Slow-Cooker Chicken Sausage, Potatoes, Apples & Sauerkraut

Serves 2-3

Husband-Tested Recipe from Alice’s Kitchen

It was 8:30 a.m. and I was expecting my exercise buddy to arrive at 9 for our walk and weights workout.  By the time she arrived, I had prepped this meal for the slow cooker.  After our workout, I took a nice cool bath and then my hubby and I went into town to run errands.  By the time we got home, dinner was ready.  It tasted mighty good, but as with so many slow cooker meals, it’s quite “brown,” so be sure to serve a colorful fruit or veggie or a crisp green salad on the side.  The local tomatoes were ripe and ready, so I served those along with a slice of ZucchiniParmesan Loaf.  This recipe is a very loose adaption to the Braised Pork Chopswith Sauerkraut recipe from The Joy of Cooking. 

Cooking spray

1 (25 oz.) jar of sauerkraut (I used Bubbies Sauerkraut.)

2 apples, peeled, cored and thickly sliced

1 medium onion, peeled, halved and thickly sliced

2 teaspoons brown sugar (I used Sucanat. It is evaporated sugar cane juice, which has more nutritional value than refined sugar.)

¼ cup white wine

2 teaspoons dry mustard

¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

6 small red potatoes, a little larger than golf ball size, quartered

2-3 chicken sausage links, sliced in half lengthwise (I used Miller Chicken Sausage.)

Spray the inside of the slow cooker crock with the cooking spray.  (I used a small 2-quart slow cooker, but I’m sure you could use a larger slow cooker and double the ingredients if you have a bigger family.)

Drain off most of the liquid from the sauerkraut jar. (No need to press or squeeze.)  Add the sauerkraut to the slow cooker.  Add the apple and onion slices to the slow cooker.  Add the brown sugar, white wine, dry mustard and pepper.  Mix thoroughly.  Add the potatoes on top of the sauerkraut mixture.  Then place the chicken sausage on top of the potatoes.  Put the lid on the slow cooker and set the slow cooker to low.  Cook on low for about 6 hours or until the potatoes are tender.  (The sausages I used were precooked and so they are just heating up and flavoring the potatoes and sauerkraut.)  Remove the lid and serve. 

Braised Pork Chops with Sauerkraut

Serves 4

Recipe from The Joy of Cooking

Adapted and Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

When the weather turned cold, I decided to dust off my old Joy of Cooking cookbook and make this recipe which I hadn’t made since Jim and I were practically newlyweds.  I remembered that the sauerkraut flavored with the applesauce, white wine and dry mustard was mouthwatering.  We invited our good buddies, Bob and Debbie, over to share this treat.  I used local pork from Lost River Market & Deli and served this dish with mashed potatoes, steamed broccoli and whole cranberry sauce. 

2 lbs. drained sauerkraut

2 cups applesauce

1 Tablespoon brown sugar

½ Tablespoon dry mustard

freshly ground pepper, to taste

6 slices chopped bacon

Kosher salt

freshly ground pepper

4 loin pork chops, 1 inch thick

¼ cup white wine

Preheat oven to 350°F. 

Mix together the sauerkraut, applesauce, brown sugar, dry mustard and freshly ground pepper in a large casserole dish.  Set aside.

Fry the bacon in a large skillet until crisp.  Remove bacon and set aside on a paper towel to drain.  Season the pork chops well with Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper.  Sear both sides of the chops in the bacon grease until brown.  Set chops aside.  Deglaze the pan with the white wine, scraping up any brown bits. 

Pour the deglazing liquid over the sauerkraut mixer and blend in well.

Place the pork chops on top of the sauerkraut mixer.

Cover and bake for 1 hour.