Sour Cream Pork Chops*

• 6 pork chops
• salt and pepper to taste
• garlic powder, paprika, and seasoned salt to taste
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 2 cubes chicken bouillon
• 2 cups boiling water
• 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 (8 ounce) container sour cream (I used about 4-6 oz)
• Egg noodles, rice, or mashed potatoes

1. Season pork chops with salt, pepper, and garlic powder, and then dredge in 1/2 cup flour seasoned with garlic powder, paprika and seasoned salt. In a skillet over medium heat, lightly brown chops in a small amount of oil.
2. Place chops in slow cooker, and top with chopped onion. Dissolve bouillon cubes in boiling water, then add cream of mushroom soup. Add 4 Tbsp flour to a little cold water and combine with soup mixture. Pour over chops. Cover, and cook on Low 7 to 8 hours.
3. Preheat oven to 200 degrees F (95 degrees C).
4. You can now serve it two ways: Pull out the pork chops, add sour cream to sauce and serve with sauce poured over chops and mashed potatoes. Or cut the pork chops into bite-sized pieces, add sour cream to sauce, and serve over egg noodles or rice. Top the meal with steamed green beans and ta-da! Delicious.

*recipe from allrecipes.com, with my own alterations

Sante Fe Chicken, crockpot style

I got this recipe from my cousin...I don't know the exact amounts, just depends on how many you're feeding! :)

• 2-4 Chicken breasts
• 1 cup salsa
• 1-2 cans black beans, drained (depends on how much you like black beans!)
• 1 can corn
• 8 oz cream cheese (I halved the cream cheese because I thought a whole block was a lot - your call!)
• Fresh cilantro

Combine 1/2 c salsa, beans, and corn. Add chicken. Cover with remaining 1/2 c. salsa and cook 3-4 hours on high heat. Add cream cheese during the last 30 minutes - 1 hour. Top each serving with fresh cilantro.

Serve with rice and a green salad. The leftovers make a great burrito filler.

Smokey Ribs

1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 c ketchup
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2c molasses
1/4 c spicy brown mustard
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp liquid smoke
1 lb pork or beef (I use boneless) ribs

Mix ingredients. Put in the crock pot with meat. Cook 3-4 hours on high heat.

Creamy Italian Chicken

*Warning: this recipe is for a tiny crockpot meal for a tiny family! I added notes if you want to double it. I also added notes for my tasty reduced fat version.

I love good crockpot recipes! I've made this before, but just found a version that the kids and I devoured. I tweaked it a bit, and it takes little preparation for such a gourmet meal!

2 frozen chicken breasts
1/2 c. (fat free) Italian dressing (I actually didn't measure, I just dumped it in until it seemed good. By the way, not need for water, the chicken will make its own).

Put these in the crockpot on low for 4-5 hours (6 hours if you're doing 4 or more chicken breasts).

30 minutes before you're ready to eat, put on some pasta to cook. We used whole wheat penne, but fettucine would work. Pull out and shred/cut up the chicken. You could probably skip this step, but the little pieces seemed more moist as the sauce works its magic. Return the chicken to the crockpot and put in one can of cream of chicken soup and 1/3 block of (reduced fat) cream cheese. (For 4 or more chicken breasts, just add the whole block of cream cheese, no need to add more soup). Drain pasta and add to the crockpot with chicken and sauce.

Season the dish with garlic salt and parmesan cheese.

As a side dish, I steamed carrots and broccoli for color. Or you could probably add some other veggies directly into the chicken since this dish lacks veggies.

Yum!

Mexican Shredded Pork

1 (3 lb) boneless pork loin roast, cut into 2" pieces (for our small family, I buy 1 lb or less and that's more than plenty.)
1/2 tsp salt
2 (4 oz) cans diced green chili peppers
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 cup chipotle sauce (I've used chipotle salsa)
3 1/4 cups water, divided
1 1/2 cups uncooked rice
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

*Put the roast in a crock-pot and season with salt. Put chili peppers and garlic on top. Pour in the chipotle sauce and 1/2 cup water. Cover and cook on low 7 hours.

*In a pot, mix rice with 2 3/4 cups of the water. Mix in the lime juice and cilantro and simmer 20 min on the stove. (In other words, just cook the rice as you normally would but with lime juice & cilantro.:)

*Remove roast from the crock-pot, and use 2 forks to shred. Return pork to the crock-pot and allow to sit 15 minutes to absorb some of the liquid.

*You can serve this just over the rice, or as we like to do, make burritos! Yum yum yummy. Set out cheese, salsa, beans (refried, black, whatever), cilantro, rice, pork, avacado, lime, etc, and tortillas so everyone can make their own.