Slow Cooker Italian Meatballs

October is one of our busiest months of the year, since three of the kiddos have birthdays. And things are just about to get even busier, since the youngest two are starting swim lessons next week and Corban is starting basketball in a couple of weeks.

But hey, with five children, life never seems to slow down.

That's why I rely on slow cooker meals at least once a week, sometimes two or three times.
Three cheers for slow cookers!!
I have three, actually. A 6-qt and a 7.5 or 8-qt (can't remember) are my primary ones, but I also have a little 1-qt. one for dips. It's so cute!

I actually made this recipe for a church fellowship meal a few months ago and barely even got to try it. It was one of the first dishes emptied. So last week, I decided it was high time for this meal to grace our table. It makes HUGE batch, so we had dinner from it twice, as well as lunch for a few people twice.

Grant loved these meatballs so much, he skipped dessert so he could have seconds of them instead.

The sausage gives such a nice flavor, and combining it with lean ground turkey keeps the calories down quite a bit. I used homemade breadcrumbs the first time, but this time I tossed some oats in the food processor and ground them up pretty fine.  Worked just as well.

I used homemade marinara sauce by simmering a couple of 28-ounce cans of crushed tomatoes with some garlic and herbs for awhile, but store-bought cans or jars of sauce work just fine and simplify the process a little.

We loved these meatballs over penne pasta, and I bet they'd be awesome as a meatball sub also. Annika had some leftover meatballs in a tortilla with some melted mozzarella cheese one day and said that was really good.

Any way you eat them, they're super delicious. And I'm sure they'd freeze really well.

Slow Cooker Italian Meatballs
from Rebekah's Family, Food, and Fun

1/2 cup milk
4 eggs
2 lbs ground turkey or beef
12 ounces bulk mild Italian sausage
1 1/4 cups breadcrumbs, Italian-seasoned if you prefer
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
6 cups marinara sauce (Two 24 oz jars) or homemade

Directions:

• In a large bowl, whisk together milk and eggs until combined. Add ground turkey, sausage, breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, and garlic powder; mix with your hands until well combined. 
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with foil and lightly spray with non-stick spray. Using your hands or a medium cookie scoop (my preferred method), shape 1-2 inch meatballs. Place on prepared baking sheets. 
• Bake for 10 minutes, or until browned. Transfer to a 6-quart slow cooker.
• Top meatballs evenly with sauce. Cover and cook on low 4-5 hours in the slow cooker until meatballs are cooked through to an internal temperature of at least 160°F. 

Serve on top of pasta, on split hoagie rolls with melted cheese for meatball sub sandwiches, with mashed potatoes, or as an appetizer.


Source: Girl Versus Dough, originally adapted from Taste of Home

Slow Cooker Barbecue Pork

It's no secret that I love using my slow cooker in the summer. And winter. Okay, basically anytime. 

So convenient and easy. 

While we don't eat pork very often, this has become one of our very favorite ways to eat it. The entire family gets excited when I make this, and that's saying something. Very few recipes in my arsenal illicit such enthusiasm from 7 people. 

So what makes it special?

Apparently not the bourbon.  Ha.  See, this recipe is originally entitled Bourbon Pork - but we never have bourbon in the house and I just used water (through rinsing out the ketchup bottle) instead. It tastes so fabulous, I can't imagine bourbon making it any better. But if that's up your alley, give it a shot. 

But really, it's so simple to throw together. The longest part of it is trimming the fat from the pork. If you get a pork loin, even that is pretty fast.  However, I will say, as much as I love the easier trimming of a pork loin, the pork shoulder roasts are a little more flavorful and less likely to dry out.  You can't go wrong with either one, though. 

The sauce is slightly sweet with a little tang and complements the tender pork perfectly. 

I do recommend toasting your buns a little; otherwise, the bottom bun gets soggy pretty quickly from all the dripping sauce.  Or just eat it as soon as you make it.  No letting it sit around!! 

The leftovers are equally good and some people might have even been caught sneaking some bites straight from the bowl right in the refrigerator.  

Slow cooker Barbecue Pork
from Rebekah's Family, Food, and Fun

1 3/4 cups ketchup
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
3 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup water (or bourbon, if you prefer)
1/2 tsp. salt
pepper to taste
4 lbs boneless pork roast, trimmed of as much fat as possible

Place all sauce ingredients in slow cooker and mix.  Add pork and turn to coat.  Cook on high for 4-5 hours or on low for 7-8 hours.  Remove pork and shred with two forks.  Return shredded pork to slow cooker and cook an additional 30 - 60 minutes.


Source: adapted slightly from Lemons for Lulu

Cheesy Bacon Lentils

So Hurricane Sandy has come and gone, and we were among the very fortunate ones.

We had steady rain for probably 55 hours straight and some heavy wind, especially last night, but while the news of our region was filled with videos and photos of flooded streets and buildings, nearly submerged cars, and gigantic waves, we are far enough removed from low ground and water that we weren't really affected at all.  We didn't even lose power, which was my greatest concern.

But our prayers are definitely with those who were so devastated by the storm - I can only imagine how difficult it must be.

We actually got to enjoy some extra time with Grant - since the Army post where he works was closed yesterday.I know some people go a little stir crazy when they are house-bound for a few days, but I really enjoy it.  With no option of really going out, we got stuff done around the house and I spent some time cooking and baking.

I made cheesy potato soup for our lunch yesterday, a delicious new peanut butter banana bread (that ended up getting eaten before I took photos - guess I'll have to make it again!), simmered chili in the crockpot today, and baked a couple of new desserts for a dinner with friends tomorrow.  Yep, our house has smelled pretty good the past couple of days!

Anyways.
After posting a lot of sweets lately, I figured I'd better even the tables a little and show you we don't only survive on sugar and butter.

There's bacon too!

This simple and frugal dish combines our favorite breakfast meat with lentils, onion, and cheese and a few spices...couldn't get much easier than that.  And the entire family really liked it.  For two dinners in a row.
That makes it a success, in my book.

You could make it vegetarian if you wanted - I'm sure it would still be tasty - but honestly, we enjoyed it so much with the smoky flavor of the bacon, I don't think I'll ever leave it out.

Serve with a nice green salad and some bread if you like.

Cheesy Bacon Lentils - (adapted from The Cheapskate Cook)

1 (1 lb) package lentils, soaked 24 hours*
4 cups broth (chicken, vegetable, beef) or water
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 bay leaf
Sea salt and pepper, to taste
6 oz (about 8 or 9 pieces) turkey bacon, cooked and crumbled
2-1/2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded (I use sharp white cheddar)

In a saucepan, combine lentils, broth, onion, and bay leaf.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Drain excess liquid.
Turn off heat, remove bay leaf and add salt, pepper, bacon, and 1-1/2 cups cheese into lentils, stirring until cheese melts.
Evenly spread mixture into a lightly greased casserole dish and top with remaining cheese.
Bake 20-30 minutes until golden and bubbly.

*Soaking the lentils is an optional step.  It's an easy way to help your body digest the nutrients found in the lentils.  The day before making this dish, pour the lentils into a strainer, rinse them with water, and then pour them into a large bowl.  Fill the bowl with filtered water to 1 inch above the lentils.  Allow them to soak for 24-72 hours, changing the water every 12 hours.  Drain the soaking water before using them in this recipe.  If you choose not to soak the lentils, simply rinse them in a strainer and increase the stock/water to 5 or 6 cups.

Spicy Pulled Pork

We don't eat pork very often.....as you might have noticed from browsing my recipe index.....but while my in-laws were here, I decided to give this recipe from the Pioneer Woman's Cookbook a try. It just sounded so good....not to mention easy.  

She recommends serving it with warm flour tortillas, lime wedges, guacamole, pico de gallo, and sour cream. Leftovers can be used for soups, enchiladas, tostadas, sandwiches, whatever you want. 

So I did what she said.  Served it with tortillas, lime wedges (give one a squeeze over your serving - it really was delicious!), slices of avocado, and sour cream.  We all thought it was pretty fantastic. 

Leftovers were eaten pretty much the same way, or on whole wheat buns.  Either way, it makes a tasty meal that pleased just about everybody. 

I did alter her cooking method, by using the crock pot instead of the oven (and eliminating the extra cooking liquid) so we could be out and about all day and not have to worry about it. 

Recipe:

4 lbs (up to 7 lbs) pork shoulder

1 t. dried oregano

1 t. ground cumin

1 t. chili powder

1 T (to 2 T) salt

pepper to taste

3-4 cloves garlic

2 T. white vinegar

1-2 T. olive oil

1/4 c. brown sugar

1 onion (cut into quarters)

For Serving: tortillas, sour cream, avocados, salsa, lime wedges, etc.

Rinse pork and pat dry. Place in crock pot.
Combine all the remaining ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend into a nice paste.  Pour over the pork and rub all over, getting into every nook and cranny.
Cook on low for 8-10 hours, until pork shreds easily with a fork.  Remove from crock pot and cut off any fat (if desired) and shred meat well.  Pour some of the juices over the meat to keep it moist.  Serve as desired!