Crock Pot Pork Tacos

Lime, apricot, garlic, and cumin are just a few tasty ingredients that add to these pork tacos made in the slow cooker.

Ingredients:

- 1 boneless pork sirloin roast (2 lb) cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 1/2 cups salsa verde
- 1 medium sweet red pepper, chopped
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1/4 cup chopped dried apricots
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
- dash hot pepper sauce (optional)

- 10 flour tortillas (8 inches), warmed

- toppings: sour cream, thinly sliced green onions, cubed avocado, shredded cheddar cheese, chopped tomatoes (optional)

Directions:

Combine the first 11 ingredients in a 3-quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours or until meat is very tender.

Shred pork with two forks. Place about 1/2 cup pork mixture down the center of each tortilla. Serve with toppings as desired.

Balsamic Chicken

Tomatoes, kalamata olives, balsamic vinegar, and feta cheese add a lot of flavor to this Greek dish served with orzo pasta.

Ingredients:

- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 1 lb)

- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 cup chicken broth or beef broth

- 1 can (10.75 oz) cream of chicken soup
- 1 cup diced plum tomatoes or 1/2 cup thinly sliced sun-dried tomatoes
- 1/2 cup sliced pitted kalamata olives
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves, crushed

- 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
- hot cooked orzo pasta

Directions:

Heat the oil in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken. Cook for 10 minutes or until well browned on both sides. Remove chicken from skillet.

Add the garlic, vinegar, and broth to the skillet. Cook and stir for 1 minute. Stir in the soup, tomatoes, olives, and oregano. Heat to a boil.

Return chicken to skillet. Reduce heat to low. Cook for 5 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.

Sprinkle with the feta cheese. Serve chicken and sauce with hot cooked orzo.

Homemade Corn Bread

This is a nice recipe for corn bread that Becky actually likes! Great with honey.

Ingredients:

- 1/2 cup butter, melted
- 1 cup white sugar

- 4 eggs

- 1 can (15 oz) cream-style corn
- 1/2 can (4 oz can) chopped green chili peppers, drained
- 1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

- 1 cup flour
- 1 cup yellow cornmeal
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan.

In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Blend in the cream-style corn, peppers, and cheeses.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the corn mixture; stir until smooth.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff

This is a nice, fairly simple recipe to spice up your basic seasoning packet for beef stroganoff in the crock pot. The sour cream is optional: it will make the sauce creamier but may dilute the flavor a little.

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
  
• 2 lb beef top sirloin steak, cut into thin strips 

• 1 envelope (1.5 oz) beef stroganoff seasoning for slow cookers or 1/2 C stroganoff seasoning recipe
  
• 2 teaspoons ground mustard
  
• 1/4 cup dry red wine (or port wine or beef broth)
• 1/2 cup beef broth
• 1 teaspoon sugar

• 3 tablespoons butter
  
• 1 lb mushrooms
• 1 small onion, chopped
   
• 1/2 cup sour cream (optional)
• 1/4-1/2 C parsley
• hot cooked egg noodles

Directions:

In a large skillet, brown the beef in the oil. Add the seasoning mix and mustard so it can bind with the fat, then, red wine, beef broth and sugar; stir. Transfer meat and drippings to a 3-quart slow cooker.

In the same skillet, saute the mushrooms and onion in butter until tender.  Add to slow cooker.

Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until meat is tender.
 

Optional: Stir in the sour cream right before serving.

Serve with egg noodles. Sprinkle with parsley if desired.