Tasty Pork and Pepper Sandwiches

This recipe uses your slow cooker and sweet or hot peppers to create an economical, succulent pork dinner.

Tasty Pork and Pepper Sandwiches

If you’re looking for a simple, economical, and tasty idea for dinner, these Pork and Pepper Sandwiches check all the boxes. Not only will your slow cooker deliver succulent, fork-tender pork to pile on your sandwich bun, you can use leftovers from this versatile recipe to make other meals later in the week. Economical recipes like this are more important than ever considering rising food costs.

A recent CNN Business article delivered the sobering news. Food prices have spiked over 11 percent in the last year, the biggest increase since 1979, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Eggs have seen the biggest price jump (39.8 percent). Chicken prices are up 16.6 percent. Experts say the avian flu has helped drive the spikes for eggs and poultry. However, pork and beef prices have gone up by nearly 7 percent.

Steps taken by the Federal Reserve Bank to combat inflation doesn’t have a lot of effect on your grocery bill, according to the article. Wars and crop-killing droughts are the main culprits.

And prices at the grocery store are affecting how we shop, CNN stated. The demand for frozen dinners has fallen drastically, and many families are opting to leave items like cookies, candy, and snacks on the shelves.

I look at the weekly prices of food much closer now than ever, and often swap pork for a lean protein choice instead of costlier chicken breasts. Also, the price for pork has dropped almost 2 percent in July and August, according to CNN (another reason to love these Tasty Pork and Pepper Sandwiches). This week, a 3-pound pork shoulder roast at Walmart was about $9. So, let’s get cooking!

To make my Tasty Pork and Pepper Sandwiches, which yields six servings, you’ll need these ingredients:

• 3-pound pork shoulder roast

• 2 cans enchilada sauce (red or green)

• ½ package taco seasoning

• 2 sweet bell peppers (red, orange or yellow)

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

• 6 sandwich rolls

Directions to make Tasty Pork and Pepper Sandwiches

I like to first sear any meat before adding it to my slow cooker; it lends for better color and flavor. So, this is an optional first step, but I recommend taking it.

Divide the taco seasoning and rub the top and bottom of roast thoroughly. Heat oil in a large skillet and brown the pork shoulder. If you don’t have taco seasoning on hand (as I didn’t), make your own rub using 1 teaspoon each of granulated garlic, cumin, chili powder, paprika, black pepper. I added 1½ teaspoons kosher salt to this mix.

Coat the slow cooker with non-stick spray. Place browned pork shoulder in cooker.

Brown pork before placing in slow cooker.

Remove seeds from peppers and slice in strips (about ½-inch thick) then place around the pork. If you want more heat, use 2 habanero peppers or 4 jalapenos. You also can do any combination of sweet and hot peppers. Just remember when working with the hot peppers to protect your hands with gloves while chopping.

Pour sauce over pork (I used green sauce) and vegetables, cover, and cook on low heat for 8 hours.

Remove pork and shred with two forks. Serve on sandwich rolls of your choice and top with cooked peppers. A side bowl of sauce is nice for dipping the sandwich. I also sliced an onion to include a few slides on the sandwich. A delicious side with this meal would be St. Louis-Style Street Corn.

Cut bell peppers in strips before adding to slow cooker.

If you have leftover pork and peppers (as I did), use them to make fajita-inspired wraps. I simply reheated the pork and peppers, sautéed the rest of the onion I’d cut for sandwiches, and added shredded cheese and a dollop of salsa to the soft tortilla. Reheat the pork to use in this recipe for tacos pastor. This succulent pork would be delicious added to your mac and cheese recipe or in the classic King Ranch casserole. You get the idea!

So, what’s the cost per serving for Tasty Pork and Pepper Sandwiches? Realizing this total is very subjective based on prices near me at the time I’m writing this post, but it still came to $3.13 per serving. Any time you can feed six people for under $20, that recipe’s a keeper.

I hope you’ll give these pork sandwiches a try. Let us know how they turned out and how you used leftovers in comments below.

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Interested in more economical pork recipes? Pork Chops in Creamy Mushroom Sauce is a quick weeknight meal that's fancy enough to serve guests. A great dish for fall and a favorite of my father's is Pork Schnitzel with Sauerkraut made with affordable pork cutlets.

About the blog

Three Women in the Kitchen is an award-winning food blog offering today’s home cooks comforting, hearty recipes with a personal touch. The website also pays tribute to Deborah’s mother, Katie Reinhardt, and paternal grandmother, Dorothy Reinhardt (the “three women” in the kitchen). Whether you’re an experienced or a novice cook, you’ll find inspiration here to feed your families and warm your heart. Subscribe today so you won’t miss a single delicious detail.

Currant Scones Recipe

This simple pastry takes the crown for a traditional English teatime.

Currant scones are best served with clotted cream, lemon curd and jam.

Like others across the globe, I’m following the final journey of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II from Scotland to London. During this official mourning period, I’m remembering my visit to London two decades ago over Christmas (Her Majesty of course was at Sandringham) and, most recently, a lovely evening in St. Louis’s London Tea Room with friends as we learned to make traditional scones.

Teatime is woven into the fabric of life in the United Kingdom (more history to come), and it fascinates me that a simple culinary ritual is enjoyed by everyone there, from the royals to a London laborer. Whether you’re having a common biscuit with your cuppa or an elaborate spread, teatime is important to Britons.

Although I don’t partake daily, it’s wonderful to stop activity by 3 p.m., make a cup of tea and select a sweet to savor. It rests the mind and body and is a perfectly delightful tradition to carry on.

As a young cook, I tried making scones with disastrous effects. Whatever I did caused them to turn out like hockey pucks. No amount of dunking in warm tea or coffee could save these. So, when a friend mentioned our London Tea Room was holding a scone making class, I was all in.

Turns out making scones isn’t difficult at all, but as our teacher mentioned, quality ingredients are key, especially when it comes to butter. The tearoom bakers use a Danish brand of butter called Lurpak, but she added Kerry Gold, an Irish butter that’s readily available at most stores in the U.S., will also work.

To make Currant Scones, which makes about 8 servings, you’ll need these ingredients:

• 3¼ cups all-purpose flour

• 1 stick unsalted butter

• 1 ½ tablespoons baking powder

• 3 tablespoons sugar

• Pinch of salt

• ¾ to 1 cup currants

• 1 cup milk

• 1 egg, beaten, for egg wash

Follow these simple directions to make Currant Scones:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Using clean hands, combine flour and butter until mixture resembles breadcrumbs in a large mixing bowl. The butter was room temperature, but I know other recipes keep the butter diced and cold to work with. We’re not going for a flaky dough here, so I think softened butter is fine to use.

3. Add salt, baking powder, sugar, and currants and mix well using your hands.

4. Make a well in the center and add milk. If necessary, add an extra tablespoon or two to help dough come together.

5. Mix first with a spatula and finish using your hands.

6. Turn dough on a clean surface and press down until flattened to about ½ inch thick. The dough should be a smooth disk.

Our dough shaped and ready to cut into scones.

7. Cut using a scone or biscuit cutter and place the scones on a greased baking sheet. Some prefer to cut scones into triangles or even use a scone baking pan. Whatever method you choose will work. The size of your cutter will also determine the yield; we got 8 scones out of our dough in class.

8. Brush the tops of the scones with egg wash.

9. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes. Serve with clotted cream, lemon curd or your favorite jam. (I recommend clotted cream; it’s divine.)

Other scone flavors

The wonderful thing about this basic scone recipe is it can be easily adapted to incorporate other flavors. For example, dried cranberry and orange zest would be amazing for the holidays. Fresh fruit also can be used. In fact, fresh blueberry scones were top sellers at the London Tea Room. Their tip is not to mix in the fresh fruit but to flatten the dough to 1-inch thickness, make an indentation in the center and place the blueberry in the dough, fold in half and reshape as desired.

Savory scones are wonderful. Cut sugar to 1 tablespoon, omit any fruit and add (for example) ½ cup cooked bacon, ½ cup white cheddar and 2 tablespoons freshly chopped chive.

Is anything better than cooking (and eating) with friends? From left, that's Lisa Hanly (check out her blog for food and travel ideas) and my friend from college Barb Anderson. Me and my friend Beth Immer Eppy whom I met through Barb. Beth and I were bridesmaids in Barb's wedding (I won't say how long ago).

A spoonful of tea history

I’m part of a history meetup group and we recently held an outdoor tea. Organizers Susan and Kris provided a few teas, sandwiches, scones, clotted cream and jams. The history lesson included how the custom of drinking tea came to England. It was during reign of King Charles II (1660s) whose queen, Catherine of Portugal, was accustomed to drinking tea imported from Asia. The court, not surprisingly, joined in. But tea was heavily taxed (over 100 percent) and the East India Company maintained a monopoly, making it a beverage for wealthier Britons. Eventually, taxes were reduced to about 12.5 percent and tea became the morning beverage of choice.

Afternoon tea was introduced in 1840 in England by Anna, the 7th Duchess of Bedford. Evening meals were served at the fashionable time of 8 p.m., however, the duchess grew peckish around 4 p.m., so she asked that a tray of tea with bread, butter and cakes be brought to her room. She later invited friends to join her, and the upper crust of society readily adopted the practice.

Poorer households also paused for afternoon tea but “high tea” at the end of the working day was more practical here, the menu consisting of strong tea and hearty, hot food. Today, it’s estimated the British drink 100 million cups of tea per day!

Delicate sandwiches and scones were on the menu for Hands on History's tea in the park.

I always enjoy the Hands on History meetups and learn something at each gathering. At our teatime, Kris shared her recipe for making clotted cream at home (something I must try because this teatime accoutrement isn’t easily found on this side of the Atlantic).

Kris said she simply preheated an oven to 180 degrees F. She poured one pint of heavy cream (don’t use “ultra-pasteurized”) into a 9x13-inch baking pan and let it go for 22 hours. I’ve seen other recipes go anywhere from 8 to 12 hours. Some recipes mention covering the dish, others do not. As you want some of the liquid to slowly evaporate, I’d imagine uncovered is the way to go.

Queen Elizabeth’s funeral on Monday will be televised starting at 11 a.m. BST (6 a.m. EST; 5 a.m. CST), so my plan is to have plenty of strong, hot tea on hand, as well as a few scones, as I watch this historic event unfold. I remember watching the royal wedding of Diana and now King Charles III. It was moving to think I was one of millions around the globe experiencing something simultaneously. I suspect the feeling will return as the world pays its final respects to the queen.

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Here are a few more ideas for teatime sweets. Lavender Blackberry Cupcakes would be a delicate addition to your treat tray. Classic Snickerdoodles are perfect for your everyday cuppa.

About the blog

Three Women in the Kitchen is an award-winning food blog offering today’s home cooks comforting, hearty recipes with a personal touch. The website also pays tribute to Deborah’s mother, Katie Reinhardt, and paternal grandmother, Dorothy Reinhardt (the “three women” in the kitchen). Whether you’re an experienced or a novice cook, you’ll find inspiration here to feed your families and warm your heart. Subscribe today so you won’t miss a single delicious detail.

Easy Grilled Salmon Burger Recipe

Shake Up Your Grilling Game with These Salmon Burgers Peppered with Bacon.

Easy Grilled Salmon Burgers

We have a big grilling day coming up—Labor Day—and if you’re looking for something different to serve this year, Easy Grilled Salmon Burgers is a simple grilling recipe that puts a twist into a traditional end-of-summer menu.

Be honest—how many grilled beef burgers have you eaten this summer (show of hands)? I’ve had my share, and while delicious, I’m a bit weary of minced beef between a sesame bun. The summer grilling season, sandwiched between Memorial Day in May and Labor Day in September deserves to go out with a bang, so let’s try something that may be a little new.

But hold on, EEEWWWW it’s FISH! To those of you who are a little reluctant to taste anything that swims, let me say these salmon burgers have the same mouth feel as a hamburger, and when placed on our pretzel bun with a zesty mayo dressing and peppered bacon, your mind just might be blown. And a little tip I’ll share with you will remove any hint of the “fishy” taste you don’t like.

To make my Easy Salmon Burgers, which makes four servings, you’ll need these ingredients:

• 1¼ pounds boneless and skinless salmon fillet

• 2 tablespoons panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)

• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

• 2½ tablespoons lemon juice

• ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon mayonnaise

• ½ teaspoon cayenne

• 3 cups arugula or salad green of your choice

• 4 strips peppered bacon

• 4 pretzel buns

• Salt and pepper

Salmon 101

Let’s talk a minute about how to select a good piece of salmon. If you're already a pro at this, skip to the next section. The best tip: get to know your fish monger. Like a good butcher, they will know how to recommend the right fish for a recipe and help you select the freshest product. In my city, Starr’s has a great selection of fresh fish flown in from the East and West coasts and a knowledgeable staff will help you select the right cut for your needs. If you’re on your own, however, here’s how to buy salmon.

• Look for good color in fillet. Wild salmon will be dark pink, farm-raised a lighter pink, but avoid anything with a blue or gray tint. Wild or farmed fish can be sustainably sourced; watch the packaging and if you have questions, the Marine Stewardship Council publishes guides to help navigate these waters.

• Use your nose. Fresh fish will smell like the ocean, but shouldn’t have a strong, off-putting fish odor. For sensitive palates, you can neutralize salmon even more by soaking it in milk for 20 minutes. Just drain and pat it dry before preparing.

• Firm texture. Salmon flesh should be firm.

• When buying frozen fish, avoid anything with visible ice crystals or frost and discoloration. You always want to be “in the pink.”

Fillets come from the side of a salmon and there are five parts to a side: the belly, loin, top loin, second cut and tail. Again, a good fish monger can help you choose according to your budget and recipe, but since we’re chopping and mincing this salmon, the tail or maybe second cut would work well, the tail having more of a fat content.

Salmon burgers from your grocer’s fresh fish case certainly are available, as are frozen patties, but I’ve not found any so far that have the right “chew” for me. They either are mushy or too dense giving the burger a processed texture. This recipe, as Goldilocks might say, is just right for a salmon burger because it’s a combination of processed and chopped salmon.

Directions for Easy Grilled Salmon Burgers

Cut ¾ of the salmon into ¼-inch pieces and transfer to a large bowl. Cut the rest into chunks (any size is fine) and add to a food processor with the mustard, 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and ¼ teaspoon cayenne. Pulse to make a paste and add this mixture to the bowl of diced salmon, add panko and gently mix until just combined.

Place parchment paper on a baking sheet and brush lightly with oil. Divide the salmon into four mounds. With damp hands, form into ¾ inch thick patties, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes so they firm up.

While the salmon chills out, make the sauce for burgers. In a bowl, combine ½ cup mayonnaise, 1½ tablespoons of lemon juice, ¼ teaspoon cayenne and a pinch of salt. Cover and refrigerate until serving.

Heat a large skillet to medium-high and cook bacon until well done. Remove bacon from pan and place on paper towels to absorb excess fat.

Wash and dry the arugula.

To grill the salmon burgers, first be sure the grate is clean. The best way to do this is preheat the grill to medium-high (about 350 degrees) with the grate in place. It’s easier to scrape the grill’s grate when pre-heated. Lightly oil the cleaned grates.

Place the chilled burgers on the grill and cook for 4 minutes per side. If the burgers stick when you attempt flipping, let them cook for an extra minute or two before turning. Remove from grill, placing them on a clean baking sheet and allow to rest while you prepare the buns.

If you prefer a toasted bun, do that before you spread each side with the mayonnaise dressing. Fold a strip of bacon in half and place on bottom bun. Add the salmon burger and arugula and top with the dressed bun.

And there you have it! A different twist to your Labor Day cookout. By the way, did you know barbecues were common civic celebrations in the late 19th century? So, when the American labor movement pushed for municipal holidays, a barbecue often was included in the festivities. For example, in 1890, the second year Kansas City, Missouri, celebrated a municipal Labor Day holiday, a parade was followed by a barbecue and fireworks. On June 28, 1894, President Grover Cleveland signed a law making the first Monday in September of each year a national holiday.

Whatever your Labor Day plans are this year, I hope you’ll enjoy good food with friends and family. Happy Labor Day, everyone!

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Looking for other ideas for your Labor Day cookout? You won't have to fire up a grill for my Easy Barbecued Beef Sliders that are made in a slow cooker. You can be at the pool while the beef slowly cooks in time for dinner. My mom's Mock Filet Mignon recipe is great for the grill and offers a tried-and-true way to use ground beef.

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About the Blog

Three Women in the Kitchen is an award-winning food blog offering today’s home cooks comforting, hearty recipes with a personal touch. The website also pays tribute to Deborah’s mother, Katie Reinhardt, and paternal grandmother, Dorothy Reinhardt (the “three women” in the kitchen). Whether you’re an experienced or a novice cook, you’ll find inspiration here to feed your families and warm your heart. Subscribe today so you won’t miss a single delicious detail.