Slow Cooker Smoky Pulled Pork

This recipe was the best pulled pork I've ever made.  The meat had a wonderful flavor and was so tender.  It only took me about 45 seconds to shred the meat since it was literally falling off the bone.  Yum!  This recipe is going back on the menu again this month.  The liquid smoke was a crucial element as it added a true barbecue flavor that is normally lacking in slow cooker recipes.  (I found liquid smoke in the aisle with the BBQ sauces.)

Also, I couldn't find less than a 9 lb pork shoulder roast at my grocery store, but the butcher was more than happy to cut it down for me.

Slow Cooker Smoky Pulled Pork

recipe from Six Sisters Stuff

3-4 lb pork shoulder butt roast (can be bone-in)
3 T paprika
1 1/2 T kosher salt
1 1/2 T pepper
1 t garlic powder
1 t dry mustard
1/3 c liquid smoke
1 (16-20 oz) bottle of BBQ sauce (I used Stubb's)
buns

Spray the inside of your slow cooker with nonstick spray.  In a small bowl, combine paprika, salt, pepper, garlic powder, mustard and liquid smoke and whisk to combine.  Rub marinade into all sides of pork and place meat into slow cooker.  Cover with lid and cook on low for 8-10 hours.  Remove pork roast from slow cooker and shred meat.  Add meat back into slow cooker and stir in BBQ sauce.  Serve on buns and enjoy!

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Freezer Friendly Berry and Banana Smoothies

Okay so the recipe title is a bit misleading.  Really, I just froze the "innards" per se of the smoothie rather than the actual smoothie as a whole.

You see, I am not a morning person (not in the least), but my sweet munchkin seems to enjoy waking up around 6:00 every morning.  For some odd reason, she wakes up hungry, whereas I just wake up grumpy.  Once I'm out of bed, I move at a snail's pace until I've consumed my first cup of coffee (after which, the world is a much happier place).  So to combat the exhaustion in the morning, I first made the freezer friendly breakfast tacos.  While they're totally awesome, they could be more nutritious.  So I decided to also make fruit smoothies.  In combination they are the perfect breakfast trifecta...you know, if you only needed two things to make a trifecta.

FYI - I bought whatever berries were available and on sale, so feel free to mix things up a bit.

And if you need any more convincing to try these, here is Finley's review: "Yummy foothie, Mama!"

Freezer Friendly Berry and Banana Smoothies

to freeze:
1 pint strawberries
1 pint blueberries
2 pints raspberries
1 pint blackberries
4 bananas, sliced

for smoothie:
1 bag frozen fruit medley
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 milk, almond milk, soy milk, coconut milk

Wash and dry (dry them well! or else they will freeze together in big icy clumps) the berries.  Cut strawberries in half.  Spread fruit (berries and bananas) on foil lined baking sheet and freeze for a few hours.  Package 1 cup of fruit in ziplock snack-sized baggies.  Return fruit baggies to freezer until ready to use.

To make smoothies, combine the contents of 1 fruit baggie with orange juice and milk of choice in a blender.  Blend away and serve immediately.  Makes 1-2 servings (1 serving if you're serving the smoothie by itself or 2 servings if you're serving it with another dish, like the breakfast taco).

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Creamy Chicken Taquitos

Originally I had planned to make these taquitos and make a few changes to the recipe. But the more I thought about it, I realized how ambivalent I was feeling about them. While I love bacon, I was a little on the fence about whether or not I wanted bacon in my taquitos...So I decided to use the taquito recipe that I've used several times in the past and always enjoyed. Why mess with a good thing, right?

These taquitos are nothing like the fried-minuscule-virtually-tasteless-things-that-more-closely-resemble-cardboard-than-food you can find in the frozen foods section of your grocery store. These are creamy, crunchy, tasty bites of deliciousness that everyone - including Finley - loves!

It's also important to note that unbaked these freeze really well!

Creamy Chicken Taquitos

adapted from Our Best Bites

3 oz cream cheese, softened

4 oz sharp cheddar cheese, freshly grated

4 oz sour cream

1/4 cup chipotle salsa (feel free to substitute your favorite salsa)

1/4 cup cilantro leaves, chopped

2 green onions, sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon Mexican oregano

1 teaspoon chili powder

2 large chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

12 flour tortillas

cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, mix together cream cheese, cheddar cheese, sour cream, salsa, cilantro, green onions, garlic,cumin, onion powder, oregano and chili powder. Stir until well combined and then stir in chicken.

Spoon 2-3 tablespoons of the chicken mixture on each tortilla and roll up as tightly as you can. Place seam side down on a cookie sheet and repeat with remaining tortillas. Lightly spray each tortilla with nonstick cooking spray. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the ends of the tortillas turn golden brown.

Serve with extra salsa, guacamole or this dipping sauce. (I made a simple sauce of equal parts guacamole and sour cream plus a squeeze of lime juice, a dash of chili powder, and a dash of cumin.)

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Chicken Pot Pie

Recently, my friends and I had a freezer meal swap and the meal we received from Erika was Chicken Pot Pie. It was such a warm and comforting meal and I loved having leftovers for lunch the next few days. On a whim (and totally ignoring my carefully made meal plan), I decided to make a CPP for dinner last night. Unfortunately I didn't have Erika's recipe so I just winged it and it came out great. And it was exactly what the doctor ordered - Andrew and I both had second helpings and sweet Finley had thirds! Hopefully your family will enjoy it as much as my family did. It also got me to thinking about when CPP first came into our family...

Growing up, my mom made Chicken and Dumplings, which I didn't like because I had an unfair aversion to soggy/mushy food, but I don't remember her ever making Pot Pie. In my mind Chicken Pot Pie and Chicken and Dumplings were similar enough to one another that I just assumed I wouldn't like either of them. But you know what they say when you assume...Anyway, fast forward to when I was newly married and I realized that Andrew would buy frozen pot pies whenever he went to the grocery store. Poor guy! I decided to remedy that and make him homemade CPP.

Andrew was so excited that he volunteered to head to the store for me. I made out the list and gave it to him. I've learned over the years that I have to be very specific on the grocery list or else I'll end up with something weird. I usually include notes, brand names and location within the store to ensure he comes home with the right ingredients. But this little trip was early into our marriage and I hadn't yet learned this trick. When I unpacked the grocery bags, I found that Andrew had bought a graham cracker pie crust! Bug-eyed, I queried him, and he admitted he thought it was weird but it was the only pie crust he knew of. Ah, funny memories!

Chicken Pot Pie

a Baking & Eggs original

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 white onion, chopped

3 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced

2 ribs celery, thinly sliced

1 potato, peeled and diced small

1 egg

4 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup flour

1 1/4 cups chicken broth

1 1/4 cups whole milk

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon celery seed

1 tablespoon fresh parsley, minced

1-2 cloves garlic, minced

2-3 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed

1 cup frozen peas

2 pie crusts (homemade or store bought)

1 egg, beaten

Preheat oven to 375 degree.s

In a large saute pan over medium heat, melt butter and saute onion, carrots and celery, until veggies are softened, about 10-15 minutes.

Meanwhile, add potatoes and egg to a small saucepan filled with water. Bring to a boil and then lower to a simmer until potatoes are fork tender, about 10-15 minutes. Drain and set potatoes aside. Peel and chop egg. Set aside.

In the saute pan with the veggies, melt butter. Stir in flour. Slowly stir in chicken broth and milk until the mixture is smooth and thickened. Stir in salt, pepper, celery seed, parsley, garlic, chicken, frozen peas, cooked potatoes and hardboiled egg. Take pan off heat.

Roll out pie crust in deep-dish pie plate. Carefully pour chicken mixture into dish. (You may have a little filling left-over. I ate it for lunch!) Top with second pie crust. Crimp edges and cut a few steam vents on the top. Brush with egg wash. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until crust is golden.

(I made my pot pie during Finley's nap time, refrigerated it and then baked it for about an hour. You can also double the recipe and freeze one since they freeze great.)

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