Crockpot BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Coleslaw and Homemade BBQ Sauce

This week at the grocery store I found a wonderful deal on pork shoulder, so I bought a couple, one for the freezer and one to cook this week.  I decided to make pulled pork sandwiches, and try my hand and making BBQ sauce from scratch for the first time. Everything turned out great, so I thought I'd share the recipe.

I got started on the pork nice and early in the morning, and had it in the crock pot by 8:00 am. I put the pork in the crock pot with about a cup of water and a can of cherry cola, I also gave it a little sprinkle of garlic powder, not much just a few pinches. I let the pork cook all day, I kept it on high for the first six hours then turned it down to low until dinner time.

During the day I made the coleslaw, I love BBQ dishes with coleslaw. It's better to make the coleslaw in advance so it has time to chill and let the flavors bloom. I shared my apple slaw this past fall, which would also be good with this meal, but I decided to make classic coleslaw.

Classic Coleslaw Recipe

1 bag shredded Coleslaw mix
1/2 an onion finely chopped
1 cup mayo
3 T sugar
1/8 cup milk
2-3 teaspoons white vinegar (apple cider vinegar also tastes great)
dash of sea salt
pepper to taste

First I combine the coleslaw mix and onion in a bowl and set it aside. In a smaller bowl I combine the rest of the ingredients except the pepper and whisk them together until combined. Usually it needs a little tweaking, perhaps a bit more sugar or vinegar, if it is too thick another splash of milk. The sauce should be sweet with a kick of vinegar, when the sauce is too your liking, pour it over the coleslaw and stir until combined, then add freshly ground black pepper to your taste, I like a medium amount, some people like more or less, my children like their coleslaw more mild, so I tend to go easier on the pepper. Stir until combined, then cover and chill.

About an hour and a half before dinner I started the BBQ sauce. This was my first attempt at making my own from scratch and it turned out yummy, so I will definitely be making it again and experimenting with different flavors. Here's how I made my BBQ Sauce.

BBQ Sauce Recipe-

2 1/2 cups ketchup
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1/4 cup honey
2 1/2 table spoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon of liquid smoke (more to taste)
1/8 cup yellow mustard (more to taste)
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar (more to taste)
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder (more to taste)
1 teaspoon onion powder (more to taste)
salt and pepper to taste
2/3 cup cherry cola

I combined all ingredients except the cherry cola in a sauce pan and mixed together over medium heat, when the sauce came to a very low boil I turned it down to simmer. After all the spices were combined I added the cherry cola and stirred that in until combined. I had quite a few tasting spoons nearby and added a bit more of what I thought it needed until it was just right. This was a mild sauce, nice and sweet with a little bite, my family likes things mild, but you could kick this up a notch with a couple dashes of hot sauce if desired. I definitely added a bit more garlic and onion powder and a little more mustard and molasses, it is important to taste as you go and adjust flavors as needed. If it gets too thick you could add a splash more cherry cola. Cook over low heat for around an hour, stirring frequently. I kept the sauce warm to serve it over the pork, but it could be cooled and saved for later.

When the pork was done I removed it from the crock pot with tongs and a large slotted spoon, into a roasting pan. I removed the bone and fat, then using two forks shredded the pork. I covered it with foil and prepared the buns- I gave the buns a light coating of softened butter and browned them on a flat griddle pan until they were a nice golden brown. Then it was time for dinner.

I served it assembly line, buffet style. Grab a bun, top it with shredded pork, top with sauce, then either top it with coleslaw, which is the way I love it, or serve the slaw on the side. Since BBQ pork and coleslaw is a filling meal all by itself, I served it with a simple side of grapes, fruit salad would also be good.

Slaw on the top, or slaw on the side, both delicious options!

I had plenty of left over pulled pork, it made delicious left-overs mixed with BBQ sauce thinned out a bit with some added soy sauce and more cola, along with plenty of sauteed onions, served over steamed jasmine rice. Sauteed bell peppers would be nice with this meal as well, and as I was eating the left overs I thought roasted pineapple chunks would be a really nice flavor addition as well. All around a great bargain cut of meat, it fed two adults and four teenagers two full dinners, as well as multiple lunches. We will definitely be having this meal again throughout the spring and summer.

Christmas 2013 and Two Festive Salads

We are still in the midst of our twelve days of Christmas here, and will be heading out soon to celebrate some more with friends of ours.  This year we have had a very nice Christmas celebration, we have spent a lot of time with family and friends with plenty of good food and treats.  I really enjoyed catching up with my family, it is so nice to see everyone!

We all had fun Christmas morning exchanging gifts, even the dogs got in on the action and had fun opening their Christmas squeaky ducks and dog treats in their stocking.  We all agree that the dog gifts are just as much a gift for the whole family, because the dogs are so fun to watch with their new treats, very entertaining!

This year I had a lot of fun with a gift that I made for my mom, sisters, and grandma. I have spent quite a bit of time organizing old family photos, and getting them scanned onto the computer, so I decided to make a photo book of our mom and her family and me and my sisters through the years.  I made the book at Walmart.com and I was very happy with how it turned out, everyone really enjoyed looking through all the old photos. I also included two sections of Christmas Past pictures, one set from the 50's and 60's and another set of the 70's and 80's, it was so fun to see the old styles of Christmas decor and types of gifts.

I titled the book A Walk Down Memory Lane, and for the cover photo, since I couldn't choose one picture, I decided to take a picture of a random pile of some of our vintage family photos, I really liked how it turned out! This was a very fun Christmas project!

On Christmas Eve we celebrated with Gary's family, his mother brought over Chicago Beef sandwiches which she had ordered all the way from Chicago from Portillos.com, Gary and his family are from Chicago, and being in Oregon we don't get to enjoy these classic Chicago treats too often, they were delicious!

On Christmas day I had my family over, and we had a Christmas lunch buffet, I made croissant sandwiches, with chips and dips, and a couple of salads and BBQ Little Smokey's. We had lots of Christmas cookies on hand to nibble on, as well as plenty of Candy Canes and Old Fashioned Ribbon candy (shown in the picture at the top of the page).  I thought I would share my two salad recipes from the day.  I made a classic Lime Christmas Ambrosia and my favorite salad, Broccoli, Bacon and Raisin salad.

Ingredients-
1 cup hot water
a few ice cubes
1- 6 oz package of lime Jell-O
2- 8 oz. tubs of cool whip
3- 15 1/4 oz cans of fruit cocktail
1 bag mini marshmallows
maraschino cherries for garnishing

In a large bowl combine Jello with 1 cup hot water stir until mostly dissolved, if the jello is still hot, add a few ice cubes and swirl around in jello until jello has cooled, remove any left over ice cubes. Add in both tubs of Cool Whip, and stir into the Jello, when the jello and cool whip are combined drain the cans of fruit and add the drained fruit into the Jello and cool whip, then fold in about 3/4 of the bag of mini marshmallows, fold it all together until combined.  Cover and chill in the fridge until the Ambrosia is set up which takes about 3-4 hours.  When you are ready to serve garnish the top with halves of maraschino cherries.  This recipe makes a pretty huge bowl full, and is meant to serve a large gathering of people and is the perfect size for a potluck, you could easily cut this recipe in half if you only needed it for a family sized meal.  This classic ambrosia is a nice sweet side dish, the kids seem to really enjoy it, I make a version with orange jello and mandarin oranges for Easter.

The next salad is a favorite in our family, Broccoli, Bacon, and Raisin Salad, this is a very easy salad to make and is always delicious for special meals and potlucks.

Ingredients-
A large bunch of fresh broccoli
1 package of bacon cooked and crumbled into small pieces
regular raisins (and golden raisins too if desired)
1 red onion
Mayonnaise
Milk
apple cider vinegar
sugar

I did not include amounts in this recipe because I make it according to how big of a bowl I want to make, and go by the look and taste of it.  When I am making this salad for a large group or for a potluck I buy two full produce bags of broccoli, the type without the large stems.  I start by cleaning the broccoli and cutting off the flowerettes into nice bite sized pieces, I do not use stem pieces at all.  Add the broccoli to a large mixing bowl, along with the cooked and crumbled bacon ( I made a really large salad for a group of 17 people so I added two packages of cooked and crumbled bacon), add between 1 and 2 cups of raisins depending on how much broccoli you have, add between half to a whole finely chopped red onion ( you don't want too much onion, just enough for a little zest, I only add a whole onion if I am making a huge bowl of salad) Toss ingredients together and set aside.  The dressing is also one of those recipes you have to taste to get right, and also make enough for the size of your salad.  Start with 1 cup of mayo and thin it with 1/8th cup of milk, add two teaspoons of apple cider vinegar and two teaspoons of sugar, stir to combine.  The dressing should be thin enough to easily toss with the salad, and not heavily coat it, if it is too thick add a bit more milk.  The dressing should be a touch sweet and have that bite of apple cider vinegar, I usually add a smidge more sugar and vinegar until I get the right balance, if you need a larger batch double the recipe so there will be enough for the size of salad.  When you are happy with the dressing, drizzle it over broccoli salad, and toss to lightly coat.  This salad is best when the flavors have a chance to mingle for a bit, I like to chill mine for at least an hour or two before serving.  The salty bacon and sweet raisins really complement the broccoli and the whole family loves it, it is also a hit at potlucks and disappears right away!

The whole day was a lot of fun.  I really enjoyed all the time with family!  I am looking forward to the New Year and have some fun easy New Years crafts that I am working on for decorations.  I hope everyone had a nice Christmas!

Mushroom Pot Pie

Happy Summer! Yesterday was the summer solstice, and summer has officially started.  In honor of the changing season, I thought I would make a special recipe that I have been wanting to experiment with for quite some time- Mushroom Pot Pie.  I love mushrooms, and I love down home comfort food like Pot pies, so it seamed like the perfect combination.

I decided that I wanted to put a few varieties of mushrooms in my pie, so I chose our favorite - portobello, as well as some baby portobello or crimini, some sliced white mushrooms, and shitake mushrooms.

Here is my recipe for Mushroom Pot Pie

• The equivalent of 4-5 pint size produce baskets of mushrooms- cleaned and cut up into various small chunks and slices
• 3 carrots peeled and cut into small cubes
• 3-4 ribs of celery thinly chopped
• 1 large onion chopped into small pieces
• 4 medium potatoes (I used red but any variety should do) cut into small cubes, and boiled until cooked, then drain and set aside.
• 2 cups vegetable or beef broth
• 1 stick of butter
• 1/2 cup flour
• salt, pepper, Italian blend herbs
• a double pie crust ( I use the crisco pie crust recipe)

Preheat oven to 400 F. 

I started by cutting up my carrots, celery, and onion, because they take the longest amount of time to cook.  When they were cut up, I put them in a small sauce pan, on the back burner, along with the two cups of broth, and cooked on medium high until boiling, then reduced to a simmer and covered.  These will continue cooking while you work on every thing else.  Next get your potatoes boiling, drain and reserve when cooked through and tender.  Next I cleaned and chopped the mushrooms, and set them aside while I made my pie crust, I put the bottom crust in a nine inch pie dish, and rolled out the top, and set it aside, it would be a good idea to cover top crust with wax paper so it doesn't dry out while prepping the rest of the filling.  

I then melted the stick of butter, on medium, in a large skillet, and added the mushrooms to the melted butter.  Stir mushrooms into butter, and add Italian blend herbs.  Cook over medium to medium low, stir occasionally, keep a lid over mushrooms for part of the time as well.  Continue cooking until mushrooms are tender, and cooked through, they will shrink down considerably, but don't let them brown.  When they are cooked remove them from the butter with a slotted spoon, and set them aside in a bowl.  Reserve butter and any mushroom broth in skillet.

Here are the mushrooms just getting started.

Check your carrots, celery and onion, when they are tender and cooked through, remove them from the broth with a slotted spoon, and put into the bowl with the mushrooms.  Now it's time to make the gravy.  

Add 1/3 cup of flour into the melted butter in the skillet that the mushrooms where cooked in, if it looks like you don't have enough butter add another tablespoon or two.  Cook the flour and butter mixture until it is a nice paste like consistency for a minute or two over medium high heat.  Then add reserved broth, and salt and pepper to taste, and whisk into a nice gravy, if there isn't much broth left, you can add a bit of water and/or milk (I added a little of both) add in small amounts, while whisking continuously, until an nice thicker gravy is ready, you don't want it too thin or the pie will be too soupy.   

In a large pan or mixing bowl, add mushrooms, cooked veggies and potatoes.

Then pour half of the gravy over mixture and gently stir to combine.  Add more gravy until mixture looks like it has a good amount of gravy but is not too soupy.  Then pour into bottom pie crust.

Put the top on the pie crust and seal edges.  If you like, you can cut out a mushroom shape (I used a mushroom shaped cookie cutter) from left over dough, and attach to top of pie with a little water, cut slits into the top pie crust like shown.

  

Bake at 400 F. for 10-15 minutes, then reduce temperature to 350 F. and bake for another 30- 40 minutes until crust is golden brown.  It helps prevent spillover in your oven if you bake the pie on a cookie sheet.

I love the way the mushroom cutout turned out.

I served this with a nice summer salad, made with spring baby greens, sliced radishes, halved grapes and tossed with a simple dressing made with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, a little honey, grainy dijon mustard, and a tablespoon or two of finely chopped shallots (I never measure, I just mix it in a bowl until it looks and tastes right).  The salad turned out great, the grapes added a nice fresh sweetness.

The whole family really loved this meal, and between the pie and the salad it was nice to serve so many different veggies, makes a mom happy. :)

This special meal was worth the extra time it took to prep and cook, sometimes it is just nice to take your time in the kitchen and enjoy some slow cooking.  

I hope everyone is enjoying the start of summer, our garden is finally getting going, and I am looking forward to doing a garden update within the next couple of days.