Pork & Sauerkraut for Good Luck

It's a Pennsylvania Dutch tradition to have pork & sauerkraut on New Year's Day for good luck throughout the year. So, every New Year's Day for as long as I can remember we have had pork & sauerkraut. My mom usually makes this on the stove but this year we were having a family get together with my mom's whole side of the family and so I decided to do the dish in the crock pot.

First you take some pork chops and put them directly into the crock pot. I buy the boneless and skinless ones because it just makes it easier.

Then add two cans of sauerkraut and some water and that's it. Put the crock pot on low and just let it cook nice and slowly.

Right before you are ready to eat, make some mashed potatoes and some dumplings. My mom just uses the dumplings recipe from the Bisquick box. Mmmmm...the dumplings are yummy! When making the sauerkraut on the stove, you can drop the dumplings right into the sauerkraut pot when it is boiling, 10 minutes with the lid on and then 10 minutes with the lid off and they should be fully cooked. If you are cooking it in the crock pot then you can probably do it the same way, just make sure your sauerkraut is boiling.

Then you put the mashed potatoes on your plate and then some of the pork and sauerkraut on top of the mashed potatoes. OMG!! It is so good. And luck for the rest of the year!!!