Ranch Pork Roast and Homemade Corn Bread Muffins

Oh my word!  Let me just tell you that yesterday was my first real Sunday dinner in FOREVER!  We had my sister and her family over and well, I meant to take pictures of this fabulous meal, but alas...I got caught up in my beautiful little niece and so I didn't get a chance to take any pictures (enter sad face here!)  But oh!  The goodness!  So good, in fact, that we ate it all!  Every last bite of the 2 1/2 pound pork roast was eaten!  This meal is definitely going to go on the rotation. 

Thankfully, I have pictures of the corn bread...oh the cornbread...so moist and flavorful!  I know your mouth is watering as I am describing these little yellow pillows of goodness!  When the butter melted, and we ate these little beauties, they were so soft and sweet.  They were an absolutely perfect compliment to the pork roast! 

I have to tell you that I did alter what I was supposed to serve yesterday, just slightly.  I made a beautiful apple pie for dessert and so I omitted the applesauce from the menu and added broccoli. (Some of my guests were not thrilled by eating glazed carrots, which by the way, were gobbled up!)  I basically had a few mashed potatoes left when the entire meal was complete. 

So, here is a rundown for you so that you have a complete picture of how it all played out...
There were 10 people eating this beautiful Sunday dinner, four adults and six children.  All of my kids ate their carrots, mashed potatoes and broccoli.  Two of my kids decided that they liked the pork, but they didn't want to eat their entire portion and the other two ate all of it.  My six year old niece ate her entire dinner (but only ate the carrots to be polite) and my one year old niece ate the cornbread (I remember those days well!) 

So, how much did it cost me to feed 10 people this delightful dinner? 

Pork Roast ($2.49/lb.) $6.22
Creamed soups for recipe $1.58 + the ranch packet $0.49
Potatoes ($2.99/ 10 lb.) 2 lb. @ $0.58 plus milk and butter $0.40 for a total of $0.98
Baby Carrots $0.69/ bag
Steamed Broccoli $1.19/ bag
Cornbread Muffins (from scratch) approximately $1.25 for 15 muffins
Apple Pie (also from scratch) $2.99 for the apples and then crust is approximately $1.25 for a total of $3.24

Overall cost for the entire meal was $15.64.  What!  Is that true?  Did I make a beautiful meal with dessert for just $1.56 per person?  I think I did!  How amazing is that? 

Below is the recipe for the pork...next time I will take pictures, I promise!  You will want to add this to your monthly menu (and if your family is smaller, there should definitely be leftovers!)

Ranch Pork Roast (in the crock pot)

1 2-2 1/2 lb. boneless pork loin roast (or boneless chops)
1 pkg. ranch salad dressing mix (dry)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
A splash of water or chicken broth to thin out the sauce.

Place the pork roast in the bottom of a 5-6 qt. crock pot.  Combine the soups, salad dressing, and water.  Pour over the top.  Turn to low and cook for 6-8 hours. (mine cooked for 7 hours and was perfect!)  If you can, turn the roast over half way through cooking.  (No biggie if you have to work and you can't do this step.) 

***This is a salty recipe so you don't need to salt the meat at all before cooking, but I would definitely add pepper to taste***

Yummy Cornbread Muffins-
I have been making cornbread from scratch for years...it is cheaper and tastier than the little blue boxes that they sell in the store.  When my sister saw me making them from scratch she said that she doesn't make cornbread (who knows why...she likes it) and added that if she did, she would just buy the little boxes.  I made a comment about preservatives that she didn't like that much, but that is how I see it these days...anyhow...my point is that during dinner, her husband made the comment that she needed this cornbread recipe! 

1. Line 2 (12 cup) muffin pans with 15 paper cups.
2. Preheat oven to 400

Ingredients-
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup flour
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup sour cream
1 egg
4 tsps. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/3 cup of white sugar
1/2 cup milk

Directions-
1.  In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients. (I really do dump all of the ingredients in at once and then mix with a whisk.)  Mix well until all ingredients are combined and the batter is thick and smooth. 

2.  Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, fill all of the muffin cups 3/4 of the way.  Bake at 400 for 15 minutes or until the muffins have a slightly golden edge.  Serve warm. 

My kids love these the next day with a little bit of jam on them! 

Yummy! 

I know, now you have to go and get the ingredients for this fabulous meal and make it for yourself, I promise you won't be sorry! 

Blessings to All!