Recently, Barry and I were contacted by Benjamin from Get Crocking, which is was an app that you can get for your iPhone, iPad and iPod touch to easily look up crock pot recipes and ideas. {I’m sad to see that this app is no longer available. I know Benjamin put a lot of time into it.} Benjamin let us test it out on Barry’s phone and we really liked it. It’s easy to use and has a lot of good recipe options. Today Benjamin is sharing a recipe for pork chops. (Note from Stacy – some of the recipes in the app are not whole foods recipes. They include things like mixes and cream of yadda-yaddda soup. However, just like any other recipe, you can easily substitute your homemade version for the convenience version.)
Who doesn’t love a good “fix it and forget it” meal? I know I’ve nearly gotten addicted to my slow cookers here recently. I’ve always enjoyed cooking since I was young and slow cooking was frequently a part of that. Here in the South we like to keep things simple, and you can’t get much simpler than slow cooking.
I can remember family reunions and holiday gatherings having several slow cookers going with various goodies like fondue, cocktail weenies, spinach dip, buffalo wings and sometimes even a roast. However, it wasn’t until recently that I discovered just how versatile a slow cooker is.
Last year my brother and I set out to build an iPhone app, and given my love for cooking, we decided to make a slow cooker recipe app. After 6 months of development and testing we released GetCrocking! on January 6th of this year. We have over 200 recipes in the app with a lot of bells and whistles.
For today’s Fix and Forget Friday I am going to show you one of my favorite pork recipes from the app, which also happens to be a very simple recipe. Call me lazy, but when I make a slow cooker meal I don’t want to spend 30-45 minutes on preparation; that’s too much “Fix” and not enough “Forget”. Here is picture of everything that you will need for the recipe (except salt and pepper).
To get started, wash your potatoes and slice them thickly; maybe 6-8 pieces per potato. Go ahead and slice your onion into thick pieces as well. I cheated a little on this step. I used some frozen onion rings I had in the freezer instead of using a fresh onion, so feel free to improvise if need be.
Now that you have your veggies prepared place them in a large mixing bowl and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper to taste. Mix it all together to make sure everything is coated nicely. Now place the onions and potatoes in the bottom of your slow cooker. Note: I used a 6 qt. slow cooker and had just enough room for the pork chops on top. So, if you are using a 4.5 qt. or similar sized slow cooker you will likely need to reduce the number of potatoes to make sure it will all fit.
Alright, we have crammed the veggies in the slow cooker, now move on to the pork. The recipe calls for boneless pork chops, but I decided to use bone-in chops instead. Again, whatever suits you is just fine, I would just suggest that you make sure to use thick-cut chops; the thinner ones might dry out before the potatoes cook fully. Take four fully-thawed pork chops and cover them generously with the Italian dressing mix** then place them in you slow cooker right on top of the potatoes and onions. Plug in the slow cooker, set it to low, and let it cook for 7-9 hours. That’s it!
**Note from Stacy – Since we like to use homemade mixes to avoid MSG, check out this recipe for homemade Italian Dressing Mix from Heavenly Homemakers.**
Here’s what you have to look forward to!
Recipe Notes:
* If you are using a slow cooker smaller than 6 qt. reduce the number of potatoes to 3-4
* You do not need to add any liquid to this recipe. The potatoes and chops have enough juice to keep everything moist.
* I used thawed pork chops. I have not tried this with frozen chops, but it should be fine; just add another hour or two to the cook time.
* All slow cookers do cook at different paces, so know your slow cooker and check the meat around 5 hours to make sure you don’t overcook the meat and dry out the dish.
For daily meal inspiration, follow @stacymakescents on Instagram.
Crock Pot Pork Chops and Potatoes
- 4 boneless pork chops
- 6 red potatoes
- 1 onion
- 1 package Italian salad dressing mix (or homemade)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Thickly slice the potatoes and onion then place in a mixing bowl and cover with salt and pepper to taste.
- Place onions and potatoes in the bottom of your slow cooker.
- Sprinkle the pork chops with the Italian salad dressing mix and put them on top of the veggies in the slow cooker.
- Cover and cook on low for 7-9 hours.
This app giveaway is available only for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.
When he is not in front of his computer building and maintaining websites and mobile apps, Benjamin enjoys honing his cooking skills in the kitchen or on the grill and moonlighting as an assistant wedding photographer. He is a proud husband of 10 years to his wonderful wife Brittany and happy father to his 4 year old Jack Russell Terrier, Stuart. His slow cooker recipe app for iPhone, GetCrocking!, has made it into the Top 100 in the Lifestyle category and has been sold in 18 countries.
Yimmmmmmy!!!!! My family loved ??? Never cooked Pork chops in slow cooker AWESOME!!!!!! Thank you f for the fabulous recipe Yum!!!!
Turned out great! Cooked 4.5 hours on high, added a little bit of water, and added a scoop of vegan butter before placing the pork chops down.
Thank you for the extra tips?
Can i do it with homestyle Italian dressing not in a package?
Yes definitely. I love this recipe – Homemade Italian Dressing Thanks!
Julie, Humorous Homemaking Team
I made this today. 4 large 2 white potatoes unpeeled, 1/2 large onion, diced large. 3 thawed 1/2″ boneless chops seasoned in the homemade Italian dressing. I was really worried about no liquid added. Put the crock on auto shift, 1 hr high, then it shifts to low. 5 hrs later, done! I’m always worried about potatoes in the crock but they were delish! Pork was a tiny dry but added the juice from bottom, AOK!
Thanks for the comment, Gail. So glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe!
Julie, Humorous Homemaking Team
NP, Thank you!!!
Can I use already made Italian dressing and marinade?
I have seen recipes that do, so I am sure you can, but I haven’t tried it. I’m not 100% sure how it will turn out, but if you try it let me know what you think!
Julie, Humorous Homemaking Team
Can I use already made Italian dressing and marinade?
Sure! Give that a try and let us know how it turns out. 🙂
I make this for my husband all the time and he loves it! The only thing I do different is I put butter on top of the pork chops which makes a really great juice at the bottom and does well for the potatoes and onions too. I also use russet potatoes and it comes out absolutely wonderful! Thank y’all for the great recipe!
So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Is there anything that butter doesn’t make better? 😉
— Julie, HH Team
Omg I made this recipe for dinner tonight and it was delicious!! My fiancé really enjoyed it. I followed recipe but I did add a cup of water to make sure the pork chops did not dry out. It was amazing!!
I’m so glad to hear that, Diona! Thanks for leaving your review here! 🙂
can i use cream of mushroom
Sure!
Just put this in the crock pot…I did add frozen farm fresh green beans to the top….Stay tuned!
Keep us posted, Lisa!
It was excellent!! I highly recommend the frozen fresh green beans on top and I paired mine with some home made apple sauce! Thanks for something different, easy and delish 🙂
We are homemade applesauce lovers!
Do you need to mix the Italian dressing with the vinegar and water like the package says or do I just sprinkle the powder on the pork chops?
Just sprinkle it. Some people report that this ends up dry for them (different cookers can do that), so if you want to add a little water, it should be okay.
Crockpot Pork Chops and potatoes. Do I need to add liquid? You mentioned potatoes, onion and Italian dry dressing mix
No, you shouldn’t need to. The fat from the chops creates its own liquid.
Definitely need to add liquid. My meat came out dry and tough. The potatoes and onion which were in liquid were delicious but the meat was not. There was not enough liquid to cover the pork chops. i used frozen thick cut. I think this could be a good recipe with adjustment.
Hope you find just the right way to make it work for you! 🙂
I will let you know how they turn out after Dinner tonight. Thanks Susie
Is this Get Crocking app still available?
Unfortunately, no. 🙁 They don’t offer it any more.
This did not come out very well. The entire dish was very dry. Maybe I should have cut the cooking time by an hour (I cooked for 7 on low). The good news is, the kids ate and were full!
Well, that’s good at least! 🙂 Unfortunately, every crock pot cooks differently…sometimes they are really hard to figure out.
Oh so very good!! Thank you!!
Made this tonight…….went out with the trash. I made it per instructions and potatoes were hard and meat was tough. Glad I didn’t have company…..lol
So sorry you didn’t enjoy it. I guess everyone has different tastes. 🙂
Accidentally bought zesty Italian. So I gave it a whirl anyway. Plus I like a little spice❤ has anyone else used zesty?
I’m sure zesty would be great!!
Do you think regular russet potatoes would be good with this recipe too? I’m all out of red potatoes and don’t want to make a special trip ?
It should – I would just make sure they are cut in uniform size. 🙂
Can I cook this on high in the crock pot?
That’s usually possible – you can cut the time in half and then check to make sure it’s cooked through.
Wouldn’t the potatoes come out super soggy keeping them in the pot while the pork chops cook for 7-9 hrs?
No, they shouldn’t – unless you cut them into very little pieces.
Thank you! I plan on trying this over the weekend. 🙂
Im going to,add baby carrots to this will that be ok ?
Sure!
I would like to add some fresh green beans to this.. do you think I will need to add some chicken broth or some type of liquid?
No, there is enough moisture in green beans for them to be okay. I wouldn’t cook them the entire time though…I would add them when there was only 4 hours or so left…or if they are frozen, only 2 hours. I don’t like mushy beans. 🙂
How much water/liquids in crockpot?
None. It isn’t needed because of the moisture you’ll have from the vegetables and the fat that will come off your chops and drain down.
Making this today, using a salad dressing/seasoning mix purchased at a local farmers market. I chickened out and added a dab of water to the bottom. Hope that won’t make things mushy
I made this last week and it turned out great. My husband looked it and the pork chops were super tender.
That’s great! I love it when husbands are happy. 🙂
do you use an water in this at all
Nope! 🙂
i’m gonna put this in the crock pot now so dinner will be ready after a long day at the pool. fingers crossed!
Wear sunscreen! 😉
Those packets of Italian Seasoning do wonders on meat in the crock pot — tastes great on chicken too! Add some pasta & broccoli with a cream cheese sauce…YUM! One of my favorites.
Broccoli is a big fave around here!
That does sound yummy but you need to post the recipe for that cream cheese sauce!
Looks yummy! I’ve been looking for crock pot dishes that aren’t “winter” type. I too don’t feel I should work nearly an hour to get my crock pot set to cook all day.
Sorta defeats the purpose. 🙂
If i use tge canned new patatoes will i need to add any water or juices to this?
Canned new potatoes are already cooked. The ones in this dish are not.