Braised Pork Torta

There's no real recipe for this. It was an impromptu kinda thing that turned out amazing!



















Here's what you'll need.

Braised Pork Torta
Shredded braised pork
Refried beans
Red enchilada sauce
Chipotle sour cream
Guacamole
Shredded lettuce
Nice rolls, split, cut side toasted

Heat enchilada sauce in a small skillet.
Dip toasted side of the bottom part of the bun into the enchilada sauce.
Please sauce side up on a plate.
Spread a spoonful of refried beans over enchilada sauced bun.
Top with shredded pork.
Drizzle or dollop on some chipotle sour cream.
Add shredded lettuce.
Spread guacamole on toasted side of the top part of the bun and cover sandwich.
Devour!

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I threw a pork loin roast into the crockpot with some fajita seasoning my mom got me in New Mexico and some chicken stock. I put it on high and cooked it all day.

If my brain had been just a bit faster than my body, I would have used beer instead of chicken stock. Oh well... it was still wicked tasty.

Shred that.


I had some Cellone's Hard Rolls. I love those for sandwiches.

I split them in half and toasted the cut side in the toaster oven.


I had about a quarter of a bottle of Trader Joe's Enchilada Sauce leftover in the fridge. I poured that into a small skillet to heat it up. Then dipped the bottom, toasted side of the bun into it.


Use whatever enchilada sauce you like.

Spread a generous spoonful of hot refried beans over the sauced bun.


Homemade refried beans, canned, whatever... that was Taco Bell canned refried beans plus taco sauce & lime juice.

Add some moist delicious shredded pork.


Now for the Chipotle Sour Cream.

I was going to make it with canned Chipotles in Adobo sauce. But when I opened my last little can, it kind of exploded a little. So I thought I'd pass on the botulism and just mixed sour cream with Chipotle Tabasco.


Put a nice dollop of chipotle sour cream over the pork.


That's where I wish I had a selection of plastic squeeze bottles.


That would be way more fun for applying sauce to sandwiches or whatever needs saucing!

Anyway... added some shreddy lettuce.


A generous spoonful of guacamole on the top bun.


Cover it up and devour it!


I totally had shredded cheese to put on this. I LOVE cheese. But while assembling them, I completely forgot about it. But ya know what? I think these were perfect without it!!

The pics and directions aren't so great here. But the sandwich was AMAZING!

Chicken Philly Sub

The first time I had a Chicken Philly Sub was walking through the food court at the mall. I was walking by Charlie's Grilled Subs and they were giving out samples. I tasted that little slice of sub and went straight to the register. I was hooked!

Then recently I was thinking... I make Steak & Cheese Subs fairly often, why don't I ever make Chicken Philly Subs?

I couldn't come up with a single reason and started making my shopping list!




Chicken Philly Sub
Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts, sliced very thin
Onions, sliced thin
Bell Pepper, sliced thin
Mushrooms, sliced thin
a little oil
Provolone Cheese, slices
Sub Rolls
Mayo
Lettuce, shredded
Tomato, sliced

Slice chicken breast very thin, then cut across too, so you have very small thin pieces.


Slice up your veggies.


While you're slicing veggies, might as well slice the lettuce & tomato too.


Since you're slicing things... slice those rolls too... not all the way through.


Preheat a skillet with a little bit of oil. Add chicken, onions, peppers, and mushrooms.


Cook until chicken is cooked through and veggies are tender.






Meanwhile, spread desired amount of mayo on sliced sub roll. I like a generous slather. Then add tomato slices and shredded lettuce.

Scrape chicken and veggies into a sub roll sized pile and place slices of provolone cheese on top.


Let the cheese get melty.

Now with a long spatula, scoop the chicken & veggies & cheese into the sub roll.


You might be thinking.... "Ummmm... Spryte? Where's the lettuce and tomato?"

Yeah... I totally forgot it! But it sure did look nice on the cutting board didn't it?

Time to dig in. I just love these and my family seems to groove on them too. Even when I forget the lettuce & tomato!

These are wicked fast and easy to make and so much better than any sub shop!

Jalapeno Popper Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Jalapeno Popper Grilled Cheese Sandwiches!

As soon as I saw them I knew I had to make them! And I saw them a lot!! They were all over the interwebs!

Anyway... these are amazing... but if you're watching what you eat, save this one for a day when you have a little wiggle room... ok, a lot of wiggle room, because this is definitely an indulgence!



Jalapeno Popper Grilled Cheese Sandwich

sourdough bread
softened cream cheese (about 2 TBLS per sammie)
shredded cheddar cheese
shredded jack cheese
sliced jalapeno peppers, sliced lengthwise
tortilla chips, roughly crushed
butter

First for the jalapenos. You can use either canned jalapenos (not the little pickled slices) or fresh. If you use fresh, char the peppers on the outside using your broiler or grill. Turn until all side are blackened (about 10 minutes more or less) Immediately place them into a sealed container. Let them rest for 10 to 20 minutes. Now the skins should slip off easily.

Butter one side of each piece of bread.

Place one slice of bread, buttered side down in skillet over medium lowish heat.

Top with shredded cheddar and jack cheeses.

Add crushed tortilla chips.

Top tortilla chips with jalapeno slices.

Spread cream cheese on plain side of remaining slice of bread and place it on top of sandwich with buttered side up.

Cook on medium lowish heat until golden brown. Then carefully flip sandwich.

Continue cooking until cheese is melty and bread is golden brown.

Enjoy!

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Ok... here's what you need...


Buttered side down, topped with cheddar cheese...


Then jack cheese... mmmm... so creamy and melty!!


Next you really should put on the tortilla chips... however I put on the jalapenos.


Ah... now there's nothing for the chips to kinda stick to... so I put the cream cheese on the other slice of bread and kinda stuck them on there...


Then I had to flip that onto the rest of the sandwich without losing my chips! But I totally got lucky have mad skillz... so it totally worked out...


Carefully flip it and continue cooking until the cheese is melty and the bread is golden.



These are wicked good! Gooey, cheesy, melty, spicy... YUM!!

You'll want to control the heat in your sandwich to your liking. Some of family thought they were a little too spicy... some thought they were just fine. Instead of the slices... you might even want to dice the jalapenos. Then you can really control just how much you have in there. I couldn't really pick out the flavor of the tortilla chips, as the crunchy coating on a jalapeno popper. Maybe I needed more? I'm not sure. But it definitely didn't ruin overall jalapeno popperness of the sammie.

I loved these... and I have no idea why I haven't made them again, because these pictures are pretty old!

If you love grilled cheese sandwiches and jalapeno poppers, you must put these on your short list of things to make!

Old School Grilled Cheese Sandwich

I love to make fun grilled cheese sandwiches, with different kinds of cheeses, herbs, veggies anything really to make it interesting.

But sometimes I just want an Old School Grilled Cheese Sandwich. For me, that's white bread and white American cheese. Not that orange, processed, individually wrapped American cheese stuff.
Actual American Cheese... from the deli.

That's what I made tonight.



Grilled Cheese Sandwich
2 slices white bread
2 or 3 slices real American cheese
butter, room temperature

Spread butter on one side of each slice of bread. Place one slice of bread, buttered side down in a skillet over medium heat. Top with cheese slices. Cover with remaining slice of bread, buttered side up. Cook until golden and flip. When golden on both sides, remove from pan and enjoy!


Real cheese


Buttered white bread


One slice, buttered side down and topped with cheese


Cover with remaining slice of bread, buttered side up


Flip when desired level of golden goodness is reached


For me this could be right up until almost burned

When the other side is a golden match, you're done!


Now when I mention the Old School Grilled Cheese Sandwich, most people instantly want a bowl of tomato soup with it. I've never had tomato soup with my grilled cheese. My mom never made it. So tonight I called her to ask her why. She said, back then she really wasn't much of a soup fan. I can remember her making turkey & rice soup after a turkey dinner, but really no other soups from scratch. We did have a selection of Campbell's soups in the cabinet. Most chicken noodle or chicken and stars, that kinda thing.

So I never had tomato soup. It seems like something I would like. I love tomatoes, tomato sauces, ketchup, most anything you can do with tomatoes. But so far, I've never tried a tomato soup that I liked!! And I only started trying tomato soup as a tomato loving adult. So it really is disappointing that I haven't found one that I like.

The Old School Grilled Cheese Sandwiches of my youth were most likely served with chips... on a paper towel!

Anyway... I thought the Old School Grilled Cheese Sandwich was deserving of it's very own post!

So there you have it!!

Old School Grilled Cheese!!

Ranch Burgers

I make these all the time. I'm not really sure why it never occurred to me to blog about them.

I got this recipe from my friend Lauren. Many of you know her as StarryBugg. It's a Hidden Valley recipe.



Ranch Burgers
2 lbs ground beef or turkey
1 to 2 Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing & Seasoning Packets
2 C shredded cheddar cheese
8 hamburger buns
Your favorite burger toppings

This time I used beef, but these are equally delicious with turkey!


Add dressing mix.


Add shredded cheese.


Mix it up.


Make patties


It's grillin' time!




Even though these are stuffed with cheese... we add more!


Top with your favorite burger toppings.

You can change up the shredded cheese to whatever kind you like.

I LOVE these made with ground turkey.

Perfect for tailgating & cookouts!

If you haven't tried them yet, you're missing out!