Brown Sugar Pineapple Ham
Confession: I’m not a HUGE fan of ham. Especially like…that big chunk of ham. But cooking it this way definitely adds to the flavor and then I use this ham for 3 different dishes. I will serve just a sliced ham dish. Then I’ll use the rest of the sliced pieces to make Ham & Cheese sliders. And finally, I’ll use that fat slab of ham that’s left to make Ham & Been soup. Yes, sir!
Brown Sugar Pineapple Ham
Ingredients
- 1 ham, pre-cooked, spiral cut {can use bone in or boneless}
- 3 cups brown sugar
- 1 20-ounce can pineapple tidbits or chunks, undrained
Instructions
- Cover the bottom of the crockpot with brown sugar.
- Place ham on top of the brown sugar and add the pineapple tidbits with the juice.
- Sprinkle ham with remaining brown sugar.
- Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.
Notes:
Super Simple Smothered Pork Chops
Some good ol’ down home cookin right here! And unbelievably easy.
Super Simple Smothered Pork Chops
Ingredients
- 4 bone-in pork chops
- 1 1-ounce packet onion soup mix
- 1 14-ounce can chicken broth, low sodium
- 1 can cream of chicken soup
- 1 1-ounce packet dry pork gravy mix
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons flour
Instructions
- In a 6 quart slow cooker, add onion soup mix, chicken broth, cream of chicken soup, and pork gravy mix. Whisk together until combined.
- Season both sides of the pork chops with a little bit of the garlic powder. Place pork chops into the slow cooker. Spread them out and cover with the gravy mixture. Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours.
- Remove pork chops with spatula (they will be super tender and may fall apart) to a plate and keep warm.
- In a medium saucepan, heat the butter over medium heat. Whisk the flour into the butter to form a roux. Keep whisking until the roux becomes golden brown. Add the pork chop juice a little bit at a time until you have your desired gravy consistency. Heat through. Top pork chops with gravy.
Notes
I usually serve this with rice, and top the rice with some of the gravy.
Jambalaya
Learned this one in cooking class. Surprisingly easy to make because when you think about it…all the meats/shrimp…are already cooked. And if your shrimp aren’t cooked, no biggie since that takes three shakes of a lamb’s tail.
Jambalaya
Ingredients
- Cooked bacon, along with its fat
- 1/2 cup diced onion
- 1/2 cup diced ham
- 1 cup diced red and green peppers
- 1/4 pound shrimp
- 1/2 pound Andouille sausage
- 2 ounces brown roux
- 2 cups chicken stock
- Creole seasoning, to taste
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- In a sauce pot, heat bacon and fat.
- Add onion and sweat.
- Add peppers and sauté.
- Add ham and incorporate.
- Add roux and the stock. Bring to a simmer.
- Add Andouille sausage.
- Add remaining ingredients and cook until done.
- Serve with rice or as a topping for chicken, pork or even fried green tomatoes!
Notes:
Lamb Chops with Dried Cherries and Port
I love lamb. But it’s got to have some sort of sweet jelly/jam to accompany it. This recipe is a nice change from the standard mint jelly.
Lamb Chops with Dried Cherries and Port
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 4 4-to-5-ounce loin lamb chops
- 1/3 cup chopped shallots
- 3/4 cup ruby Port
- 1/2 cup low-salt chicken broth
- 1/2 cup dried tart cherries
- 3 tablespoons cherry jam
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
- Chopped fresh mint
Instructions
- Heat oil in heavy medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle lamb with salt and pepper.
- Add lamb to skillet; cook to desired doneness, turning often, about 10 minutes for medium-rare.
- Transfer lamb to plate. Pour off drippings from skillet.
- Add shallots to same skillet; sauté 1 minute.
- Add Port, broth, cherries, jam, vinegar, and cardamom; boil until cherries plump and liquid is syrupy, about 6 minutes.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Spoon sauce over lamb.
- Sprinkle with mint.
Notes:
Sausage Ragu with Cheesy Polenta & Crispy Broccoli
Dinnerly is the stepchild of Martha Stewart’s food delivery service. It’s more affordable and is meant to have limited ingredients so it’s not too complicated. This dish is one of my faves from the Dinnerly collection.
Sausage Ragu with Cheesy Polenta & Crispy Broccoli
Ingredients
- 3 large cloves, finely chopped
- 1 lb. uncased sweet Italian sausage
- 6 ounces tomato paste
- 1 lb. broccoli, cut into florets
- 5.4 ounces polenta
- 1 1/2 ounces Parmesan, finely grated
- 2 ounces cream cheese
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- Olive oil
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground pepper
Instructions
- Heat 2 T oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add sausage, 1 tsp salt, and several grinds of pepper, and cook, breaking into smaller pieces with a spoon, until browned and crispy in parts, 5-6 minutes.
- Add 2/3 of garlic to sausage and cook, stirring, about 1 minute. Stir in tomato paste and cook, stirring, until it darkens slightly, 2-3 minutes. Stir in 3 cups water and sugar. Bring to a boil, then simmer over medium-high, until flavorful and reduced to 3 1/2 cups, 12-15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover to keep warm off heat.
- On a rimmed baking sheet, toss broccoli with 3 T oil, and a generous pinch of salt. Roast until browned in spots and crisp-tender, 12-15 minutes. Add remaining garlic and roast in oven, about 1 minute. Remove from oven and cover to keep warm.
- In a medium saucepan bring 5 cups water and 1 1/2 tsp salt to a boil. Gradually whisk in polenta and return to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low, stirring occasionally, until grains are tender and polenta is thickened, 6-9 minutes.
- Stir 2/3 of the Parmesan into the polenta along with the cream cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Spoon polenta into bowls and top with sausage ragu and remaining Parmesan. Serve broccoli alongside.
Notes:
BBQ Ribs
I loooove me some ribs. But I’m picky. Not St. Louis style…whatever the hell that even means. And not beef ribs. (Generally, except at Momma’s in Louisville, Ky.) They have to be fall-off-the-bone tender. Not too much sauce but not dry. Bonus points for those hard, sticky-sweet, chewy, crunchy bits.
The first time I made ribs, we were living in Des Moines, IA. I bought all the fixins. The ribs. The stuff to make Libbus’s spoonbread. Stuff for dessert. It was a big deal because at that time in my life…I didn’t cook. So I cooked it all up per my mom’s recipe. And…they were inedible. Come to find out, they were labeled as pork ribs but they were really beef ribs. HECK NO. I bagged up all the food and marched over to the grocery store and got a full refund. For EVERYTHING, not just the ribs.
The next time I made ribs, I made SURE they were pork. They were…better. But not great. Then my uncle Daryl was randomly talking about how to cook ribs and he said, “after you take off the membrane, you…” I was like…wait a minute, wait a minute…what? I had no idea there was a ‘membrane’. What the hell is that and why don’t any recipes ever mention it!?? So yeah…if you leave that thing on…your ribs will be tough.
My 3rd try?…DA BOMB.
BBQ Ribs
Ingredients
- 1/2 rack of pork baby-back ribs, per person
- 2 cups BBQ Apple Sauce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- Cut and pull the membrane from the back of the ribs. Cut into manageable pieces.
- Place ribs in roasting pan, cover with foil, and bake for 1 hour.
- Remove foil and bake another 2 hours, basting ribs with sauce every 15 minutes for the last hour.
Notes: