Crockpot Pulled Pork

It's been a lovely fall here in Iowa.  The colors of the changing leaves were fantastic, and it hasn't really been cold yet.  It's been cool to chilly at night, and I've never lived anywhere before where there is a true fall season, so it's been wonderful.  Lately, I've been trying to cook some meals in the crockpot while I'm at school to save me from having to cook when I get home (usually tired!).  I had tried this recipe when we lived in Alabama, and loved it, so I brought it out again.  It's so delicious and easy.  Jonathan is obsessed with it!  I served it on homemade rolls from the Amish community 15 minutes down the road.  It got gobbled up so quickly I forgot to take a picture, so here's a link to the original site I got it from.

1 large Vidalia onion, sliced thin
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. paprika
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1 (3-5 lb) pork shoulder or pork butt roast
3/4 cup cider vinegar
4 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1 1/2 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
Your favorite BBQ sauce

Rinse pork under cold water and pat dry with paper towels.  Trim away excess fat.  Place onions in the bottom of the crockpot.  In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, paprika, salt, and black pepper.  Rub mixture all over the roast, and set roast on top of the onions.

In a medium bowl, mix cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, crushed red pepper flakes, sugar, mustard, garlic salt, and cayenne pepper.  Whisk well to combine, and drizzle 2/3 of the mixture over the roast.  Cover and refrigerate the rest of the mixture.

Cover crockpot and cook roast on low 10-12 hours.  Drizzle remaining vinegar mixture over roast when 30 minutes are left in cooking.  Once cooked, shred meat with two forks and serve with your favorite bbq sauce.

Modified from:  My Baking Addiction

Beef and Spinach Enchiladas

I haven't had much time lately to photograph many of my cooking concoctions (we tend to scarf them down, and then I remember that I wanted to take a picture!), so here's an oldie but a goodie.  This is a recipe that my good friend and dental school classmate, Laura, gave me. It is an easy meal to throw together, and it even tastes great as leftovers.

1 lb. extra-lean ground beef, cooked and drained

2.5 cups chunky salsa, divided

1 package frozen spinach, thawed and all excess moisture squeezed out

4 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. salt

8 oz. reduced-fat cream cheese, cubed

12 flour tortillas

8 oz. 2% shredded cheddar

Preheat oven to 350.  Cook meat in a saucepan, then drain.  heat in the same saucepan the ground beef, 1 cup salsa, spinach, cumin, salt, and cream cheese until melted.  Spoon 1/3 cup of the filling down the center of each tortilla.  Roll them up and place seam down in a lightly greased 9x13" pan.  Spoon remanning salsa over the enchiladas and place in the oven, uncovered.  Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until hot.  Add cheese on top and return to oven, just to melt.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!  For our pumpkins this year, we decided to celebrate our new home in Iowa.  We carved a Hawkeye, and of course, an Auburn logo.   Some friends had us over for pumpkin-carving, and it was a fun night!

Carving away... Jonathan did most of the work on our pumpkin :)

The finished products

Pumpkins to celebrate our past and present!

Pumpkin Patch Day

For years now, I've been wanting to go to a pumpkin patch and corn maze, so when our friends Cole and Allison invited us to go with them, I was so excited!  We actually had a cold front come through the day before, so it was quite a chilly day, but it just made it feel that much more like a fall day.  We had a wonderful time!  Here are some of my favorite pics from the day:

All of us together (along with our friends' sweet baby)

Picking out our pumpkin

Giant rocking chair

The boys got in trouble for breaking the rules :)

The corn maze was so fun!

PB and Chocolate Pretzels Bites

This recipe has similar ingredients to the peanut butter pretzel balls recipe I posted a month or so ago, so I decided to try it out since I had the ingredients on hand.  Yummers!

1 cup creamy peanut butter
2 Tbsp. softened butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
Pretzels
1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

Combine peanut butter and softened butter with a large fork or in the bowl of a stand mixer.  Add the sugars and combine to mix.  At this point, the filling will roll into balls without sticking to your hands; if it doesn't, add a little more of each sugar until it does.  Use a teaspoon measure to scoop the filling, roll into a ball, and squish between 2 pretzels.  When all "sandwiches" have been made, put in freezer for 30 minutes or more to harden.

Pour the chocolate chips into a bowl, and microwave to melt, stirring in 30-second intervals.  Add 1 Tbsp. of peanut butter into the chocolate just before completely melted, then microwave slightly more until smooth.  Remove pretzels sandwiches from the freezer and dip each half-way into the chocolate.  Place on tray to dry, then freeze or refrigerate to set.  Store extras in refrigerator.

Source:  Two Tiny Kitchens

Pink Salad

I don't know if "pink salad" is the official name of this fluffy, fruity dessert, but that's what my mom always called it. It's a light, low fat snack or dessert. It's something served at a lot of Southern potluck dinners, but everyone has their own spin on it. Here's what I like to do:

12 oz. fat free Cool Whip

1 pkg. Sugar-Free strawberry Jell-O powder

24 oz. fat free cottage cheese

1 small can crushed pineapple, drained well

1 small can mandarin oranges, drained well

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Chill for 2 hours before serving. Tip: Sometimes I'll switch out the mandarin oranges for a can of fruit cocktail, or I leave them out all together. It really depends on what I have on hand.

Summer Orzo Salad

I'm a little late posting this, but for the 4th of July, all the residents in my ortho program had a cookout.  I brought this yummy pasta salad I found online.  It turned out great!  I made a giant bowl of it and there was only a tiny bit left afterward.  It is refreshing and light for a pasta salad, which is perfect on a hot summer day.

4 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups orzo
About 2/3 of a 15 oz. can of garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 cups red and yellow cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
3/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. honey
2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Pour broth in a large saucepan and bring to a boil.  Once boiling, stir in orzo, cover partially, and cook for 7 minutes, stirring frequently.  Drain orzo and transfer to a large wide bowl and toss to cool.  Set aside to cool completely.

Meanwhile, combine red wine vinegar, lemon juice, honey, sugar, salt, black pepper, and oil in a bowl. Stir well to combine.

Toss the orzo with the beans, tomatoes, onion, basil, mint, and vinegar mixture.  Season, to taste, with more salt and pepper, and serve at room texture.

Adapted from:  Stacey's Snacks, originally from Giada DeLaurentis