Giordanos Copycat Salad

David ate this salad (or similar) at a restaurant called Giordanos in Chicago. This is the best version of a copycat I could come up with - we both really liked it.  

Giordanos Copycat Salad (Salami BBQ)

Source: https://giordanos.com/ and David's memory

Ingredients:
Green leaf lettuce
Cooked chicken, chopped
Hard salami (1/8 lb)

1/2 cup BBQ sauce - 1/2 cup ranch

toppings:

Dried, roasted red peppers
red onions, sliced, 

corn

cucumber, diced

cherry tomato, halved

cheddar cheese, grated (or feta cheese)

Wash and chop lettuce. Chop and heat chicken. Slice salami into small sticks and fry in small frying pan until slightly crispy. Top salad with all toppings, and serve with BBQ Ranch dressing. 

Pulled Pork Shepherd's Pie

BBQ Pulled Pork Shepherd's Pie

Source: Delish

Ingredients

(Ranch Mashed Potatoes)
2 lb. red potatoes
1/2 packet ranch seasoning mix
2/3 c. sour cream
(Filling)
1 lb. pulled pork
1 bottle barbecue sauce
1 can corn, juices drained
1 c. shredded Cheddar cheese
1 bunch scallions, diced
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Directions
Preheat oven to 400°.
Make the ranch mashed potatoes: Peel potatoes and cut into 1" pieces, then place pieces in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring water to boil and cook until potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork, about 10 minutes. Drain and place in a large bowl.
Add ranch seasoning and sour cream and mash potatoes until the mixture is thoroughly combined and most of the lumps are gone. Set aside.
Make the rest of the dish: Toss pulled pork with barbecue sauce (as much or as little as you'd like to use). Add it to a large casserole dish, smoothing it to create one even layer. Top with corn, then add a layer of mashed potatoes. Cover with shredded cheese and scallions.
Bake in the oven for 14 to 16 minutes, or until cheese has melted.

BBQ Pasta

Okay. I will be the first to admit that this doesn't sound all that appealing. I don't know why, but the thought of barbecue sauce on pasta doesn't make us jump up and down with excitement. But I've made this dish several times and it's always super delicious. I'm telling you, even as I type this up - it doesn't sound amazing, but it really is good!

BBQ Pasta
Source: The Peaden Kitchen

Ingredients:
1 package campanelle pasta (I've also used spaghtetti or linguine noodles for this and it was great.)
2 cups shredded pork
1 cup corn
1 cup diced tomatoes
1/2 bottle BBQ sauce
Cheese

Directions:
Cook pasta, drain, and place in 9x13 pan. Add in corn, tomatoes, pork and mix. Toss with BBQ sauce and top with cheese. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until dish is heated through and cheese is melted on top.

BBQ Pork & Pineapple Quesadillas

The original recipe for this is a crock pot and chicken recipe. However, I had some extra shredded pork in my freezer that I was wanting to use - and when I found this I loved that it was a different take than what I usually do with our shredded pork. You could use chicken (and I probably will in the future because I like to keep shredded chicken on hand as well) - and you could put it in the crock pot, but I've written the recipe to reflect how I made (and will make in the future) this yummy dish. I love how easy it was, how I could leave the pineapple out of David's (crazy boy), and how yummy it turned out. 

BBQ Pork & Pineapple Quesadillas
Source: Adapted from Krafted Koch

Ingredients:
8 10" flour tortillas
1 lb. pork roast, cooked and shredded
1 c. BBQ sauce
1 c. onion diced
1 T oil (for sautéing onions)
4 c. fresh pineapple sliced thinly (or substitute a large can of pineapple tidbits)
2 c. shredded cheddar
½ c. BBQ sauce for spreading on tortillas
cilantro - optional garnish

Directions:
Sauté onions in a medium to large skillet until soft and starting to turn translucent. Add the cooked = and shredded pork and 1 c. BBQ sauce. Cook until warm through.

On each tortilla half, spread ½ c. meat mixture. On the other half, layer 1 Tbsp. BBQ sauce, ¼ c. cheese and ½ c. pineapple slices. Fold the quesadillas together and place quesadillas in a hot George Forman griddle for 2-4 minutes until crispy. (You could also place on a hot griddle or frying pan if you wanted to cook more than one at a time, cooking on each side for 1-2 minutes.)

Remove from heat, and slice in three sections. Serve immediately.

BBQ Ribs

I'd never even considered making ribs for dinner until one day I was talking to my sweet sister, Jenna, about meal planning/meal ideas/grocery budgeting/etc... and she mentioned that they have ribs fairly often and that they were really easy and delicious. I was impressed and a little intimidated, but when I saw some pork back ribs go on sale (2.98/lb) I decided to give it a try. For just under three dollars a pound, that's the same price as having hamburgers for dinner (we use the whole pound of hamburger, and I try to get that on sale for the same 2.98/lb). I bought the ribs and then called Jenna to make sure that I wasn't getting myself into something crazy. I don't know why I was so worried, these were the easiest thing I've made for dinner in the last two weeks and they were SO delicious. I just stuck them in the crockpot all day while we were at church, then came home and tossed a couple of ears of corn in the oven for a half hour and made some instant mashed potatoes. It was the most delicious Sunday dinner! I don't ever remember eating ribs before, so it was a fun experience (albeit a messy one) and I am already trying to figure out how to get them on my meal plan asap.

BBQ Pork Ribs
Source: Adapted from Jenna Haderlie

Ingredients:
1 lb Pork Back Ribs (Jenna said that she uses boneless ribs, but we picked up the ones that were on sale and after being in the crock pot all day the meat just falls off the bone.)
1 Cup Dave's Rich and Sassy BBQ sauce
1 Tbs Onion Flakes
Salt & Pepper

Directions:
Cut ribs into sections (about every 4th rib or so) and season with salt and pepper. Lay in crock pot and sprinkle onion flakes on top. Cover in BBQ Sauce and cook on low for 8-9 hours. About a half-hour before dinner, check the sauce - if it's dried out a little, add a little more sauce. Transfer to a serving plate and serve hot! (With lots of napkins!)


One note: David and I usually buy the Kraft or Bullseye BBQ sauce brand. However, we went to a friends house for dinner and they served brisket with some Famous Dave's Rich and Sassy BBQ sauce and we were in heaven! I honestly didn't know that the sauce would make so much of a difference, but we about died it was so good. Then we had some Sweet Baby Rays BBQ sauce at a different dinner, and again we were blown away by how delicious it was and how big of a difference it made. The point of this is that when we made the recipe we used the good BBQ Sauce and it was incredible! I would definitely recommend splurging just a tiny bit more and getting the good sauce. It makes a difference!

BBQ Pork Chops

I've been on the lookout for yummy pork chop recipes that are a little different than our usual. Pork keeps going on sale for like $1.40/lb, which is pretty killer and so I've been trying to rotate it through our meal plans fairly frequently. I'm so glad that I stumbled across this recipe. The sauce by itself was pretty tart, but when it was thinly covering the pork chop it added the perfect amount of flavor. I was very impressed! Plus, the addition of the carrots and onions on top were delicious. I paired this with some yummy garlic mashed potatoes. Add a side salad and maybe a piece of fruit and this is a perfect Sunday Dinner. 

BBQ Pork Chops
Source: Adapted from Crock Pot Pork Chops

Ingredients:
4-5 pork chops
1/2 cup carrots, sliced
1/2 cup onion, sliced
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1/2 cup barbecue sauce
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup water
2 table spoons vinegar
2 table spoons Worcestershire sauce
1 table spoon yellow mustard
dash of salt and pepper (to taste)

Directions:
In a small sauce pan, combine barbecue sauce, lemon juice, water, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, and yellow mustard. Add carrots and sliced onions. Simmer 5 minutes.

Season pork chops with salt and pepper. Brown in a frying pan, 2-3 minutes on each side. Place in the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Pour sauce and vegetables over pork chops. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.

Other options:
Place in crockpot. Cook 8 hours on low or 3 hours on high.

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!