Slow cooker fave: Melt-in-your-mouth BBQ Pork Chops

Dear Slow Cooker:

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways: Pork chops with homemade BBQ sauce... 

Okay kids, here's a super-dee-duper easy recipe for some DELISH pork chops that absolutely fall off the bone and will force you to go back for seconds.  All you need is a crock-pot and a few basic pantry staples.  Thanks once again to my favorite slow-cooker edition of Taste of Home magazine from last summer.  Yum.

-- 4 bone-in pork loin chops (8 oz each) 
-- 1 tsp garlic powder
--1/2 tsp salt
--1/4 tsp pepper 
--2 Tbsp canola oil/olive oil
--2 cups ketchup
--1/2 cup packed brown sugar
--1 tsp hickory-seasoned Liquid Smoke 
**You may want to just go ahead and double this recipe.  It's that good. 

First, try to remember to thaw your pork chops the day before, so that you don't suddenly get to 2pm and discover that they are still frozen.  (Hence, I just ate dinner at 9:30pm. Still good.)  Hot water to the rescue - it takes just as long to thaw them in the microwave, and who wants to ruin perfectly good pork chops by thawing in a microwave??!

Sprinkle the pork chops with garlic powder, salt & pepper.  Seriously, I don't bother with the measurements.  Just season both sides of each pork chop & call it good.  It WILL be good.  I promise.

In a large skillet, brown chops in oil on both sides.  Drain.  (I use olive oil for everything...it tastes better than canola oil & is a smidge healthier, too.)

In a large bowl, combine the ketchup, brown sugar & Liquid Smoke.  Pour half of the sauce into a 3-qt slow cooker.  Top with pork chops and remaining sauce.

Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours.  Or longer, if you have to go to church in the middle of your cook time.  Mine cooked from 3pm to 9pm and they were still amazing.
By the time these puppies (piggies?) are done, you will need tongs, or a large spoon at the very least, to remove them from the crockpot.  Don't even bother with a fork - they are so tender, they fall apart the second you touch them. 

One question: WHY have I only just discovered this Liquid Smoke stuff? It is amazing.  (If you've never used it before, it's over with the sauces in the grocery store).  I keep trying to find excuses to use it.

Put these on your menu for next week with some mashed potatoes and a green salad, and you're good to go. 

(Bonus:  Fast "smashed" potatoes:  Grab a handful of new potatoes - or red potatoes. Stab 'em with a fork, throw in the microwave for 4-5 mins til fork tender, then smash them up into chunks and load with butter, pepper & garlic salt.  Easy, quick, yum. Thank you, Pioneer Woman, for this life-changing little twist on mashed potatoes.)

Husband Favorite: Chicken Cordon Bleu Bake

My husband always likes what I cook, but tonight he is still raving about dinner an hour later.  He loved it.  Since this casserole was such a hit, I decided to post the recipe.  As I was not originally intending to blog tonight, I didn't take any pictures of the prep, but it's so easy, it's almost ridiculous.  I should give a shout out to the freezer meals magazine that inspired such husband happiness.  I made a few subtle modifications to the recipe, but without this publication, I would not have had the recipe to modify in the first place.  So in the interest of covering my rear & not being sued for plagarism, here's to Taste of Home Magazine.  This recipe could use a few modifications in the sodium department, but it's a goldmine of protein (pregnant mamas, take note!).

Without further adieu, I give you Chicken Cordon Bleu Bake...

What you'll need:
4 cups cubed cooked chicken
1  6-oz package of reduced-sodium stuffing mix (I used chicken flavor)
4 tbsp butter
1 can (10-3/4 oz) Cream of Chicken soup, undiluted  (I might suggest a reduced-sodium version)
1 cup milk
1/4-1/2 tsp pepper (to taste)
1/2 lb sliced deli ham, cut into 1-inch strips.
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese  (seriously, swiss cheese makes this thing)
2-3 cups shredded cheddar cheese (I didn't have any. I used a blend of what I did have, which happened to be a combination of shredded colby/monterrey jack cheese and mozzarella cheese.  Still yummy).
Optional: french fried onions.

What to do:

1.  Preheat oven to 350.  Cut up your chicken into 1-inch cubes, dump it in a skillet & cook it.  On the next burner, cook your stuffing according to packaged directions (you'll need about 1.5 cups of water & 4 tbsp butter for this part). 

2. In a medium bowl, combine soup & milk.  Whisk til well-blended.  Set aside.

3. Grease a 9x13in. baking dish.  Put your (cooked) chicken in first, sprinkle with pepper to taste, and then layer with ham, swiss cheese, 1 cup cheddar cheese, soup mixture, and stuffing.  Sprinkle with remaining cheddar cheese.  I also sprinkled french-fried onions on the top of mine because I had them in the pantry & they sounded good.

4. Cover with foil.  Bake for 30 mins.  Uncover; bake for another 10 mins or until cheese is melted.  Serve hot and bubbling with a tall glass of milk.  Yummy.


Fact:  French-fried onions are addictive.  When cooking with them, one should be quick about putting the rest of the package back in the pantry ASAP!

My ever appreciative hubby washed his supper down with the rest of the caramel brownies I made on Friday night, and the rest of the milk.  What can I say?  The way to a man's heart is through his stomach!