Moist ‘n Tender City Chicken – Nothing Like Mom Used to Make

When something is not prepared correctly, or at least in a way that makes you crave it over and over again, it is very easy to avoid eating that food or believe that you actually don’t like it. This was the case with me and City Chicken.

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It’s All In The Sauce – Peppered Pulled Pork Pitas (P4)

One of the easiest meal hacks I have found when trying to freshen up a boring meal or add some zip to otherwise dull leftovers is to pump up the WOW factor with a sauce. Whether it’s a dill sauce, honey mustard, ranch, thousand island, Russian, tzatziki, marinara, barbecue, pizza, enchilada, or something more specialized like a spiedie sauce or sriracha mayo, you can turn one meal option into two, three, or more options without much effort.

Making The Most of The Grind – Ground Pork Meatballs

“You can either complain about it or grind, I choose to grind.”

– Kyle Vidrine, Wake Up The Winner In You: Your Time Is Now

Back in 2015 I bought a heavy-duty meat grinder to grind my own pork and other meats. Although it did save us money, it was fairly difficult to use but we did end up with an end product I was satisfied with. I continued to use it as often as necessary, but not without apprehension.

An English Tradition Americanized – Pulled Pork Pasties

Traditionally, a pastie or pasty is made with a beef and vegetable filling and a traditional pie pastry. I decided to kick things up a notch and use puff pastry and pulled pork. The results — a tender, flaky not-so-traditional pastie that’ll knock your socks off.

Preparation for this begins with buying or making the pulled pork. I prefer to make my own, a link is included in the recipe below for my recipe. This process can be time consuming, which is why when I make pulled pork, I typically make a huge roast and then freeze the pork in one or two pound bags. An excellent way to cut prep time for any meal that calls for pulled pork.

The other major component of this meal is the puff pastry. Although you could easily substitute a traditional pie crust, either store bought or home made, the puff pastry is light and flaky, which compliments the tender pulled pork stuffed inside.

Pulled Pork Pasties

• Servings: 10 Pasties
• Time: 25 Minute Bake Time
• Difficulty: Medium
• Print

Ingredients

• 2 lbs. Pulled Pork (for my recipe, click HERE)
• 1 Package Puff Pastry, 2 sheets
• 6 Large Potatoes, peeled, diced and cooked
• 2-3 Large Carrots, sliced and cooked
• 8 Ounces Baby Bella Mushrooms, chopped
• 1 Onion, diced
• 3 Tbsp. Butter
• ¾ tsp. Salt
• Egg Yolk Wash:
  • 1 Egg Yolk
  • 1 Tbsp. Water

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400°.
2. In a large fry pan, melt butter.
3. Add onion and saute’ 5 minutes over medium heat.
4. Add mushrooms and cook until mushrooms are tender, 5 – 7 minutes.
5. Combine cooked potato, carrot, onion/mushroom mix, and pulled pork; mix thoroughly.
6. Roll out puff pastry sheets to about 15″ x 22″.
7. Using a pan lid approximately 6 – 7″ in diameter, cut out 4 circles per puff pastry sheet. Reroll scraps and cut out remaining circles.
8. Place 1½ cups firmly packed meat mixture on half of each circle, leaving a slight border.
9. Brush edges of pastry with egg wash.
10. Close pastry over meat mixture and seal edge.
11. Place pasties on parchment lined baking sheet and brush with additional egg wash.
12. Bake 20 – 25 minutes until golden brown and heated through.

Cooking Note

There is enough filling in this recipe to make 10 pasties. To freeze: Place uncooked pasties on parchment lined baking sheets and place in freezer until frozen, 2 – 4 hours. Place in freezer bags or seal in FoodSaver Bags. To cook, place on prepared baking sheet, defrost in refrigerator overnight. Bake as directed above.

The pulled pork in this recipe is moist enough to make these pasties excellent without any type of gravy or sauce. If you are set on gravy, you could always use a packaged gravy or use the drippings from the pulled pork preparation.

 

Recipe by:  Tilly Frueh – Simply Grateful Cooking 2018

A pastie can be a hearty, quick meal, especially if you’ve got some of the ingredients already stocked in your freezer — or better yet, how about a few prepared pasties frozen and ready to go, and for this I am — Simply Grateful.

Pulled Pork & Black Bean Mexican Soup

Up until a few years ago I had never known the joy of eating pulled pork. I’m not really sure even why I thought about making it, or what sparked my interest in this not too popular in our region food, but whatever it was, I caught pulled pork fever, and bad. (If you’d like to know how I make my “Melt-in-your-Mouth” version, click HERE).