Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

This is a really simple pulled pork recipe...light on ingredients and easy to make.  I love to cook this, then mix it with the Carolina Gold BBQ sauce from Trader Joes, and serve it over oven-roasted sweet potatoes.  The perfect combo- seriously amazing.

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

From Allrecipes

1 (2 pound) pork tenderloin

1 (12 oz.) root beer

1 bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce

Place the pork tenderloin in a slow cooker; pour the root beer over the meat. Cover and cook on low until well cooked and the pork shreds easily, 6 to 7 hours. Note: the actual length of time may vary according to individual slow cooker. Drain well. Stir in barbecue sauce. Serve over hamburger buns or roasted sweet or regular Idaho potatoes.  My favorite way to roast potatoes is this one.

Grilled Honey Chicken Kebabs

 


We're on a major kebab kick lately. We have them at least weekly here. I love them b/c the chicken pieces are small, so they cook quickly and they're really flavorful. Anyway, I made these last night and here I am posting them already, so they are THAT good.
I got the recipe from Mel's Kitchen Cafe and she grilled them up with veggie skewers as well and I'll include her instructions on those. I didn't make them b/c my family doesn't eat cooked veggies:(. Just FYI: I halved the marinade amount b/c I didn't make the veggies skewers.

Grilled Honey Chicken Kebabs
from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1/3 cup vegetable or canola oil
• 2 1/2 pounds chicken breasts, cubed
• 2 red bell peppers, cored, seeded and cut into large pieces
• 1 large red onion, cut into large pieces
• 8 ounces white button mushrooms, stemmed
• 2-3 cups fresh pineapple chunks

Directions

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, honey, pepper, garlic and oil. Measure out 1/4 cup marinade and place in a covered container in the refrigerator to use for grilling. Place the cubed chicken in a large ziploc bag and the vegetables in another ziploc bag. Pour half of the remaining marinade over the chicken and the other half over the vegetables. Seal the bags and refrigerate for at least 2 hours (can be refrigerated up to 24 hours).
2. If using wooden skewers, soak them in water 30 minutes prior to cooking. Thread the chicken pieces onto skewers and alternate the veggies/fruit on separate skewers.
3. Preheat a grill to medium heat and grill the skewers, flipping every couple of minutes, until the chicken is cooked through (about 7-10 minutes total, depending on the heat of your grill and size of the chicken pieces). The vegetable skewers only need a few minutes per side. Use the reserved marinade to brush over the chicken and veggies during the final minutes of cooking. Serve immediately.

BBQ Chicken Salad

I made this salad a while back and thought it was really delicious. With temps over 100 every day here in Texas, salad weather is definitely still in full swing. My kids even ate this salad two nights in a row! Although the original recipe has a great homemade BBQ ranch dressing (linked at bottom of post), I actually preferred it with our old favorite, Naturally Fresh Lite Ranch.

courtesy Mel's Kitchen Cafe

BBQ Chicken Salad

Adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

3 cups cooked, shredded chicken (I used Costco rotisserie chicken)

2 cups BBQ sauce (homemade recipe to follow)

3 romaine hearts, chopped

1/2 red onion, chopped

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1 1/2 cups frozen corn, thawed

1 can (15 oz.) black beans, drained and rinsed

4 oz. sharp cheddar

4 oz. monterey jack cheese

Combine chicken and BBQ sauce in bowl and refrigerate until ready to use. Toss all ingredients, except chicken, together in a large bowl. Top each individual serving with shredded chicken and ranch dressing. Eat immediately.

*Click here to see the recipe for Mel's Creamy BBQ Cilantro Lime Dressing

Shredded Sweet Pork

I love bar-b-que and I'm not talking hamburgers and hot dogs. I mean shredded pork and sweet, southern-style barbeque sauce. For someone who doesn't eat a lot of meat, I make room in my diet for this because its totally and completely worth it. I've been trying for years to find a recipe that is half as good as the one at Cafe Pig in Peachtree City, GA. And, this is as close as it gets- although there is no barbeque sauce with this recipe, the meat is so tender and flavored so well that you don't need the sauce. I served this on Sunday on top of a baked potato with a little sour cream and a sprinkle of cheddar cheese. You can also serve it on top of a Mexican salad, like the Shredded Sweet Pork Salad at Cafe Rio.

picture courtesy Google Images (mine didn't look quite like this)

Shredded Sweet Pork
The Sisters Cafe

3 lb pork roast

1 c brown sugar

1 c Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp powdered ginger

1 tsp salt

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp garlic powder

2 Tb dried minced onions

Cook all ingredients on high for 5-6 hours or low for 8 hours. Remove roast and shred it. Put pork back in juices. Serve.

Fall-Off-The-Bone Ribs!

Okay, I've never done ribs before but I was itchin' to try something new. It was a hit

with the whole family! Fool proof and succulent way to

throw some man-ribs on the table!

Fall-Off-The-Bone Ribs!

from Somewhat Simple blog


Ingredients
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons paprika
• 1 1/2 tablespoons salt
• 1 1/2 tablespoons ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• Ribs (we used pork ribs, but you can use beef if you'd like)

Directions
Mix together the brown sugar, paprika, salt, black pepper, and garlic powder.
Trim off excess fat on your ribs.

Cut and pull off the thin membrane on the underside of the ribs.
(This helps it fall off the bone so much easier!) Here is Jason pulling off the membrane, in case you don't know what it looks like. I had never done this before so it was fascinating to me!

Rub the underside of the ribs with the dry rub mixture.
*You don't need to do too much on this side as most of the flavor will need to go on the meat which is on the other side.


Spread the Rub on the meat side of the ribs-
Pile it on and work the mixture into the meat as best as you can.

Wrap each rack in foil 2 times to insure no flavors drip out in the baking process.

Let marinate in fridge overnight.
(This recipe takes patience, which is something I am working on!)
Bake in the oven at 220 degress for 5 hours.


Take out of oven, smother in your favorite BBQ sauce and toss those bad boys on the grill for a few minutes. (Already cooked through just grilling for the satisfaction of grilling and getting some wetness on those ribs!

Enjoy because they are oh, so good!

Chicken Marinade/BBQ Chicken Salad

This chicken marinade is so interesting. It has an oriental/bbq flavor. Jake declared it as amazing! Worth a try for sure.

Chicken Marinade
Adapted from Blue Cricket Design

6 Chicken breasts
One Cup Soy Sauce
One cup Vegetable Oil
And 1 1/2 cups Fresca Soda

That's it!!! Mix all that together and pour it over your Chicken in a bowl and let it marinate over night or for 4 plus hours! You won't be sorry! It's super simple and super delish!

Southwestern BBQ Chicken Salad
Adapted from Sister's Cafe

1/2 head Romaine lettuce, chopped
1/2 head Iceberg lettuce, chopped
1 can corn, drained
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
4 Roma tomatoes, diced
2 Haas avocados, diced
shredded cheese, Mexican blend or cheddar
crispy tortilla strips

Stir shredded chicken in with the BBQ sauce until well coated. Of course you can use less or more sauce, it's up to you! I like quite a bit since I love the smoky flavor of BBQ sauce in a salad. Toss together the lettuce, cilantro, corn, beans, and chopped veggies. Top with shredded chicken, cheese and crispy tortilla strips. Drizzle ranch or cilantro lime dressing over salad and enjoy!

*to make crispy tortilla strips simply slice about 10 corn tortillas in narrow strips and place on cookie sheet. Spray with vegetable oil cooking spray and sprinkle generously with salt. Place under the broiler and let bake until crispy and brown around the edges.

Orange Honey Grilled Chicken Strips

This was surprisingly tasty and refreshing. I made this for Mom's birthday dinner tonight. I served it up with an asian salad with mandarins and some hummus and foccacia sticks. Then we made Rachel's delicious Strawberry Cream Puff Cake. To die for!

Orange Honey Grilled Chicken Strips

Sister’s Café Blog

1 to 1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts

2 TB butter softened

2 TB finely chopped scallions

2 TB fresh orange juice

2 TB chopped cilantro leaves (I like a little extra)

1 TB honey

1-2 TB grated orange zest, from ~1/2 an orange (I use just 1 TB)

Cut each chicken breast into 3 length wise strips. (I just bought chicken tenders and used those). Thread 3 strips accordion style, on each of 4-6 long metal or wooden skewers. If using wood skewers, soak them for at least 20 minutes in cold water before using to prevent scorching on the grill. To make the basting sauce: In a small bowl, stir together the butter, scallions, orange juice, cilantro, honey, and orange zest. Brush about half of the sauce on the chicken, covering each strip well. Set aside to marinate for about 15 minutes. If you have to let the chicken marinate longer refrigerate. Prepare grill to medium hot. Grill chicken about 15 minutes, turning several times, until the chicken is cooked through but still moist. Baste several times with the remaining basting sauce. Stop basting 5 minutes before the chicken is done. Remove the chicken from the grill and serve immediately. (Do not serve any of the basting sauce with the chicken.)

Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Chimichurri

I always like to find new recipes for pork. The chimichurri sauce on this was particularly divine! I had to grill it about twice as long as the recipe states.

2-3lb pork tenderloin (2 small-med pork loins)
1 1/2 C chopped parsley
1 1/2 C chopped cilantro
1/2 C loosely packed oregano leaves*
2 T fresh lime juice
1 T red wine vinegar
3 T chopped garlic (6-7 cloves)
1 t kosher salt
1/4 t black pepper
1/4 t red pepper flakes
1/2 C extra virgin olive oil

*Fresh is best, but if you don't have access to fresh oregano, you could use fresh cilantro and parsley and add in 1 Tbs plus 1 tea dried oregano leaves.

Place pork tenderloins in a ziplock bag and set aside.

Place parsley, cilantro, oregano, lime juice, vinegar, garlic, salt, and pepper in a food processor. Pulse several times until finely chopped. Remove mixture and place in a bowl. Add red pepper flakes and then stir in olive oil by hand.

Remove 1/2-3/4 C chimichurri (the herb mixture you just made) and place in bag with pork tenderloins. You just need enough to coat them well. Be careful to not cross-contaminate since you will be serving the remaining chimichurri over the top of the finished meat. Seal bag and set aside to marinade for about an hour or longer if you need to. Place plastic wrap over the remaining chimichurri and set aside until ready to serve.

When ready to cook, preheat grill. Remove tenderloins from bag and let excess marinade drip off. Place on grill and cook for about 5-8 minutes before flipping to the other side. You want the internal temp to be about 160 degrees, so check with a thermometer and take it off the grill when it reaches 155-158 since it will continue to cook a bit as it sits. Remove from grill and let stand 5 minutes before cutting. Slice, and serve with remaining chimichurri drizzled on top.

Chipotle Grilled Chicken with Avocado Sandwich

Adapted from Simply Recipes


3 Tbps olive oil
1 Tbsp lime juice
1/2 teaspoon chipotle chile powder (less or more depending on how much heat you want)
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 2 breast halves)
4 small slices of Monterey Jack cheese
4 sets of hamburger buns
1 avocado, peeled, seeded and sliced
Iceberg or lettuce of preference
Mayonnaise


1. In a shallow bowl, stir together the olive oil, lime juice, and chipotle chile powder.

2. Place the chicken breasts between two sheets of wax paper. Use a meat pounder to pound the breasts to an even thickness of about 1/2 inch. Cut off excess fat. If you are starting with 2 half-pound chicken breast halves, cut each one in half so that you have 4 pieces (to better fit the buns). Place the chicken breasts in the marinade, turning to coat. Cover with plastic wrap. Let marinate for at least 15 minutes, preferably an hour.

3. Heat your grill on high heat if you are using a gas grill, or prepare coals for direct heat if you are using charcoal. You can also use a cast-iron grill pan on your stove if you do not have a grill. Grill the chicken pieces a couple minutes on each side, until cooked through. Once you have cooked the chicken pieces on one side and flipped them, add a slice of cheese to the chicken. Cover the grill for half a minute to melt the cheese. Toast the buns on the grill as well.

4. Assemble the sandwiches - bun bottom, chicken with melted cheese, avocado and lettuce, mayonnaise on the top bun.

Serves 4.


My Changes:
I really liked this sandwich- it was easy and pretty healthy too. I pounded the chicken in a ziploc bag (with a meat mallet) and then poured the marinade into the same bag and refrigerated for several hours. I cooked these on a skillet over the stove b/c our gas grill wasn't working- and they still turned out very juicy and nice. I had a block of monterey jack cheese and so just cut little pieces off of it and melted them on the sandwich near the end of cooking. I used whole wheat sandwich buns from Wal-Mart and they were very tasty.

Instead of slicing the avocado, I mashed it and spread it on top of the mayo- I'm not a huge fan of avocado and I felt like this worked better for me and gave a great flavor. For next time, I might try putting some roasted red peppers on top as an additional garnish- Yum!