Cafe Rio Pork - Another Version

*FYI - These have a bit more spice/kick to them than the authentic cafe rio pork.

3-4 lb. pork roast (I used the Boston Boneless Shoulder Blade)
1 20 oz. bottle Dr. Pepper
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
1 clove garlic, minced
7 oz. can chipotle chilies in adobo sauce
8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 tsp prepared mustard
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Place roast in crock-pot, cover half-way with water and cook on low for 8 hours.

I started mine at noon, shredded the pork and removed the fat around 8:30 p.m.

Mix remaining ingredients until sugar dissolves. I didn’t keep the actual chilies, I dumped the can into a bowl and added enough Dr. Pepper to get all the sauce off of the chilies - use all the sauce you can, but throw out the chilies. Pour the sauce over the shredded pork and stick in the fridge to marinate overnight.

In the morning, cook for 2-4 more hours on low. Serve with tacos or on salad. Great with tomatillo dressing - I'll post that recipe later.

Rosalie's Pork Chops 'n' Baked Apples

This will be a new family favorite - we had it first at Christmas, and again for Sunday dinner tonight. It is scrumptious! Some people prefer the apples on the side...but not me. Slop 'em right on top and smear it all together...Delish. Oh, and you can bake them both in the oven at the same time!

BAKED PORK CUTLETS

2 cups finely crushed Ritz cracker crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 teasponns garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon dried sage
6 boneless pork chops
1 cup plain yogurt

In a medium-sized bowl combine cracker crumbs, Parmesan cheese, garlic salt, and sage; set aside. Coat each pork cutlet with yogurt, then dip both sides into crumbs. Place in greased baking dish. Bake at 350 F. for 45 minutes or until tender. Makes 6 servings

APPLE TOPPING

6 apples, peeled, pared, and sliced
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon rind
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Combine ingredients in an 8X8-inch baking dish and bake at 350 F for 45 minutes or until tender. Serve as a side dish or atop the pork chops. Makes 6-8 servings

Split Pea Soup w/ Ham

Found this gem on Southernfood...


1 (16 oz.) pkg. dried green split peas, rinsed
1 meaty hambone (you can usually get these for under $8 at Honeybaked Ham, and they are delicious, with tons of extra meat left on)
5 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 chopped vidalia onion
3 ribs of celery plus leaves, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped, or 2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes
1 tsp. seasoned salt (or to taste)
1/2 tsp. fresh pepper
1 1/2 qts. hot water (that's 6 cups, people...)

Layer ingredients in slow cooker in the order given; pour in water. Do not stir ingredients. Cover and cook on HIGH 4 to 5 hours or on low 8 to 10 hours until peas are very soft and ham falls off bone. Remove bones and bay leaf, shred meat, and return shredded ham to soup. Mash peas to thicken more, if desired. Serve garnished with croutons or crusty bread. Freezes well.Serves 8.

Best Roast Marinade

We had this on pork roast (thanks Audra), but I am sure it would be divine on beef roast, or even chicken or fish. It's delicious and easy.

1/2 cup light vegetable oil (Canola)
1/4 c red wine vinegar
2 tbsp worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp fresh parsley finely chopped
1 1/2 tsp. coarsely ground pepper
1 c. soy sauce
3 tbsp. lemon juice
2 to 3 cloves garlic minced or pressed
1 tbsp mustard
1 tsp. fresh ground ginger

Combine with a whisk. Add roast in ziploc bag refrigerate for several hours or overnight, turning once or twice to cover well. We cooked our roast in the crock pot all day on low and it was tender and tasty!

Grilled Pork Chops with Mango Salsa by Guest Chef Kim

PORK CHOP MARINADE:

1 CUP BROWN SUGAR
1 CUP HONEY
½ CUP SOY SAUCE
1 CUP CIDER VINEGAR
3 CLOVES GARLIC
1 TABLESPOON SESAME SEED OIL

Mix all the ingredients together and marinate the pork chops overnight. Then grill. (This recipe is for about 6-8 pork chops.)

MANGO SALSA

2 RIPE MANGOS – CUT IN SMALL CUBES
½ MEDIUM RED ONION – CHOPPED
½ LARGE RED PEPPER – CHOPPED
½ CUP CHOPPEN CILANTRO
¼ JALAPENO CHOPPED (REMOVE SEEDS)
JUICE OF 1 LIME

Chill the salsa. Serve with grilled pork chops.

Thai Peanut Pork Stir Fry by Guest Chef Miriam

Serve with either Minute white rice or Jasmine rice:
2 t. vegetable oil
12 oz pork tenderloin, trim fat and thinly slice crosswise
2 garlic cloves thinly sliced
3 1/2 c broccoli florets
1 med red bell pepper, halved and cut lenthwise
1 can (14 oz) reduced lite coconut milk
1 packet (3&1/2 oz) peanut sauce mix

Heat vegetable oil in large nonstick skillet, add the pork and garlic and stir fry 2 to 3minutes until cooked through. Place on plate. To skillet, add broccoli, red pepper, coconut milk and peanut-sauce mix. Bring to a boil then reduce heat, cover and simmer 6 minutes until vegetables are crisp & tender. Meanwhile cook rice. Return pork & garlic to skillet and simmer a fewminutes until sauce thickents slightly. Serve over rice.

Success with a Pork Chop! Hallelujah!

This is so easy, and I have never had such success with succulent, fall apart pork chops.

4 pork chops (I bought the 1" thick, boneless ones from Costco - they are great, and lean)
1 cup crushed pineapple (not drained)
1 cup BBQ sauce (I like Sweet Baby Ray's brand, also available at Costco)
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. garlic salt

Place pork chops in a greased crock pot. Sprinkle with pepper and garlic salt. In separate bowl, mix pineapple and BBQ sauce. Pour sauce over pork chops and set at low for 6 hours (do not over cook). These were delicious and fell apart! No knives necessary, and the sauce was great. I'll definitely make these again. I served it with the sweet potato fries recipe below.

Stuffed Pork Chops with Maple Glaze for Two

2 Thick, Boneless Pork Chops - slightly frozen
1/2 small onion - finely chopped
1 granny smith green apple - finely chopped
1/2 c. plain bread crumbs
1/8 c. vegetable oil
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. season salt
1/2 tsp. sage
1/2 tsp. rosemary

Mix all together, stuff inside of pork chops - cut in half but not through all the way. Spread remaining mix around 2 pork chops placed in glass baking dish.

Baste with below combined ingredients:
1/2 c. maple syrup
1.5 TBS. brown sugar
1.5 TBS ketchup
1.5 TBS mustard
1 TBS worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. grated orange rind
Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, basting every 8-10 minutes with more glaze.

Melt in Your Mouth Pork Chops

4 pork chops
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 can water

Preheat oven to 300. Brown pork chops in frying pan until just barely browned, sprinkle wiwth garlic powder, salt and pepper. Mix soup and water. Spray square glass pan with cooking spray. Pour soup mixture over browned pork chops. Bake in oven for 2.5 hours.

These pork chops fall apart, and are delicious. Serve with green beans and wild rice.

My Mom's Famous Marinated Pork Loin

Serves 5

1 Tbls. sesame oil
1/4 c. soy sauce
1 small onion, grated
2 tsp. Grated fresh ginger, or ¾ tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. Grated fresh lemon peel
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 pound whole pork tenderloin
¼ cup dry white wine
¼ cup honey
1 Tbls. Firmly packed brown sugar

In a small bowl, combine oil, onion, ginger, lemon peel, garlic and soy sauce. Stir to mix well. Set a side. Place Pork loin in a glass bowl. Pour soy mixture over pork and turn to coat evenly. Cover and marinate overnight in refrigerator.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Remove pork from marinade; drain well.
In a small bowl, combine wine, honey and brown sugar. Stir to mix well. Pour over pork, coating all sides of roast. Place in a shallow nonstick pan and cook 25 to 30 minutes, or until meat’s internal temperature reaches 170 degrees.
Remove from oven and allow meat to rest 5 minutes. Slice and serve.

The Easiest Pork Chops You'll Ever Make

My mom calls these "Clark's Pork Chops", not sure why, but I'm giving credit where credit is due.
Arrange however many pork chops are desired in a glass baking dish.
Top each chop with:
1 lemon slice
1 onion slice
2 Tbls. brown sugar
2 Tbls. ketchup.

Cover and bake for 35-45 min. at 350 degrees. Uncover and bake for 15 minutes more. Don't let them dry out.