Pulled Pork!

Pulled pork is a tasty and affordable way to feed the family. Pork shoulder isn't that expensive, and it's even better when it's on sale. For my family of three a five pound pork shoulder roast can feed us three different tasty meals.


Cooking the Roast:
Day one will take a little bit of time to cook and prep the meat, but any extras can make quick, tasty meals for one to two days afterwards.

• 4-5 lbs. Pork shoulder Roast (A pork shoulder roast can be bought bone-in or bone-out, it doesn't really matter for this recipe. I buy the bone-in, but that's only because my husband likes to get some of the meat right off of the bone.)
• 4 Cups of Chicken Broth (Alternatives: what ever flavor broth you have, chicken bullion, or water)
• Salt and Pepper
• Garlic Powder
• Dehydrated Onions
• 1 Bay Leaf (Seasoning is to your taste, so use what you like and what you have, garlic and onions are my basics)

In large pot combine all ingredients, and then add water until roast is covered by at least a half an inch. Bring to a boil, and the reduce heat. Simmer covered for 2 - 2 1/2 hours. Low and slow! Pull out roast, and allow to rest for at least 10 minutes. Reserve 2 cups of the broth in the pot. Shred the pork (easiest way is to cut the roast into manageable pieces and then use a couple of forks and your fingers to shred it into bite size pieces.)
Now you have Pulled Pork, just portion it to the number of days it will feed your family and then each day season as you choose. My favorite ways to use the pulled pork are listed below.

Pulled Pork Tacos

• Pulled Pork
• 1 Can Tomatoes (Diced)
• 1 Can Diced Green Chilies (these are my favorite addition to any Mexican themed dish)
• 1/2 Medium Onion (Chopped)
• 2 Garlic Cloves (minced) (Can substitute garlic powder and dehydrated onions).
• 1/2 C- 1 C reserved broth (substitute: chicken broth, water)
• 1 T Cumin
• 1 T Oregano
• 1/2 t Black Pepper
• 1/2 t Chili Powder (Substitute for all of the seasonings: packaged taco seasoning, I usually throw a bit of the taco seasoning in anyways, I like the way it tastes. Remember to use what you already have.)
• Salt to taste

Add a little of the broth (enough to cover the bottom the pan) to a saute pan. Saute onions on med-high heat until soft, add garlic, then pulled pork and all seasonings. Drain tomatoes and chilies and add to pan. Add broth to the pan (as much as needed so the meat doesn't dry out). Saute 5-7 minutes until heated through and the seasoning is covering all the meat. (Add more seasoning if it's not tasty enough for you.)
Spoon into taco shells or tortillas and top with your favorites. I like, cheese, cabbage, guacamole (homemade if you have the stuff), sour cream and salsa.

BBQ Pulled Pork

• Pulled Pork
• 1/2 C Reserved Broth
• BBQ Sauce (your favorite)

Pour Broth into a pot at med-high heat. Add pulled pork and stir in 1/4- 1/2 C of BBQ Sauce. Heat through, about 5 minutes. Add a bit more sauce once it's on the plate. Add whatever sides you have. I like it with mashed potatoes. Put the meat on a bun and top with shredded cabbage.

Pulled Pork is also great on top of homemade nachos or homemade pizza. Any other ideas?

Spinach Pesto Chicken Pasta

This is a true cupboard meal. I needed something quick to make for dinner and I didn't have much in the fridge to go on, so to the cupboards, and the freezer. If you have fresh ingredients it may make the recipe a bit better, but it was quite tasty just as is.

Spinach Pesto Pasta (my measurements are approximate)

• 1 C Frozen Spinach (cooked)
• 4 Cloves Garlic (minced)- We love garlic, so we went a bit overboard, if you're not as garlic crazy as us 1-2 cloves would work just fine.
• 3-5 T Olive Oil
• 1 T Dried Parsley
• Salt & Pepper
• 1 Can Chicken
• 1/2 lb Fusilli Pasta
• lemon juice

Cook pasta according to package. I happened to have fusilli pasta which worked really well, because there's all the twists in the pasta to capture the pesto, but whatever you have in the cupboard will work!
Cook and drain the spinach (this step would be unnecessary if you're using fresh spinach). I am also lacking a food processor, so chopping skills are required. Finely chop spinach and garlic. Mix in parsley, salt and pepper, then stir in oil.
Drain pasta, and toss in the pesto, I added a bit more olive oil so that it wasn't too dry. Drain canned chicken add to the pasta. Garnish with just a little squeeze of lemon juice (it really brightens up the pasta and adds another taste dimension).
This easily took less then 30 minutes to make, mostly just the time it takes to cook the pasta, and it was tasty. My husband, who is not too big on pasta, loved it (probably due to the amount of garlic).

Salmon Cakes

This is a family recipe, I got it from my Mom, who got it from her Mom, who we believe got it from her Mom. It's quite easy, but very tasty.

Salmon Cakes

• 1 Can Salmon
• 1 Egg
• 6-10 Soda Crackers (smashed)
• 1-2 Celery Stalks (chopped finely)
• Garlic Powder
• Onion Powder
• Salt & Pepper
• 1/2 Lemon

Mix all ingredients together. Form into 6-7 small patties. Spray non-stick spray on skillet at med-high heat. Brown on each side (usually about 4 minutes per side). Drizzle with lemon juice. I was missing some ingredients tonight and did not want to go out in the snow storm, so I left out the celery, and used bread crumbs and potato flakes instead of soda cracker. It was a bit drier then normal, but worked well with lemon juice or a bit of your favorite fish sauce. I used the white sauce I had with fish tacos.

Simple Cole Slaw

• 1/4 Head Cabbage (Shredded)
• 1/2 C Onion (Finely Chopped)
• Italian Dressing

Mix all together. Allow to rest in refridgerator (at least 20 minutes) for best flavor.

I also had a lot of potatoes, and wanted to try something different. I used Chef Anne Burrell (from the Food Networks) Pommes Chef Anne Recipe, try it out here.

Fish Tacos

I was craving fish tacos, so using what I found in the cupboards we had a tasty lunch. This recipe is highly susceptible to adjustments (a different kind of fish, lime instead of lemon, fresh cilantro) I just used what I had like usual.

Fish Tacos

• 4 Tilapia Filets (I really like the frozen filets, that come in the bulk pack, good for 2-3 different meals, and they were on sale last week)!
• ½ Cup Bread Crumbs
• 1 t Garlic Powder
• 1 t Pepper
• ½ t Salt
• ¼ t chili powder
• Tortillas (4 Flour, or 8 corn)
• ¼ Head of cabbage
• Salsa

Mix the Bread crumbs, garlic, pepper, salt and chili in a shallow dish. Slice tilapia filets in half. Coat filets with bread crumbs. In a medium-high pan on the stove, sprayed with non-stick spray (or a small amount of oil), cook fish. (My filets were thin so it only took about 3 minutes per side).

Sauce

• ¼ C sour cream
• 2 T lemon juice
• 2 t cilantro (I only had dried, but fresh would probably work better)

Mix ingredients together.
Layer on a warm tortilla, white sauce, then fish filets (for the flour tortillas I used two of the sliced filets, for each taco), and top with cabbage and salsa (I just had store bought salsa, but it tasted pretty good). Serve with lemon wedge. Yum!

Tasty St. Patrick's Day

To celebrate our Irish heritage we ate a lot of food (most of which was not Irish, but still a nod to our ancestors), and used a lot of green food coloring.

We started the day with Green Eggs and Ham (ok it's more of a nod to Dr. Seuss then Ireland, but it's a family tradition and my son really liked watching normal food turn green).

Green Eggs and Ham

• Scrambled Eggs with added green food coloring
• Ham- here we just added left over pulled pork to the eggs (it's what I had on hand)
• Melt Jack Cheese (just because I like cheese)

Not the most appetizing look, but fun and tasty!

Corned Beef and Cabbage- Dinner was a bit more tradition, yet just as easy

• Corned Beef (I use the packaged brand that includes the spice packet)
• Water
• Cabbage

Place beef, spice packet and water in a large pot on the stove. Bring to a boil, allow to simmer for about 2 hours. Add cabbage leaves the last 20 minutes (this is a good time to add potatoes (quartered) and chopped carrots if you want to make it an easy one pot meal). Remove meat and allow to rest 10-15 minutes.

This year I decided to do a potato casserole instead of just adding them in the pot.

Potato Casserole (I got this recipe from my Mom)

• 8-10 Medium Potatoes
• 1 Can Cream of Celery Soup
• Dehydrated Onions
• Sour Cream
• Parsley
• Grated Cheddar Cheese
• Salt & pepper to taste (optional)

Boil potatoes whole with the skin on. Once cooked, allow to cool and then remove skin and cube into bite size pieces. Mix with soup, onions, sour cream, parsley, and a bit of the cheese, salt & pepper. Top mix with the rest of the cheddar cheese. Fits in a 9x13 pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 30-45minutes.

This all made for a very tasty meal!

Dessert- I started out with one dessert, but my sweet tooth and imagination took over, so there are 2.

Green Pudding- Ok this is beyond easy and can be accomplished many different ways, but I found instant vanilla pudding mix in the cupboard, so we just followed the directions, added a few drops of green food coloring. It was a hit with my little guy!

Shamrock Cookies
I used the same Cream Cheese Sugar Cookie Recipe I use to decorate Christmas cookies (thanks for the recipe Mom)

1 C sugar
1 C butter (softened)
3oz Cream Cheese (softened)
1 t vanilla
1 Egg Yolk
1 1/4 C Flour
1/2 t salt (I use a bit less, or it's a bit too salty for me)

Cream butter and cream cheese together. Add sugar and cream well. Add vanilla and egg yolk, blend together. Blend in flour and salt. Here I mixed in a few drops of green food coloring. Then chill the dough.
Roll dough out and cut into desired shape. (I don't have a shamrock cookie cutter, so my imagination went to work. I printed out a shamrock shape in a couple of different sizes and traced and cut the shape into cardboard. I used the cardboard shamrocks as guides as I traced on the dough with a small sharp knife. It took a little time and work, but it was fun, and it solved the no cookie cutter dilemma).
Bake at 400 degrees 5-7 minutes (depending on how thick you cut the cookies) on a lightly greased cookie sheet. They can burn quickly, so keep an eye on them.
I also found cream cheese frosting in the cupboard, added a bit more green food coloring, and had tasty cookies.

So not very Irish, but a very tasty nod to our Irish roots. How do you like to celebrate St. Patty's Day?