Crockpot Pulled Teriyaki Pork Sandwiches

With the weather heating up, a good crockpot meal is in order.  While we certainly love our crockpot, I was looking for a sandwich recipe that did not involve BBQ, and I thought this tangy teriyaki pulled pork sandwich sounded interesting to try. 

We loved the flavor and it was so easy to make!  I can imagine some grilled or fried pineapple on the sandwich too.  Yum!

Crockpot Pulled Teriyaki Pork Sandwiches – Adapted from Jamie Cook’s It Up

Ingredients

• Pork roast or loin, ~2 lbs
• Low-Sodium Montreal Steak Seasoning (McCormick)
• 1/4 C chicken broth
• 1 recipe teriyaki sauce
• Whole wheat buns
• Pineapple {optional}

Directions

Place the pork roast/loin into the base of your crockpot and pour 1/4 C chicken broth over the roast.  Sprinkle the roast with Montreal Steak seasoning; roughly 1-2 tsp.  Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours, until pork reaches 170 degrees. 

When the pork is ready, prepare the teriyaki sauce, by mixing together the water, cornstarch, soy sauce, ginger, honey and garlic.  Bring to a simmer on the stovetop until thick.  Set aside. 

Shred the pork with two forks, and pour the teriyaki sauce over the top. 

Serve on a whole wheat bun.  If desired, grill or fry up a pineapple ring and place on the sandwich. 

Enjoy!

Monterrey Chicken Wraps

I find myself looking for lighter dinners to enjoy during the summer months when hot dishes and other heavy meals don’t go over as well. 

These chicken wraps are a new favorite. 

I’ve tried them on bread in a  grilled cheese of sorts, but somehow the wrap made the dinner just that much better for a summer. 

Monterrey Chicken Wraps

Ingredients

• 4 whole wheat tortillas
• 6-8 chicken tenders
• 1/2 tsp. Smokehouse Maple Seasoning
• 4 strips of cooked bacon
• BBQ sauce (traditional or cherry)
• 1 medium tomato, roasted
• 4 slices of extra sharp cheddar cheese

Directions

Begin by grilling or pan-searing the chicken tenders in olive oil.  If you have Smokehouse Maple seasoning, go ahead and season your chicken tenders with it; if not, just season it well with salt and pepper. 

When the chicken tenders have reached 180 degrees, place each in the center of a whole wheat tortilla.  Top with 1 strip of cooked bacon, a slice of extra sharp cheddar cheese, roasted tomato slices and top with BBQ sauce.  {note: you might want to melt the cheese on the tortilla first, if desired}

Roll up the tortilla and if needed, use a toothpick to hold the tortilla together if needed.  Slice in half to serve. 

Serve warm.  

Enjoy!

Steak & Mushrooms Sandwiches

If you haven’t guessed already, Frog Prince and I don’t eat a lot of red meat.  When we do, we want to enjoy it in something really tasty, but where the meat isn’t on center stage. 

These steak and mushroom sandwiches provided us a hint of meat with a side of veggies and onions.  We served them on whole wheat buttermilk bread buns and they were outstanding!

Steak & Mushroom Sandwiches – Adapted from A Family Feast

Ingredients

• 1/4 lb. beef, sliced thinly or into small 1/2 inch cubes
• 1/2 tsp. minced garlic
• 1 T butter
• 8 oz. fresh mushrooms
• 1/2 large Vidalia onion, sliced and sepearated
• Whole wheat dinner rolls
• Mozzarella or Monterrey Jack cheese
• Montreal Steak seasoning

Directions

Begin by sautéing the beef in 1/2 T butter along with 1/2 tsp. minced garlic and Montreal Steak Seasoning (to taste) until sides are seared. Then cook over medium-low heat in the skillet for 10-15 minutes until beef is cooked to your preferred doneness. 

In a second large skillet, melt the remaining 1/2 T butter.  Add in sliced mushrooms and onion.  Sauté until liquid from the mushrooms has evaporated and the onions are translucent, about 10 minutes. 

Add the beef and mushroom onion mixture together. 

Slice open your whole wheat bun, and top with cheese. Place under the broiler for 2 minutes, watching carefully to prevent burning.  Cheese should be nicely melted at this point.  If not, return the the broiler until melted. 

Pile on the beef and onion mixture, and close the bun!

Serve warm and enjoy!  

Mozzarella & Tomato Sandwich

Nothing says the end of summer like a roasted tomato and mozzarella sandwich.  I’ve loved mozzarella and tomato together since I was young, and this is the simplest, most delicious way to enjoy these two ingredients together. 

The best part about this sandwich, is that it’s amazing enough to eat alone, but you can easily add ham, turkey, chicken and even eggs to this for a whole new taste. 

Mozzarella and Roasted Tomato Sandwich – Finding Joy in My Kitchen

Ingredients

• 2 slices, good quality bread (I recommend this one, or this one)
• 1 medium tomato, roasted (or Parmesan roasted)
• 2-3 slices, fresh mozzarella cheese

Directions

Begin by lightly spraying one side of your bread with olive oil.  Place is oiled side down onto a griddle, or into your frying pan.  Turn on the griddle or burner, to medium-low. 

Top the bread slice with mozzarella cheese.  Keep the heat on low while the cheese melts.  When it’s mostly melted, turn up the heat and top the sandwich with roasted tomatoes. 

Using a spatula, remove the sandwich from the pan/griddle. 

Repeat for the second sandwich, or do it simultaneously on the griddle.  Makes two open-faced sandwiches. 

Serve warm and enjoy!

Crockpot Italian Chicken Sandwiches

This is a simple sandwich, great for summer, because you don’t have to turn the oven on, or even use the griddle or stovetop. 

Toss the ingredients in the crockpot in the morning, and 4-5 hours later, you can have a delicious lunch. 

Crockpot Italian Chicken Sandwiches – Adapted from Shugary Sweets

Ingredients

• 4 Whole Wheat buns
• 2 Chicken Breasts
• 1 medium red bell pepper, diced finely
• 3 tsp. Italian seasoning
• 2 C fresh spinach (or 10-12 oz. frozen spinach)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• Extra sharp cheddar cheese

Directions

Place the chicken breasts into a lightly greased crockpot.  Season with 3 tsp. Italian seasoning and 2 minced garlic cloves.  Cover and cook on high for about 4 hours, until chicken reaches 180 degrees. 

About 20 minutes before the chicken is done, finely dice up the bell peppers.  Sauté them in a skillet until crisp-tender. 

Shred the chicken using two forks or your mixer. 

Add in the spinach and bell pepper and cook on high for 30 minutes.  

Sprinkle or layer cheese over the top of half of your whole wheat bun.  Top with chicken mixture. 

Serve warm. 

Enjoy!

Chicken Pesto Sandwiches

I love being home for the summer, but lunches can become a challenge!  You want something that is summer-like, but you can only do cold cuts so many times.  So, why not change things up with this delightful sandwich. 

Whole wheat bread. Check.

Melted, gooey Mozzarella cheese.  Check.

Sweet and tangy roasted tomatoes. Check.

Creamy pesto wrapped around shredded chicken. Check. 

These sandwiches were a huge hit!  The perfect thing to get us out of our summer sandwich rut. 

Chicken Pesto Sandwiches – Adapted from Chung-Ah Rhee

Ingredients

• 1 (15oz) can cooked chicken, shredded
• 1/2 C creamy spinach pesto
• Whole Wheat Buns
• Mozzarella Cheese
• Roasted Tomatoes

Directions

Begin by mixing together the shredded chicken with 1/2 C of the pesto. Set aside. 

Next, slice open your roll/bun.  On one half, place some mozzarella cheese slices, to taste. 

Pop that bread into the oven, under the broiler and broil for about 5 minutes until cheese is melted and bread is slightly toasted. 

Top with 4-5 T of the chicken mixture and roasted tomatoes. 

Enjoy! 

Sweet Potato & Kale Chicken Patties

I think we’ve found a new summer favorite.  These Sweet Potato Chicken Patties with Kale are fantastic. 

They are filling enough on their own, but great on a whole wheat bun too.  The first time we made them I followed the directions pretty closely, but the second time I decided to shred the sweet potato and loved the results. 

We also used shredded canned chicken rather than raw ground chicken to make the prep easier.  We do this for our zucchini burgers, and it worked really well here.  It also decreased the prep time to about 20 minutes, rather than 4 hours.   

Sweet Potato & Kale Chicken Patties – Adapted from Multiply Delicious

Ingredients

• 1 can (12 oz) chicken
• 1 small sweet potato
• 2 1/2 C torn kale leaves
• 1 T minced onion
• 1 tsp. minced garlic
• salt & pepper
• 1 egg
• 1 T spicy brown mustard
• Pinch of paprika
• 2 T white whole wheat flour
• Olive oil

Directions

Begin by shredding 1 small (peeled) sweet potato.  We cooked ours in the microwave for 1 minute before to make the potato easier to shred.  Add the shredded sweet potato to a skillet.  Add in torn kale. 

Sauté with a little olive oil, and season with salt, pepper, 1 T minced onion and 1 tsp. minced garlic.  Cook for 5-6 minutes until sweet potatoes are tender and kale is semi-wilted. 

Meanwhile, mix together 1 can shredded chicken (drained and rinsed), with 1 egg and 2 T white whole wheat flour. 

Add in the kale and spinach mixture, a pinch of paprika and 1 T spicy brown mustard. 

Using a patty maker, or your hands, press the kale mixture into patties.  Ours made about five 3-4inch patties. 

Return to a lightly greased pan and cook on medium-low for 5 minutes.  Then, flip. 

Cook for another 5 minutes.  Then, plate and serve warm. 

Enjoy!

Egg Salad Sandwiches {two ways}

Making egg salad is the fastest (and in my opinion, tastiest) way to use up leftover hard boiled eggs from Easter. 

This year, I tried a new twist on my family favorite recipe: using Greek Yogurt.  I loved it.  Made for a tasty and healthier sandwich. 

We also tried a deviled egg style egg salad – yummy!  All we added was a little dried mustard and a pinch of sugar. 

Egg Salad Sandwiches

Ingredients 

• 6 hard boiled eggs
• 2-4 T Plain Greek Yogurt (not vanilla)
• 1 T Olive Oil Mayo
• Dash of paprika
• Pinch of salt & pepper
• Optional: celery seeds, finely diced celery or red bell pepper
• For deviled egg style: 1/2 tsp. dried mustard, and a pinch of sugar
• Sandwich Bread (we recommend this whole wheat sandwich bread)

Directions

Begin by peeling your hard boiled eggs.  Rinse eggs with cool water once peeled.  Then, slice the eggs in half.  Remove the yolk from 3 of your eggs.  (Note: you can leave all your yolks in to make the sandwich, but I prefer them with more egg whites than yolk in my sandwich). 

Finely chop your eggs.  You can do this by hand, or use a food processor/chopper to accomplish this.  I’ve done it both ways and the food chopper sure is easy! 

When chopped, add in 1 T mayo (we love the kind that is made with olive oil), and 2 T of plain Greek Yogurt (we used Fage). 

Season with a pinch of paprika, salt and pepper. 

Stir. 

• If more moisture is needed, add in more Greek Yogurt, 1 T at at time until desired consistency is reached. 
• If you wish for more of a “deviled egg” style egg salad, then add in 1/2 tsp. dried mustard, along with a pinch of sugar. 
• Finally, if desired, add a pinch of celery seed, 1/8 C diced celery or 1/8 C diced red pepper. 

Enjoy your egg salad sandwich! 

Crockpot French Dip Sandwiches

This delicious dinner is something unique at our house.  We don’t often eat meat, let alone beef.  But, when we do, I love having ways to cook it in our crockpot.

 
We’ve made Swiss Steak, Boeuf Bourguignon, Broccoli Beef & Philly Cheesesteaks  in the crockpot.  But, Frog Prince has asked for French Dip Sandwiches time and time again.  Since I don’t think I’ve ever had one, I didn’t know what to look for in a recipe.  But, this one caught my attention {and made my Friday Favorite Finds!} due to the addition of a good, dark beer. 

Since I don’t have a whole lot to compare it to, I can’t say if it’s a French Dip Sandwich or not, but I can say that it’s good! 

Crockpot French Dip Sandwiches – Adapted from Shugary Sweets

Ingredients

• 3 lb. beef roast (rump roast recommended)
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. Grill Seasoning
• 1 T minced onion
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• a few cranks of sea salt & black pepper
• 1 C beef broth
• 12 oz. dark beer
• Cheese, cheddar or provolone
• Hoagie Buns {like these}

Directions

Place the roast into your crockpot.  Season with the garlic, onion, salt, pepper and grill seasonings.  Then, add the broth and the beer to the crockpot.  Cover and cook on low for 8 hours. 

Carefully remove the beef and attempt to slice it… you may have better luck shredding it. 

Then, strain the au jus sauce. 

Serve the meat atop your favorite hoagie bun (we love these Italian Herb Rolls), with cheese. 

Serve the au jus on the side for dipping. 

Save the leftover au jus for stew or soup – the beer gives it a little something different. 

Enjoy!