Boston Butt in the Slow Cooker

Missy here. I may have shared a pork roast in the slow cooker before. But this time I did something a little different.

I don't typically add anything to a pork roast like I do a beef roast because I usually end up shredding the pork and making pulled pork sandwiches. But this time I wanted to eat it as a roast for the first meal and then use the leftovers for sandwiches.

So I peeled and cut my carrots in chunks. And then I went to get potatoes...

And had none. WHO RUNS OUT OF POTATOES???

Well, apparently, I do. :) (Story of my life to not have ingredients when I need them.) SO... I did have sweet potatoes. I decided to do a high vitamin A meal. :)

I coated the roast with a dry rub-- "Butt Rub" from a local barbecue restaurant. Then I put the roast in the Crock Pot and slow cooked it on low all day. About 45 minutes before dinner time, I added the large chunks of sweet potato and carrots.

But I decided the meat was too fatty.

So I pulled the meat out to let it cool for a bit while the potatoes and carrots cooked. Once I could handle it, I removed most of the fat.

Then once the veggies were tender and it was time to eat, I put the meat back to quickly reheat.

It turned out delicious. After eating leftovers once, we still have enough meat to have barbecue sandwiches. I look forward to that!

I hope you all have a wonderful Valentine's Day weekend!

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Pulled Pork with a Kick

Ever watch a cooking show and think to yourself, "I have got to try that?" I do it all the time. Especially when I watch the Pioneer Woman.

I watched Ree prepare this dish quite a while ago, but hesitated to make it for fear it would be too spicy for my guys. But I found a way around that and now it's one of my favorite feed-a-crowd go-to meals and one of my family's favorite things to eat.

Here's what you'll need:

1 whole pork butt, also known as a pork shoulder roast (personally, I don't get this because, let's face it, the butt and the shoulder are two different places)

2 onions, peeled and quartered

salt and pepper

1 - 11 oz can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

2 cans Dr Pepper

4 packed tablespoons brown sugar

Preheat your over to 300 degrees.

Place the onions in the bottom of a large pot/dutch oven.

Sprinkle the pork with salt and pepper, then set on top of the onions.

This is where it got a little scary for me.

Pour the entire can of chipotle peppers over the pork.

If you've ever tasted a chipotle pepper, you'll understand why this is so scary. Yet, while the pepper (which is actually a smoke-dried jalapeno) is hot, the adobe sauce has a wonderful smokey flavor. So, rather than worry about having a dish that was too spicy, I simply removed all but three or four of the chipotles (be sure to get the seeds, too), but left all of the sauce.

Next, open your soda (I used the store brand).

And pour it over the top.

 Add the brown sugar, give it a stir, then cover and put in the oven for at least six hours, turning two or three times throughout the cooking process. Great for this time of year when you don't mind the oven going all day.

Ta-dah!

Simply pull it apart with a fork and add it back to the juice before serving.

Throw open a package of buns, maybe a jar of dill pickle slices, and you're done. Making this a great dish for a potluck.

The meat was tender with a slight sweetness and a hint of a kick. Just enough that you could detect the heat, but not enough to have you running for water. However, if you're worried, you could always remove more peppers. 

So what was the last recipe you HAD TO TRY and actually did?

Super Easy Pulled Pork

This is beyond simple and didn't take long.

Sam's Club has been having fulll pork loins at $1.68/lb.

That's some mighty fine eats for less than half the price of beef! So I've been buying one a week, slicing it and putting it in the freezer because you just know the price of pork is not going to stay low. Something will happen, there'll be a big ol' blizzard or swine flu and the price will skyrocket... and I'll be hankerin' for pork chops and applesauce.

"PRE-EMPTIVE STRIKE!!!"

Anyway, there's always a gnarly end on the loin, a fattier portion that doesn't make good chops, and I decided to get inventive!!! I took a great new seasoning I found at the Public Market and smothered the end pieces with it. Now in retrospect, I should have blended that seasoning with 3/4 cup of brown sugar and some cajun heat....

So 2 tablespoons fruity rub spice blend
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons cajun seasoning

Mix together, rub on fatty pork pieces. Lay in bottom of crock pot.

Cover with heavy duty aluminum foil. Then cover it again, a double layer of aluminum foil to hold the heat close to the meat. Turn on high...

Cover and walk away for about 4 hours..... Or less, depending on how much you put in there.

Uncover, pull apart with fork, add favorite barbecue sauce.

HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY!!!!

I'm not sure if I have a picture of the finished product!!! What is the matter with me???? EEEK!

First, I am so excited that I've turned in Grace Haven 2 book...

It is a beautiful story of forgiveness and healing and moving on...

And "Refuge of the Heart" releases in SIX WEEKS....  And yes, it is okay to run and pre-order it if you want to, I love that Franciscan Media fell in love with this story, the story of a war-torn refugee and her chance for a new and beautiful life here, in America.  Here's the link to Amazon and of course I want you to check it out!!! WHY WOULDN'T I?????

And here are some scenes from farm life...  The new oven is getting a work-out!

And taste-tempters to pull people in, off the country road!!

A few free-form Artisan loaves to be that cool person!!!! I've always wanted to be that cool person, LOL!

And Libby, guarding everyone...

See how green the grass is? We never have green grass in August, but the past two years, we've got green grass... but this year, we've been able to save more veggies from flooding. Dave has dug ditches, he and Seth have tilled, weeded, fertilized.... Garden pics next week!!!! God is good, all the time...

So why do we humans mess up so much??? :)  Waving from upstate where the Crockpot and the big portable roaster oven and the deep fryer live outside... "Summer Kitchen" stuff, at its best!