What We ate Wednesday. {Crockpot Pulled Pork}

Easy is my middle name, wait what?!

I mean when it comes to cooking, bahaha.

This is one of those set it forget super easy meals.

Pulled Pork:

- Boston Pork Butt {remember it will shrink down, so get a little more then you think you need}

- 2 beer OR 2 cans of root beer OR 2 cans Cherry Dr Pepper

-If you would like a little kick, you can add a chipotle pepper or two {adobe canned chipotle peppers}

- bottle of your favorite barbecue sauce {we are Sweet Baby Rays family}

1. Put the pork in crockpot, add which ever beverage you have chosen {and peppers if you are using them}. Water to cover the rest. Cook on low for 8 to 10 hrs.

2. With one hr left in cooking, take the pork out shredded and add it back to the liquid.

3. Once done place pork {minus liquid} in a baking dish. Mix with barbecue sauce and bake at 350 for 15 to 20 mins, until sauce gets sticky.

I made garlic buns, melted butter, garlic powder, a little salt and under the broiler.

And I made slaw, I do not measure with it, sorry, mayo, apple cider vinegar, salt and sugar.

And some corn with parmesan sprinkled on top.

And serve.

Enjoy!!

What We ate Wednesday, has moved...

Today's What We Ate Wednesday is over on Yellow Heart Art the blog.

See Leonora {below} is moving into new digs this week and I am helping a sista out with a little guest post...

Hop on over and enjoy!

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And do not forget to enter to win a knit circle scarf of your choice in color, HERE.

I would pick yellow...

What we ate Wednesday {Homemade Sauce with Chicken Sausage}

I love making things that the longer they sit on the stove the better they get.

You know incase you get into an intense game of Candyland and forget you have something

cooking, never happened to me {eyes shift to the side}.

Here is my homemade sauce recipe, fair warning I am not Italian so there is probably some major protocols missing, but this works for me!

What you will need:

- 28oz can of peeled plum tomatoes

- 2 tbsp olive oil

- 1 tbsp chopped garlic

- 1/2 tbsp sugar

-1 tsp kosher salt

- 2 tbsp cooking sherry {or red wine}

- a package of italian chicken sausage {optional}

- bag of spinach {optional}

- pasta

- parmesan cheese {optional}

Sorry for the lack of prep pics, I was slacking, story of my life.

-If you are going to be adding sausage, in a large sauce pan remove from the casing and cook over medium high heat until cooked thru.

- Remove from pan and add olive oil and garlic {or you can start at this point}.

-Cook garlic until just turning golden and then add tomatoes with liquid {if you cooked the sausage this is the point to deglaze all the yumminess stuck to the pan.}

- If you have potato masher, use it to mash up the tomatoes. If not a wooden spoon will work.

-Stir in the sugar, salt, and sherry.

- Add back in the sausage, cover and turn to low and simmer.

And here is where the magic happens. Just let it hang out in there.

Cook your pasta right before eating and at this point I would add the spinach to the sauce and stir it down while the pasta cooks.

Then plate and serve with some cheese and if you are feeling frisky some red pepper flakes.

I make this sauce pretty much every time we have pasta, but change it up, maybe make meatballs with it...

Enjoy!

What We ate Wednesday {Not Yo Grandmamas BLT}

***OK SO THIS WAS SUPPOSE TO POST TOMORROW, OH MAN***

This post really should be titled "What I ate Wednesday" since I eat at least one tomato sandwich a day. And sometimes two. There I said it, I love me some tomato sandwiches.

To make things more interesting I have been changing them up. And here is what I call

"Not Yo Grandmamas BLT"

What you will need:

- Red and yellow tomato {honestly you can just do red, the yellow is more for the effect, ha}

- Prosciutto {I like mine with three slices}

- Arugula

- Mayo

- Sriracha {if you do not know what Sriracha is, get to know, trust me mkay. It is sold at most food stores and even Target, you will find it in the asian food section.

Now get you some spicy asian ketchup!}

- Bread

Preheat the oven to 350, place your prosciutto on a cookie sheet and bake for 12 to 14 mins. It will start to curl up and and crisp. While that is cooking mix your mayo and sriracha together. Now this part is completely personal. I like mine spicy so I will use more of the sriracha, then most. Add a little stir, taste, then you can always add more. Then right before the prosciutto is about to come out, toast your bread. Now when choosing the right bread to toast, I judge it on wether is tears up the bottom of my mouth. The more tearing the better :)

Then assemble.

Smoosh and cut.

Yep, it's a two napkiner.

Enjoy!

What we ate Wednesday {Grilled Romaine and Flank Steak Salad with Balsamic Onion Bacon Dressing}

This recipe is adapted from my StepMommie's without actually having the recipe, so

not sure what is true to hers or not, haha!

But its super easy and SOOOOO tasty.

What you will need:

- Heads of romaine, you will use half per person.

- Flank steak

- 7 slices bacon cooked and crumbled

- blue cheese

- garlic

- small red onion {diced}

- balsamic glaze

- tomato

- olive oil

- a beer

Season your steak with salt and pepper, marinate with 2 tbsp garlic, 2 tbsp olive oil, and the beer. I would let sit on the corner for an hour.

Then grill your steaks 7 mins per side.

While you grill the steaks, trim the tops of the romaine and half them. Brush with olive oil and salt and pepper. Once the steak is done, grill the romaine until it gets a little char and welts a bit.

While the grilling is happening, in a small non stick pan cook the onion over medium high heat until it starts to brown.

Add half the bacon and 2 tbsp of the balsamic glaze. Cook for about 4 minutes. then right before serving add the rest of the bacon. Add more glaze if necessary.

To plate place a piece of the romaine, some sliced steak, blue cheese and the dressing. To add a little color some diced tomato on the side.

ENJOY!

Pie, its what for dinner {what we ate Wednesday, with a mini giveaway}

Ever wanted to test a theory.

Not one of those silly science fair ones you had to do as a kid, cause lets be honest has knowing wether a brick would reach the ground faster then an egg ever come in handy?!

No this theory is MUCH more important.

The hypothesis:

"If I stick ____ in a pie crust, then will it make it taste better?"

For todays test we are using shepherds pie. I mean come on PIE is in the name.

What you will need:

- 1 lb ground sirloin

- 1 cup chicken broth

- 1 cup onion diced small

- 2 to 3 carrots peeled and diced small

- 2 garlic cloves diced

- 1 tsp worcestershire

- 1 tbsp fresh thyme chopped

- 1 tbsp fresh rosemary chopped

- 1/2 cup frozen corn

- 1/2 cup frozen peas

- pie crust

- salt and pepper

- 2 tbsp all purpose flour

- olive oil

Over medium high heat add 2 tbsp of olive oil to large sauce pan. Once heated add carrots and onion. Cook for about 3 to 4 mins until brown.

Add meat, salt and pepper to taste. Cook until meat is cooked through. Then add the flour and mix well. Add chicken broth, herbs, worcestershire. Cook over low heat until thickened, about 2 to 3 mins.

Add corn and peas and cook for another minute.

Then take you mini pie maker, wait you do not have a mini pie maker?! Ha, not sure why I have one, other then it was in my stocking last year! But you can totally do this by hand. Now some of you "Martha's" out there will scoff at my pre-made pie crust, but if those generous people over at Pillsbury want to make pie crust, then the only nice thing to do is use it!

Ok back to the recipe.

Cut the premade stuff into 4 quarters.

Lay on side down and add filing.

And top with another piece, and press. Or if you are hand making, crimp the side and trim...

Bake pre your box of pie crust. Make sure to slit the top. And if you are feeling sassy, brush some melted butter and sprinkle with cheddar cheese. Makes about 8 individual pies.

So what did we learn today kids? Putting things in pie form, DOES make it taste better.

Hypothesis, PROVEN.

And not to be left out our dessert had to come in the shape of a pie.

Peach Pie to be exact.

What you will need:

- 4 peaches {peeled and cut into bite size pieces}

- sugar {1/4 cup}

- lemon

- 2 tbsp butter {with a little more melted for brushing the pies}

- dash of cinnamon

In a non stick pan over medium high heat, melt butter and sugar. Add peaches, about a tbsp of lemon juice and cinnamon. Cook for around 5-6 mins or until peaches soften but are still a smidge firm.

Oh and I forgot to tell you, my little pie maker, has a lattice on one side!

Fill and press.

Bake pre pie package instructions. Brush a little melted butter on top and sprinkle with a little bit more sugar.

Then serve warm with some vanilla ice cream...

Want to know something REALLY crazy. Somehow I have TWO, count them TWO, mini pie makers. Cause really I totally need two right?!

NOT.

So I would love for this unopened one to come live with one of you!

I will randomly pick a winner from all the comments left on this post.

You have until Friday!

What we ate Wednesday. {Lemon Piccata Chicken with Tomato Mozzarella}

We are trying to watch what we eat.

And as in "we" I really mean, Hubs.

But "we" need to think about dinners that are low in calories but still really filling.

Here is my version of Lemon Piccata Chicken with Tomato Mozzarella Salad.

{apologize in advance for the lack of photos, I am having a lazy summer}

What you will need.

- Chicken cutlets {1 per person}

- 1 cup all purpose flour

- salt & pepper

- 2 lemons

- 4 tablespoons cooking sherry

- Olive oil

1. Season both sides of your cutlets with salt and pepper, and squeeze lemon over both sides.

2. With your flour in a bowl, lightly dust the cutlets in it.

3. Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil over med heat in a pan. Cook chicken batches, about 3 to 4 mins per side. Once you flip over add 2 tbsp of sherry and a good squeeze of the lemon to the pan , and repeat per batch of chicken.

For the side I just cut thick slices of tomato, some fresh mozzarella, and a basil leaf. Topped with a little kosher salt and balsamic glaze {which you can make, but I have store bought, again lazy is my word of the summer}.

Thats it, super easy, super light, and super yummy. And if you care,the calorie count per serving is 271 for the serving size in the picture.

Enjoy!

What we ate Wednesday. {Ice Cream in a Bag}

I am killing two birds with one stone on this post, cause I am so into that these days.

Multitasking is my middle name.

So for the price of one post you get a "what we ate" and a mark on our "summer fun list".

Good deal right?!

When I saw Christina's from 2 little hooligans post on making ice cream in a bag, I added that baby to our summer fun list right away.

Oh and if you do not follow Christina, you really should. Besides being supa nice, she is one talented Momma.

Per Christina here is what you will need:

- 1 cup 1/2 and 1/2

- 2 tbsp sugar

- 1 tsp vanilla

- 1/2 cup coarse salt {I bought ice cream salt at my grocery store}

- quart size ziploc

- gallon size ziploc halfway filled with ice

Mix your 1/2 & 1/2, vanilla, and sugar together. Add to the quart ziploc and seal tight.

Place it in the gallon bag with ice and salt, seal.

Set a timer for 8 minutes and start shaking your bags.

Now I did this as a play date activity.

We gave the kiddies the bags and said ok "Shake what your Momma gave ya!"

30 secs, in they were done. So the Mommas took over, wish I had a picture of us, it was very humorous. You get a good workout with this. Some of my quotes during this shake-a-thon, "promise to come over again?" "this is the longest 8 mins of my life." "do you hate me?"

But once it was done, and we rinsed off our quart size bags with cold water, we had ICE CREAM!

It was the perfect balance of vanilla and sweet. SO SO SO yummy.

The kids loved every bite. And were very proud and thankful of their Mommas and our shaking skills.

Wish I had a bowl right now. We already have a list of different flavors we want to try.

And once we hugged all her friends good bye, Buggie got to mark off her first summertime fun activity!

Now your turn, please share what you have been up to in the kitchen...

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Did you enter my bloggie anniversary giveaway? Over $350 worth of goodies.

What we ate Wednesday. {Asian Slaw and Grilled Chicken}

My allergies are attacking me this week.

Putting me in a miserable state of sneezing, itchy eyes, and running nose.

So cooking is the last thing I want to do.

But alas my kids need to eat, those darn kids always needing to eat.

Easy has been the name of the game.

And for ME nothing is easier then grilling.

Why?

Because Hubs does the grilling, SO technically that means no cooking for me.

But making easy yummy sides I can do.

Asian Slaw.

Which this recipe was originally a dip our family friend Cindi makes,

that I turned into a cole slaw dressing.

What you will need:

- 1 cup mayo

- 2-3 tsp of wasabi paste

- 4 tsp soy sauce

- 1 and 1/2 tsp sugar

- 2 tsp fresh lemon juice

- bag of shredded cabbage

Put all your ingredients in a bowl and mix. Ha, told you easy.

Add to slaw, one tip for making cole slaw of any kind, add a little bit of sauce at a time.

Stir, then add more, you always need a lot less then you think. And you can use the leftover sauce for dipping your chicken.

We had ours with some grilled teriyaki chicken and endamame. Just a note my favorite store brand teriyaki is Soy Vay Veri Veri Teriyaki, you can get it at Target or Whole Foods. I think it has the best and freshest flavor.

And you can see why Hubs is the griller in the family.

Best chicken EVA.

Enjoy.

Please share what's been brewing in your kitchens...