BBQ Pork Sandwiches

Every year about this time, I hit an eating crisis. I think we all do. We're tired of "special" meals and fancy foods, holiday goodies and leftover ham.

Okay, maybe it isn't a crisis, but it's a signal that it's time for a change. For me, that means scrounging in the bottom of the freezer to see what's hanging around from the old days - i.e. pre-Thanksgiving meals - and I found something great for supper the other night!

Our grocery store still has a meat department where you can special order certain cuts and select a special steak, pork chop, or chicken quarter from the display case. And what happens to the meat in the display that doesn't sell?

It becomes a bargain hunter's dream come true!

This meat isn't dated or in bad shape - it just isn't as fresh as the meat they're filling the displays with the next day. So they package it in large bundles and sell it at a steal of a price. We usually get the bundle that includes thin-cut pork chops and beef round steaks, a few seasoned chicken leg quarters and some chicken breasts.

We bring it home and I freeze it to use later...like the first weekend of January!

On Saturday I sorted through the things at the bottom of the freezer and found two of those packages of pork chops. Perfect for quick BBQ Pork Sandwiches!

These are super easy.

First, I cooked the pork until it was fall-apart tender. Even starting from frozen, this step was a snap in my Instant Pot.

In your crock pot or oven, or on top of the stove, cook it low and slow for several hours. Be sure to keep it moist if you're using the stove or oven!

After the pork was cooked, I diced some onions and threw them in, then added some garlic powder (about a teaspoon) and a generous amount of barbecue sauce (any brand will do - pick your favorite.) And add whatever else sounds good. Worcestershire sauce is always a good choice.

I pressure-cooked everything on high for another ten minutes, then let the pot do a natural pressure release while I got the buns ready.

Another item I stock up on during pre-Christmas sales are these Sister Schubert's rolls. I baked off a few for our sandwiches.

After the pork had been releasing pressure naturally for ten minutes, I did a quick release to bring the pot down to normal so I could open it. I gave it a good stir (to mix in all the ingredients and break up the pork into bitsy pieces) and it was ready to serve.

A great simple meal for the two of us, with leftovers for lunch sometime this week!

And even though it's the first weekend of the year, our weather has been mild. Yesterday afternoon was beautiful, so we drove up to the Mt. Rushmore area and went for a short saunter with Jack.

The view was beautiful no matter which direction we looked.

And Jack had a wonderful time. Do you know how many SMELLS there are in the forest? And he sniffed every single one. :-)

Enjoy your New Year and life getting back to normal!

Jan Drexler lives in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her husband and growing family. When she isn't writing, she loves hiking in the Hills or satisfying her cross stitch addiction.

You can find Jan on Facebook, Jan Drexler, author, or her website, Jan Drexler.com

Green salsa citrus stew

Hi, everybody! The Fresh Pioneer is back and I have a delicious recipe for you. It's like stew, but not. If you're like us, you're suffering with this heat wave. We've been eating cold everything. Sandwiches, pasta, cereal. No kidding, I've been letting my kids eat cereal for three meals because it's not ice cream (that's for brunch and midnight snack).  

But every now and then we have to have some real food, so my daughter asked if we could make this recipe she saw in a magazine.

Originally, it had potatoes, pork, green chiles, and chicken broth. But we also like to use what we have and mix it up, so here's the new and updated version!

Ingredients:

 3 cups tomatillos

one onion

3 cops chopped pork

3-4 cups chopped potatoes

5 cups broth

two oranges

four large mint leaves

 Instead of green chiles, we used a jar of home canned tomatillos. You can buy these little green tomato-type things at the store. Easy to boil until they get soft. So, a jar of tomatillos and five cups of broth (what I had stored in the freezer). Bring to a boil. It's tempting to start adding spices and seasoning but just wait because when you add the potatoes, you'll have to start all over.

 Chopped potatoes. We used about ten, but we were cooking for a crowd. I'd say as a rule for this stew to make sure your tomatillos, potatoes, and pork are in equal amounts.

 Fry up some pork chops. Ugh. not attractive before they're cooked but so good after!

 Now, chop the pork into small cubes, add to the potato and tomatillo stew. Adjust the broth if necessary. It should be pretty soupy because it has a while to boil down. After letting it boil until the potatoes are soft, squeeze two large oranges (watch for seeds). The sweet citrus is a great addition to the tangy green salsa. It gives it a balance and keeps it from being overwhelming.

 Last step, add four or five large mint leaves. Mint and pork always go together, but my husband adds mint to his stews because he says it's good for digestion. Not sure if that's true, but I LOVE the smell of mint/citrus stew. He even adds it to chicken soup, and it gives it such an exotic flavor. After the mint has cooked for a few minutes, add salt and pepper and maybe some hot sauce to taste. Depending on what heat level you like, you can leave off the hot sauce altogether, or serve it individually.

 A dollop of sour cream, some tortilla chips and some cilantro completes the dish!

That's all for now! I hope everyone is surviving the heat! I've just passed a deadline and am diving back into another series, so I'm feeling like life is AWESOME. Lol. You can tell I always love starting more than beginning a book. Or maybe both? Anyway, stop by my Mary Jane Hathaway author page, or my Virginia Carmichael page (soon to be resurrected pen name!), or my blog at The Things That Last. Until next time!

Harriet's Pork Tenderloin

Missy, here. I wanted to share an old standby with you. Hubby's mother made this often and then gave me my own copy of the cookbook in 1989. So I've made the recipe over and over.

Second Round Tea Time at the Masters (I also have the original cookbook, Tea Time at the Masters).

My husband grew up  in Augusta. And this cookbook was put out by the Junior League of Augusta. I checked and they sell copies online! (click here) There are lots of good southern recipes in there. I'll share one of our favorites today.

Harriet's Pork Tenderloin

from Second Round Tea Time at the Masters (recipe from Harriet Goldsmith)

3 pork tenderloins (I usually use one large one or two smaller ones because that's what comes in the packages I buy.)

1/2 cup butter, divided

3/4 cup apricot jam (I can only find preserves, and that works fine)

1 cup brown sauce  or Knorr Swiss Hunter Brown Sauce with Mushrooms (I used to use a packet of hunter brown sauce but can't find that anymore. Now just buy a packet of  mushroom gravy.)

fresh parsley (I never remember to use this)

Sorry for the shadows. My iPad photos don't turn out well in the kitchen.

Season the tenderloin with salt and pepper. Don't go heavy on salt, though, because of the salt in the seasoning packet.

Brown the pork in half the butter about 5-10 minutes, turning to brown all around and on the ends.

Remove and place meat in a shallow roasting pan. I usually do that, but this time I tried something different. I browned the meat in my skillet that goes in the oven. I decided to try this one-skillet method instead.

Add the rest of the butter and the apricot jam to the skillet. Stir to melt the jam and butter.

 If you're using a separate baking pan, pour this apricot/butter sauce over the meat. If you're using the one skillet method, then baste the meat with the apricot sauce.

Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes, basting often.

Look how my pork tenderloin appears to have a little wing! :)

While it's baking, make the brown mushroom sauce according to package directions. I make mine in the microwave.

After 40 minutes, add the brown sauce over the meat and mix well with the apricot sauce. Bake an additional 10 minutes, basting a couple of times.

During the last 10 minutes, make the minute rice and a side dish. I made sautéed baby kale.

Easy boil-in-bag brown rice!

Heat olive oil in skilled. Add garlic and then the kale. Sauté until done.

Remove meat from the oven and let it rest a few minutes. Slice, and serve over the rice. This apricot-butter-mushroom "gravy" is AMAZING on rice.

This isn't a gorgeous photo. I'm certainly not a professional plater! But here's dinner. And it makes for fantastic leftovers! It reheats very well.

By the way, this meat turns out so tender, you don't even need a knife.

One Pot Goodness

Yes! Fall has actually arrived in Texas. I can't tell you how excited that makes me. Why? Because we usually don't get a fall. Summer drags into October and November and then one day we wake up and POOF, it's winter. Of course, then winter will be gone the next day, but hey, we'll take what we can get.

 

Now fall in Texas does not equate to beautiful color as it does in many parts of the country. For us, it means the temperature drops below 80 and we can open the windows. This week, we've been blessed. We've stayed in the 70's during the day and even dipped down as low as 41 one night. Ooooooo...

 

Cooler weather makes me want to cook some of those things I shy away from during the scorching summer months. Like stew, chili, and pot roast. But this week, I did something a little different. I'm trying to use up as much of the stuff in my freezer as I can before deer season and the holidays arrive. I know I'll need space for the holidays and I'm hoping I'll need space for lots of venison. Deer season doesn't open until November 2nd, so stay tuned.

 

I don't really have a recipe for this dish. No precise ingredients. But I started with a pork tenderloin. You can also use pork loin.

 

Now I bet you're wondering what's that stuff I sprinkled all over it. Well, you've heard our GAL, Julie, and I talk about Penzey's Spices. They really do have the best spices. And among them are several different blends. Okay, more than several, but you get the idea. For this dish, I used their Bavarian Seasoning. You'll see why I chose that on in a minute. The mixture is salt-free but with lots of great stuff like crushed brown mustard, rosemary, garlic, thyme, bay leaves and sage. SO good.

So I sprinkled that all over my meat. Then I wrapped the two pieces of tenderloin together in bacon, securing the ends with toothpicks.

 

Then I browned the meat in a tablespoon or two of olive oil.

Added some cabbage and onion.



 

Put the lid on and put the whole thing in a 275 degree oven. Now here's where I kind of messed up. I left it in the oven for 2 hours when I should have left it in for about 1 hour. Or at least checked the internal temperature of the meat at that point to see if it was done. As it was, I overcooked it. It was still good, just a little on the dry side. Now, if you're using a pork loin, you may need to cook it a longer, however you will want to check the internal temperature because if that gets over cooked it will be really dry.

 

 

In case a you couldn't tell, I was going for something with a bit of a German flare. The boys liked it because it was wrapped in bacon and then I served mashed potatoes on the side, which they love. And I love cabbage cooked like this.

 

All in all, a successful dinner that I will fix again, only I won't over cook it next time.

 

Well, the next manuscript has been submitted. Now it's time to catch up on all those things around the house that I've put off since May. Since the wedding, my dining room has become a major catch-all, so I tackled that yesterday. Honestly, we have too much stuff. Our stuff, my mother's stuff, my MIL's stuff... Oy! It makes my head spin trying to figure out where to put everything. I think I need a room just for stuff. But the good news is that we can now use the dining room!

 

Now it's your turn. What have you been up to?

 

Party Food!!

Hi everybody!!  The Fresh Pioneer is back and I needed to make some finger food for a party recently. Someone else had already snagged the veggies and dip, so what was a girl to do???

 

 

 

 

 I thought about an antipasto plate, but the last time I tried that, it was really expensive and no one ate any of it. I got to munch through two pounds of mozzarella balls marinated in olive oil and herbs. Yay, me!

 

  Maybe if I were Martha, I would have known that antipasto wouldn't fly in our little cowboy town. Live and learn.

So, I decided to make some yummy sausage balls I remember my college roommate making wayyyyy back in the good days. I mean, those days when I could eat twenty of these and not get heartburn or gain five pounds. The good days are gone. Don't ask me how I know this to be true.

 

Now, my roommate was from.... Can you guess?? :D  I'd been to the South before I met Gail, but I hadn't actually known any Southern people. We all know you can't have the South without Southerners. Those accents! The history! That food!

Awesomely delicious sausage cheese balls. (I don't think that's the real name, but we'll go with it.)

2 lbs good breakfast sausage.
4 cups Bisquick mix
2 pounds good sharp cheddar

MIX.

We have a local organic cruelty free meat provider. (I wondered about that cruelty party, because... the pig is dead. And we're gonna eat it. But apparently it has to do with the before-the-killing part.)

 

I had to go buy some of this. Who knew you could make so much with Bisquick??

                 Grated sharp cheese. YUMMY. I could just eat this whole plate.

Mold into two-inch balls and cook at 350F for about 10-15 minutes. Ours cooked really quickly, so check them after ten by cutting one open to make sure the pork sausage is no longer pink.

They look a little weird and lumpy but they are amazingly SOFT and full of flavor! I think you can dip them in some of those fancy mustards, but I prefer the standard plain ol' hotdog mustard.
    So, quick and easy and cruelty-free (no Bisquick was harmed in the making of this finger food).

In other news, I got an old dresser and was determined to bring it back to life.

Here it is, alligatored with age. Solid oak, super cheap yard sale item. Can it be saved???

I got one drawer stripped and added gloss. I like the way this is going....

But then, tragedy! Something had stained the bigger drawers, only two of them and only halfway. So when they were stripped, they looked... awful. Not clean. Not the tiger oak I was expecting. *SOB*

Miss Hilton Steele gave me good advice (as always) and told me to troll Pinterest. And two tone furniture kept popping up. Would it work??

So, taking a leap of faith (Wheeeeee!) I started. Cream colored, easy to distress, chalk added paint.

I really loved that tiger oak on the side and was so glad to be able to preserve a little of it!

And then I searched for a two days on all the knob sites. Who knew there were so many beautiful creations?? Glass, pottery, brass, wood, antiqued iron birdies... My head was whirling...
Then I remember I had a whole bucket of knobs I picked up at a garage sale. There might be something.... And there was! Big brass knobs, perfect for little hands!

 

I have another writing project happening so I'll see you writer types at the 1k1hr group! (Like that tumbler picture? Yeah, that's me on the left, with the fireworks...)

Until next time, my friends!

 

 



Another Epic Fail

Missy, here. I was glad Virginia shared her failures earlier this week so I don't feel so bad. I kind of hate to show recipes that I blow, because Ruthy will be sure to make fun. :) But I WILL share it, because I learned a lesson. And also because it looked so darn good! (And will be the next time I make it.)

I had a package of boneless pork chops thawed out. And my daughter groaned, saying she can't stand the texture of pork. Nothing I suggested appealed to her--not barbecued or apricot glazed. So I had a brainstorm. I pictured the meat finely sliced in Asian food and decided to go digging in my pantry. Maybe I could find some Thai seasoning.

And I did! I had pad Thai sauce and also a peanut sauce. I knew I loved the pad Thai sauce because I'd made it before, so I decided to try the peanut sauce mix. I couldn't remember when I bought it, so I checked the package for an expiration date. Didn't have any. After learning a lesson with tuna (found out by calling the 800 number that the packet I had was 6 years old! LOL), I searched for a manufacturing date. I couldn't find any numbers stamped anywhere so assumed it should be fine.

Well, DO NOT ASSUME. Once the meal was cooked, I tasted it, and it was HORRIBLE. Tasted like rancid peanuts. I was so upset. I'd spent all that time slicing the meat very thin so my daughter would like it. Not to mention the cost of the pork and a perfectly gorgeous pack of frozen green beans.

We had to throw it out and eat the noodles with a jar of spaghetti sauce and cheese. My son, who would normally good-naturedly make fun of me about it, even gave me a hug. Very disappointing.

So anyway, I still want to share the recipe. I'm sure the sauce will be good if I buy a new pack. :)

Thinly slice 4-6 boneless pork chops (hint, they slice easier if you freeze them for about 10 minutes)
Lightly brown the pork in a little canola oil
Add 1/2 bag frozen thin green beans (Aren't these gorgeous! I got them on my first trip to Aldi.)

In a separate pan, make the sauce according to package direction (this called for a can of coconut milk and a little fish sauce). Add to the pork and beans.
Top with chopped peanuts and serve over Thai noodles.

I hope you make this successfully! I'm sure you'll do better than I did. :)

Simply Gourmet Pork Chops from Missy Tippens

Missy, here. Cutting it close on the post tonight! My son has just accepted Georgia Tech's offer of admission into their Aerospace Engineering program. Yay!! And we spent the evening looking at housing choices. Looking at possible roommates. Whew! So many things to do to prepare. We're thrilled for him, though! Tech has a fantastic program. And he'll be only an hour from home. Gotta love that. :)

So at 11:30 pm, I remembered I needed a post! Luckily, I had some photos I recently took. And a quick recipe to share.

I created this a couple of weeks ago. It's easy yet looks really nice when you serve it. Might even make you look like a gourmet cook. :)

Yes, I love to fool my family into thinking I've been working hard in the kitchen. I LOVE fooler recipes!

Ingredients:

Pork chops (I used boneless)
Apricot Preserves
1-2 Tbs. Butter
1 Shallot, finely chopped

Heat a dash of olive oil and about 1-2 Tbs. butter in a skillet. Saute the shallot until translucent and beginning to caramelize.

Sprinkle chops with salt and pepper. Place in the skillet with the shallots.

Cook a few minutes (I think I did about 4 minutes), then flip over.

Add 3-4 Tbs. of the preserves and stir around the chops until melted. Then spoon the melted preserves over the pork. Cook until desired doneness.

YUM!

The Best Ever Meatballs with Gravy!

Ruthy note: I was scheduled to do Swedish Meatballs today with my sister Patty Kay's recipe... only I couldn't find it. So I found one online that looked really close, delicious and still easy... Imagine my surprise when I double checked our labels and found Missy used the same Alton Brown recipe last March for Speedbo!!! Great minds think alike.... This is quick, delicious, easy, but it doesn't taste like a "throw together" meal... It's like beef stroganoff only with no wine and meatballs. But I like it just as much... I also add mushrooms to ours, nice big ones if I have them (not HUGE, but good sized because by the time they cook they shrink a little)

In a pinch, mushroom slices work great too and are (as my husband likes to point out) "Fork Friendly"

So here it is, a reprint of Missy's take on Alton Brown's Swedish Meatballs and egg noodles!

Missy, here. And this post is written with apologies to our vegetarians who hang out with us! But for those of us who eat meat, I've created a recipe for amazing meatballs.

I got on the Food Network website and did a search for ground pork since that's all I had available for dinner the other night. I found a recipe for Swedish Meatballs from Alton Brown. What I'm sharing here is my take on it with the ingredients I had on hand. And it turned out amazing!

Ingredients:
2 slices white bread (I used white wheat)
1/4 cup milk
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
Kosher salt
1 pound ground pork
2 large egg yolks
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups chicken or beef broth (I only had chicken on hand)
1/4 cup half-and-half (or heavy cream)
1 bag wide noodles (I used whole grain)


Preheat oven to 200 degrees to keep meatballs warm while making gravy. Boil water for noodles and cook according to package directions.

Tear bread into pieces and place in a small bowl. Pour the milk over the pieces and let sit to absorb.

In a large skillet, melt 1 tablespoon of butter over medium heat. Add onion and pinch of salt and cook onions until soft and translucent. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a bowl of a stand mixer, combine the bread/milk mixture, ground pork, egg yolks, 1 teaspoon salt, pepper (about 1/2 tsp), and onions. Beat on medium speed for 1-2 minutes. I worried about this step because I've always heard not to overwork meat, but these turned out so tender I'll never worry again!

Roll out 1-ounce sized meatballs using your hands. They're very delicate and hard to keep together. Place them on a plate/cookie sheet as you make them.

Heat the remaining butter in the skillet over medium-low heat. Add the meatballs and saute, turning them, until brown on all sides. I cooked mine 10-12 minutes because I worry about undercooking meat. All mine fit in one batch, and it made 18 meatballs. I used two spoons to turn them. Once done, I removed to a clean baking sheet. If you have too many for the skillet, work in batches and keep the cooked ones warm in the oven.

Decrease heat to low and sprinkle on the flour. I also added about another tablespoon of butter because it just looked like it needed it (I always make my gravy based on how it looks!).

Whisk until lightly browned, about 1-2 minutes.

 Whisk in the beef/chicken broth. Whisk until it begins to thicken. Add the cream and continue to cook until desired consistency. Add in meatballs and serve.

I served over the noodles, and the family loved them! They're tender and delicious!