I’ve got 5 copies of this cookbook to give away. So enter a comment by12pm PST  Friday Feb 19 mentioning the book or this recipe and I’ll select 5 random commenters to win!  For those of you that don’t win, they’re offering a $1 off coupon bringing the price down to $11.

I’ve only tried one recipe so far, but I’ve got several bookmarked to try later. I’ve just been remiss in reviewing this and wanted to get the review out. The publisher also sent me several issues of the All You magazine, which I’d not seen before. My teenager daughter enjoyed several of the articles on makeup and clothing and I saw several recipes in the magazines that I would like to try as well. Both the mgazines and the book have several coupons in them –and for things I actually buy, which is unusual, like Worcestershire sauce and Mahatma rice ($1 off each, as well as 4 other products).    The only drawback to the book and magazine that I can see is that it seems to only be available at Walmart.  But if you’ve got one of those near you, this is worth checking out. Skim through the recipes and see if it’s something you’d like.

Tonight I made the Parmesan Pork Chops.  This is very close to how I make chicken cutlets but I somehow never thought to do it with pork chops before. Even my daughter that “doesn’t like pork much” enjoyed these tonight.  I served with some applesauce, baked potato and green salad.

• 1/2 cup flour
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 3/4 cup bread crumbs
• 4 thin boneless pork cutlets (or cook longer if thicker)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 Tbs olive oil, divided
• 2 Tbs butter, divided

Put the flour in one shallow dish or pie pan, the eggs in another, and the bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese in a third. Mix up the eggs a bit with a fork or whisk. Stir together the bread crumbs and cheese.

Salt and pepper the pork chops to taste while you heat  1 Tbs of oil and 1 Tbs of butter in a frying pan over medium heat.  When the butter is foaming a bit, dredge a pork chop in the flour, then egg, the bread crumbs and lay in the frying pan.

Cooking Parmesan Pork Cutlets

Cook about 5 minutes total for thin pork chops, turning halfway through. These were delicious with some applesauce, a baked potato and green salad.

Remember: Enter a comment below before noon on Friday February 19  for a chance to win one of 5 copies being given away!

Pulled Pork Sandwiches

My youngest loves pulled pork sandwiches and asked that I add them to the menu this week. The pork shoulder was not on sale, but even so, it’s still very cheap per serving.

I’ve got a couple of different recipes for pulled pork. This had a less tomato-ey base than I’d hoped for so I’d love to hear your recipes!  Still, this was good! Especially so with the homemade hamburger buns I made.

• 1 T oil
• 2 chopped onions
• 6 minced garlic cloves
• 1 T chili powder
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 12 oz chili sauce (1 small bottle)
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar
• 1 T Worcestershire
• 3 lb. pork shoulder

Heat the oil in a skillet while you chop the onions. Add the garlic when it’s chopped and cook until the onions are soft, 5 minutes or so. Add the chili powder, black pepper, chili sauce, brown sugar, vinegar and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to a simmer, stirring. Turn off the heat.

There’s usually a large piece of fat covering the bottom of the pork shoulder. Cut that off and discard. There’s  plenty of other fat in the roast to keep it all moist!  Put the roast in the Crockpot.  Pour the sauce over the top and turn to either low or high, depending on how long you have.

High will take about  6 hours.

Low will take 6-12 hours depending on how new your slow cooker is! (New ones cook at a higher heat and will take less time.

I always turn my roast over about halfway through, just so it’s all getting cooked in the sauce.

When it’s done, use two forks to turn it into shreds, pulling the meat apart in the slow cooker or pulling chunks out onto a plate if that’s easier. Let the pulled pork simmer in the sauce until you’re ready to eat.

Serve atop homemade hamburger buns or some other split bread or bun.

Goes great with coleslaw. Here a few of my favorites:

• Corn and Cabbage Salad
• Coleslaw with Peppers but no Mayonnaise

I just realized I haven’t posted my standard mayonnaise based coleslaw recipe!

Cut whatever fat you can off the pork shoulder or pork roast. You won’t get it all for sure, but you can eliminate the big pieces of it.  If yours is tied together with twine, as mine was, just cut the twine away. You WANT the pork to fall apart!  Pour about a cup of barbecue sauce on it, your favorite bottled variety or your own homemade, and cook on high for 4-5 hours or on low for much longer. You want to be able to pull it apart with two forks, so you want it really well done and soft and falling apart.

To serve, I usually add more barbecue sauce as the sauce in the slow cooker has been thinned down so much. Stir in the sauce and heat through, then serve on buns. Goes great with coleslaw on the side or in the sandwich.

I’ve got this recipe for coleslaw without the mayonnaise or you can mix up some dressing along the lines of:

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 2 Tbs cider vinegar
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 Tbs celery seeds

Adjust the sugar/salt/vinegar ratio to suit your tastebuds.

• 1 cup ketchup
• 1/2 cup cider vinegar
• 3 Tbs brown sugar
• 3 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp liquid smoke (optional)

Mix it all up and simmer very slowly, stirring now and then, for 30 minutes or so.

Pork Carnitas

These are both repeats but WORTH repeating!  First the pork carnitas.  Keep an eye out for pork roasts on sale and this is cheap gourmet!  I usually cut a roast in half and just cook up half at a time. Hint, if you’re working with the half you froze before don’t defrost it all the way. It’s much easier to cube the pork when it’s still partially frozen.
Last time I made the tomatillo salsa I didn’t have the pickled jalapeno. I found some in a can at Safeway and added two pieces to the recipe tonight. Definitely kicks it up a notch!

Pork carnitas recipe

Tomatillo salsa recipe

Served with refried beans, good thick tortillas, grated cheese, sour cream, chopped avocados, and a green salad.

Tomatillo Salsa

Not much leftover for lunch tomorrow!   Served 4 of us, including 3 teenagers.

Both recipes are good. This one came out much less “green” looking. The tomato sauce caused a definite red coloring. But the flavor was just as good. The jar of green salsa cost more than 4 more ounces of green chilies, but I only used half of it.

• 1 Tbs oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2-3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 pounds boneless pork roast, cut in 1″ cubes
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 15 ounce can tomato sauce (or 1 15 ounce can diced tomatoes)
• 1 4 ounce can diced green chilies
• 1 cup green salsa (salsa verde)

Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or large deep skillet. Saute the onion and garlic while you cut up the pork. Add the pork to the pan and brown, stirring now and then.

Add the rest of the ingredients, stir, bring to a simmer, cover partially, and simmer 2-3 hours. If it starts getting too dry, add more liquid. If there’s too much liquid at the end, you can mix 1 Tbs cornstarch with 2 Tbs cold water, then stir that in and simmer a few minutes to thicken.

Total cost:

Pork: $4
Onion: .30
Garlic: I grew it so nearly nothing
Tomato sauce: .85
Green chilies: .85
Green salsa: $1.25 (I used half a $2.50 jar, more green chilies would have been cheaper)
6 Tortillas: 1.80

Total cost per serving: $1.50 or less. I’m guessing conservatively at the t servings.

You could also add some sour cream, grated cheese, more salsa, pinto beans, rice, etc. and get more servings out of this meal and can adjust the cost accordingly.

All in all, a very frugal, very delicious meal.

2/3 cup rice
1 1/3 cup water
1/2 tsp salt

1 cup frozen corn or 1 15 oz can corn
1 15 oz can black beans or 2 cups homemade

2 tsp oil
1 cup chopped bell peppers (red, green, or a mix)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 15 oz can “Rotel” tomatoes (diced with green chiles)
3/4 to 1 1/2 cups cubed/chopped leftover pork tenderloin or pork roast
1 cup shredded Cheddar or Mexican blend cheese
1/2 cup sour cream

Heat the water, salt and rice to a boil. Lower to a simmer, cover, and cook 20 minutes.

Place the corn and black beans in a colander and rinse. If the corn is frozen, rinse a few times so it starts to defrost.

In a large skillet, heat the oil and then add the chopped peppers. Mince the garlic and add it. Add the cumin and chili powder and stir.

Add the can of tomatoes (with juices), the corn, the black beans, and the pork. Stir well. Cover the skillet and cook over medium heat until heated through, stirring now and then.

At this point the rice is probably done. If not, just leave the skillet over low.

When the rice is done, turn the heat off and remove the skillet from the burner. Add the rice, cheese, and sour cream and stir, then serve.

• 2 tsps brown sugar
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp salt

Rub the spice mixture onto the pork tenderloin.

Preheat the barbecue. For a gas grill, I use Pam Anderson’s method of 7 minutes on high, then turn the tenderloins and cook 6 more minutes. Then, without raising the cover, turn the grill off, and leave the tenderloins there to finish cooking another 5 minutes.

Both my kids (14 and 17) liked this, although they initially expressed some doubts. I served with some sliced red peppers on the side for a vegetable. I would have done a salad had I had more time.

1 pound ground sausage
1/2 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup milk
3 ounces cream cheese, cut in chunks
3 eggs
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp Worcestershire
1/2 tsp salt (or less, depending on your sausage)
1/4 tsp ground pepper
1 9″ pie crust, partially baked

Make and bake the pie crust or use a storebought pie crust. Turn the oven to 375 afterwards.

Brown the sausage in a skillet over medium heat, stirring and crumbling it up as you go. Paula Deen said to drain the fat, remove the sausage, then add 1 Tbs butter.

I just removed the sausage and left about 1 Tbs of fat in the pan. Add the onion and cook until soft. Add the milk and heat through, stirring, but try not to let it simmer or boil. Add the cream cheese and stir a bit, lowering the heat way down. Turn the heat off as the cream cheese melts a bit.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, Worcestershire, salt and pepper. Stir in the shredded cheese, then add the slightly cooled onion mix.

Pour this into the prebaked pie crust and add the cooked sausage on top. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes or so, until the egg is set. I couldn’t fit all the sausage in since I was using a smaller pie crust but you should be able to with a deep dish pie shell.

Leftovers will be gone by the time breakfast is done I predict!

For last night’s dinner, I went the easy route, defrosting the pork roast (which was cubed already) and dumping a bottle of barbecue sauce on it. You can make your own barbecue sauce or use store-bought.

When it’s falling apart done, shred with some forks. Serve on buns with coleslaw.