Jack Daniel's BBQ Pulled Pork

The idea to create my own bbq pulled pork came from a trip to Sam's Club on our shopping trip for July 4th. Sam's was full of sample givers that day. My kids couldn't wait to get in there to sample all of the foods - funny how they will try foods during this time that they wouldn't normally try at all!

One stand was handing out bites of prepacked Jack Daniel's bbq pulled pork. My kids and even my normally really picky husband all liked it. (maybe the samples work on husbands, too?). I thought that I was good but I couldn't get over the fact that the meat was minced beyond recognition. I cannot stand to eat bbq like this. I like to be able to recognize the meat that I am eating. My husband challenged me to find a recipe that would compare to the taste of the bbq on the minced meat sandwich bites that they were scarfing down.

I searched through many cookbooks at home and at the library, through magazines and on the Internet. I finally found a recipe called "Jack Daniels BBQ Sauce" on the Budget 101 forum by someone with the username BiggerPiggyBank. The recipe calls for simple ingredients cooked together to create a homemade bbq sauce. I think that double cooking it - once on the stove as called for in the recipe and then again in the crockpot on make the pulled pork, really deepens the flavors. I truly believe that this is one of the best bbq sauces that I have ever tasted. **Note** This sauce is on the sweeter side. If you like a vinegar based sauce, I wouldn't suggest this one.

Jack Daniels BBQ Pulled Pork

4-5 lb pork tenderloin, cut in half
1 c. chicken broth
1 recipe for Jack Daniels BBQ Sauce (below)
onion buns

You will need a large crockpot for this recipe. I used a 6 qt. oval crockpot.

Add the pork tenderloin to the crockpot.

Pour 1 c. of chicken broth into the crockpot.

Cover and cook for 3 - 4  hrs. on high. After 3 hrs,., check to see if the pork is done by using two forks to"pull" it apart. It should fall apart easily. If not, continue cooking until the pork has been cooked though. My tenderloin cooked for about 3 1/2 hours.

Remove the pork to a cutting board and shred the entire loin using two forks. My preference is to leave the pork in big pieces. You can also chop it into smaller bits if you prefer.

Drain the broth from the crockpot. Return the pulled pork to the crockpot. Cover with the Jack Daniels bbq sauce and stir to mix well. Cook on low for 2 hrs to blend the flavors. Keep warm until ready to serve.

Serve the bbq pulled pork on onion buns.

  
Jack Daniels BBQ Sauce
from user BiggerPiggyBank@Budget101 forums
my version in bold text

1/2 lg onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped - I used 4 tsp minced garlic
2 c ketchup
1/3 c vinegar
1/4 c worcestershire sauce
1/2 c brown sugar, packed
3/4 c molasses
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tbsp salt
1/4 c tomato paste
2 tsp liquid smoke - I used mesquite flavor
1/2 ts tabasco sauce, to taste - I used 2 tbsp
Burbon or whiskey -- to taste - I used 2 tbsp Jack Daniels Whiskey

(In my own words) Combine onion, garlic and whiskey frying pan. Saute onions and garlic.
Combine remaining ingredients, bring to boil, and then simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
This recipe makes 4 cups. I doubled this recipe and used all of it to cover the pulled pork. 

Before serving, spoon approximately half of pulled pork into another container to use for another meal. It is delicious when used in this recipe for Brunswick Stew. Can be frozen in a tightly sealed container.

Crockpot Chuck Wagon Beef Sandwiches

I love using my crock pot on busy days. Last Thursday, I had one of those days where I was lucky to spend 15 minutes at a time at home for the whole day.

I decided to try a new recipe called Chuck Wagon Beef Sandwiches from the cookbook Fix it and Forget It. The meat held up really well for the cooking and even for reheating that evening.

Chuck Wagon Beef Sandwiches

4 lb boneless chuck roast
1 tsp garlic salt ( I used garlic powder)
1/4 tsp. black pepper
2 tbsp. oil
6 - 8 garlic cloves, minced
1 lg. onion, sliced
1 c. water
1 bouillon cube - (I used 1 c. beef broth for the water and bouillon)
2-3 tsp. instant coffee
1 bay leaf or 1 tbsp. Italian herbs (I used both)
3 tbsp cold water
2 tbsp cornstarch (I didn't use the water or cornstarch to thicken the broth)
sandwich buns
butter flavored non stick spray

Sprinkle roast with garlic powder and pepper. Brown on all sides in oil in pan. Place in slow cooker.

Saute garlic and onion in meat drippings. Add water, bouillon cube (in my case beef broth) and coffee. Cook over low heat for several minutes, stirring until drippings loosen. Pour over meat in cooker.

Add bay leaf or herbs. (I added both)

Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 4-5 hours. (I cooked it on high for 5 hours).

Remove bay leaf. Remove meat to a serving plate. Shred the meat using two forks. Cover and keep warm.

Lay sandwich buns on a baking sheet. Lightly spray the buns with butter flavored cooking spray. Stick the pan under the broiler until the buns are lightly toasted.

Linked to:

What's Cooking Wednesday

What's on the Menu Wednesday

Crockpot BBQ Chicken Sliders

When I created these sliders I had one thing in mind...being able to cook dinner while attending my daughter's basketball game on Saturday afternoon. We have been spending way too much money eating out after her basketball games and I've been wanting to squash that routine for a while now. It was nice to come home to half of the meal waiting on us. We ate rice w/gravy and salad with the sliders. Everything was ready to go in under 30 minutes. :)

Crockpot BBQ Chicken Sliders
4 lg boneless chicken breasts - about 2 lbs, thawed
1 c. + 1 c. of your favorite bbq sauce - plus extra, if wanted
Frank's hot sauce (optional)
2 tsp. minced garlic
8 oz smoked provolone cheese, shredded
small dinner buns or potato buns

Layer the chicken breasts into the crockpot by alternating one piece of chicken with a little bbq sauce...continuing until all of the chicken is covered with sauce with 1 c. of sauce. Cover and cook on high for 4 hrs.

After 4 hrs., check to see if chicken has been cooked. The chicken should fall to pieces when you shred it with a fork. If it doesn't, continue cooking for up to 1 hour longer.

Remove chicken and place on a platter. Using two forks, shred the chicken. Drain any water that was left in the crockpot. Place the shredded chicken back into the crockpot. Stir in the remaining cup of bbq sauce, adding more sauce if you like. Heat on low for 20 minutes.

Layer the shredded chicken and shredded provolone onto the buns. Enjoy!

**Optional**  At this point you can lay the sliders on a baking sheet and place them in the oven at 425* for 5 minutes to melt the cheese.

Quick -to -the -Table Hoagies...or is it a Sub?

Where I grew up, it's called a hoagie. People here in NC get the biggest kick out of me calling it that. Those who know what a hoagie is here say that I'm showing my true colors from Pa. (as if my Steelers hat doesn't give it away!)

hoagie - a large sandwich made of a long crusty roll split lengthwise and filled with meats and cheese (and tomato and onion and lettuce and condiments); different names are used in different sections of the United States.

These sandwiches are quick to make and very filling - a great plus on a busy sports-filled school night. You can save money by buying whatever deli meats and cheeses are on sale that week. Another great plus is that they can be made individually to everyone's liking.

Assemble the sandwiches on a baking sheet so that they can be placed right into the broiler right before eating. 

Here's the key ingredients to our hoagies:

You must start with good crusty hoagie rolls. Cut the rolls 3/4 of the way apart but make sure that you do not slice them all the way through!

Next comes the deli meats: turkey, black forest ham & salami, all sliced thin. 2 pieces each per sandwich.

Then provolone, sliced thin. Again 2 pieces per sandwich.

Place the baking sheet under the broiler for 2-3 minutes or until the cheese becomes bubbly and the buns have toasted.

Fill with any/all of the following: onions, lettuce, tomato, black olives, banana peppers

Top with my homemade vinaigrette:

1/2 C. olive oil
1/2 red wine vinegar
2 TBSP Italian seasonings
1 tsp spicy brown mustard
1 tsp sugar or sweetener

Whisk together all ingredients and spoon on top of hoagies.

A hoagie by any other name will hopefully taste just as good for you!

Greek Turkey Burgers - Low Carb, Too!

To understand where my idea for these burgers originated, you need to read my post on Greek Turkey Meatballs. I doubled the meatball recipe to make 6 big burgers with plenty of meat left over to make mini meatballs for soup.

I added grilled portobello mushrooms on the sandwiches, too. This was my low carb "bread"!

 These burgers were very good, although they lacked some flavor. Don't get me wrong... the meatballs are full of flavor but I think that when I changed the little meatballs into larger burgers, more of a "kick of flavor" needed to be added to them. I used provolone cheese - boring - some sort of spicy cheese might have given it the kick I was looking for. I would also add some Montreal Steak Seasoning. (Yes, I know that I have an obsession with this seasoning.)  My husband and kids (yep, kids!) poured on some steak sauce and loved it. Steak sauce is not low carb so I need to make up for that flavor in some other way. I'm open to any suggestions.

I broiled these burgers. They were very moist with a nice chewiness to them. Be careful not to overcook them or it will dry them out.

I will definitely play around with this recipe until I come up with the perfect combo for this burger.

Please let me know if you make these burgers and what you think of them.

Marinated Flank Steak with Peppers & Onions - It's Low Carb, too!

Yesteraday, while shopping at Bloom, I found a really nice flank steak that had been reduced to a great price. Now, I'm not one to buy reduced priced beef unless it looks absolutely perfect with no brown spots on it - even if the expiration date is ok. This flank steak looked fresh, plus the expiration date was still 4 days away. I knew that I was going to marinate it and cook it today so I went ahead and bought it. I'm glad that I did. It was delicious.

I searched for a low carb marinade that both my family & I would like. I didn't find anything right away but I did find this recipe and I knew that it would be easy enough for me to make some changes so that it would be low carb.

I enjoyed the steak and peppers with a side salad and 4 small pieces of avocado.  My family enjoyed it in soft tacos, along with some cheese. I served rice and green beans on the side for them.

My version of the recipe is posted below. If you would like to see the original version, click on the link above.

Marinated Flank Steak 

1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce - I omitted it. You won't miss it.
1 tablespoon grainy brown mustard
2 TBSP minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon Montreal steak seasoning
1 TBSP cumin
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 1/2 pounds flank steak

In a medium bowl, mix the oil, soy sauce, vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, garlic, Montreal steak seasoning, cumin and red pepper flakes. Place meat in gallon size Ziploc bag. Pour marinade over the steak, turning meat to coat thoroughly. Cover, and refrigerate for 6 hours. << Marinate this long to really allow the marinade to sink in.

Slice peppers & onions into thin strips.

Preheat a wok on medium - high heat. Add peppers & onions to the wok. Pour in 1/4 C. water. Cover with a lid and allow the peppers to cook until fork tender but remove them while they still have some crunch. Remove to a warm plate. Cover and set aside.

Remove the steak from the marinade. Slice steak, against the grain, into thin slices. (using an electric knife makes this job really easy.)  Discard marinade.

Cook 5 - 8 pieces of steak at one time. Do not crowd the meat. It will take only 20 -30 seconds to cook one side of this meat. Flip the meat over and cook for another 20 -30 seconds. Remove it to a warm plate. Cover. Finish cooking the rest of the meat.

Fill soft tortillas with the steak, peppers & onions, along with your favorite toppings.

or

Serve with a side salad and some fresh avocado to keep the carbs low.

Chicken & Dumpling Soup with Grilled Cheese Sammies

I made an easy, peasy meal today that everyone was more than happy with. I love it when dinner comes together easily and I still get rave reviews from my family.

We had a crazy fun afternoon cheering our Steelers on to victory!! Then we watched my dh's Jets go crazy and win their game, too! It was a great day for football!!

Ok....back to the food.

Growing up, my Mom used to make homemade flat dumplings to go into pots of soup or beans. I've always been a bit afraid to try making them myself. I've been told that homemade dumplings are so easy to make but now that I've found the next best thing, I'm not really eager to go through the trouble of making them myself. I've been using a frozen flat dumpling called Anne's old fashioned flat dumplings. These dumplings are so good!


Chicken & Dumpling Soup
12 C. of chicken stock or chicken broth
5 lg. carrots, diced into small pieces
2 celery ribs, diced very small -my family won't eat it any other way
2 C. of leftover cooked chicken
1 box of flat dumplings

Dump everything except dumplings into a pot. Bring to a rolling boil and then reduce heat to low, simmering for 45 minutes.

Turn the heat back up to high and bring soup to a boil once again. Drop dumplings into the soup, stirring frequently so that they don't stick together. Cook as directed on box. I broke the dumpling strips into thirds so that they weren't so hard to keep on a spoon when you are eating the soup.

Serve with grilled cheese sammies.

I used honey wheat bread and Colby-Jack cheese for the grilled cheese sandwiches. MMM! They were so good with the ooey gooey cheese dripping out of them!

BBQ Beef Sandwiches

I'm trying to come up with simpler meals for our busy summer schedules. Tonight's dinner worked out great because I cooked beef for the sandwiches in the crockpot during last night's beef stir fry dinner. The homemade bbq sauce took just a few minutes to put together and cook.


BBQ Beef Sandwiches

2 lbs beef, cooked and shredded
12 oz. ketchup
1/4 C. brown sugar
1/4 C. sugar
1 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 TBSP liquid smoke

Cook beef and set aside.

In a medium pot, over medium-high heat, stir together remaining ingredients. Once mixture comes to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. Stir in shredded beef and heat thoroughly.

I served these bbq sandwiches on store bought Ciabatta rolls.


I had planned on corn-on-the-cob and microwaved potatoes to go along with the sandwiches but there wasn't a decent ear of corn to be found around our area. So...on to plan B....BBQ sandwiches, potatoes and canned corn.

Spicy Turkey Burgers

Tonight's dinner was quick to put together and very delicious. My spicy turkey burger recipe is sort of a spin off from Rachel Ray's Southwest Turkey Burger.

Spicy Turkey Burgers

2 lbs ground turkey - I used a mix of dark
and white meat to keep the burgers moist
2 tsp. of minced garlic
3 tsp. of Montreal steak seasoning
2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 medium onion, chopped fine
Pepper Jack cheese
onion buns
lettuce
Sweet Baby Rays bar-b-que sauce

Mix all ingredients together just until everything has been incorporated. Do not over mix.

Shape into 6 large burgers or 8 smaller burgers. Grill for 3 -5 minutes on each side, over med-high heat. Top with cheese, close the lid and grill just until the cheese melts.

Serve on onion buns with lettuce and bar-b-que sauce.

To go along with this, I made wacky mac pasta salad.


Wacky Mac Pasta Salad

2 bags of wacky mac pasta, cooked and drained well
1 bottle of Italian dressing
Salad Supreme seasoning
Colby Jack chunk cheese
tomatoes
cucumbers

This is a mix-to-taste salad where there really are no set amounts for the ingredients. For all of this pasta, I used about 3/4 of a lg. bottle of Italian dressing, 1/2 bottle of Salad Supreme, 1/2 block of Colby Jack cheese cut into small pieces, 3 plum tomatoes and 1 large cucumber.

Meatballs Sandwiches

What says comfort food more than homemade meatballs sandwiches blanketed in gooey Mozzarella cheese!

I finally came up with a meatball mixture that I like. I'm not a snob about most foods but when it comes to meatballs, I am. It seems that most are either too soft or I just don't like the taste of them.

There's nothing fancy in these meatballs but the combination of flavors make them taste really good.

Meatballs
1 1/2 lbs lean hamburger - next time I will try a
hamburger/pork/veal mix for even more flavor
1 C. plain bread crumbs
2 eggs
3 tsp. Italian seasonings
2/3 C. shredded Romano or Parmesan cheese (don't use the stuff in the can!)
2 tsp. onion powder
1 - 2 tsp. hot pepper flakes

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Shape into meatballs a little larger than a golf ball.

Add meatballs to a large frying pan to which you've added a little 0live oil. Brown meatballs on all sides. Remove from pan once meatballs are browned all over - they will not be cooked in the middle at this time.

Drain any remaining grease from the pan. Add sauce (either your own recipe or jarred) to fill pan 1/2 full. Carefully drop the meatballs into the sauce and stir to cover with the sauce. Cook sauce and meatballs for 20 - 30 minutes on medium/low heat until the meatballs have finished cooking.


For sandwiches you will need:
meatballs and sauce
1/2 lb. Mozzarella cheese slices
semi hard rolls

Halfway split open hard rolls, making sure to not cut through the bottoms.

Fill rolls with 2-3 meatballs and a little sauce. Cover with cheese.

Lay rolls on a baking sheet. Put tray under broiler to melt cheese.


The end result is so delicious!

Recipes for Playoff food

We enjoyed the food that I made. Not everything went as planned but that was ok.

Brown sugar smokies
1 (16 ounce) package little smokie sausages
1 pound bacon
1 1/2 C cup brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350

Cut bacon into thirds and wrap each strip around a little sausage.

Stick a toothpick through each sausage to secure the bacon.

Add 1/2 C. brown sugar to a dish. Dredge each sausage through
the brown sugar, coating well.

Arrange the sausages on a baking sheet and sprinkle them liberally
with the remaining brown sugar.

Bake until bacon is crisp and the brown sugar melted.

You can keep these warm in a crockpot set on low or warm.



Pepperoni rolls --flopped
I made a new bread machine Italian bread recipe and it turned out too sticky. The bread never did rise right so I tossed it.


Crockpot Chicago Style Beef Sandwiches
I definitely didn't stick to a regular Chicago style recipe. Instead, I added my own flare to it and the results were delicious!

3 lb beef roast
1C. beef broth
4 TBSP hot pepper relish
2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 of a medium onion sliced into thin strips --more if you like a lot of onions
1/2 jar of marinate mushrooms, chopped fine (use other 1/2 in pasta salad)

Add meat to crockpot and top with garlic powder. Pour in beef broth. Top with hot pepper relish and onions. Cover and cook on high for approximately 6 hrs or until the meat can be shredded with 2 forks. Remove meat from juices and shred completely. Add the meat back to into the juices. Turn the crockpot to low or warm until ready to eat.

For the sandwich topping:
Finely chop up 1/2 C. Italian Giardiniera and add to a small bowl. Add 1/4 to 1/2 C. hot pepper relish and the chopped marinated mushrooms. Mix well.

Fill Italian subs with meat and top with pepper relish mix.



Antipasto pasta salad
1 lb penne pasta, cooked al dente
1/2 lb Genoa salami
1/2 lb sandwich pepperoni
1/3 lb provolone cheese --will use fresh moz. cheese the next time
fresh Basil
1/2 jar of marinated mushrooms, drained and chopped
3 TBSP hot pepper relish (I would've used roasted red peppers but I forgot to buy them!)

Slice salami, pepperoni and cheese into thin strips. Coarsely chop fresh basil.
Mix all ingredients in a large container and top with red wine vinegar dressing. (below)

Red wine vinegar dressing
1/2 C. olive oil
1/4 C. red wine vinegar
2 tsp spicy brown mustard
2 tsp Italian seasonings
2 tsp minced garlic

Add all ingredients to a shaker or jar with a screw on lid. Shake well.

Pour over pasta salad and mix well.

Chill pasta salad for at least 4 hours before eating.




We snacked on M&Ms and other candies for dessert.


No plans for Superbowl Sunday just yet.

GO STEELERS!!!!

Turkey Sloppy Joe Sandwiches

Things were quite hectic around here last night and the last thing that I wanted was to be was stuck in my kitchen for hours. I whipped up another easy-to-do family favorite--turkey sloppy joe sandwiches. I took the easy way out and served seasoned French fries alongside the sandwiches.

I used this recipe a lot when I was low-carbing by replacing the regular ketchup with Heinz low carb ketchup and the brown sugar with a low carb brown sugar substitute. Either way, it's really good.

Turkey Sloppy Joes

What you need:

olive oil

1/2c. celery, sliced (I omitted)

1/2c. onion, chopped

1/2c. red & green peppers,

chopped (I now use all green to

save $$)

2c. ground turkey, browned

1c. ketchup

3 Tbs. white vinegar

1Tbs. brown sugar, packed

1/2 tsp dry mustard-this is needed

but I did use regular spicy brown

mustard in a pinch and it worked

fine

8 hamburger buns

What you do:

Brown turkey in olive oil and drain well if there is any leftover grease in the pan.

Saute celery, onions & peppers, cook until tender.

Add cooked turkey, ketchup, vinegar, br. sugar & mustard. Reduce heat to low and simmer 15 minutes--doesnt really need to simmer that long if you don't have the time.

Spoon into buns. Enjoy!

Cajun Beef & Cheese Wraps

Cleaning out the cupboards is turning out to be not so bad after all. I found 4 sandwich steaks buried in the freezer so that went into planning my lunch, with leftovers for the kids to gobble up after school. I had 1/2 of an onion and green pepper left in the frig. from making spaghetti sauce. Those, together with the sandwich steaks, a couple of pieces of cheese, some canned mushrooms and some tortillas would be today's salvage.

Here's what I did:

Add 1/4 C. water to a medium-sized frying pan. Turn heat to medium-low.

Cut the 1/2 pieces of pepper and onions into strips, and then toss into the pan. Cook until tender crisp and all of the water has evaporated from the pan. Add 1 tsp. olive oil to the pan along with 1 small can of sliced mushrooms (drained well). Add 2 tsp. minced garlic and 2 tsp of cajun seasonings (the kind with no salt added). Saute until everything is heated through. Remove from pan and set aside.

Put pan back onto the stove. Slice or break frozen sandwich steaks into long strips and add to pan. Cook until all meat has been browned. Remove from pan and drain on paper towels.

To make 2 large wraps or 4 "kid" size wraps:

Lay a tortilla flat on a plate. On one side of the tortilla start with a layer of meat, followed by the onions and peppers, and then topped with 2 pieces of cheese. (I used Muenster). Roll up the tortilla, tucking the ends in as you roll it up.

Wash and dry the frying pan and put it back onto the stove on medium heat. Add the tortilla to the pan and turn to brown evenly all over.

Cut wrap in half and serve with a side of sauce*

Sauce

1/4 c. mayo

2 TBSP salsa

Lunchbox Sandwich Kabobs

Kids will love finding these kabobs in their lunchboxes. They are the perfect size for little hands, making a lot less mess to clean up afterwards. Made from all of their favorite sandwich ingredients, moms can rest assured that their kids are eating healthy and not trading with their friends for something else!

My daughter was so happy to find these in her lunchbox. They are now a favorite. Two of the kabobs are perfect for her.....and don't dare forget the ranch dressing for them.