Crockpot Cranberry Pork Loin

November 18, 2025November 18, 2025Mrs. Rhodes Leave a comment

This recipe is delicious during the Fall and Winter, holidays, or any time you love eating cranberry sauce. The photo doesn’t do it justice. I put a little pic in the box up there so you can see how it looks before cooking.

Cranberry Pork Roast

Ingredients:
3 lb. pork loin roast
salt and pepper to taste
1 15-16oz. can whole berry cranberry sauce
1/4-1/2 cup honey or brown sugar
1/4 cup cranberry juice
2 Tbsp. orange or Lemon juice
1 tsp. dry ground mustard
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1/8 tsp. cloves

Directions:
Sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides of pork loin then put into sprayed crockpot. Add the rest of the ingredients to meat. You could also just mix cranberry sauce, sugar, juices, and spices together in a medium bowl then pour over pork. Cover and cook on LOW up to 8 hours or high 4-5 hours. To serve just carefully remove roast to a plate or cutting board. Let rest for 5 minutes then slice and spoon the gravy over meat. See note about thickening gravy below. This tastes great with stuffing, over rice, or with mashed potatoes.

Note—To thicken gravy: Thirty minutes before meat is done remove roast then take out some of the juice from slow cooker. Combine the 2 Tbsp. cornstarch and cold water and mix together until smooth. Stir this into juice mixture from roast and pour back into crockpot to get warm.

Happy Reformation Day!

October 31, 2024October 31, 2024Mrs. Rhodes Leave a comment

The 5 SOLAS Of The Reformation:

Sola Scriptura: by scripture alone- The Holy Bible is God’s written Word. It alone is the final and perfect authority for what we are to believe and do in our lives. (2 Timothy 3:16-17, 2 Peter 1:20-21)

Soli Deo Gloria: glory to God alone- God alone will receive all glory, including for
man’s salvation. (Romans 11:36, 1 Corinthians 10:31)

Solo Christo: through Christ alone- One is saved only through Christ and do not need to go through a priest or anyone else. (John 14:6, Acts 4:12, 1 Timothy 2:5)

*I love it when we sing “In Christ Alone” in Sunday morning worship. I love what this guy did with the song.

Sola Gracia: by grace alone- One is saved only by God’s grace. Salvation is a gift from God that is not deserved and cannot be bought or earned. (Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 3:24)

Sola Fide: by faith alone- One is not saved through good works, but only through trusting in Christ. (Romans 3:28, Romans 4:5)

We enjoy watching this Martin Luther movie each year:

Minestrone Soup

October 29, 2024August 5, 2025Mrs. Rhodes Leave a comment

***This is a really yummy soup to have when the weather starts getting cooler. I’ve made several different versions through the years to perfect it to our liking. I believe I hit the jackpot. Be sure to read the end notes for tweaking to your tastes.

Homemade Minestrone Soup

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. olive oil, ghee, coconut oil (or good ole bacon grease :-D)
1 small to medium onion, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
28 oz. can of diced tomatoes, undrained
16 oz. bag frozen mixed vegetables
1 medium zucchini, diced
2oz. (2 handfuls) fresh baby spinach
14.5 oz. can cannellini beans (white kidney) drained and rinsed
14.5 oz. can of red kidney beans drained and rinsed
1 tsp. dried parsley
1 tsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. dried rosemary, crushed
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
2 whole Bay leaves
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
2 Tbsp. Better than Bouillon vegetable base (*this helps the flavor)
5 cups chicken or beef broth (or water)
1 cup uncooked ditalini, small shell, or elbow pasta

Directions:
Heat oil in a skillet and sauté onion, celery, and garlic 10 minutes. Transfer to a sprayed 6 qt. slow cooker. Add everything else except spinach and the pasta (save for later). Cook on LOW for 6-7 hours. Add spinach and your pasta of choice to crock pot and finish cooking 30 more minutes or until pasta is done. This could also be done in an Instant Pot for 10 minutes. I would do a QR (quick release) first then stir the pasta and spinach in with the other ingredients. Close lid and cook for 5 minutes then do a NR (natural release) for 5 minutes. Adding already cooked pasta at the end of cooking works too.

**Note: You can sub the herbs with Italian seasoning. The Bouillon vegetable base amps up the flavor in this. Try not to leave it out if you can help it. Next time I think I’ll try a couple Tablespoons of Pesto stirred in as well as an 8oz. can of tomato sauce. Adding another protein like Italian sausage, smoked sausage, cubed beef, or leftover roasted chicken would be good too.

Unstuffed Bell Pepper Casserole

October 1, 2024August 5, 2025Mrs. Rhodes 3 Comments

If you like stuffed bell peppers, how about turning your favorite recipe into a one dish casserole. Here is mine:

Unstuffed Bell Pepper Casserole

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef, turkey, or ground sausage
3 bell peppers, chopped (I used 1 green, 1 orange, and 1 yellow for a pretty Fall look)
1 medium onion, chopped
1-2 garlic cloves, minced (or 1/2 garlic powder)
1/2 cup instant rice (or 2 cups cold cooked rice)
1/2 cup water (if using instant rice. omit if using cooked rice)
14.5 oz. can Italian stewed tomatoes
1/2 bottle of Heinz chili sauce (or 8 oz. can Italian tomato sauce)
1 tsp. Italian Seasoning
1/2 tsp. Sea Salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
8 oz. pkg. shredded cheddar cheese (Italian blend or Colby/Monterey Jack would work too)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a pot full of boiling water put in the chopped bell peppers. Let them blanch for 5 minutes then remove them from the water to a strainer. Run cold water over them to stop the cooking. In a skillet brown your meat with the chopped onion and garlic until no longer pink. Drain. In a 2qt. casserole dish sprayed with cooking spray. Put in your meat with veggies, tomatoes, and bell peppers. If you are using instant rice now is the time to stir that in with the water. If you are using cold cooked rice just put that in. Add in the chili sauce with the rest of the seasonings and 1/2 of the cheese and stir. Cover with foil and cook for 30-40 minutes. Uncover, stir, then sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top. Pop back in the oven for 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Let sit for 5 minutes before serving.

Chicken Corn Chowder

September 24, 2024August 5, 2025Mrs. Rhodes Leave a comment

Chicken Corn Chowder

Ingredients:
6 strips of bacon
1 medium onion, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
2 carrots, diced
2-4 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 chicken breasts cut into bite-size pieces
4 medium potatoes (2 cups), peeled and diced (sometimes I sub with 2 sweet potatoes)
10.5 oz. low sodium cream of chicken soup
14.5 oz. can creamed corn
1/2 of 16 oz. bag of frozen corn (or 1 can of corn, drained)
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1 Bay leaf
2 Tbsp. butter
2 cups of chicken broth (or water but it won’t be as flavorful)
1 c. milk or 12 oz. can of evaporated milk (see note)
2-4 Tbsp. cornstarch (start with a little and add more if needed)

Directions:
Sauté bacon in a skillet until crisp. Drain on paper towels but keep 2 Tbsp. of the grease in the skillet. Cool bacon off, crumble and put in a covered container to use later. In the same skillet add onions, celery, carrots, and cook until soft. Can cook the potatoes for a few minutes as well. In crockpot add potatoes, cooked veggies, cut up chicken breasts, cream of chicken soup, corn (s), seasonings, butter, and broth. Cook on low 6 hours or until potatoes are done. Stir cornstarch and milk together in a bowl. Stir this mixture in the last 30 minutes of cooking to help thicken the soup. Remove Bay leaf. Sprinkle cooked bacon on top of chowder when serving.

Serve with a side salad and buttered crusty bread.

Serves 4-6

Note: You can sub any milk you prefer like almond or coconut milk. You can make this without the chicken for it to be a regular corn chowder with bacon. You can also sub out and use precooked shredded chicken.

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Category Fall