cranberry mustard tenderloin

This recipe is going to be a great one to make come autumn time. The combination of cranberries, mustard, and pork give it a distinctive Fall feeling (and makes your house smell divine). I have made this recipe with both pork and chicken and it always comes out great; must be the sauce. Be sure to boil the sauce down long enough to thicken it and you can't go wrong. I serve this dish over egg noodles.

Serves: 4
Start-to-Finish: 4 hours and 30 minutes (slow cooker recipe=4 hours of cooking+30 minutes of prep)
Recipe By: Taste of Home Magazine



Ingredients

1 (1-lb) boneless pork loin roast (I have also made this with chicken breast and it is equally as delicious)
1 (14-oz) can whole-berry cranberry sauce
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
3 TBSP brown sugar
3 TBSP lemon juice
1 TBSP cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water

Directions

1. Place pork loin roast in a slow cooker. (I am using a slow-cooker liner in the pictures below.)
2. Combine the cranberry sauce, mustard, brown sugar and lemon juice; pour over roast.
3. Cover and cook on low for 4 to 4 1/2 hours or until a meat thermometer reads 160°F.
4. Remove roast and keep warm.
5. Strain cooking juices into a 2-cup measuring cup; add enough water to measure 2 cups. (Because of all the seeds in the cranberries, straining the sauce is a little time consuming.)
6. In a small saucepan, combine cornstarch and cold water until smooth.
7. Stir in strained cooking juices.
8. Bring to a boil; cook and stir until thickened. (You really want this to thicken up so it clings to the pork instead of running over it.)
9. Serve pork and sauce over egg noodles.

Angel Pasta with Chicken

I love Alfredo sauce and pasta. It is so rich and creamy! Unfortunately, that rich creaminess is exactly what makes it unhealthy for you. I found this spin on Alfredo Pasta called Angel Pasta that gives you all the rich creaminess but less calories and fat content. In a 1 cup serving there are 460 calories and 17 grams of fat. It is made in the slow cooker which helps create a more complex flavor in an otherwise simple dish. If you like mushrooms, this is a great recipe to sneak them in the sauce.
Serves: 4
Start to Finish: 4 hours (slow cooker)
Recipe By: Kraft Foods Magazine

Ingredients:

4 oz. "Philadelphia 1/3 Less Fat" cream cheese, softened (half of an 8-oz. package)
1 (10-oz) can reduced-fat cream of mushroom soup
1/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup Kraft Light Tuscan House Italian Dressing (any light Italian dressing will work, so use what you have on hand)
1 1/2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast
1/2 lb. uncooked angel hair pasta
2 TBSP chopped, fresh parsley

Directions:

1. Cut-up chicken into bite size pieces and place in the bottom of your slow cooker.
2. Beat cream cheese, soup, broth, and dressing with whisk until blended.
3. Pour over chicken in slow cooker.
4. Cook on LOW 4 hours (or on HIGH 3 hours).
5. Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions (about 15 min. before chicken is done).
6. Chop parsley.
7. Serve pasta topped with chicken sauce and parsley.

Cincinnati Style Chili

Cincinnati-Style Chili is when chili is served over spaghetti or as a coney sauce. When served over spaghetti, the chili is topped with a heaping mound of shredded cheddar cheese. As much as will fit on top without falling over the sides (you might want to add a little less if you are watching your waistline).

The serving method has a code:
A "One-way" would be a bowl of chili only, but it is almost never ordered this way.
A "Two-way" is spaghetti topped with chili only.
A "Three-way" is spaghetti topped with chili and cheese only.
A "Four-way" is spaghetti topped with chili, cheese, red kidney beans or chopped raw onions only.
A "Five-way" is spaghetti topped with chili, cheese, red kidney beans, and chopped raw onions only.
"Inverted" is when the cheese is served under the chili so it melts.
"Wet" is the request for extra chili.

This is a Cincinnati-Style Chili "five-way."

Serves: 4
Start to Finish: 8 1/2 hours (3o min prep + 8 hour in slow cooker)
Recipe By: Original recipe by Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade; however, I have adjusted it to suit my tastes

Ingredients:

1/2 lb ground beef
1 can tomato soup
1/2 can kidney beans
1/2 cup diced green peppers (fresh or frozen)
1/2 cup diced onion (fresh or frozen)
1 pkt chili seasoning mix
1 TBSP beef stew seasoning mix
1/4 cup water
1 TBSP cider vinegar
1 1/2 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 box spaghetti noodles
grated cheese for topping
diced onion for topping

Directions:

1. In a large skillet, cook the ground beef until browned. Drain off the fat.
2. Dice the onion and bell pepper.
3. In a 5-quart slow cooker stir together ground beef, tomato soup, kidney beans, bell pepper, onion, chili seasoning mix, beef stew seasoning mix, water, vinegar, and cocoa powder until thoroughly combined.
4. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.
5. Meanwhile, prepare spaghetti noodles according to package directions.
6. Serve chili over noodles with shredded cheese and chopped onions.

Chicken alla Cacciatore

The caccia in cacciatore means "hunt". So the name of this dish loosely translates into hunter's-style chicken. Vegetables are used to flavor the chicken and the crock-pot method makes the meat tender. You can also include olives or mushrooms to this recipe. This dish has a delicious sauce but it tends to be thin so it is best complimented by an angel hair pasta or rice. These combinations will allow you to enjoy the sauce without be overpowered by noodles.

Serves: 4
Start to Finish: 7 1/2 hours (30 minutes prep time + 7 hours in slow cooker)
Recipe By: Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade (with adjustments to suit my tastes)

Ingredients:

2 breast of chicken, diced
1 (20-oz) can petite diced tomatoes
1 cup sliced carrots (fresh or frozen, whatever you have on hand)
1 cup sliced celery (approx. 2 celery ribs)
1 (10 oz) can cream of chicken soup
1 (10 oz) can reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 TBSP poultry seasoning
1 box angel hair pasta

Directions:

1. Slice the carrots and celery.
2. Add carrots celery and tomatoes into the bottom of the slow cooker.
3. Top with chicken breasts.
4. In a bowl, stir together soup broth and seasonings.
5. Pour mixture over chicken.
6. Cook for 6-8 hours on low heat.
7. Meanwhile, prepare noodles according to package directions.
8. Serve chicken and vegetables over hot noodles.

Stuffed Peppers

I am always looking for good slow-cooker recipes. Since I rarely have the hour between 5:30 pm and 6:30 pm free to make dinner, I love recipes that allow me the flexibility to prepare the food early and still have a hot meal on the table when Mike gets home. But every time Mike sees me get out the slow-cooker, he grimaces because he has found that most meals cooked this way are bland and a little soggy. The method isn't bad if you are making a soup or trying to soften a lower-grade cut of meat, like a pot roast. But let's be honest here, a person can only have pot roast so many times in a month before it gets boring. So I have started the hunt for other types of food which can be made in a slow-cooker and still taste divine.

Serves: 4
Start to Finish: 30 minutes to prep/ 2 hours in the slow-cooker
Recipe By: Original recipe by Melissa McCabe which I adapted to better suit Mike and my tastes

Ingredients:

4 large sweet peppers
1 cup cooked rice
1/4 lb ground beef
1 small tomato, diced
1/2 cup canned corn
1/2 small sweet onion, diced
1/4 cup canned red beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
1/2 (4-oz) can chopped olives
1/2 tsp basil
1 1/2 garlic cloves, minced
salt and pepper to taste
1 1/4 cup spaghetti sauce
1/2 cup water
2 TBSP grated Parmesan cheese, plus some for garnish

Directions:

1. Cut tops off peppers and remove seeds.
2. Salt the inside of the peppers; set aside.
3. In a small skillet, brown the ground beef over medium-high heat until no longer pink.
4. In a large bowl combine: rice, ground beef, tomatoes, corn, onion, beans, cheese, olives, basil, garlic, salt and pepper.
5. Combine spaghetti sauce and water in separate bowl.
6. Pour half the sauce into the bottom of the slow cooker, pour the other half into the rice and beef mixture.
7. Spoon rice and beef mixture into peppers.
8. Add the stuffed peppers to the slow cooker (my slow-cooker is SMALL, so I stacked the peppers in any way I could fit them and they still came out perfectly cooked).
9. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
10. Cover and cook on low for 2 hours or until peppers are tender.
11. Sprinkle with additional Parmesan cheese and serve.