Monster Mash aka Spiced Apple Pot Roast

Every year on Halloween it is my tradition to make a pot roast. Returning home from the day's crazed activities, we all could use a hot and hearty meal before we head out on our sugar bomb quest for the evening. 

This spiced apple pot roast—also known as Monster Mash because of the way it looks when it's finished cooking—is perfect for All Hallows' Eve. 

Don't be alarmed by the mushy mashy nature of the apples and spices when all is said and done. That's the nature of Monster Mash.

Monster Mash aka Spiced Apple Pot Roast

Ingredients:

3 pound pork shoulder roast with plenty of marbling

4 Granny Smith apples, peeled and cored, halved

1 (12oz) bottle hard cider

1 large yellow onion, coarsely chopped

1 tsp granulated sugar

1 tsp ground cloves

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

salt and pepper, to taste

The Preparation Method:

1) Put chopped onions in the bottom of a crock-pot. 

2) Place pork shoulder roast over the onions. (You may choose to brown the pork shoulder first for more flavor. I omit this step because it turns my crock-pot cooking day into a stovetop cooking day, and I don't like that. Besides, my mother-in-law makes the tastiest pot roasts on the planet and she never browns the roast. I'm attempting to follow suit.) Sprinkle roast generously with salt and pepper.

3) Sit half apples on top of the meat.

4) Pour hard cider over meat. 

5) Mix together sugar, cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg. Sprinkle everything with sugar/spice mixture.

6) Set crock-pot on low heat and cook for 6-8 hours.

7) When done, the apples will have turned to spiced apple sauce and the meat will fall apart with the touch of a fork.

For the Visual Learners Among Us:

Crisp fall apples.

Well marbled pork shoulder roast.

Choose any one of the yummy hard ciders in the fall line by Woodchuck. I used the "Fall" brew for this recipe.

I can't get enough of onions soaked in the juices of an all-day pot roast. Therefore, I choose the largest onion I can find.

Mix these fall spices together for the topping.

Peel, core and halve the apples. I used Granny Smith, but am very curious how my favorite Honeycrisps would do in this recipe.

Layer 'em all up.

Pour the hard cider in.

Sprinkle, sprink, sprinkley-dink.

6-8 hours on the low setting in the crock-pot. Done. Talk about the "Easy Button".

This dinner should fall apart at a touch.

And there you have it. The Monster Mash for All Hallows' Eve. Enjoy, and have a safe and spooky holiday!

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And now... a slightly spooky and very kooky video for 1962's Monster Mash by Bobby Pickett.

Jack and Coke Pot Roast

I'll admit it. Over the past decade of my official homemaking career I have been crowned Queen of Bland and Dry Pot Roasts. 

Yesterday, I shed that title.

It all changed when I welcomed Jack Daniels Tennessee Whiskey and Coca-Cola Classic into my kitchen at 7:30 in the morning.

I took this classic drink combination and poured it over a well marbled pork shoulder roast, tossed in a coarsely chopped yellow onion and red bell pepper and called it a day. Ol' Bessie (my dear crockpot) went to work for the next 8-10 hours in The Little White Kitchen and come dinnertime we were all pleasantly surprised that the Queen had been dethroned.

Here's the recipe. It's so easy you might faint.

Jack and Coke Pork Roast

Ingredients:

2-3 pounds pork shoulder roast (look for lots of marbling with fat throughout the roast)

1 can coca-cola classic

1/2 cup Jack Daniels Tennessee Whiskey

1 large yellow onion, chopped

1 large red bell pepper, chopped

salt, to taste

pepper, to taste

(serve over rice)

The Preparation Method:

Place chopped vegetables in the bottom of crockpot. Lay pork roast over the top. Season roast with salt and pepper. Add the whole can of coca-cola and 1/2 cup Jack Daniels. Cover. Set heat to high. Walk away. Come back 8-10 hours later. 

Test doneness with a fork. The roast should fall apart at a touch. If it's not falling apart, it needs to cook longer.  

When ready, serve meat and vegetables over rice. Here's to moist and flavorful pot roasts!

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Mr. McGraw mentions Coke in this song. Perfect musical accompaniment for the preparation of this quick and easy dinner.

Tim McGraw - Something Like That

Crock-Pot BBQ Chicken Perfection

I'm reposting this recipe because it is so dang divine. 

My husband's face lights up when he walks in the house and smells it cooking.

In fact, last time I served this meal my husband kept referring to it as nothing short of “perfection”. 

He asked me if I had a name for the dish. I told him yes, I did. It's called Crock-Pot BBQ Chicken. 

"Oh no, no, no," he lamented. "That won't do. You need a good name for this. It's perfection."

"Ok, I'll call it Crock-Pot BBQ Chicken Perfection then," thinking this would do the trick.

To which he replied, "That's not a suitable name. It's not just the chicken, it's all of it... together. That's what makes it so good."

"How about Perfection in a Pot?" I offered.

"Oh no, no, no," was his response once more. "This is not about the crock-pot. Nor is it about the chicken. It's about all of it... together. It's hearty. It's tasty. It's easy. You need a really good name."

I've been thinking about this for days now. And this is what I've come up with—Perfection on a Bed of Rice with BBQ Chicken and Slaw. That's kind of a long name, I know. 

So maybe something a bit shorter. How about Jump for Joy BBQ Chicken. 

Or perhaps something a touch more lengthy would adequately describe it—Make You Want to do Cartwheels in the Middle of your Meal Crock-Pot BBQ Delight.

Anyhow, whatever you want to call it, next time you want to put your feet up while dinner cooks itself you know what to try. This Cartwheel Inducing, Jump for Joy, Perfection in a Pot on a Bed of Rice with BBQ Chicken and Slaw is nourishing, simple to prepare and surely a crowd pleaser.

Crock-Pot BBQ Chicken Perfection with Judith's Slaw

You'll Need:

2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts

12 oz BBQ sauce

1/2 cup Italian salad dressing

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 TBS Worchestershire sauce

The Preparation Method:

In the base of a large crock-pot, whisk together the BBQ sauce, Italian salad dressing, brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce.

Trim excess fat off chicken breasts. Place meat in the crock-pot. Stir to coat with the sauce.

Cook on the high setting for 3 - 4 hours or on the low setting for 6 - 8 hours.

Just before serving, take a large spoon and shred the chicken. It will fall apart on its own when stirred around. Mix to coat well with the sauce.

Serve over brown rice with a hearty portion of Judith’s Slaw on top.

It is done when the chicken separates easily.

Serve over brown rice with a hearty helping of slaw, or in a taco shell with slaw on top.

You can make this up to one day in advance. 

Take your time, drink a little wine, and stir it up girl.

Judith's Slaw

You will need:

1/2 head of cabbage

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 TBS rice vinegar

1/2 tsp celery seed

1/8 tsp salt

1/8 tsp sugar

The Preparation Method:

Combine mayonnaise, rice vinegar, celery seed, salt and sugar. Mix well.

Shred the cabbage into thin pieces. Simply cut the head of cabbage into quarters and start slicing into thin strands. It shreds itself.

Dump cabbage into mayo concoction. Stir it around. Coat cabbage well. Refrigerate. Done.

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Something else that makes me want to do cartwheels in the middle of my meal... this song.

Jack Johnson - Better Together (Kokua Festival 2010)

Dry-Rub Baby Back Ribs

Simple. Delicious. Crock pot dinner. 

Enough Said. 

Sweet and savory. No sauce needed. Serve on the side if you wish. But I don't think you'll be inclined to dip. 

Enough said. 

Dry-Rub Baby Back Ribs

Ingredients:

1-2 racks pork baby back ribs (approx. 3-4 lbs)

1/3 C brown sugar

1 TBS paprika

1 1/2 tsp chili powder

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cumin

3/4 tsp black pepper

3/4 tsp white pepper

3/4 tsp oregano, dried and crushed

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (half this amount if you prefer less heat)

1/4 tsp sugar

The Preparation Method:

You'll need to get a large crock-pot ready to receive the rubbed ribs.

Preparation is literally complete in two minutes from now.

Combine all of the dry ingredients in a bowl. Mix well.

Shake the spices over your racks of ribs. Cover completely. Be generous.

Use your fingers to rub the spices into the meat. Repeat on the backside (bone side) of the rack.

Place the ribs inside the crockpot standing on their edges.

Set on low-heat. Cover. Walk away. Let cook for 8-10 hours. Follow the cardinal rule of crockery cooking: Don't remove the cover.

And there you have it. A delicious rack of dry-rub baby back ribs with minimal effort. YuMmy!

Play this song as you prep your ribs. It's the perfect accompaniment for this dish.

Memphis Jug Band - K.C. Moan

Chili for a Chilly Day

Chili is my run-to dinner when the temperature outside drops into the single digits. It's hot, hearty and hella good. 

This weekend I made a batch to welcome home my two favorite skiers after a long day on the slopes. 

Chili for a Chilly Day

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef

1 large onion, chopped

1 sweet green bell pepper, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

(2) 14 oz cans diced tomatoes, undrained

(2) 15 oz cans dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

8 oz can tomato sauce

4 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp dried crushed basil

1/4 tsp black pepper

The Preparation Method:

Chop onion, garlic and sweet green pepper. You'll need to use your imagination for what a chopped sweet green pepper would look like here. When it came time to cook my chili I didn't have one because I used it in another recipe earlier in the week. Doh.

In a large soup pot, crumble the ground beef and begin browning over medium-high heat.

Add the chopped onion, garlic and sweet pepper. Time to use your imagination again. Close your eyes and picture little specks of green in this photo.

Saute this mix until the meat is throughly browned and the onions are tender.

Add all of the remaining ingredients - diced tomatoes, kidney beans, tomato sauce, chili powder, basil and black pepper.

Stir to combine. Bring to boiling. Reduce heat to low. Cover and let simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

The flavors in this chili come together so nicely in such a brief amount of time. Enjoy with a cool crisp salad and some cornbread. You'll be in heaven in a hot, hearty and hella good kind of way!

This chili is also easily adapted for the crock pot. Ol' Bessie loves going to work on this first thing in the morning. Mama is extra happy in the evening when all I need to do to get dinner ready is grab a ladle and start dishing.

Crock-Pot Method:

Brown meat, onions, garlic and green pepper as described above.

Place in the crock-pot with all of the remaining ingredients.

Mix well to combine.

Cook on the low heat setting for 8 - 10 hours or the high heat setting for 4 - 5 hours.


I found this video when I was googling how to spell "Hella Good". One 'l' or two 'l's? That was the question. It's two 'l's. Thanks for your help Gwen.

No Doubt - Hella Good

Bacon Wrapped Fingerling Potatoes

I'll take bacon any way you want to serve it to me. Bacon in soup. Bacon in bread. Bacon on salad. Bacon dipped in chocolate. Heck, my hubby even had bacon in his mixed drink down at the bar the other night. 

Bacon is the sweet sustenance of life. 

What makes this recipe doubly fantastic is the involvement of our good old friend, Ol' Bessie. Bacon and potatoes in the crock pot, I'll take it!

Bacon Wrapped Fingerling Potatoes

You'll Need:

1 lb fingerling potatoes, washed and dried

1 TBS fresh thyme, minced

2 TBS olive oil

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1/4 tsp paprika

1/2 lb bacon strips

1/4 C chicken broth

The Preparation Method:

Wash and dry the fingerling potatoes. It's ok if you have more than one pound. Include them with the rest. We will find a use for them. I promise.

Grab a bunch of fresh thyme. This is one of my favorite herbs to cook with. So pretty.

Chop it coarsely, just enough to fill one tablespoon.

Add potatoes, thyme, and olive oil to a large bowl.

Add pepper.

And paprika.

Mix it all together to coat the potatoes well. Set aside.

Slice bacon lengthwise.

And wrap each cute little potato in its own thin slice of bacon. Wrapping tightly is key.

When you are done, the whole bunch of them will look like cute babies wrapped up for a good night's sleep. Night night little guys.

Place any extra potatoes that didn't have the privilege of getting wrapped up with bacon in the bottom of the crock pot.

Add the chicken stock.

Now move on over to your stove top. Heat a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the little darlings to the hot pan.

Lower heat to medium low. Cook until the bacon is lightly brown, turning once or twice to brown all sides. You're aiming for the bacon to sear shut around the potatoes.

Carefully transfer the bacon wrapped potatoes to the crock pot. Place on top of the unwrapped potatoes that are already there. Cook on the high setting for approximately 3 hours. They are finished when the potatoes are tender.

This one is a crowd pleaser!

And this one's got me rejoicing for so many things. Bacon just might be the simplest on the list.

Michael Franti - Hey Hey Hey

Find the printer friendly recipe here.