Crockpot Pork Chops and Gravy dinner

Rachel Lynne  shares with us another family favorite.
Nothing says comfort food like fall-off-the-bone delicious pork with gravy, mashed potatoes and corn! How wonderful to come home to the fantastic smell of pork bubbling away in your crockpot, welcoming you home on a cold fall day.

• 4 bone-in pork chops
• one medium onion, sliced
• 1 cup flour
• Salt, Pepper
• Pinch of nutmeg
• pinch of garlic powder
• 1 cup milk

1.  Mix salt, pepper, garlic powder with about 3/4 cups of flour, coat pork chops and then brown in oil and place in crock pot.

2.  Turn heat to low and caramelize onions then add two to three tablespoons of flour, adding oil/butter if needed to make a loose flour mixture. Brown this roux until lightly golden.

3.  Whisk milk into flour mixture and stir until a thin gravy forms.  Sprinkle in a pinch of nutmeg (about 1/8 teaspoon) and cook a few minutes to get rid of the flour taste. Pour gravy over pork chops.

4.  Cook pork chops on low in crock pot for about 5 hours.
Serve with mashed potatoes and corn, YUM!

Peanut Butter Brownies with Chocolate Frosting

 I almost dropped my current project and whipped out the ingredients to make this when our guest foodie, Author Rachel Lynne, sent in the recipe for THIS mouthwatering morsel!

 She says:

 "Needed a sugar fix the other day and stumbled across a recipe for Peanut Butter Brownies. Now, I must admit that I am a peanut butter junkie. I added the chocolate frosting … Alert! Full blown addict here, I ate at least half the pan!

I’m sharing the recipe; no need for me to be the only one gaining a ton!"

Brownies

1 cup of peanut butter

2/3 cup butter, softened

1 1/3 cup sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

Frosting

1 cup milk chocolate chips, melted

1 cup powdered sugar

2 tablespoons butter, softened

Couple of tablespoons milk (enough to make frosting spreadable)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 13x9 pan.

Cream together butter and peanut butter. Gradually blend in sugars, eggs, and vanilla; mix until fluffy.

Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt then stir into the peanut butter mixture just until blended. 

*Note. The batter will be thick. Don’t do what I did and add water. It will take FOREVER to bake 

Bake in 350 oven for 30-35 minutes or until the top of the brownies spring back when touched.

Frosting: 

Blend butter, melted chocolate, and powdered sugar, thinning with milk until frosting is spreadable. Smooth onto brownies while warm then let cool and cut into squares. (Or eat the whole pan like I almost did!)

Rachel

Guest Foodie!

Over the past few months, I have come to know author of romantic suspense, Rachel Lynne, through our mutual love of cooking and recipes.  She has great crockpot recipes and I added a page, The Crock Pot Corner, for her to occasionally share budget friendly crock pot recipes with us. 

Since my crock pot died, it has been one of those things I don't think to replace until I see a recipe! So I'll be looking forward to doing that soon, as I'm sure these recipes will make me drool!

For now, please enjoy one of her favorites, and mine too; Calzones! Such a flexible and tastey alternative to the usual pizza and budget friendly crowd pleaser, as it can really stretch by slicing it up and serving with ranch, pizza sauce, etc.

Enjoy!