I'm not going to list them all here. In fact, I'm only going to talk about pork. Pork is considered a lucky dish for the new year because pigs symbolize progress due to their tendency to push ahead for their food, while chickens scratch backwards, and cows stand still.

Pork, sauerkraut, and mashed potatoes is a traditional Pennsylvania Dutch meal for New Year's.




This crock pot recipe where the chops are cooked on their sides is supposed to result in nicely browned meat. The recipe I have didn't have sauerkraut in it, but I'm putting it on the bottom of the crock so the meat juices flavor it.

Crock Roasted Pork Chops
4 loin chops, lean
2 medium onions, sliced
1 teaspoon butter
salt and pepper, to taste
Spices to taste (rosemary and ground thyme)
(Sauerkraut)


Place the sauerkraut in the bottom of the crock pot. Stand chops in it on their edges. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and spices. Cover with the onion slices, which have been separated into rings. Place butter on top. and cook on low heat for 6 to 8 hours, or until chops are tender and onions are done. The result is moist, tender chops with a deep brown color as if broiled in the oven.

Plain old mashed potatoes.

Mashed Potatoes

7 medium Idaho potatoes, peeled and quartered
1/2 cup sweet butter
1/4 cup milk
Salt and pepper to taste

Boil the potatoes until they are very well cooked, nearly falling apart, about 30 minutes. Drain potatoes thoroughly. In a large bowl mash the potatoes well with a hand masher. Add butter and mash more; add milk slowly while mashing until desired consistency is reached (some potatoes absorb more liquid than others). Season to taste and serve.

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I like the sound of this garlic mashed potatoes recipe because the garlic is steamed with the potatoes. You can roast the garlic instead of steaming it, but that is an extra step.

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

4 large garlic cloves, peeled
1 pound russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, or to taste, cut into bits and softened
Kosher salt
Ground white pepper

In a steamer set over boiling water steam the garlic with the potatoes, covered, for 15 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Remove the steamer from the pan, and pour off the steaming liquid, reserving it. Force the potatoes and garlic through a ricer or food mill into the pan and stir in the butter and 1/3 to 1/2 cup of the reserved steaming liquid, or enough to achieve the desired consistency. Season the mashed potatoes with salt and pepper and heat them over low heat, stirring, until they are hot.