Cuban Sandwich with Pulled Pork

Bread will flatten even more, don't have final product picture

Cuban sandwiches are very popular in the Tampa Bay area because of the large amount of Cubans who traveled to Ybor City in Tampa, Florida in the early 20th century. Cubans were popular lunch items among the cigar mills and at one point, Ybor was the largest cigar producer in the entire world! Still to this day, many traces of Cuba can be seen in Ybor from the old Spanish style houses to the popular Cuban restaurants and clubs dotted all over the city. If you live in the area, you probably expect to see a Cuban sandwich on most lunch menus at any restaurant in town. I do not claim my Cuban sandwiches are authentic but they are about as close you can get with a few minor differences.




Ingredients:
Cuban/French bread (whole loaf) whole wheat for extra healthy but I don't recommend
1/2 pound fresh deli sliced cooked ham (Boars Head is good or an all natural brand)
1/2 to 1 pound of roasted pulled pork (Pork shoulder w/spices)
Fresh Dill pickles sandwich slices
1/3 pound Swiss cheese (Boars Head as well)
Mustard
Mayonnaise
A press or Panini maker but a regular frying pan will do as well

Savings: 5-15$

Considering you probably have mustard and mayo, this will cost around 15 dollars and will make 3 sandwiches. This is a good idea if you have pulled pork left over and want to make something interesting. Even cheaper if you also have the cheese and ham in the fridge! Now just buy the pickles and bread.

Thank You For Reading

What Good to a Nook is a hook cook book?
Dr. Seuss One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish

Thank you everyone for reading my blog and being interested in the recipes and the little tips and stories that go with them. We have eclipsed just over a thousand views so far and I am impressed with myself that I have been able to some what keep up with it. 1,000 hits in over a year isn't much really compared to my brief stint writing about the Florida Gators on SBNation where each article would get 1,000 views a day. Considering I am the only writer, I only post once or twice a month and I don't network very much I am surprised people still read it almost every day. I know the main readers are my family and friends, which was the intent of this blog so it makes me motivated to keep posting for you and hopefully you will continue to enjoy reading!

Restaurant French Toast

 I learned how to make French Toast when I was about nine years old. It's probably one of the first things I learned how to cook on a stove. Even now as adult I still I really enjoy it for breakfast with my kids. Now I can make it a little fancier but not much has changed in how I make it.

Ingredients: 5 slices of bread (sour dough if possible)
5 Eggs
1 tbsp. ground cinnamon
2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 stick unsalted butter
1 cup powdered sugar or brown sugar
1 tsp. salt
1-2 cup syrup
(Serves 2 adults or 1 adult plus 3 children)

Savings: 10-20$

Surf and Turf Kabobs

Kabobs on the grill are a great way to save time and still have a great dinner. Forget about a long clean up after dinner of washing pots and pans and cleaning the kitchen. Forget about slaving over the stove preparing the main course and all of it's side dishes. The biggest challenge is cutting up the vegetable's and meat and sliding them onto a skewer; fire up the coals and your done!
Savings: 10-30$
Ingredients: 1 pound Top Sirloin/Flat Iron
 1 pound Swordfish/Tuna Nuggets
 1 Green Pepper
 1 Yellow Onion
 1 Tomato
 6-8 ounce mushrooms
 Marinade (Make your own marinade found here or to save more time buy some)
Serves 4

Zesty Baked Chicken

 Want muscles like that? Try this for recipe for a healthy protein packed dinner. Using a whole chicken is one of the most efficient ways to make a healthy and delicious meal. It is packed with lean protein and even the dark meat is full of nutrients like iron, zinc and B vitamins. A six ounce portion of white meat has 48 grams of protein and only 240 calories (dark meat has a little more calories but more essential nutrients). Healthy adults should consume about half of their body weight in protein a day and adults trying to build a lot of muscle should consume about one to one and a half times their body weight in protein. Try this recipe for a really painless meal that churns out a lot of flavor and necessary vitamins for the whole family.(She will probably be mad for posting this picture by the way!)

Savings: 10-15$
Ingredients: 1 whole chicken (try all natural for more flavor)
                      1 tbsp Sea Salt
                      2 tsp Pepper
                      1 tbsp Chili Powder
                      1Orange
                      1 Lime
                      2 tbsp Butter

MAD TV Meat Beaters

Such a great recipe I had to share!

Braciole: Stuffed Sirloin Steak

 Just so you know, I could get in big trouble for this recipe. This is insider information and I am willing to put my life on the line to leak it to you. At Publix, you'll find an item in the meat department called "stuffed Flank steak". Flank steak is not a great cut of meat but the way it is prepared, it's actually pretty good. But this recipe right here, is even better but does require a little work and a meat tenderizer. Instead of Flank, I decided to go with Top Sirloin Fillets. Top Sirloin is more tender and has better flavor, but it requires a little more work to stuff it and roll it. The extra work pays off in the end, trust me.

Savings: 5-10$
Ingredients: 1.5-2 lbs Top Sirloin Steak or Fillets
Fresh Spinach (1 bag)
Provolone Cheese (8 oz)
1 tbs salt                             
2 tsp pepper
1 clove garlic minced
1 cup EVO
1 tsp paprika
1 meat tenderizer

What's This? What's This?

What's in your pantry? Part II

This is my list of recommended items necessary to efficiently try new recipes at home. With these items, you should be able to try just about any basic dinner recipe. Don't forget about all the items listed in part one as well, it's kind of important.

I included a funny little story about my Uncle Wayne tricking me into eating a jalapeno too!

What's This, What's This?

What is in your pantry? Part 1
Do you have basic ingredients to make a delicious meal? Every one knows the bare necessities are milk, bread and beer. But what are the bare necessities for a home chef? There is nothing worse than wanting to try a new recipe and realizing you don't even have half of the ingredients. Here is a list of ingredients that I find essential to make trying new recipes fun and hassle free. Nobody wants to buy a shopping cart full of spices all at once so next time your shopping try to pick up a few of things at a time so that eventually your pantry will be ready for any recipe!

You're Doing it Wrong!

How do you make scrambled eggs? Do you premix the eggs in a bowl and do you add milk or water? Do you gently fold the layers repeatedly until the eggs look like stacks of paper or one big blob? Well, that's wrong, that is an omelet.  Don't get me wrong, I love a nice fluffy omelet. When I want scrambled eggs, I want nice creamy flavorful, non-dry, non-runny eggs.Also...What's the difference between white and brown eggs?


Savings: 8-22$ (Restaurants typically charge 1-2$ per egg.)
Ingredients: One dozen organic eggs are roughly
four dollars. Plain white eggs are typically just under two dollars. 
Trust me, organic eggs taste 10x better, in this instance you really "get what you pay for".