Barbecue Pork Sandwiches, Baked Garlic Fries, Fajitas, Barbecue Sauce, Garlic Toast

As promised, I made meals from Monday's leftovers and gave them to some neighbors. I'm lacking pictures of the cooked fries and the fajitas. I was hurrying out the door with them to be sure the neighbors didn't have to wait for their dinner and forgot to snap some pictures! Here's what I made:

Barbecue Pulled Pork

3 leftover pork chops (about 1 lb)

2 cups barbecue sauce

1 roasted chili pepper, chopped

Cut pork chops into 2 inch cubes. Combine all ingredients in a slow-cooker. Cook on LOW 4 hours. Shred pork with a fork and return to slow-cooker. Cook an additional 1 hour. Serve on warm rolls with sliced cheese.  If you are using uncooked pork, cook for 7 hours on LOW, shred and cook an additional 1-2 hours. You can also use chicken or beef.

Barbecue Sauce*

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 Tbsp dry lemonade mix (unsweetened Kool-aid works)

2 tsp lemon pepper

2 tsp dry mustard

2 tsp dried minced onion

3/4 tsp garlic powder

30 oz tomato sauce

Pour tomato sauce into a medium pan. Add seasonings. Bring to a simmer and then to a slow boikl. Cover partially leaving an opening for steam to escape. Boil 10 minutes to thicken sauce. Use as a sauce for baking chicken or pork or as a sauce to add to grilled foods during the last 10 minutes of grilling.

*This is a base recipe. You can add to your sauce depending on the flavor/spiciness that you like: 2 Tbsp honey, 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce, 1 tsp cayenne pepper..  Get creative- it's your sauce!

Baked Garlic Fries

6 medium potatoes, washed, peeled (if desired) and sliced into fries

2 large cloves garlic

1 Tbsp dried parsley

2 tsp salt

1 Tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup water

1 gallon-sized zip-top bag

Peel and slice potatoes into a large bowl of warm water. While the potatoes soak (at least 10 minutes), Mince garlic into zip-top bag. Add parsley, salt, oil and water and then add potatoes. Shake to thoroughly coat potatoes with seasoning. Spread potatoes over 2 large cookie sheets being sure not to overlap. Bake 20 minutes at 425 turning potatoes halfway through baking. Serve warm.

Fajitas

1 1/2 large bell pepper sliced thin

1 large onion sliced thin

1 can chili-ready diced tomatoes, undrained

1 Tbsp chili powder

1 Tbsp ground cumin

1 tsp salt

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp oregano

1 minced garlic clove

1 lb sliced beef or chicken (I used 2 leftover steaks)

1 Tbsp olive oil

If you are using uncooked meat, add that to the pan along with olive oil and cook fully. (If meat is already cooked, you can add it after the vegetables are soft.) Add pepper and onion. You can add 1/4 cup water if needed to keep vegetables from sticking to the pan. When onions are tender add tomatoes and seasonings. Allow mixture to boil about 5 minutes for sauce to thicken. Serve over warm tortillas. Garnish with chopped lettuce, cilantro, fresh tomato, cheese, salsa and sour cream if desired.

And what did we have for dinner? I warmed up a bag of the spaghetti sauce I made the first week and served that over spaghetti noodles. I also made some super easy garlic toast with the bread I made a few days ago.

Garlic Toast

1/4 cup soft butter

1 clove minced garlic

1/2 tsp basil

1/4 tsp salt

6 slices thick bread

Combine butter and seasonings. Spread over bread. Put under broiler on HIGH for about 5 minutes until bread is crispy. Serve warm.