BBQ Pork Sandwiches

Have you noticed? Pork has been SO so affordable lately. I've been really trying to "pork" it up. (Which is word-for-word how I explained the recent pork influx to David earlier this afternoon.) I bought a pork roast for $3.84 and have been waiting for a yummy use for it. I decided that BBQ Pork Sandwiches fit the bill perfectly, and so I searched and searched for a recipe that I thought David would like. He asked what I was doing, and after I told him - he laughed and called his mom for her recipe. I don't know why I didn't think of that, but i'm so glad that he did.. because these sandwiches are easy and delicious!

BBQ Pork Sandwiches

Ingredients:
1 (2lb) pork roast
1 1/2 cups BBQ sauce
1/4 cup honey
1Tbs onion flakes

Directions:
Rinse pork roast (I did this because the ladies at Our Best Bites recommended it to prevent your roast from smelling like fish. I don't know if this is true, but I hate fish and so I couldn't risk it) and pat dry. Place in crockpot. Cover in honey, onion flakes, and 1 cup of BBQ sauce. Cook on low for 8-10 hours, or on high for 4-5 hours. Shred roast, add last 1/2 cup of BBQ sauce, and combine with all sauces in the crockpot. Cook for 30 more minutes in order for shredded pork to absorb more sauce. Serve warm on hard rolls or buns. Yum!

Cake-Mix Cookie Bars

These may be the easiest cookies i've ever made. I saw them on Pinterest earlier in the day and thought to myself "Self, you need to make those for David tomorrow." Then after dinner during a rousing game of Chicken Food, David said something to the effect of: "You know what sounds really good right now? Some butterscotch cookies!" And so, because our little one was already in bed - we quietly and excitedly decided to give these a try. I had to search Pinterest a little bit, because apparently I hadn't actually pinned it... but we found it and were so glad that we did! These were SO so easy to make and super yummy as well.

Source: I'm a Lazy Mom (slightly adapted)

Ingredients: 

1 box yellow or white cake mix
2 eggs, beaten
5 Tablespoons melted butter
1 cup chocolate chips

1 cup butterscotch chips

Directions
Mix together in medium sized bowl. (We didn't use a mixer, and just used a fork - which was awesome because there were hardly any dirty dishes!) Pat down in a greased 9x13 pan and bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

Taco Pasta

I love tacos. I love pasta. I really really love Taco Pasta. It's got a rich taco flavor that combines beautifully with texture of the creamy sauce, diced tomatoes, and pasta shells. This is probably my favorite new dish. Yum!

Taco Pasta
Source: Adapted from The Girl Who Ate Everything

Ingredients:
1/2 pound ground beef (This is great to use that leftover hamburger.)
8-12 ounces medium pasta shells 
1/4 small onion, chopped 
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (14 oz.) can diced tomatoes with mild green chilies (I don't drain this)
1 tablespoon taco seasoning
3 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
Salt and pepper

Directions:
Bring a large pot of water to boil. Cook pasta according to the package directions. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of pasta water. Set aside.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet or sauté pan, cook the ground meat over medium-high heat until no longer pink. Add the chopped onion to the skillet. Once the onions are cooked through, mix in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add in the diced tomatoes and taco seasoning and let simmer over medium heat for about 3-5 minutes. 

Stir in the cooked pasta, cream cheese, sour cream and reserved pasta water, and continue stirring until the cream cheese is melted and the sauce is well blended. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Pizza Factory Breadsticks

Can you say incredible? I used skewers instead of dowels, and they worked perfectly. The trick is to wind the dough very loosely around the skewer. It makes for a huge, fluffy, yummy breadstick. I made a few with half the amount of dough for more normal sized breadsticks, and they were good - but not near as wonderful as the larger ones. Mmm, mmm, mmm!

Pizza Factory Breadsticks

Source: Adapted from Purple Chocolate Home

Ingredients:
1 T. yeast
2 T. sugar
1 1/2 C. warm water
1 T. oil
1 tsp. salt
3 1/2 C. flour

3/4 C. melted butter - divided
3/8 tsp. granulated garlic
1/2 tsp. dried rosemary leaves
1/4 tsp. Season All
1 T. Parmesan cheese

8 - 12 inch skewers

Directions:
Mix the yeast, sugar and water and let sit for a couple of minutes to dissolve the yeast. Add the oil, salt and flour and knead by hand or with your mixer with a dough hook for about 5 minutes.

Cover and let rise until double. Divide dough into 8 equal parts.

Preheat oven to 375. Roll the dough into about an 16-18 inch long "snake". Wrap the dough around the skewer loosely. Secure the dough at the top and bottom.

Hang between the edges of a 9x13 inch cake pan with all of the dough inside the pan. Let them rise until doubled. Brush with 1/4 C. melted butter.  Bake at 375 for about 15- 20 minutes or until just golden.

Meanwhile mix the remaining 1/2 C. melted butter, seasonings and parmesan cheese. When the breadsticks come out of the oven, brush them with the seasoned melted butter mixture.

Enjoy your warm and delicious goodness! 

Chicken Lasagna Rollups

I found this recipe on pinterest (Source: iVillage.com) and thought that they looked delicious. I think that they turned out really well and were much less intimidating than regular lasagna, but still very yummy. 

Ingredients

3 cups chopped cooked chicken

1/4 cup milk
1 cup Ricotta cheese 

1/8 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese 

8 lasagna noodles, cooked and drained
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese 

2 cups Prego Spaghetti Sauce

Directions
In medium bowl, combine chicken, cheeses, milk, and pepper. Spread 1/2 cup mixture on each lasagna noodle; roll jelly-roll fashion. In a 13x9 dish, spread 1 cup spaghetti sauce. Arrange lasagna rolls, seam-side down in sauce in baking dish. Top with remaining spaghetti sauce. Cover. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes.

Ham and Swiss Sliders

I've been on a swiss cheese kick lately, and these sliders were an easy and delicious way to use some leftover ham and swiss! 

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp. Miracle Whip
3 tsp. Dijon Mustard
6 slider rolls/buns (I used some leftover french bread and cut it into slider size)
6 slices Ham
3 Swiss cheese slices

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°F. Split rolls in half and place on baking sheet. Put in oven for 2 minutes to slightly crisp them. (Don't do too much, because you will be putting them back in to melt the cheese.)  Mix dressing and mustard; spread onto bottom half of rolls. Top roll with ham and cheese.  Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until Cheese is melted and sandwich is heated through.