Quick&Easy Pulled Pork BBQ

I had a few days off from what seemed like a long time, so of course I had tons of errands and chores to do. I wanted to make dinner, but didn’t know how much time I would have at the end of the day, so I thought I would make things easy and make a crockpot meal. I have had a craving for pulled pork recently, and happened to come across this Hormel pre packaged pork shoulder. Already marinated and ready to go! All you have to do is get out your crockpot and put in the pork and cook! Instead of using some fattening coleslaw, I decided to try something different to put on my sandwich. I decided to try this corn & jalapeno “slaw” with feta cheese. I lost the recipe so I kind of just made it up as I went (with lots of taste testing) It ended up tasting better than I thought! The sandwich and “slaw” give you an amazing combination of sweet and spicy. I promise you won’t be disappointed!

Not only does this meal taste great, it’s super quick and easy and involves very little dirty dishes! (Something my husband was thankful for.)

This is the pork package that I found at the grocery, directions are on the label and very simple! Slow cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4-5 hours. I decided to add some honey on the pork with the pre-marinated sauce which ended up being a very good idea!

After the pork has been cooking for a few hours, take a fork or spatula and shred the pork in the crock pot. Doing this will break up the meat and it’s juices and help the marinating sauce absorb the meat better. I also added more honey at this time and mixed well.

Once the pork is done, take a medium size bowl and get out all of your ingredients for the “slaw”. I bought frozen roasted corn so I didn’t have to buy corn on the cob, cut it, then roast it. It’s a huge time saver and tastes just as good! Cook your frozen corn according to package directions. Take your jalapeno and mince into small pieces. You can use more or less depending on how spicy you like your food. Add your feta, lime, and siracha. (Siracha is spicy, so if you’re not big on spicy foods I would omit it or omit the jalapenos).

I would suggest adding red onion to this recipe, I forgot to buy one at the store and had to do without! Add half a red onion, minced. Once done mixing, place on your sandwich and enjoy a healthier way to eat bbq sandwiches!

What you’ll need:
boneless pork shoulder (pre marinated or you can marinate your own!)
1/3 cup of honey (give or take, I didn’t measure it out)
1 package of whole wheat hamburger buns
For the “slaw”:
1 package roasted frozen corn
1/2-1 jalapeno, minced 
crumbled feta cheese (just go by how much you’d like in your mixture)
juice of 1 lime
1 generous squeeze of siracha sauce
salt & pepper

Teriyaki Chicken Salad

Today is the day your teriyaki dreams come true!! This is a new twist on a very common favorite: chicken salad. My future mother-in-law gave me this amazing recipe. She made this for me when I was visiting over Christmas time and came down with a little fever (She’s the best!!)

This is super easy to make, just takes a crock pot and about 4 hours and voila! For about 4 servings worth, (I tend to over due it on the salad portion) you will need 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (trimming fat and rinsing of course!) Place the chicken and all of the ingredients into a slow cooker. Cook on low for about 4 hours. After about 1 1/2 hours you should be able to shred the chicken, this way all of the flavors will blend in together and taste delicious 🙂

Once it’s all cooked, drain the liquid remaining and place the chicken into a bowl. Add mayo until it reaches the right consistency for you. And Enjoy on some toast, crackers, whatever you would like!!

What you’ll need:

4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1/2 cup soy sauce

4 Tbsp honey

2 Tbsp red wine vinegar

1 clove garlic

1 tsp ginger

1/8 tsp onion powder

1/4 cup olive oil

Slow cooker

Toast (I thought our Honey Wheat bread tasted great with this!)

  

Pulled Pork Tacos with Corn Tortillas

I asked RJ what he wanted for dinner and he said tacos. I wanted to do something different than my usual ground beef and taco seasoning. So I did some research and found this awesome looking recipe from Food Network! I am not lying when I say these tacos tasted so fresh I felt like I was in Mexico!!! The smoky pork was obviously the star of this meal, you cook it slowly with chilies, cinnamon, honey and many other spices, but the sweet and spicy flavor is unbeatable!! As you can see on this picture, every taco was dressed differently. My favorite was the top one, I sauteed purple onions & tomatoes with some sugar and salt & pepper. I also added some juice from the slow cooker and sprinkles of goat cheese. Plain, simple and sooo good. The other two I added shredded cheese, lettuce, taco sauce, sour cream, and salsa. I highly recommend corn flour tortillas with this recipe.

This is super easy to make the longest part is the slow cooker, you need to cook it for 5 hours, I cooked mine for 4:30 because my meat was about 1/2 lb less than what the recipe called for. Let’s start:

The recipe calls for ancho and pasilla chiles, however I could not find pasilla chiles so I only used ancho. These chiles will be found in your ethnic aisle and they are dark and dried. You will want to put the chiles in a bowl along with the garlic (unpeeled) put in the microwave for 2 minutes, or until soft. Take out the seeds and stems and peel the garlic. Place in a food processor and blend. Next, add the chipotles, onion, 2 tablespoons olive oil, honey, vinegar, 1 tablespoon salt and the oregano to the blender; puree until smooth like you see above.

Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over high heat; add the chile sauce and fry, stirring, until thick and fragrant, about 6-8 minutes. Pour in the broth and reduce until slightly thickened. Rub salt & pepper on your meat, place into the crock pot and add the cinnamon stick and bay leaves, then pour the sauce over top. Close the lid and cook on high for 5 hours.

When the meat is done, you will be able to shred the pork using two forks. The meat should fall right off! Now heat up your tortillas and assemble whichever way you like! I suggest putting some of the crock pot sauce over the pork on the taco and also I suggest sauteing the onions and tomatoes with some sugar and salt and pepper. I added goat cheese which really gave it that authentic taste!

The one thing I love about tacos is that you can build it whichever way you want, use your creativity!!

After eating these you will probably need time for a little siesta 🙂 enjoy!

What you’ll need:

• 3 whole ancho chiles
• 3 whole pasilla chiles (I couldn’t find these so I didn’t use them in mine and they tasted great!)
• 4 cloves garlic, unpeeled
• 2 to 3 chipotles in adobo sauce
• 1/2 medium white onion, roughly chopped
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• Kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 3 3/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 4 pounds boneless pork shoulder (untrimmed)
• Freshly ground pepper
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 cinnamon stick
• Corn tortillas, warmed, for serving
• Assorted taco toppings, for garnish (I used goat cheese, purple onions and tomatoes, salsa, sour cream, lettuce, shredded cheese, taco sauce [pretty much anything you can think of to put on a taco])

White Bean Chicken Chili

This recipe is also from my mother! This chili reminds me of my days in high school when I ran Cross Country and every year my mom would make this at our state meets held in the KY Horsepark, it would always be in the month of November and it was always so comforting to have a heaping bowl of this after a long and hard run in the cold weather! Just the smell of this chili today brought back some nostalgia for me and remembering how much I miss this sport and my teammates! 

What you will need: 

2lbs. boneless skinless chicken breast, boiled and shredded

1 medium onion

1 large garlic clove

2 cans of white beans 

2 cans of chicken stock/broth

2 small cans of diced green chilis

1 tbsp of cumin

1 tsp of chili powder

Pinch of crushed red pepper

Shredded cheddar cheese

Light sour cream

This chili is so easy to make and tastes amazing! Here is the how-to:

Boil a large pot of  water and add the chicken. Boil for 20 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink. (the thicker the chicken breast,the longer it will take) 

Once the chicken is cooked, put it to the side to cool. If there is some pink, that’s ok because it will cook in the crock pot! 

While it is cooling, take your minced garlic and onion and saute it with some EVOO salt and pepper until the onion is translucent.

Next, shred the chicken using either your hands, or two forks. You want to shred it along the same angle as the chicken meat is. This makes it a lot easier for you. Once it is shredded, place it in the crockpot. 

You couldn’t ask for an easier dinner! All that is left to do now is add the rest of the ingredients to the pot and mix everything together. Put the crockpot on LOW and you want to cook it for 6-8 hours, stirring occasionally throughout.  

Once dinner is ready I like to add shredded cheese and sour cream! I also made Cornbread to serve with it, I use the JIFFY brand box, simple to make and so good with the chili! 

I hope you enjoy this meal, and please take advantage of curling up on the couch with a hot bowl and watching some Football 🙂