Pulled Pork Sandwiches

I had never ate an amazing pulled pork sandwich until I moved to South Carolina. I had no clue what I was missing out on. They make them spicy and with a vinegar base instead of BBQ. It's WAY better this way!  I've made about 4-5 different recipes and none were worth posting about until this one. It's a bit on the spicy side, so next time I'm going to leave out the cayenne pepper, but over all it was the perfect savory, tangy flavor. 

Ingredients:

1 lb pork loin

2 sweet onions quartered 

3/4 cup apple cider vinegar 

4 teaspoon Worcestershire 

1 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper 

1/2 teaspoon ground dried mustard 

1 stevia packet or 1 teaspoon sugar 

1 tablespoon paprika 

2 tablespoons brown sugar 

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper 

Throw quartered onions into crock pot

Mix brown sugar, paprika and s&p.

Rub mix on pork and place in pot with onions

Whisk together cider, Worcestershire, red pepper, cayenne pepper, garlic salt and dried mustard

Pour over pork

Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours

Shred pork and place back in juices and onions. 

Then make a sandwich! 

Note: 

I made a side of sauce to drizzle on to make it extra tangy. 

This here is a 1/2 batch, but a full batch is...

1 cup vegetable oil

1 cup apple cider vinegar 

6 T Dijon mustard

2 T maple syrup

4 teaspoons Worcestershire 

S&P 

Shake in a jar and its ready! 

Greek Turkey Meatballs & Greek Pasta Salad

What a delicious combo of food. Greek food is one of my favorites. What's not to love about tzakziki sauce and tangy vinaigrette?! Here is a super healthy meatball recipe with a Greek yogurt dipping sauce and a side salad. This pasta salad is also a great one to bring to a pot luck or BBQ. 

Meatball Ingredients:

1 lb ground turkey or ground chicken 

1 egg

1/4 cup bread crumbs 

1/3 diced onion

2 T minced garlic

1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried mint 

1/2 teaspoon of salt 

Preheat oven to 350

Mix all the ingredients with hands in a bowl

Scoop balls and place on cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray

Bake 18 minutes 

Greek Yogurt Sauce Ingredients:

1 cup plain Greek yogurt

1/2 a squeezed lemon juice

1 T minced fresh dill

S&P to taste

Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl.

Greek Pasta Salad Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups uncooked rotini pasta

20 halved cherry tomatoes

1/3 diced red onion

1 chopped green bell pepper

1 chopped cucumber 

3/4 diced black olives

1 cup feta

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

1/2 a juiced lemon

2 teaspoon dried oregano

1 stevia packet 

1/2 cup olive oil 

1 1/2 minced garlic 

Cook pasta according to box

Place all veggies and feta in a bowl

Add cooked pasta

Whisk together vinaigrette ingredients and pour over salad

Mix all together and refrigerate till ready to serve 

Penne with Broccoli & Ricotta

Have you ever considered using something other than pasta sauce for your pasta dish? Try this ricotta-tomato version. This meal has all you need in a main dish, vegetables, protein and carbs. If you don't like spicy just leave out the red pepper flakes and buy a mild sausage.  

Ingredients:

3 Italian chicken sausages

1 box of penne

2-3 broccoli bundles

1/2 cup diced red onion

1 T minced garlic

3 T olive oil 

3 T tomato paste

Dash of red pepper flakes

1/2 cup ricotta cheese

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Boil broccoli in salt water for 5 minutes

In a large sauté pan cook garlic, onion and sausage in olive oil

Add tomato paste

Boil penne pasta according to box

Add broccoli and sausage mixture

Lately stir in ricotta and Parmesan 

Cookie Cake

Seriously! A cookie cake! Could it get any better? Actually... Yes, by adding Reese's peanut butter chips and Mini Reese's on top. :) I found this original recipe on Sally's baking addiction's blog. She gave some really great tips on how to create a cookie into a cake just by a few simple tweaks. By using only brown sugar and adding cornstarch it makes the cookie softer and fluffier. Also by using an extra egg yolk, you get a chewier cookie. This cookie cake is great for any type of party. Add some ice cream and its like a pizookie. I hope you guys love this, it's a very easy alternative to any kind of cake. 

Ingredients:

3/4 cup butter at room temp (1 1/2 sticks) 

1 cup brown sugar 

2 teaspoons vanilla 

1 egg + 1 egg yolk 

2 cups flour 

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1 teaspoon baking soda 

1-1/2 cups chocolate chips 

Preheat oven to 350

Spray either a 9" pie or cake pan 

Cream butter, brown sugar, vanilla and eggs. 

In a separate bowl mix all dry ingredients (except chocolate chips) Then slowly add in into the butter mixture. 

Lastly add the chocolate chips. It should be very thick. 

Scoop into pan and using your hands pat down and spread evenly. 

Bake 20-25 minutes until golden. 

Let cool on cooling rack (about 15 minutes)