Carolina Pulled-Pork Sandwiches Recipe!

Hello friends!  I'm determined to be more regular with my blog again so I thought I'd share this tasty recipe with you I tried for the first time tonight!  I got it from the May issue of Family Circle that I saw sitting at work recently, and though it's more of a summer recipe, the fact that it cooks in a slow cooker made it the perfect choice for tonight!  It takes a bit of time but not too much, is easy, and my husband and I both loved it!

INGREDIENTS:

Pork:

1 boneless pork shoulder roast or picnic roast, skin removed, trimmed (about 3 1/2 pounds)

1 teaspoon seasoned salt

1 teaspoon paprika

2 tablespoons canola oil

Sauce:

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 small onion, diced

1 cup vinegar

3/4 cup ketchup

1/3 cup packed light-brown sugar

2 tablespoons spicy brown mustard

8 seedless sandwich buns (we used potato buns-delicious!)

1. Pork. Rub pork all over with seasoned salt and paprika.  Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Brown pork on all sides, 12 minutes.

2.  Sauce.  Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add onion and cook 5 minutes.  Stir in vinegar, ketchup, brown sugar and mustard.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes.  

3.  Transfer pork to slow cooker; add sauce.  Cover and cook on HIGH for 6 hours or LOW for 8 hours.

4.  Meanwhile, prepare Coleslaw.

Coleslaw: In a medium bowl, whisk together 3/4 cup light mayo, 3 tablespoons cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1/4 teaspoon each of celery salt and black pepper.  Stir in 1 bag (1 pound) deli shredded coleslaw mix.  Refrigerate until serving.

5.  Remove pork from slow cooker and allow to cool slightly.  With 2 forks or your hands, shred meat, discarding fat and bones.  Stir pork into sauce in cooker.  Divide evenly among sandwich buns, topping with coleslaw, if desired. 

Makes 8 servings  Prep 15 minutes  Cook 22 minutes  Slow cook on HIGH for 6 hours or LOW for 8 hours.

A couple notes I have is I used potato buns.  I also didn't have spicy mustard so I used regular and it was still delicious.  Also didn't have celery salt and so just added a touch of regular salt to the coleslaw.  It still turned out great!  Hope you enjoy!

A Stitchery, Kitties' New Names and Ramblings

Hello friends!  It's been a whole week since we adopted our kitties--can't believe it already!  They have been adjusting very well.  They have names now too!

The girl kity is named Tinuviel!

Mr. Fox chose the name Nova for the boy kitty.

 I wanted the girl to be named Tinuviel as I'm such a big Lord of the Rings geek.  If you've read The Silmarillion you hear about her there--she's the Elf maiden who fell in love with a mortal man first.  Mr. Fox and I had several name ideas for the black kitty but I wanted him to pick.  In the end he chose Nova because it sounded unique and space is so black like our wonderful cat.  They are adjusting well.  Tinuviel is all over the place romping about like a kitten and Nova is a bit more nervous, but he's starting to explore a little bit more.  I think he's still a bit nervous about Strider our dog.  So now--we are a four animal (and an unborn baby!) household! :)

Strider likes to hang out with us as we work.

Pipkin our Netherland dwarf bunny

Speaking of baby, I've been really really wanting to sew him a baby blanket.  I get so tied up with work and such that I figure now would be a good time to start.  Mr. Fox and I think a shark and sea creature theme would be fun!  I kind of want to do a blankie with a shark and a snorkeling fox.  My big dilemma--what material should I use?  I have lots of fleece and it's so soft and colorful and would make a great blanket but will it be harder to wash than just plain old cotton?  Also should I preshrink the fabric?  Help please!  :)

It's football season now and so Sundays we've been spending the day at the in-law's house to watch the game.  (And socialize and eat!) We have a TV but don't have cable or the black box and Mr. Fox LOVES football.  Yesterday when we went over my MIL from Ravenwood Whimzies showed me how to do a stitchery and I'm now working on my very first one!  I need to finish the words and then add color pencil for the inside of the lines.  Next weekend we hope to make a pillow of it!  It's been so much fun I think I'd like to do more sometime!

Lastly, do you have any suggestions for quick homemade meals?  With work and cleaning and such it's so hard to find time to cook!

Until next time, may God bless you all dear friends!

Tribute to Indy

 As some of you may have heard from my mother-in-law, the other week ago we lost our 16 (or older--every time my husband speaks of him he seems to add a year haha) cat, Indiana Jones, or more commonly known as Indy.  Mr. Fox and I had gone to the great State Fair one Sunday and that night we noticed our cat hadn't been waiting at the door as he often does when he's been out all day.  I had seen him outside the day before, as had my husband, so things seemed ok; he had been eating and acting pretty normal and--we came home super late and sometimes he has been known to stay out all night.  Monday was labor day and so we were home most of the day and didn't see Indy at all.  At this I started to feel concerned--it wasn't like him to not be pestering us for dinner or to come inside.  That evening I didn't see him and asked Mr. Fox if he'd seen any sight of our feline friend as well.  Tuesday it stormed and still no sight of Indy.  By now we had really seriously begun to wonder.  Our cat wasn't young anymore and he was set in his ways like an old man--we wondered if he'd gone off to find a quiet place to rest his last.  The next day our sad suspicion was confirmed.  We couldn't find him anywhere and worried if he did go off to die that he ran off to the woods in back and that we'd never find his old body. It turns up my husband while poking around found his poor body under the deck; he looked peaceful like he just knew his time had come and he went out there to rest.  We buried him in the pet graveyard in our backyard.  We'll miss you, Old Guy, from your silent chattering (he couldn't really meow) to your demands for dinnertime.  He was the first cat I've ever had.

   Speaking of cats, I have just finished this 8"x 10" acrylic painting for a co-worker that I have started months ago that he commissioned me to do.  He has a cat he is very fond of too named Raven.  I had a lot of fun with this but it was frustrating too--I wanted it to come out well!  I spent hours on it and though I usually love working with black this time it was a huge challenge to me.  I'm pretty happy with the end result though!  If anyone has any pointers for me I'd be happy to hear!

Lastly I want to introduce you to... well... she is nameless as of now (as is a male black cat not pictured) but I got her and another kitty as a surprise to my husband yesterday!  He had never lived without a kitty around before and though he was handling it well, I missed having a cat around.  I saw our local SPCA had a "special" going on where you could name the adoption fee for an adult cat right now since they had so many that need homes.  I snuck off to the shelter yesterday after work, hoping Mr. Fox would forget I had a shorter shift and not notice.  I planned originally to just get one (though was open to the possibility of two because Mr. Fox had spoken of getting two at once before) and ended up leaving with two sweet adult kitties!  I managed to get them for $30 for the pair and they had been strays before so they never had a real home before so this was a good deal for them.  So far they are adjusting really well despite our dog's curiosity.  You may wonder how I broke the news to Mr. Fox?  Well, he had noticed my absence and so called me while I was filling out adoption applications--but I managed to stay mum about it.  When I got home I told him he had to get on his shoes and help me get something out of the car.  I guess he briefly--very briefly wondered if it was kitties but figured it must be groceries or something I found free by the side of the curb instead.  He had the cutest grin when he saw the carriers and he's been quite happy with his surprise!  Now the task is naming them! 

I have to run now dear friends, but thanks for reading and have a blessed day! :)