Pork Roast in Apple Cider Gravy

Before Thanksgiving, I read a post from the people of Certified Angus Beef stating that 23% of consumers have never cooked a roast and 34% only cook one a few times a year.  What?!  A roast is one of those easy, peasy meals in my book.  Throw it in the crockpot and forget about it.  After speaking with some friends, I found the struggle to cook a roast is real for some.  I asked several of my fellow Kansas Farm Mom's to help me out and they were happy to join in the Pot Roast Project!  The boys and I are testing the recipes for you and trying to remember to take pictures.  :)

Our first guest recipe is from Jenny Burgess.  She shares about her family farm at Burgess Hill Farms on Facebook.  Jenny also writes a blog called Farm Wife Transparency.  They have a very different story of how their farm began than ours and awhile back she shared a very personal story on the struggles she has to deal with.  Here is her recipe for a Pork Roast in Apple Cider Gravy.

Pork Roast in Apple Cider Gravy

1 pork roast or pork loin roast
2 medium apples 
2 small onions 
Salt & pepper 
2 c. Apple cider 
1 Tblsp of cornstarch 
 Directions ~ Slice apples and onions. Put half of apples and onions in the bottom of crockpot. Slice deep into roast & about 1 in apart. Insert other half of apples and onions amongst slices. Place roast on top of 1st half of apples and onions. Salt and pepper roast on top. Pour 2 cups of cider around roast. Cook on high 5 to 6 hours, or on Low 8 hours. Once done take out roast and tent with foil. Strain cider out of crockpot into saucepan. Whisk in cornstarch and cook until bubbly and thick.

 Doesn't this sound great?  Do you fear roasts or cook them all the time?  If you are looking for another pork loin recipe, try Christy's Not So Famous Pork Loin and if you like the apples, you might like Caramel Apple Pork Chops.

If you have a great recipe you would like to share, send it to me and I will be happy to share it with everyone else!

-A Kansas Farm Mom

Frozen Apple Rolls

It's apple season!  Yay!  I was lucky enough to have a neighbor let me pick apples off his tree last week and I got to make my favorite apple dish over the weekend.  It's quick. It's easy.  It is a great way to store apples to enjoy during the cold winter months.

 And yes, it is another one of those beloved recipes that my grandma and mom have made as long as I can remember.

Frozen Apple Rolls

2 cups flour                                                                  Syrup: 2 c. sugar

2 t. baking powder                                                                   2 c. water

1 t. salt                                                                                     1/4 t. cinnamon

1/2 c. milk                                                                                1/4 t. nutmeg

2/3 c. shortening                                                                       6-10 drops red food coloring

2 1/2 c. grated apples                                                                2 T. butter or margarine

Sift dry ingredients, cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Add milk all at once and stir until flour is moistened.

On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into an 18 by 12 inch rectangle about 1/4 inch thick. 

 Spread grated apples over the dough.  

Roll up like a jelly roll.  

Cut the log into 8-10 pieces.  

Place on cookie sheets and place into freezer.  

 

When the rolls are frozen solid, you can put them into freezer bags.

When ready to bake, place frozen rolls in an ungreased 9x13 pan.  

Make syrup by placing all ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. 

 Pour over frozen apple rolls.  

Bake at 375* for 35-40 minutes.

For some reason, I keep finding bowls that look like this.  Apparently, the family approves of a long time family favorite recipe.

What is your favorite apple recipe?  How do you store the summer and fall flavors for the winter?

-A Kansas Farm Mom

Frozen Apple Rolls

2 cups flour                                                                  Syrup: 2 c. sugar

2 t. baking powder                                                                   2 c. water

1 t. salt                                                                                     1/4 t. cinnamon

1/2 c. milk                                                                                1/4 t. nutmeg

2/3 c. shortening                                                                       6-10 drops red food coloring

2 1/2 c. grated apples                                                                2 T. butter or margarine

Sift dry ingredients, cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Add milk all at once and stir until flour is moistened.

On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into an 18 by 12 inch rectangle about 1/4 inch thick.  Spread grated apples over the dough.  Roll up like a jelly roll.  Cut the log into 8-10 pieces.  Place on cookie sheets and place into freezer.  When the rolls are frozen solid, you can put them into freezer bags.

When ready to bake, place in an ungreased 9x13 pan.  Make syrup by placing all ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to the boiling point.  Pour over frozen apple rolls.  Bake at 375* for 35-40 minutes. -A Kansas Farm Mom

W4DW-Old Fashioned Apple Crisp

What's for Dinner this Wednesday?  The closest thing I can find to an old family favorite.

My Grandma Evelyn used to make an Apple Crisp that I loved.  I have never found the recipe she used.  My guess is there was no recipe...she really didn't use too many recipes.  In fact, my dad is still trying to figure out how she made her homemade bread. 

I found this recipe from the Kansas Wheat Commission and it tastes amazingly like Grandma's recipe.  They called it Fruit Crunch.  If you have followed me very long, you know I love the recipes from the Kansas Wheat Commission.  All of the following recipes are ones I have found in their cookbooks and shared with you previously: Whole Wheat Angel Food Cake, Two Cheese Braided Bread, Whole Wheat Sugar Cookies, Cheesy Enchiladas and I am sure there are a few I am forgetting.

Old Fashioned Apple Crisp

5-6 cups fresh or frozen fruit

                Suggested fruit includes: Peeled and sliced apples or peaches

                Sliced rhubarb

                Blueberries or cherries

¼ cup sugar, optional

2/3 cup flour, whole wheat or all purpose

1 t. ground cinnamon

¼ t. ground nutmeg

1 cup oats, old fashioned or quick cooking

1 cup packed brown sugar

½ cup butter or margarine, slightly softened

Preheat oven to 350*F.  Spray a 9x13 baking pan or 9 inch deep dish pie plate with nonstick cooking spray

Place fruit in pan.  If fruit is tart, sprinkle with ¼ cup of sugar and toss to coat.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, oats, and brown sugar.  Use a pastry blender, or fork to cut in butter until crumbly.

Sprinkle topping over fruit, press gently.  Bake 35-40 minutes or until golden and bubbly.

 We like it with whipped topping, ice cream, half and half, or milk.  We really aren't picky we just want a little dairy with it.  ;)

-A Kansas Farm Mom

W4DW-Kat's Corned Beef

With St. Patrick's Day this weekend it is a safe bet in my house that we will be having Corned Beef more than once this month.  Why?  Because I can find the corned beef briskets in the meat case that I can cook myself for a What's For Dinner Wednesday and I have this amazing recipe that make it...

My good friend Kat is owner and operator of a cute little restaurant in the small town of Jackson, Minnesota just off of Interstate 90.  She has recently expanded the hours of Kat's Hog Heaven to the evening, added a bar and is now serving steak, so if you are ever in the area it is definitely worth the stop.

When she and her husband, Bill, were our neighbors in Kansas I loved it when we were invited over for dinner!  She is one of the best cooks I know.  When her daughter graduated from high school, she made Ruebens and I knew I needed the recipe for her corned beef.  I like Corned Beef, but I LOVE her version.

She starts by rinsing the corned beef and putting it in a baking dish with the seasoning packet that comes with the brisket.

She then adds plenty of water.  She says you need enough to help cook out the salt that the corned beef has been brining in.

Kat always cooks with lots of garlic (which I love by the way...Farmer Randy doesn't love my breath afterwards, but he is getting used to it).  She adds 5 whole cloves of garlic and yes they should have been peeled before I took the picture. 

 Here's the step that surprised me, she said to cook it with apple...

 and carrots!

 Cover with foil or the casserole lid and bake in the oven at 350*F.  You will have to judge based on the size of the Corned Beef Brisket you get as to how long it will take.  You want to bake until it is tender.  I stick a fork in it and twist to see if is tender yet.  It should take 2-4 hours.

Next, she removes the vegetables and discards the water.  The brisket is put back into the baking dish.  She mixes 1 tablespoon of honey 1 tablespoon of hot mustard, and a pressed clove of garlic  together to make a glaze over the Corned Beef.  Then return it to the oven for an additional 30 minutes.  This almost caramelizes the glaze over the Corned Beef and makes it oh..so..good!

If you are ever in southern Minnesota, be sure to stop by Kat's Hog Heaven and tell her that Nicole says Hi!  Everything on the menu is made by hand in house (except the ketchup on the table for your hand cut french fries).  You can check them out on Facebook here.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

-A Kansas Farm Mom

What's for Dinner Wednesday? School Lunch

What’s For Dinner this Wednesday?  Well, apparently I have been a little wound up about the school lunches on Facebook according to some of my friends.  I have tried to steer clear of political issues just like my fellow blogger Debbie Lyons-Blythe who writes the blog Life On a Kansas Cattle Ranch.  If you want some background information and are clueless about why parents are up in arms about the school lunch, go check out her post.

I have always been a believer in school lunch, but after the first 5 days of school The Farmer and I gave in and started letting the kids take a sack lunch to school.  WHY?  My kids get on the school bus at 6:45 am and get off the bus at 4:30, that’s nine hours and forty five minutes to live off of our school food service.  My first grader was absolutely starving when he got home school.  One night, he ate 2 yogurts (I am not talking about little kid size ones either), he ate supper with the family at 6:00, and then ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (with 2 slices of bread) at bed time.  I couldn’t believe how much he ate.  It also took 2 hours before he could concentrate on something other than food so we could get his homework done.

 So what are my suggestions for school lunch?  Here is what we have done this week to make things interesting.  I am looking for more ideas to put together this weekend.

1. Gogurt-  I freeze the Gogurt so it stays nice an cold until lunch time.
2. Apples- My boys love apples even though my fourth grader tells me that it isn’t cool to eat them at lunch.  So the kids can eat them easier, I use an apple wedger and then take a rubber band to hold the apple back  together.  It doesn’t turn brown, and I don’t have to use any preservatives to keep it that way.  
3.  Sun Butter- Our elementary school is nut free due to a few of the kids with severe nut allergies.  I think it is fine to keep these kids safe by restricting the consumption of nuts, but that limits our options for lunch.  We used to grow sunflowers quite often and we have learned that there is a nut free substitute for peanut butter call Sun Butter.  It does taste a little different, but at least it is a protein source for the kids. 
4.  Cookies- If you want to make healthy cookies for the kids and again are in a nut free school, try making cookies that have roasted soybeans instead of nuts like this recipe for Henry Ford Chocolate Chip Soybean Cookies. 
5.  Of course, I give them lots of fruits and vegies and I am using all those little bitty plastic containers that I never use. 
6.  Ice Packs- I have a tremendous supply of frozen ice packs.  Your veterinarians will probably kill me, but all vets get vaccine on ice and my vet throws out a ton of these every week.

While I understand that many kids are overweight in America, I don’t think that putting the entire youth population on a diet is the answer.  Most of the kids are going to go home and find the easiest thing to eat and I guarantee you that it won’t be fresh fruits and vegetables.

I read the blog post that USDA sent out before their Twitter event today.  I was really glad that they brought up that this was part of Mrs. Obama’s plan.  It got me to thinking.  Do her girls go to public school?  No.  Do they have to eat under the same guidelines?  No.  Do they have to ride to school?  Yes, but I am guessing it is a 5 minute ride in a limo and not 90 minutes before school starts on a school bus.  If you would like to see what they get to eat, here is a link to their school's lunch menu.

I think my 9 year old summed this up the best and reminded me why I believe 4-H is an excellent way for everyone to learn.    When discussing this before school started here is how our conversation went:

D:  Mom, that is stupid!

Me:  Well there are kids that are overweight and they need to do something.

D:  Yes, but when I was feeding my lambs and they started getting fat, I just increased their protein and gave them more exercise.

Hmm, my 9 year old (who gets 40 minutes a day for lunch AND recess and PE every 3^rd day)  knows that the way to increase muscle and decrease fat is not by removing protein from a diet, but instead increasing it.  How about that!?

Let me know what you think and follow Sensible School Lunches on Facebook.  If you have any great ideas on how to keep lunches fun and interesting for the kids, I would love to hear from you.

Pinke Post also has a Link party going on to further the discussion on school lunches.  Go check it out!

-A Kansas Farm Mom