BBQ Pulled Pork

One of my favorite crock pot recipes is pulled pork, it is so versatile and it feeds so many people! I usually cook it with just a little salt and pepper and a can of beer but today I decided to jazz things up and add some good old fashioned BBQ sauce.

I also neglected to take a picture of all the ingredients... BUT I promise you will love this recipe even if it doesn't come with a step by step photo guide ;)

You will need:

• 2-3lb Pork Butt (I use bone in because it makes it even more juicy and yummy, but you can use boneless if you prefer)
• 12 oz Beer
• Bottle of your favorite sauce - I used the HEB Texas Flavor and let me just say, I did not regret it... just the right amount of tang and heat.

Rub the pork with salt and pepper, then combine all ingredients into a crock pot and cook on low for 8-12 hours, low and slow y'all... it's the only way to do pork. TRUST ME. 

Another tip... put that pork fatty side up so as the fat melts it runs through all the meat keeping it nice and juicy.

Once the pork is cooked, shred with a fork and remove any bones - they make a nice treat for puppies if you have one hanging around. 

After shredding, allow pork to cook in sauce/juices for another 30-60 min then serve anyway you choose. 

I made sliders this time around and served them with borracho beans and roasted sweet potatoes... but you can also use the pork to make enchiladas, nachos or whatever your little heart desires!

Meatball Subs

Soooo HEB has meatballs on sale this week, and I love a good grocery sale, but before stocking up on the pre-made meatballs I decided to try them out first. I have to tell you, they are incredibly delicious and so easy to make! Just pop them in the oven for 20 minutes on a foil wrapped pan and voila! You can do so many fun recipes with these but we opted for the traditional meatball sub. 

Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures of the cooking process because it was a team effort in the midst of getting the boys down for bed (sigh, schedules) but I did manage to snap one photo of my sub before it was inhaled by me. 

You will need: 

1 pkg of pre-made meatballs (4 per sub)

2 sub loafs* 

*I use the ones in the big glass case at HEB I think they are only 50 cents

1-2 pkgs Mozzarella (3 slices per sub)

1 large carton of tomato sauce (no salt added)

1 cup of red wine

1 teaspoon basil

1 teaspoon parsley

pinch of oregano

1/2 teaspoon of salt (more to taste)

2 cloves of garlic minced (I use the pre minced stuff in the jar)

Prepare meatballs according to package (line a baking pan with foil and cook at 375 for 20 minutes) - we tried the spicy italian ones and they were so good! 

While the balls are cookin' prepare your sauce (I'm sure you can use any jar sauce as well but I like to make this simple one that I use for everything, including lasagna...)

Add about half of the tomato sauce, basil, parsley, oregano, salt, garlic and wine to a small/medium saucepan. Bring to a "boil-ish" aka get it pretty hot, then cover and simmer for about 15-20 minutes. Taste the sauce and adjust seasonings as needed... if too salty add more tomato sauce, if not salty enough add more... you get the gist. 

When you are ready to make the subs, use the same pan or a different one it's up to you, just make sure it's a foil lined one. 

Slice your sub buns down the middle and press the bread inside to make an indention for the meatballs. 

Next add your meatballs to the sub (it should fit 3-4). They will probably be hot so I suggest using a fork or spatula for this step. 

Next, spoon some delicious sauce over the meatballs, but not too much or the bread will be soggy.

Use a slice of cheese and tear it to stuff in and around the meatballs -you will not regret this step, not one bit...

Cover the sub with two slices of mozzarella. 

Set your oven to broil and place subs in the oven on a foil wrapped pan. 

MAKE SURE you keep a close eye on these, seriously don't leave the room. They should take about 5 minutes max depending on your oven but you want to pull them out as soon as the cheese begins to brown. If you don't they go from brown to black VERY quickly.

If you're like me and prefer a lot of sauce there should be plenty left over for dipping! 

These subs pair beautifully with any side but I like them with a salad because they are fairly heavy. 

A New Sister and A New Dip

So my little brother, the one who I used to tote around on my hip and was basically my very own live baby doll is getting married. He is so grown up and he found this amazing woman to call his wife, I could not be happier for them - in fact I sometimes cry happy tears thinking about it.

I mean could they be any cuter?

This weekend we spent a few days in Montgomery prepping and hosting a surprise engagement party for those cuties (more on that to come in another post) and we had such a great time celebrating with both family and friends.

 For the party I whipped up a jalapeno popper dip and I just had to share it. This would make the perfect addition to any Superbowl gathering. I have made variations of this dip a few times but this round was by far the best.

You will need:

Cream Cheese (16 oz softened)

Mayonaise (the real stuff about 1/2 cup)

Sour Cream (8 oz)

1 stick of Butter Melted

1 small can diced green chiles

2-3 large jalapenos (seeded and diced)

1 bunch of green onions chopped/diced

3 bags of Real Bacon Pieces (in the salad aisle)

1 sleeve of ritz crackers

2 cups Shredded Cheddar

2 cups Shredded Mexican Blend

A Square Baking Dish

Fork

Spatula

Microwave safe bowl

1. Preheat oven to 350

2. Combine everything but the crackers and butter into a large bowl and mix together (I find a fork does the trick very well)

3. Use a spatula (the silicone kind are great for this) to scrap contents of the bowl into a glass or ceramic baking dish. This amount fills a 8x8 pyrex dish beautifully! I don't normally spray the dish because the grease from the cheese is plenty to keep it from sticking.

4. Melt butter in a microwave safe dish or bowl (about 1 minute should do it) Crush the ritz crackers and add to the butter, stir to coat the crumbs evenly.

5.Top the cheese mixture with crackers and bake at 350 until the top is browned and the cheese bubbles. Usually takes around 25-30 minutes, but I check on it every 15 just to be safe.

I serve the dip with fritos scoops but it really can go with any kind of chip! This dip is best served warm thought so I recommend setting on a hot plate if you are going to have it out for a party.

Chicken Enchilada Soup

This recipe is one that I had for the first time at my Aunt's house. Someone made this for her after my grandfather's funeral and it was as delicious and comforting then as it is now. I have since made a few changes to it and tweaked it to make it perfect. Today I added a new twist that turned out extra delicious. The thing I love about this soup is how versatile and adaptable it is. While it does have a Mexican flair you can serve it so many ways. I've made it with cheesy bread, tortilla chips, over a bed of rice. You can add beans to give it a hearty flavor or keep it simple. 

However you decide to tweak it, if you are looking for a good comfort soup that is easy to throw together this recipe is for you. 

You will need

A crockpot or LARGE soup pot

64 oz Chicken Broth (or 4 chicken bouillon cubes and 64 oz of water)

1 Rotisserie Chicken or about 2-3 lbs of chicken (a whole fryer)

1-2 cans cheddar condensed soup* 

2 pkg McCormicks chicken taco seasoning** 

1 medium onion diced (I didn't use today but normally do)

1/2 block velveeta

corn tortillas

cooking spray

optional: 

shredded mexican blend cheese

sour cream

avacado

pico de gallo

Serves 6-8 people

Steps

If you are going to use a rotisserie chicken, which I highly recommend you will need to de-bone and shred the chicken. This takes about 15 minutes.  I used a mesquite chicken today but HEB makes a jalapeño lime one that is AH-mazing in this soup. I prefer to use rotisserie for most recipes that call for shredded chicken because I think the mixture of dark and white meat is delicious and it's already cooked so it saves me cooking time.

If you are using just regular chicken breasts you can throw them into the crockpot whole and uncooked, you will need to shred them about 4-5 hours into the cooking process though. You can also precook the chicken in a pot with the onion.  

To de-bone the chicken I use to forks and pull as much meat away from the bones as possible then toss it into the lid. Then I use my hands to pull the remaining meat off and throw it in the lid as well. I take the same forks and shred the chicken in the lid then dump into the crock pot with the chicken broth (I used water and bullion cubes today), diced onion, taco seasoning, 1 can of cheddar soup and 1/2 block velveeta.

 

Wyatt helped me cook today instead of napping...

After you put everything into the crock pot, give it a good stir, put the lid on and set it on low for about 6 hours - you may need to stir it periodically if you are home - if not don't worry about it. Also if you need to have a longer or shorter cooking time no worries - the longer you cook this soup the more delicious it gets but if you are using pre cooked chicken it can be ready as soon as the cheese melts if needed. 

About 40 minutes before dinner I start prepping the garnishes. I normally like to fry my corn tortilla strips but today I baked them and they turned out just as good without the mess of frying. 

Cut the tortillas into 1/2 inch strips and spread out onto a foil covered baking pan so that they are not touching each other

Coat strips evenly with cooking spray

 

Bake at 425 degrees until crispy (you may need to toss them around a couple times while baking, I set the timer for 10 mintes, toss, 5 minutes toss and then a final 5 minutes to crisp them - the main thing is to keep an eye on them or they will burn)

Once your soup is done - throw it in a bowl top with crispy tortilla strips, sour cream, avocado, more cheese, pico de gallo and whatever else sounds good to you!

*If you like a thicker soup you can add 2 cans of cheddar soup - I usually do one because I prefer the broth texture

**I only had one package of taco seasoning so I substituted a spicy ranch dip packet for one of the taco seasonings and it was deliciously tangy