder (see?  we use two kinds for a reason!)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Sear the pork on all sides until browned (6-10 minutes total).  Remove pork with a slotted spoon and transfer to a crock pot.
2. Add remaining ingredients, with a gentle stir to mix.  Cook on low 6-8 hours until the pork is tender and shreds easily with a fork.  Shred all of the pork.
3. Once the pork is cooked, preheat your broiler.  Herein lies the crispy magic.  Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, and with a slotted spoon transfer the pork from the crock pot to the baking sheet.  Reserve the remaining liquid.  Spread the pork into a single layer, using two baking sheets if necessary.
4. Broil 5 minutes or until the edges are crispy but the pork is still juicy/not dried out.  Drizzle with 1/4 cup of the reserved juice from the crock pot, and gently stir to coat.  Broil another 5 minutes, remove from oven, and ladle with another 1/4 cup of reserved juice.
5. Serve with tacos, burritos, on sandwich buns, on salad, etc.  I personally think the soft taco approach is a home run.

Grilled Spiced Pork Chops with Amazing Peach Salsa

I absolutely *love* this dish courtesy of my Food Network calendar from 2012, especially the grilled peach salsa.  Amazing, I kid you not.  The pork chops are super tasty, too!  Om nom nom nom.

Ingredients

For the pork

• Vegetable oil, for the grill grate (or grill pan, as I used tonight)
• Kosher salt (though I didn't use any)
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 4 bone-in pork loin chops (I actually prefer boneless)

For the salsa

• 2 large ripe peaches, quartered and pitted
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/4 cup diced red onion
• 1/4 teaspoon finely grated lime zest
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon lime juice
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh herbs, such as chives, parsley, or mint (I used chives and parsley flakes, but I think this would be awesome with cilantro!)
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper (I didn't use any)

Directions

For the pork

1. Prepare an outdoor grill for direct grilling on a medium-high fire and indirect grilling (or heat a grill pan to medium-high heat).  Lightly brush the grill grate/pan with the oil.
2. Mix 2 teaspoons salt, the chili powder, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl.  Divide the mixture evenly among the chops and rub all over.  Should coat generously.
3. Place the chops on the hot grate directly over the flame and grill until marked.  Rotate 90 degrees to get professional-looking grill marks, and cook halfway through, about 5 more minutes.  Flip the chops and move to a cooler area of the grill.  Rotate after a couple minutes to get the same grill mark effect on both sides.  Cover and cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thicket part of the chop registers 140° (about 5-10 minutes).  Transfer the chops to a cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes.  Can return to heat for 1-2 minutes to warm up before serving.

For the salsa

1. Toss the peaches with the oil and grill until marked and softened, 2-3 minutes.  Roughly chop the peaches into bite-size pieces and place in a medium bowl with the tomatoes and onion.  Add the lime zest, lime juice, and herbs, and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Serve on top of the cooked pork chops.  Applaud yourself for making an excellent meal.

Pork Chops with Apples and Shallots

Martha Stewart does it again, providing yet another amazing recipe that I'll now cook until the day I die.  This meal just tasted like fall, through and through.  It so hit the spot tonight.  Served with a fresh salad of spinach, cranberries, chow mein noodles, and sweet onion dressing (to tie in with the pork chops), this was the such a good dinner.  I also think it would fare just well in a crock pot.  I looked up recipes with similar ingredients and found one easily- the only modification is to sear the pork chops before putting in the slow cooker with all of the other ingredients.  Easy enough!  If you try this in a crock pot, let me know how it goes.

Pork Chops with Apples and Shallots

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 medium shallots, quartered lengthwise
• 2 granny smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced into eighths
• 1/2 cup white wine or apple cider (I used the white wine)
• 4 bone-in pork chops
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Move oven rack to top slot, and preheat broiler.
2. In a large skillet, melt butter over medium high heat.  I allowed some of my butter to brown, which added a great flavor to the dish.  Add shallots and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned (about 3-5 minutes).  Cover pan and reduce heat to medium.  Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until shallots are soft (about 3-5 more minutes).
3. While shallots are cooking, line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with Pam.  Lay out the pork chops, and season generously with salt and pepper on both sides.  They will cook better if not refrigerator cold.
4. When shallots are soft, add apples and wine and stir thoroughly, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.  Cover, and cook until apples begin to soften (about 4 minutes), stirring occasionally.  Uncover and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until most of the liquid has evaporated and apples are tender (2-4 minutes).  Remove from heat and cover to keep warm.
5. While apples are cooking, broil pork chops until cooked through, 3-8 minutes per side.  I had gigantic pork chops, so they took 8 minutes per side while Martha's recipe said some could get away with just 3 per side.  The best advice I can give is to keep an eye on them!
6. Serve pork chops with warm apples and shallots spooned over top.

Stuffed Pork Chops and Roasted Red Potatoes

This is a recipe I've been making for a while now, and it's my family's favorite way to have pork chops.  I got some basics of the recipe from What's for Dinner?  I added more seasoning to the pork chops and have my favorite type of stuffing to use.  I also love serving them with my roasted red potatoes- a recipe I made up when I was first learning how to cook as a newlywed.

Roasted Red Potatoes
8-10 mini red potatoes, quartered
1 tsp olive oil
Garlic powder, rosemary, and salt to taste (I usually use about 1/2 tsp each)

Directions
Wash and quarter the potatoes.  Place in an oven-safe, lidded dish.  Drizzle with olive oil, then season with garlic powder, rosemary, and salt.  Toss to coat.  Cover, and place in 425 degree oven for 40 minutes.  Stir, cover, and return to oven for 15 more minutes.  Stir and serve.

Stuffed Pork Chops
Ingredients:
4 lean boneless pork loin chops, relatively thick cut
1 serving Pepperidge Farm stuffing, prepared according to quick stove-top instructions
Garlic powder, rosemary, salt, and pepper for seasoning the meat to taste
1 tsp olive oil

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Prepare the stuffing per instructions. 

Slice pockets into the pork chops by slicing horizontally in the side, but be sure not to cut all the way through.
Season the pork with garlic powder, rosemary, salt, and pepper, then stuff with stuffing.

Heat 1 tsp olive oil in a large oven safe skillet at medium heat. Sear the pork chops on one side for 3-4 minutes until golden brown. Flip the chops and place the skillet in the oven for 9 minutes or until cooked through. Remove from the oven and let the meat rest for 3-5 minutes before serving.