Barbecued Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Yield: 8 servings * Overall Price: ~$12 * Calories: ~570

Ingredients:
1 pork shoulder roast (about 21/2 pounds)
1 bottle (14 ounces) barbecue sauce
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon packed brown sugar
1 medium onion, chopped
8 hamburger buns or hard rolls

Directions:
1. Place roast in crock-pot slow cooker. Cover; cook on low 10 to 12 hours or on high 5 to 6 hours
2. Remove roast from crock-pot slow cooker; discard cooking liquid. Shred pork using 2 forks. Return pork to crock-pot slow cooker. Add barbecue sauce, lemon juice, brown sugar and onion. Cover; cook on low 2 hours or on high 1 hour. Serve shredded pork on hamburger buns or hard rolls.

Thoughts:
This BBQ sandwich was really good. I had been craving BBQ for a long time and this was perfect for it!

Mickey Mouse Cake Pops

It's been a busy couple of weeks and I haven't been able to cook in a while. Two weeks ago, I went to see my brother, Andrew, swim in the NJCAA Swimming and Diving Championship in Buffalo, NY. It was a really fun trip, but really cold. It even snowed the last day. He ended up getting 15th in the 200 freestyle, 9th in the 500 freestyle, and 5th in the 400 IM. Last week was spring break! I went home and then on a cruise from Miami to the Bahamas with Paige, Andrew, and a few of his swimmer friends from college. We had a lot of fun! This week, I've just been busy catching up with school work and working out a new budget after spending a lot of money the weeks before.
While at home, I got to go to all four Disney parks and Downtown Disney. While at Downtown Disney, I saw some caramel apples that I could probably make into cake pops. I watched the guy make them and then yesterday tried to make the miniature versions of them. I think they turned out pretty well. :)

 

Salmon Burgers

Yield: 8 servings * Overall Price: ~$30 * Calories: ~300

Ingredients:

1/2 cup red bell pepper, diced

1/2 cup yellow bell pepper, diced

3/4 cup panko

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 pounds salmon fillets, skinned and finely chopped

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

Cooking spray

Sesame Mayonnaise, recipe follows

8 buttered and toasted sandwich buns

8 lettuce leaves

8 slices tomato

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, combine peppers, panko, garlic, and salmon.

2. In a small bowl, combine egg, soy sauce, lemon juice, and salt; add to pepper mixture, tossing gently to combine. Form mixture into 8 patties.

3. Lightly coat a grill pan or skillet with cooking spray. Heat over medium-high heat until hot. Grill or cook patties, 5 minutes per side, or until desired degree of doneness. Spread Sesame Mayonnaise evenly over toasted buns. Top each with a lettuce leaf, tomato slice, and salmon patty. Cover with tops of buns.

Sesame Mayonnaise:

1 cup mayonnaise

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

In a small bowl, combine all ingredients. Cover and chill.

Thoughts:

I was a little scared about how this was going to turn out and I wasn't confident in myself to be able to pull it off, but it turned out great! A great alternative to the hamburger.

 

Chicken and Asparagus in White Wine Sauce

Yield: 4 servings * Overall Price: ~$14 * Calories: 289

Ingredients:

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
2/3 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup fate-free, less sodium chicken broth
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound asparagus spears, trimmed
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Directions:
1. Cut each chicken breast in half, then place each half between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; pound to 1/4-inch thickness. Sprinkle chicken breasts evenly with salt and pepper.
2. Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm. Add wine, broth, and garlic to pan, scraping pan loosen browned bits; cook 2 minutes. Add asparagus; cover and cook 3 minutes or until asparagus is crisp-tender. Remove from heat; stir in parsley and juice. Serve asparagus and sauce with chicken.

Thoughts:
This was really easy to make. All of it was very yummy! I should have cooked the asparagus longer... or maybe I just don't like asparagus "crisp-tender". Overall good though!

Chicken with Rice

Yield: 4 servings * Overall Price: ~$10 * Calories: 321

Ingredients:
11/2 pounds chicken, skinned
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4 teaspoon olive oil
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup long-grain white rice
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 cup frozen green peas
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:
1. Preaheat oven to 350*F
2. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add chicken and cook until browned, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer to lidded 2-quart casserole dish.
3. Add bell pepper, onion, and garlic to skillet; cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in rice and oregano; add to chicken.
4. Bake, covered, 25 minutes; sprinkle with peas. Bake, covered, until chicken is cooked through, rice is trender, and liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Serve sprinkled with cilantro.

Thoughts:
When I took the dish out of the oven I wasn't sure how great it was going to taste, but it was actually pretty good. I'd make it again.

Honey-Mustard Pork Chops

Yield: 4 servings * Overall Price: ~$12 * Calories: 165

Served here with broccoli

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
4 teaspoons honey
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4 (5-ounce) bone-in loin pork chops, about 1 inch thick

Directions:
1. To make marinade, stir together all the ingredients except pork in cup.
2. Transfer marinade to large zip-close plastic bag; add pork. Squeeze out air and seal bag; turn to coat meat. Refrigerate, turning bag occasionally, at least 4 hours or up to overnight.
3. Spray broiler rack with nonstick spray. Preheat broiler.
4. Remove chops from bag; discard marinade. Place chops on prepared broiler rack and broil 5 inches from heat until cooked through, about 6 minutes per side.

Thoughts:
This was really good and not hard to make. The marinade made the dish very tasty!

Cashew Chicken Salad Sandwiches

Joe and Paige

This weekend Paige's boyfriend came to Auburn to see her for Valentine's Day. She wanted to do something special on Saturday so she come up with the idea of taking him on a picnic. One problem... she doesn't cook. Lucky for her, I do and I'm a nice person, so I made them cashew chicken salad sandwiches, cut up strawberries and apples, made them a fruit dip, and made cookies. Here's the recipe I used for the cashew chicken salad:

Yield: 2 servings * Overall Price: ~$13 * Calories: 353

Ingredients:
1/4 cup fat-free sour cream
1 tablespoon light mayonnaise
1/4 teaspoon curry powder
2 cups chopped roasted skinless, boneless chicken breast
2 tablespoons chopped dry-roasted cashews
2 whole wheat hamburger buns

Directions:
1. Combine first 3 ingredients in a large bowl, stirring until well blended. Add chicken and cashews; stir well. Serve chicken salad on buns.