Pulled Pork

10:30 pm a few night ago my sweet mama texts me asking if I'm awake. Knowing she is usually in bed by this point it had me a little concerned. I quickly responded with an "of course, what's wrong"...typical Italian assuming the worse! Nothing...no response then after many texts on my part freaking out, she finally asks if she can call me. At this point I'm really freaked and am running through every possible horrible scenario in my head. I answer with a quick "are you ok?! what's going on?!" and she proceeds to tell him how her phone is possessed and wont send text messages and that she simply wanted to tell me about the super simple pulled pork crock pot recipe that she made that night.

Yes...I had a mild heart attack because my dear sweet mama wanted to share a recipe! Gotta love her! After we both cracked up at how scared I had been thinking of the first doom and gloom situation I could possibly come up with she proceeded to tell me of the yumminess she had made that night.

As every true self respecting southerner knows coleslaw is a must on top of any bbq sandwich. 

Crock Pot Pulled Pork 

* Pork, any fairly priced cut will do

* 1 can of Rootbeer

* Bottle of favorite BBQ sauce

All you do is place the pork piece into a crock pot and pour in the rootbeer. Then allow it to cook on high for 4-6 hours (depends on size of meat). After the meat is fully cooked pull apart with two forks. Allow it to sit in the turned off crock pot absorbing as much of the juices as possible. When you are ready to serve strain the cooking liquid and place the meat back into the crock pot and add the bbq sauce...again quantities are based on how much meat you have...can you have too much bbq sauce?!

The coleslaw was super easy and you could definitely just buy some already made from any grocery store. I made my own and used pre-made coleslaw mix and then added mayo, apple cider vinegar, dry mustard, celery seed, salt and pepper...all to taste. Of course there are plenty of very yummy coleslaw recipes on the internet so just make your favorite. Let me know what you think! I just love easy crock pot meals that taste as though you have slaved away in a kitchen! What are your favorites?

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Keilbasa Dinner

A few weeks ago, I was in need of a recipe and a mom in the moms Facebook group I'm in suggested one that was super easy and super yummy! It has very few ingredients.

1. Butter

2. Hillshire farm smoked kielbasa 

3. Green cabbage (the waxy kind)

4. Canned tomatoes. 

Salt and pepper

I cut up the kielbasa into coin sized rounds then place them into a heated skillet. No oil no butter. Just let them brown. Move them around occasionally so they don't burn. 

In another (bigger) pan, I melt 2-3 tbs of butter. The butter amount all depends on how much cabbage you use, you can always add more butter. Use as much cabbage as you see fit. Enough to feed your family, cut it into thin (not too thin) strips. I let it sweat until it is translucentish. 

Once the kielbasa is ready I simply poor it all ontop of the cabbage, grease and all. 

Then open a can of diced tomatoes and poor it all into the pan and mix it all together. 

Salt, pepper, allow the tomato juice to simmer and reduce down a bit. 

Serve and enjoy!

Even EM who has a pickier pallet than I enjoys this dish. He actually buys the ingredients himself so I can make it. Heck he even gets seconds and thirds. Not to mention, this is a super quick dish to throw together...it's perfect for a quick fix!

So give it a try and let me know what you think!


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Polish Dinner for Two

this past week i made what was quite the scrumptious dinner for EM and i. i really didnt have a plan except for i knew what ingredients i had to work with. 

 

polish kielbasa, organic kale, potatoes and onions.  

when i cook i rarely measure anything so forgive me for not having exact increments. i started by pealing about 3 potatoes (again change the amount depending on how many people youre cooking for) and placing them in a pot of water to boil. 

it is important to salt the water, you want to flavor your potatoes and allow them to boil until they can be easily split by a fork. then drain and set aside. 

i started by cutting half of a white onion and sauteing them in olive oil until close to translucency. 

while you are waiting for the onion to achieve that level you want to cut up your kielbasa.

once your onions look like this... 

go ahead and add the kielbasa to the mix allowing them to brown. 

you will notice the brown yummy bits start to produce at the bottom of the pan. to deglaze the the pan i used some white wine vinegar. itll lift all the goodies right up. 

after all the flavor has been added from the bottom of the pan go ahead and add in the kale. i used the whole package since it does reduce down quite a bit! 

once the kale has reduced down, add salt and pepper to taste. now go ahead and add the potatoes that you had set aside. 

mix and lower the temp. since everything is now fully cooked. during this time i went ahead and made an improv dressing. 

dijon mustard, regular yellow mustard, and balsamic vinegar. whisk until combined, and then slowly drizzle olive oil into the mix until emulsified. and some lemon juice, until you have achieved the result you are going for. add a dash of sugar and salt to taste. 

combine the dish with the dressing and get ready to eat! it really was an incredibly easy and scrumptious meal. EM really enjoyed it, when he is normally hesitant to my random kitchen creations. this was a perfectly warm and cozy dish for any relaxing night at home. 

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Semi-homemade Chocolate Cupcakes with Homemade Marshmallow Topping

as you all can probably tell i have become a little obsessed with making cupcakes. now, since i am no expert baker i have greatly adopted the concept of having them be semi homemade. this past week EM and i found a coupon on duncan hines cake mix. cake mix make the best cupcakes! my mother in law had another get together with her friends, so i decided to make some goodies for her to take over.

i started off with making simple, and incredibly moist might i add, chocolate cupcakes.

it is incredibly important that you allow the cupcakes to cool fully before you even think of putting any sort of frosting or topping on them. 

then i had the idea of doing something a bit different...marshmallow. i had never made a marshmallow topping before, but how hard could it be? 

you start out with some simple ingredients ...

allow the egg whites to sit out and become as close to room temp. as possible. then in a kitchen aid mixing bowl combine all ingredients except the vanilla. mix, and place over a pot with about an inch of boiling water. (make sure the water doesnt touch the bowl) and whisk until all the sugar is dissolved, about 6 minutes. remove the bowl from the heat and place back into the stand mixer. beat on medium for about a minute then on high for 5, or until you get nice stiff peaks. add your vanilla and mix for another minute until fully incorporated. then BOOM! yummy yummy marshmallow frosting. 

with a spatula scoop the frosting into a piping bag, i personally use a gallon size zip lock bag for easier filling, and pipe onto the cooled cupcakes. 

allow the frosting to set for about 30 minutes then brulee the top with a kitchen torch or long fireplace lighter. 

when EM came home he was able to taste one before they were gone, and he loved them! 

here is the list of ingredients and quantities for the frosting. 8 large egg whites, at room temp. 2 cups granulated sugar. 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar. 1/8 teaspoon fine salt. 2 teaspoons of vanilla. (i cut all the amounts in half and still had plenty left over)

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