Crock Pot Posole

Posole (or pozole) is a traditional Mexican soup made with pork shoulder and lots of hominy. The first time I ever had posole was at a restaurant/hotel in Telluride, Colorado. I can’t remember the name of the restaurant, but it was good. Of course anything in Colorado tastes good when your fingers are numb from the wind and snow, and your hand warmers have worn off!

Since having posole in Telluride, I have been meaning to find a recipe to try and copy. This is the closest one I found. While the pork wasn’t as good as Telluride, the flavors of this crock pot posole soup were very good.

It’s just about the easiest recipe you can make. With a 3 month old, I’m always looking for simple recipes, and this one can be prepared in less than 30 minutes.

Top with tortilla chips and cheese, and you’ve quite the meal!

crock pot posole

Crock Pot Posole

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 7 hours

Total time: 7 hours 10 mins

Serves: 6-8

Adapted from Big Giant Food Basket

Ingredients

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
2 lbs. boneless pork loin roast, cut into one-inch cubes
flour for dedging
2 (14.5 oz) cans enchilada sauce
2 (15.5 oz) cans yellow hominy, drained
1 cup chicken broth
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 cup canned chopped green chilies
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 tsp. oregano
cayenne pepper, to taste
1/3 cup fresh cilantro

Instructions

Dredge meat in flour and place in pan with hot oil. Brown the meat with a good sear and place in a 4-quart crock pot.
Pour the enchilada sauce over the meat and then top with the remainder of the ingredients except for the cilantro.
Cook in the crock pot on high for 6-7 hours. (I cooked on high for 2-3 hours, then on low for 3-4 hours). Add the cilantro and then cook another 30 minutes.

Pasta e Fagioli Soup (Olive Garden copycat)

Just as it is pumpkin “everything” season, it’s also soup season! It’s not often that I would pick soup over lasagna, but when it’s Olive Garden’s Pasta e Fagioli, soup wins every time.

I’ve tried to make a copycat version before (recipe HERE), and while it was good, it just didn’t taste the same. It was missing certain spices that made it taste just like Olive Garden’s.

The recipe below is almost spot-on to the recipe we all love and adore from Olive Garden. If you closed your eyes, I bet you couldn’t taste a difference!

While we used ground beef, I would add mild Italian sausage next time, as I think Olive Garden uses a mixture of beef and sausage. Plus, sausage adds that nice kick of flavor that beef doesn’t always provide.

This copycat recipe comes from one of my my favorite blogs, Cooking Classy. Jaclyn, the blogger, has other copycat Olive Garden recipes that I want to try such their famous Italian breadsticks, minestrone soup, and zuppa toscana soup.

Don’t forget to top with grated Romano or Parmesan cheese, if desired. Enjoy!

Pasta e Fagioli Soup (Olive Garden copycat)

Source: Cooking Classy

Ingredients

1 lb lean ground beef or mild Italian sausage
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, divided
1 cup diced carrots (about 2 medium)
1 cup diced celery (about 3 stalks)
3/4 cup chopped yellow onion (about 1/2 of a large)
1 large clove garlic, finely minced
3 (8 oz) cans tomato sauce
3-4 cups beef broth
1 cup water
1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 Tbsp. granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried oregano
3/4 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. dried marjoram
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 scant cup ditalini pasta, uncooked
1 (15 oz) can dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15 oz) can great northern beans, drained and rinsed
Romano cheese (or Parmesan), for serving

Instructions

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large non-stick saucepan over medium high heat, crumble in ground beef and cook, stirring occasionally until cooked through. Drain beef and pour into a bowl, set aside.
Heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in same large saucepan, sauté carrots, celery and onion over medium high heat until tender, about 4 minutes. Add garlic, and sauté 1 minute longer.
Reduce heat to low, add tomato sauce, beef broth, water, canned tomatoes, sugar, basil, oregano, thyme, marjoram, cooked beef, then season with salt and pepper to taste.
Cover with lid and allow to simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally until veggies are soft. Meanwhile prepare ditalini pasta according to package directions, cooking to al dente.
Add cooked and drained pasta to soup along with kidney beans, great norther beans and additional 1 cup of broth if desired to thin soup, and allow to cook 5 minutes longer. Serve warm with grated Romano cheese, if desired.

Notes

The longer the soup rests, the more liquid the pasta will absorb so you can thin it with additional beef broth if desired.

Pam’s “2 x 4” Chili

August in Texas means mornings so humid and warm that its nearly unpleasant to go for a walk or run, scorching hot summer afternoons leaving your backyard looking like a dessert, back-to-school shopping, and last-minute vacations for those escpaing the heat and enjoying their last getaway before school starts.

As mentioned before, I write the resident recipe column for our monthly neighborhood magazine. For this month’s article, I featured a resident who discovered this “2 x 4” Chili while on a camping trip with her father in August. It’s a neat story, and a ridiculously simple yet delicious recipe, so enjoy! An excerpt from the article appears below:

“Road trip! Pack your bags,” Pam’s father announced. “We are headed for Blue Lake and Bear Mountain in Colorado where we’ll be camping in a tent and staying in a campground area!”

For those of you who know Pam, she is more at home at a spa rather than a tent, but she was only 12 years old and he was her beloved father. When they arrived at the campgrounds, they overheard the campers next to them talking about having “2 x 4” for dinner. Curious as they were, they asked for the recipe, which consisted of 2 pounds of beef, 2 cans of Rotel, 2 cans of minestrone soup, and 2 cans of Ranch Style Beans; hence the name “2 x 4”.

Who knew that this road trip would teach Pam an extremely quick recipe to share with her carnivorous friends and neighbors!

All you need are 2 cans Rotel, 2 cans Ranch Style beans, 2 cans minestrone soup and 2 pounds of beef.

Once the beef is browned, add the rest of the ingredients.

Combine ingredients, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

While this recipe originates on the campgrounds, you don’t have to go camping to enjoy this delicious chili. Pam and her husband have “2 x 4” for dinner at least 2-3 times per month, and even enjoy it served with their elegant Gianni Versace Medusa China, Waterford crystal and Grand Baroque sterling!

2 x 4 chili — Set a beautiful table with your finest of china, or simply eat on paper plates while camping. 🙂

Pam’s “2 x 4” Chili

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

2 lbs. ground round
2 cans Rotel
2 cans minestrone soup
2 cans Ranch Style Beans

Instructions

Brown beef in a large sauce pan over medium-high heat and cook until crumbly and brown.
Add Rotel, minestrone and Ranch Style Beans, and stir.
Cover and simmer on low for 15 minutes.
Serve with Fritos and shredded sharp cheddar cheese.