Ever have lasagna with pulled pork?  I didn’t until a while ago when I made the pulled pork for the potluck I thought it would be a good idea.  A good idea indeed!  I loved it.  The tenderness of the pork matched up smoothness of the cheese and the texture of the noodles was a huge hit.

Very simple to put together and because the pork was done in a barbecue base, I didn’t over power the sauce with a lot of flavors.  I just wanted to marry the pork with the noodles and let it go from there.

Ingredients

• 2 Cups Pulled pork ( cooked)
• 1/2 Cup chopped onion
• 1 Tbsp. Olive oil
• 2 Cloves garlic
• 12 oz. Tomato paste
• 12 oz. Can tomatoes
• 1 Tsp. salt
• 3/4 Tsp. Pepper
• 1 Tbsp. Parsley
• 1/2 Tsp. Oregano
• 1 Tbsp. Sugar
• 1 Box No Cook Lasagna noodles
• 2 Cups. Mozzarella cheese
• 1 Package cottage cheese
• 1 eggs

Method

1. In a large skillet, heat up the olive oil, garlic and onion and saute for 3 minutes.  Mix together the tomato paste, tomatoes, salt and pepper, parsley , oregano and sugar.
2. Add the pulled pork to the mixture and simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Add the egg, a little parsley and cottage cheese and mix together and set aside.
4. Assemble a little bit of the sauce on the bottom on your grease 9*13 pan
5. Add some noodles, sauce, cottage cheese mixture and mozzarella cheese then repeat the process until the sauce is gone.  Top with mozzarella cheese and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes.
6. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: You can always use left over meat for lasagna as an alternative.  You could even try this with leftover pot roast instead of ground beef.  You can of course omit the meat altogether and use a meaty vegetable like portabella mushroom or eggplant as the star of the dish.

OK, I am off to attend to a sick zesty junior and I will talk to you all on Wednesday.  Have a great start to your week and let me know if you have any questions or concerns about this ad hoc lasagna recipe.

Take care

zesty

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You know me and my love for pork.  It is one of my favorite meats to eat.  I am pretty open to a wide variety of foods including vegan and vegetarian meals, fish, chicken, beef and lamb but when it comes right down to it, I loved PULLED PORK.

Pork shoulder blade roast is often known as a cheap cut of meat.  But when slow-cooked for hours in a sweet and tangy sauce, it becomes meltingly tender and is sure to make everyone smile.  If you have a day to cook this meat, at the end of the day you will be rewarded.

Tinker around with the sauce to your liking and add more heat if you so desire.  The basis of this sauce is sweet with a little bite.

Ingredients

• 4 lb Pork Shoulder
• 1 Medium Onion ( Cut in Half )
• 1/2 Cup Ketchup
• 1/3 Cup Cider Vinegar
• 1/4 Cup Brown sugar
• 1/4 Cup Tomato paste
• 2 Tbsp.  Sweet paprika
• 2 Tbsp.  Worcestershire sauce
• 2 Tbsp. Yellow mustard
• 1 1/2 Tsp. Salt
• 1 1/2 Tsp. Black pepper
• 1/2 Tsp. Red pepper flakes
• Dash of hot sauce

Method

1. In a slow cooker pot, stir ketchup, vinegar, brown sugar, tomato paste, paprika, Worcestershire, mustard, salt and pepper until combined.  Add pork to sauce mixture and turn to coat well with sauce.  Add the chopped onion on the side.
2. Cover slow cooker with lid and cook pork mixture on the low setting for 8-10 hours.
3. With tongs, transfer the pork to a large bowl.  Turn the setting on the slow cooker to high; cover and heat sauce to boil until it thickens and reduces slightly
4. While sauce boils, with two forks, pull pork into shreds.  Return shredded pork in the sauce to combine.  Cover slow cooker and heat through on high setting if necessary.
5. Spoon mixture on top of your favorite bun and top with your favorite coleslaw ( I went with an Asian slaw that I noticed over at Danica’s Daily – I just ran out of slaw before I took the pictures )

Zesty Tip: To make easier cleanup, supermarkets now carry slow cooker liners ( they fit both oval and round pots).  Just be careful to remove food before lifting the liner – it may break if you don’t.

I was fortunate enough to have some beans leftover from the Olde Fashion baked beans that went very well with the sandwich.  We are getting some rain here today so hopefully some of the snow will melt.  I can do without the snow but at least the temperatures are warming up for my sensitive skin.

Have a wonderful Wednesday and try this pork!

Take care

zesty

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Happy Monday! Did anyone watch the super bowl? What did you think of it? I thought it was a pretty good game as far as entertainment went. I didn’t really have a favorite team playing so I was somewhat non biased as to who I was hoping to win. The only thing I was really hoping for is the “FOOD“.

Let’s just say that Zesty In-law delivers yet again.  It seems like time after time zesty in law delivers amazing food and it really doesn’t even matter if the TV is on for me.  Lats night’s line up was no different.  You can sum this up as MAN FOOD night.  Boy was it good.  Around 11:00 pm when I left to come home I could barely waddle my way out to the car.

Menu

• Pulled Pork Sliders on homemade rolls
• Fresh baked beans
• Pork Side Ribs from the Grill
• Beef Ribs with Brandy, Molasses and Coffee ( Check out the size of these things )

I was so excited to see what was on the menu and I knew I would not be disappointed.  The flavors of the food was amazing.  You cannot beat the grill no matter if it is snowing out or not.  I was really impressed with the pulled pork…. delicious and I am pretty sure I could have had 10 little sandwiches.  I stopped at 3 just so I would not look like a total PIG.

I have a couple of big announcements to make this week so stay tuned as one of them may be related to Valentine’s day.  Have a great Monday and be safe.

Take care

zesty

Download my Free Recipe Book: Simply Zesty