Easy Crockpot Pulled Pork

 

If you are like me, your days are beyond full!  A typical day for me could include a full day of homeschooling, laundry, a Dr. visit, various emails and phone calls, and to top it all off music lessons for both kids.  On days like this I can't be cooking a three course meal! LOL:)  With multiple food allergies, I just can't run to McD's for dinner either.  Prepacked food?  Nope....nothing there either.  For days like this, I love to use the crock pot.  Easy, nutritious, and satisfying, crockpots save the day!  This is one our families favorites.  I usually keep a pork roast in the freezer as a backup.  This recipe is excellent for the freezer in case you do once a month cooking. 

Easy Crockpot Pulled Pork

1 Pork Roast

 (I normally use a pork shoulder roast.  I have been known to use a Boston Butt Roast.  If you are looking for a leaner pulled pork, you could use a Sirloin Roast.)

1 bottle of GF Beer ( or substitute 12 oz of Beef/Chicken Broth)

Salt to Taste

The extremely "complicated" instructions:)

Place the roast in the crockpot.

Pour beer/broth over the roast. 

 For this batch I used Hard Apple Cider.  I thought the flavor of the apple would taste wonderful with the pork. 

As you can see, the beer/broth does not cover the roast.  The beer is only about 1 inch deep.  This roast is approximately 4lbs.  If I was using a larger roast (i.e. 8 lbs), I would use 2 bottles of beer.  

Cover and cook on low for 10 hours.

After 10 hours, your roast should know look like this:

 

Remove from the crockpot and shred with two forks.  (Take the forks and pull them in opposite directions to "pull" the pork.)

Final Results:

Place the pulled pork back into the crockpot to soak in all of the juicy goodness of the beer.  Salt to taste.  I also add garlic powder too.  Because we drench with BBQ Sauce, I use a light hand with the seasoning.  

Our BBQ Sauce (I only find this at Wal-Mart). 

This sauce does contain High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS).  My children are fine with corn syrup - not corn proteins.  I will post a recipe for homemade HFCS-free  BBQ Sauce soon.  

Enjoy!

 

Warm Lentil Stew.....

Our family loves soup. When I say love, I should use a thesaurus to find plenty of adjectives to prove the point. This recipe started as a school project. The munchkins have been learning about ancients and making lentil stew was a fine art project. I am not an artsy person so this activity was right up my alley - - eating. Perfect! I found this recipe on www.allrecipes.com so I can not claim full rights on it. Although, I have made adjustments which I will note as I enter the recipe. I am sorry I do not have any photos, I keep forgetting to take out the camera.

Lentil Stew

1 onion, chopped

1/4c. olive oil

2 carrots, diced

2 stalks celery, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon dried oregano (I used Italian Seasoning instead)

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon dried basil (I totally skipped this)

1 (14.5 ounce) can crushed tomatoes

1 lb. bulk Italian Sausage (The recipe didn't call for this.)

2 c. dried lentils

8 cups water

1/2 c. spinach (I used WAY more than 1/2 c.!)

2 T. Vinegar

Salt and Pepper to taste.

In a large soup pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions, carrots, and celery - cook and stir until onion is tender. Stir in garlic, bay leaf, oregano, and basil - cook for 2 minutes.

Stir in lentils and add water and tomatoes. Bring to a boil. I added small sausage meatballs here. Simmer for at least 1 hour. When ready to serve, stir in spinach and cook until it wilts. Stir in vinegar and season to taste with salt and pepper.

I did notice that I did need to add more water towards the end of the hour of simmering.

Happy Eating:)

Spaghetti Sauce

After the conference last week and a whirlwind trip to home (my DH is currently in school for 10 months and we made a temporary move), I needed an easy meal last night. DH picked up Tinkyada pasta for the kids and we were set to go.

There are pasta sauces that my kids can eat out of the jar.....but they are spoiled and won't eat them. They prefer my homemade sauce. This recipe is based on how my mom made sauce growing up - tweaked to meet my families tastes.

Spaghetti Sauce

1 lb ground beef - browned

1 med onion - diced

2. c tomato paste

6 c. water

1/4 c. Italian Seasoning

Salt and Sugar to taste.

Saute onion in a little oil until soft. Add browned ground beef, tomato paste, water, and Italian Seasoning and mix. Add salt and sugar to taste. Simmer for 30 minutes.

The sugar amount will depend on how sweet you like your sauce. My mom and I like our sauce to be on the sour side. My DH and kiddo's like it to be on the sweeter side. So I probally use upwards of a 1/4 c. of sugar in this recipe for my family.

Roast Beef - The Easy Way

I love meals that cook themselves! My mom made this meal the entire time I was growing up and still makes it for our family when we come home to visit.

Crock Pot Roast Beef

One Crock pot:)

5-6 lb. Beef Roast - (I normally use the least expensive cut at the store)

1 Large Onion

approx. 1/4 cup Italian Seasoning

Salt and Pepper to taste (I usually use a lot but I am heavy handed with these on a regular basis!)

1-2 c. of water depending on size of crock pot.

Place Roast in the crock pot, add all other ingredients, cover and cook until it falls apart. Usually 8-10 hours on low. In terms of the water amount - my mom has a smaller tall round crock pot and she uses only 1 cup of water. I have one of those new larger oval super fancy turns off when it is done cooking crock pots - so I use 2 cups of water.

Ideas for using up the roast beef:

Roast Beef, Baked Potatoes, Veggies and a salad - usually the first meal we eat

Roast Beef Sandwiches for lunch the next day

BBQ Beef and Chips

Any other ideas? I would love to hear about them!