one of my favorite food blogs is the pioneer woman.  her blog is amazing and talks about a lot more than just food.  when she posted this recipe, i knew i had to try it.  my mouth was watering!

this dish is great for any season and is also multi-functional!  (never thought that i’d say that about food, but it really is!)  you can serve it on a sandwich, tom style with bbq sauce, pickles and melted pepper jack cheese, in a taco, on nachos, or use it for pretty much anything you’d want to put pulled pork on.  i’m thinking that it might even be great on a pizza… mmm.

i’ve adapted the original recipe to be a two-person friendly, crock pot gig, with leftovers for one meal.  if you want to make it for more than two, i’d recommend following the original recipe.

slightly adapted from thepioneerwoman.com

• 1 small onion, chopped into 1″ pieces
• 2 lbs. boneless pork tenderloin
• salt and pepper
• 1 7 oz. can, chipotles in adobo sauce (find it the ethnic section of your grocery store!)
  (chipotles are smoked jalapeños and adobo is a sweet, smoky and spicy sauce.  it gives this dish some kick!)
• 1 12 oz. can, dr. pepper
• 1 tbsp brown sugar

1. place the chopped onions in a crock pot.  (alternatively, you can use a dutch oven in an oven set to 300°)
2. place tenderloins on top of the onions.  cover them with salt and pepper, on both sides.
3. dump the chipotles in adobo sauce on top.  it should look something like this:
   
   
   
4. now this is where things get crazy.  add a can of dr. pepper to the crock pot.
   
   
   
5. add some brown sugar to the mix.
   
   
   
6. i can set my crock pot to reach a certain temp (using a temp sensor, thanks engineering husband of mine ) and then it reverts back to warm, low or high.  i set my crock pot to 160° and then to to low.  if you don’t have a tom, or a crock pot with a temp sensor, just cook it low (and slow) for approx 4 hours.  turning tenderloins after 2 hrs, so they cook evenly.
   
   
   
7. pull the tenderloins out of the crock pot.  shred using a fork and then chop into bite size pieces.  you might want to pull the chipotles out and chop them up, as well.
8. throw the meat back into the crockpot (leaving the dr. pepper/adobo mixture in there.)  allow to simmer for a few more hours.  if you can wait that long.
9. serve on a sandwich, tacos, nachos, pizza.

enjoy!

interestingly enough, everything in this recipe i have refused to eat at one point or another in my life and 3/4 of it i still won’t eat (raw onion, pickles and miracle whip).  when i was little, i even boycotted sandwiches (until i tried subway).  but when all of these ingredients come together, they make one delicious sandwich that i enjoy.

and you MUST use koegel’s ring bologna for this recipe.  it’s the only bologna that i’ll eat.  can you tell i’m a tad on the picky side this post?  or maybe it’s because i’m from flint and appreciate good bologna and hot dogs.  or maybe i’m just picky about all food…

oh! and of course, the key to this recipe is an awesome meat grinder.  i use a kitchenaid meat grinder, which conveniently attaches to my mixer.  (thanks to bran for finding the grinder on clearance and thanks to aunt carol for the mixer! )

• 1 pkg. koegel ring bologna, casing removed, chopped into chunks small enough to fit in meat grinder
• 1/4 vidalia onion, chopped
• 1/2 c miracle whip
• 2 tbsp relish (i prefer dill over sweet)

1. using a coarse plate, grind your bologna chunks.  follow the bologna with onion chunks.  this cleans out any excess bologna.
2. with a spatula, mix the bologna and onion, fold in miracle whip and relish.
3. serve as pictured on a bun or any other bread that you would like.

enjoy!

monte cristos are delicious.  bennigan’s makes a pretty mean one, even though there is no way i could ever eat one by myself.  these are my new favorite monte cristo… the portion size is reasonable and the egg wash on top just makes these delicious!

• 1/4 lb, chopped deli ham
• 1/4 lb. chopped deli turkey
• 1/2 c mozzarella cheese, chopped
• 1/2 c cheddar or american cheese, chopped
• 8 biscuits (from the fridge tube or frozen leftovers, thawed)
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp milk
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• powdered sugar
• raspberry jam

1. heat oven to 375°.
2. in a medium bowl, mix ham, turkey and cheese.
3. separate dough into 8 biscuits.  press or roll each to form 6-7″ round.
4. place 1/3 c ham mixture on one side of each biscuit round.  fold dough over filling.  press edges to seal with a fork.  place on un-greased cookie sheet.
5. in a small bowl, beat egg, milk, cinnamon and nutmeg.  brush over tops of filled biscuits.  bake 12-19 minutes or until golden brown.  sprinkle with powdered sugar.  serve with jam.

enjoy!

this is a multi-purpose sauce that can be used on quesadillas, paninis, burgers, etc… it is pictured on my southwest chicken grilled panini.

• 1/4 c mayo
• 2 tsp. canned jalapeños, finely chopped (omit the seeds to dial the heat down a notch)
• 2 tsp. juice from canned jalapeños
• 3/4 tsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. cumin
• 1/2 tsp. paprika
• 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1/8 tsp. chili powder
• dash of salt

1. combine all ingredients in a small container using a spatula

i create a quadruple batch (or so) and leave it in the fridge.  it keeps just as long as regular mayonnaise. below are some tasty ideas that utilize this sauce quite well:

southwest chicken grilled panini

• bread (i prefer bread fresh from the local bakery, you can slice it however you like it.)
• butter
• grilled chicken pieces
• bacon
• tomato
• onion, thinly sliced
• shredded cheddar cheese

1. preheat griddle
2. butter the outside slices of bread.
3. on one slice of bread, place the ingredients in the following order: chicken, bacon, onion, tomato, cheese.  place on the griddle
4. spread the jalapeño sauce on the opposite slice, top the sandwich.
5. grill until golden and crispy

admittedly, the panini was inspired by my chicken quesadillas.  i still think that the sandwich is a good variation from the original:

chicken quesadillas

• burrito size flour tortillas
• grilled chicken pieces
• bacon (optional)
• tomato (optional)
• onion (optional)
• shredded cheddar cheese
• velveeta cheese, sliced and halved into triangles

1. on one half of the tortilla, place the ingredients in the following order: chicken, bacon, onion, tomato, shredded cheese, two triangles of velveeta cheese
2. on the other half, spread the sauce
3. fold in half and place on griddle.  grill until both sides are browned
4. quarter the quesadilla

enjoy!