Slow Cooker Pork Chops with Mushroom Gravy

Ingredients:
4 bone-in center cut pork chops
2 Tablespoons Steak Seasoning
2 Tablespoons oil
1/4 cup diced onions
1 can cream of mushroom soup

Instructions:

• Rub both sides of each pork chop with the Steak Seasoning.

• Pour oil into skillet and heat to warm on medium heat.
• Place pork chops into skillet.
• Sear both sides until chops are golden brown.

• After one side is browned, add diced onions to skillet so that they can begin to saute as well.

• Remove chops from skillet and place in slow cooker on low heat.
• Stir soup into onions and remaining bit of oil loosening and blending to add the bits of flavor from the chops that are left in the pan.

• When blended well and all bits are stirred into the soup mixture, pour into slow cooker.

• Cook on low for at least four hours but not longer than eight hours - depends upon the thickness of the chops.  (The thicker the chop, the longer the cooking time needed.)

Serve with mashed potatoes or rice and use sauce for gravy!

Hot Pockets

My daughter-in-law, Jessica, was sharing a story about how her parents are surviving their house remodel/add-on with no kitchen and heating up foods like Hot Pockets for dinner.  Now, I know that there are times when we all wish we had no kitchen so we wouldn't have to cook or clean it and could just eat out or something like that.  However, in reality, I don't think any of us really, really wants to be without a kitchen at all.  Yet, her mention of Hot Pockets flung a craving on me today.  Rather than make a dash to the store, though, I decided to try to concoct one of my own.  Here is what I came up with:

Ingredients:
1 package refrigerated Crescent Rolls - when you start with this as a base, what wouldn't be easy and good?
1 pound leftover pork loin - rubbed with a secret concoction of McCormick's Grill Mates Smokehouse Maple and Mesquite seasonings and marinated overnight in a secret concoction of Johnny's Sauce, Worcestershire Sauce, Soy Sauce, and Lemon Juice

mushrooms - an ingredient that I think makes most any main dish wonderful and Mike says I add to everything and...maybe I do

grated cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese - You know I grew up on a dairy farm and how can you go wrong by adding cheese?

• First, unroll the roll dough and butt two of the triangles together at the base end.
• Top with some roasted pork loin that wouldn't slice when your husband tried to slice it for his birthday party company (various family members) and wound up just pulling apart like pulled pork bar-b-que. 
• Add a layer of the mushrooms and sprinkle with some of the cheese.

• Fold the pointy ends of the dough over the filling and bake in a 350 degrees oven for about ten minutes.
• Sprinkle with a bit more cheese and serve up with some home-made pickles, some Goldfish crackers you steal from the stash for the grands, and a glass of cranberry juice.

Yum!

P.S.  It also looks delish on a pretty blue-and-white plate gifted to you by said daughter-in-law's mother, Karen.  Thanks, Karen! 

Meat Marinade

1/2 cup Johnny's Sauce
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 tablespoon McCormick's Smokehouse Maple seasoning
1 tablespoon mustard

• Mix all ingredients together in a gallon zipper bag.
• Add meat - good for pork, beef, or chicken!
• Marinate for at least 30 minutes prior to cooking.

The picture shown features chicken breasts which had been injected with this marinade, rubbed with McCormick's Maple seasoning, and basted with some reserved marinade.  Recently we cooked a pork loin that we had rubbed with McCormick's Smokehouse Maple seasoning and marinated with this concoction.  This is also good when used to inject into a meat or to reserve some for basting while grilling.