Apple Pie Pork and Millet Polenta

Today I made the Apple Pie Pork again. I served it with polenta made out of ground hulled millet. OMG, this dinner was so good. Ben, Tommy and I all gobbled it up. It's surprisingly filling too.

Boston Butt was on sale, so I used a 3.5 lb bone in boston butt roast for the pork. The pork was nice and juicy, but I forgot that it would be challenging to remove the fat and bones when they're covered in the cooked apples. The Braeburn apples were HUGE, so I only used four. That completely filled our smaller crock pot. Next time I would use the bigger crock pot so we could have more apples. I cooked the roast and apples on low for 9 hours and that worked well.

You could grind the millet in a powerful blender or a coffee grinder. I used the Baby Bullet with the milling blade and worked in batches. The Millet Polenta makes a delicious bed for the pork and apples. The polenta was rich, creamy and best of all Tommy can eat it.

This dinner was really easy and so good. I had forgotten about this pork recipe. Now that I'm going to focus more on menu planning I think this meal will be popping up a lot more.

Millet Polenta

1 1/2 cup hulled millet
4 cups chicken broth
1 can lite coconut milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp ground sage
2 tablespoon Earth's Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks

1. In a medium pot, toast the millet on medium heat for several minutes, stirring frequently. Run your fingers through the millet to look for little rocks.
2. Coarse grind the millet in a powerful blender. 
3. Add the ground millet and the remaining ingredients except the vegan butter back into the pot. Bring to a boil, whisking frequently. After the mixture has begun to thicken (about 10 minutes), reduce heat, cover and simmer for another 20 minutes, whisking occasionally. The polenta is done with it is a thick creamy consistency and the millet is no longer crunchy. 
4. When the polenta is done, turn off the heat and stir in the vegan butter.

Updated Apple Pie Pork Recipe

We've made this a couple times, and it's always delicious. We've made it with pork chops and boneless country style pork ribs and the boneless ribs are our favorite. They have more fat marbling than pork chops and don't dry out as much during the cooking. I also increased the amount of potato starch. The fat in the meat combines with the potato starch to make a delicious silky sauce. 

This pork is delicious over white rice or cooked millet. I've recently started cooking the millet in chicken broth instead of water and what a huge difference! It's so much more flavorful. Try this recipe if you have kids that are reluctant to eat meat. 

Apple Pie Boneless Country Style Pork Ribs

2 lbs boneless country style pork ribs
12 small or 8 medium gala apples, cored and diced
3/4 cup sugar
4 Tbsp potato starch
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp salt

1. Optional: Line crock pot with crock pot liner
2. Place pork at bottom of crock pot.
3. In a large bowl, combine the remaining ingredients.
4. Pour apple mixture over pork.
5. Cook on low 6-8 hours or high 3-4 hours. 

Cooked Millet

1.5 cups dry hulled millet
6 cups chicken broth or water

1. Run your hands through the millet to look for little rocks. Toast the millet in a nonstick pot over medium heat for a few minutes, stirring often. 
2. Add the liquid and cover. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

Apple Pie Pork Chops

This was one of our family crock pot recipes a couple of weeks ago, courtesy of our cousin Courtney. It was so good that we made it again tonight. The pork and apples turn into a delicious sweet sauce. It's great over rice or cooked millet. With this much pork, I would use 1.5 cups of hulled millet and 6 cups of water in the Cooked Millet Recipe. 

Tommy was literally licking his bowl clean when he was done. 

Apple Pie Pork Chops

2 lbs boneless pork loin chops
12 small or 8 medium gala apples, cored and sliced
3/4 cup sugar
2 Tbsp potato starch
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp salt

1. Optional: Line crock pot with crock pot liner
2. Place pork chops at bottom of crock pot.
3. In a large bowl, combine the remaining ingredients.
4. Pour apple mixture over pork.
5. Cook on low 6-8 hours or high 3-4 hours. 

Poblano Pepper Vent (Turkey Pepper Stir Fry with Cooked Millet)

One of my favorite go-to meals is turkey pepper stir fry. It’s easy to prepare and doesn't have many ingredients. We usually eat this several times a month.

For some reason all the grocery stores here label poblano peppers as “pasilla peppers.” I have no idea how this trend started. Pasilla peppers are dried chilaca peppers. Poblano peppers are fresh, and even in the dried form they’re called ancho chiles. The other day a cashier apologized to me because now instead of saying "pasilla peppers", the poblanos ring in as something completely different. I told her that's ok, pasilla peppers was incorrect too. She looked at me like I was a nutcase. 

This is a pasilla pepper. 

This is a poblano pepper. 

We love this stir fry over white rice, but since Tommy’s allergic to rice, he gets the stir fry over cooked millet. Cooked millet tastes a lot like brown rice. It has sort of a nutty flavor and lots of fiber. I think the flavor is kind of overpowering for the stir fry, but it's a good substitute if you don't want to have rice or are looking for something to get your intestines flowing. And it's cheaper than quinoa.

If you've never heard of millet before, don't worry, I hadn't either. It's an ancient gluten free grain that's now mostly eaten by livestock and people in Africa. And Tommy.

Turkey Pepper Stir Fry

20 oz ground turkey
2 large heads of broccoli, or 3 small ones

2 green bell peppers, thinly sliced

2 red bell peppers, thinly sliced

2 poblano peppers, thinly sliced

3 tablespoons soy sauce, divided

Chili garlic sauce (optional)

1. Steam the broccoli in a large skillet. When the broccoli is cooked, transfer it to a large bowl.

2. Add the ground turkey to the pan. Cook over medium-high heat. When the turkey is almost cooked, add one tablespoon of soy sauce. When the turkey is cooked, add it to the large bowl.

3. Add one tablespoon of canola oil and turn the heat to medium. Add all the peppers. Cook until softened but not browned. When the peppers are almost done, add one tablespoon of soy sauce.

4. Add the broccoli and turkey back into the pan, add one more tablespoon of soy sauce and stir. Cook until the turkey and broccoli are warmed.

5. Serve over white rice or millet with chili garlic sauce.

Cooked Millet

½ cup hulled millet

2 cups water

1. Add the millet to a medium saucepan. Run your fingers through the millet to look for little rocks.

2. Toast the millet over medium heat stirring frequently for approximately 2 minutes, or until it starts to smell toasted. Be careful not to burn the millet.

3. Add the water and cover. Raise the heat to high and bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes. Do not open the lid and do not stir while it’s simmering.