sandwich

Tender, juicy, succulent shreds of pork, paired with a crunchy, creamy cole slaw. It’s a match made in heaven! This Slow-Cooker Pulled Pork and Cole Slaw is incredibly delicious and surprisingly easy. The perfect summer, make-ahead meal that is sure to please them all.

Welcome back! What a fun and BUSY two weeks we’ve been having. Between family time, outings, errands, playing with friends, date nights, and of course, lots of cooking, we have certainly not been bored this summer. 😉 Charlie turned 8 weeks on Friday, and is becoming more and more aware of the world around him. William and James are the best big brothers, and love Charlie so much! They also seem to love each other more and more everyday, and are THE BEST of friends. (Yes, they have their moments, but for the most part, they get along incredibly well!) It warms my heart to see the joy in their eyes when they’re playing together.
Here are a few pictures from this weekend.

Friday at the park with our buddiesMaker Faire at Henry Ford yesterday Tired and hilarious smiles from the big boys after lots of Maker Faire fun 🙂
Smiling pictures of Charlie today! (8 weeks)Here’s a great summer recipe to put on your menu this month. The house will smell amazing and dinner will be cooking away, while you can be out enjoying the summer day. We absolutely LOVE this family favorite. I have been making and trying to perfect this (almost embarrassingly) easy recipe since our days in Atlanta, seven years ago. (Feel free to check out my first version of this Pulled Pork and Cole Slaw recipe on my old blog. It’s amazing to think that’s where we started a few years ago!)

Yes, I will confess that sometimes I can get carried away in the kitchen (Andrew is probably nodding ;)), and that sometimes my recipes are a bit involved. Well, this is not one of them, I promise! This Slow-Cooker Pulled Pork is super duper simple to toss together, and requires just a few ingredients. (It also freezes well!!!) Plus, you’ll love that it doesn’t have to be too exact, either. Just toss in a huge chunk of pork, squeeze in some sauce, add a little onion, garlic, salt and pepper, and spread it over the pork. Put on the lid, and turn it on. I mean, what’s not to LOVE about those directions. 🙂 Easy easy easy. I like to make the cole slaw the night before, so that the dressing and the flavors have a chance to really come together. I love using this Creamy Balsamic Dressing in my cole slaw. Or in a pinch, I’ll mix up a packet of Good Seasons Italian dressing, and use that instead.

(This is the pork just before I put the lid on. YUM!)

Instead of spending the day slaving away in the kitchen, take a few minutes to toss this together in the morning, and when dinner time rolls around, you will have a delicious feast ready and waiting for you!

Slow-Cooker Pulled Pork and Cole Slaw

Ingredients

Slow-Cooker Pulled Pork:

1 boneless pork shoulder (Boston butt), about 8 pounds
2 (40 ounce) bottles Sweet Baby Ray's barbecue sauce
1/4 cup white onions, minced
2 gloves garlic, minced
Salt and pepper

Cole Slaw:

2 heads cabbage (medium sized)
1/4 cup white onion, minced
1 carrot, peeled and grated
1 1/2 to 2 cups mayonnaise
3/4 cup oil and vinegar salad dressing
Salt and pepper (to taste)
2 dashes celery seed (optional)

Instructions

For Slow-Cooker Pulled Pork:

Place pork in slow-cooker and add 3/4 of one bottle of barbecue sauce to the pork. Spread onions and garlic over pork, and add a generous amount of salt and pepper. Cover and cook on high for about 6 hours.
After 6 hours, uncover and check meat with a fork; if very tender (starting to fall apart), turn heat to low, otherwise cover and continue cooking on high for 1-2 more hours.
Then, using a large spoon, skim off excess fat covering the liquid in the pot. Now, using 2 large serving forks, gently shred pork/pull apart, (this should be very easy since the pork will be moist and tender), until completely shredded and sauce is absorbed. Make sure to remove any visible chunks of fat while shredding.
Add the last 1/4 bottle and about 1/3 of the new bottle of barbecue sauce, so that the pork is well coated. Add more sauce if needed, then stir and cover.
Allow pork to cook, covered, for 30-60 more minutes on low.
Serve pork on rolls or buns, with cole slaw, (corn, if desired), and extra barbecue sauce on the side.

For Cole Slaw:

Finely chop (shred) the cabbage, then dice into small pieces. Add cabbage to a large mixing bowl, and stir in the onion and carrot.
Add mayonnaise, dressing, salt, pepper and celery seed if using, and stir together. (Cole slaw should be creamy and well-dressed. If needed, add more mayonnaise and or dressing to achieve desired consistency.) Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour or overnight. Serve on or with pulled pork.

http://elizabethshome.com/slow-cooker-pulled-pork-cole-slaw/

Juicy bites of steak, sautéed with tender green peppers and onions, smothered in provolone cheese, and served on a fresh roll. Impressive enough for company, or quick enough to make on a weeknight, these Easy Philly Cheese Steaks are sure to knock your socks off!

To be honest, I had never tried a Philly cheese steak before a few months ago. Andrew mentioned them a while back, and I thought I would make them as a nice surprise for a special dinner. Who knew Philly cheese steaks would become one of my new favorites? But then again, what’s not to love about steak, onions, and green peppers covered in melted cheese, and nestled in a soft, white, little roll? Well, I guess nothing.

It has been quite an eventful week around here. While Andrew has been hard at work, the boys and I have been busy building huge lego towers, attending library activities, going on lunch dates, and running errands. James even learned to count to ten and say his own name this week, (“Jame”). We’ve also had a number of cooking lessons that have been more than successful. We’ve really been on a role lately! It’s so nice to have such great little helpers.

However, the BIG event that topped off our week, happened Friday night while I was feeding the boys an early dinner. I turned my back for a split second, and I heard James calmly say “Momma, pea!”. I quickly went to look up his nose, and sure enough, there was a huge, bright-green pea lodged firmly in his left nostril. (He has tried to put a pea in his nose before, but thankfully it wasn’t far, and I was able to just pop it out. I thought we were way past the “putting things in our nose phase”, but clearly I was wrong.) This time, however, the pea was really stuck. I could see it, but it wouldn’t budge. The strangest thing was that James didn’t even seem to mind! He just calmly finished eating his dinner, minus the peas that I immediately took away, and then even asked for seconds. William and I were much more concerned, though. Thankfully, I called the nurse and she told me that we could try a few different tactics to remove the pea on our own. When Andrew got home, we tried everything we could to pop it out, but it didn’t move. So, James and I grabbed our coats, and headed for a little Friday evening trip to Urgent Care.

I am still amazed at the fact that James remained completely unbothered by the giant pea that was stuck in his nose. All the way there, he kept saying “doctor”, and we had a long talk about how we do not put things up our nose. When we finally saw the doctor, he examined James and then told me that he could try to remove the pea using a bulb syringe to shoot air up his other nostril. He called for another set of hands to help hold poor James, and literally within about 5 seconds, the pea came shooting out of his nose! It was honestly kind of funny! James was totally fine, except he seemed a bit annoyed that he had to be held down. Thankfully, two hours and $25 later, James and I were able to return home, minus one green pea.

So, here it is. If you need the perfect meal to round out a crazy day, you’re in luck! An amazingly delicious (and pea-less) recipe. These Easy Philly Cheese Steaks are truly out of this world.

Easy Philly Cheese Steaks

Yield: Serves 4

Easy Philly Cheese Steaks

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds sirloin steak
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large sweet onion, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
1 green pepper, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
1 clove garlic, minced
4 hoagie rolls
7 slices provolone cheese (about 7 ounces)

Instructions

Slice meat into 1/8" thick slices. Then run knife through sliced meat again, to dice.
In a medium bowl, add steak and toss with salt and pepper and set aside.
Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large cast iron, or non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add onion and green pepper. Stirring often, cook for about 8 minutes until veggies are softened but still tender. Stir in garlic, and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Remove veggies from pan and place in a clean bowl and set aside.
Return pan to medium-high heat and add another teaspoon oil. Once hot, add meat and cook until browned and not pink, stirring often. (Pour off excess liquid.)
Turn heat to low, add veggies back to the pan with the meat, and stir. Lay sliced cheese over meat and veggie mixture and allow to melt. Stir to combine melted cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve immediately on rolls.

http://elizabethshome.com/easy-philly-cheese-steaks/