Hawaiian Pulled Pork

I really need to stop watching TV while attempting to write. I’ve been sitting here for about an hour and have only got a few measly sentences. Pathetic time waster I am. I need to turn it off. But I’m watching The Taste so that makes it ok right? All I have to say is darn the freakin’ Hopper that came with our satellite. It tapes all the primetime shows on all the main network channels EVERY.DAY. This translates to me watching too much TV and finding too many new shows that I will inevitably become a slave to. I have only watched the audition episodes of the show but I’m liking it so far and really like the idea of it. Well, I like everything but Anthony Bourdain. Sorry, I’m just not a fan of that guy.

Here is yet another easy, crock pot meal for those busy weeknights. This one went over 50/50 in our house (I didn’t count Noah since he doesn’t really eat meat). I loved the smokey, rich and sweet flavors of this pork but Joel wasn’t a huge fan. Good thing for both of us that he gets free lunches at work because he didn’t have to eat leftovers meaning the more for me!

This would be perfect to serve at a big barbecue as it is simple to throw together which translates to more time to party with your peeps and it feeds a crowd.

Hawaiian Pulled Pork
recipe from Flavors by Four

1 3.5 lb. pork shoulder (I used a pork loin roast)
1 large onion, chopped
1 Tbsp. paprika
1 tsp. black pepper
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
1 cup pineapple juice
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. grated ginger

1. Add all ingredients but pork to slow cooker.  Add pork.  Turn slow cooker on low and cook for 8 hours, or until pork is falling apart.

2. Break up or shred pork with two forks.  Sauce should be fairly thick.  If sauce is still too thin, turn crock pot back up to high until sauce thickens (mine was plenty thick without this step). Serve on rolls.

Sneaky Green Smoothie

I have always been skeptical of smoothies with spinach. It just sounds weird and disgusting and too “granola” for me. But, I bit the bullet and gave it a try in an attempt to get in more veggies. And turns out you can’t even taste the spinach. I promise! What’s better than a delicious smoothie that is really, really good for you? Not much. We have been making them everyday the past week and haven’t gotten tired of them yet!

As you can tell, Noah loves these smoothies! He couldn’t keep his hands off this one I was trying to photograph, even though he already had his own. He wanted the “smoovie in the breakable cup.”

He loves helping make them and had to put his apron on before dumping in all the ingredients.

You can use any frozen fruit you like and feel free to mix it up to create different flavors. Another yummy variation that I adore is strawberry (replace the berries and peaches), pineapple, banana and a handful of shredded coconut. You will feel like you are on the beach somewhere! Delish!

Just to prove that you can’t taste the spinach…I gave one to Joel and didn’t tell him there was spinach in it and he totally didn’t know. And still doesn’t {insert evil laugh here}. Well, unless he’s reading this now.

Secret Green Smoothie
yields 1 large or 2 medium servings

2 cups ice cubes
1 cup orange juice (or water if you don’t want added sugar and calories)
1 banana
1 cup frozen blueberries
4-5 slices frozen peaches
1/4 cup frozen raspberries
1/4 cup frozen pineapple chunks
2 big handfuls fresh spinach

Place all ingredients into a blender and pulse until it’s smooth and no chunks remain.

Rainbow Fruit Skewers

I’m sure most of your kids are getting dressed up tonight and going out trick-or-treating to get totally sugared up. So why not make them a fun and healthy snack before the gorging begins? This isn’t really a recipe but I thought I would share it anyway since they are so cute and kid friendly. It seems like you can get a kid to eat anything if you serve it on a stick.

Noah is dressing as a golfer for Halloween and he is totally pumped about it. A 2 year old wanted to be a golfer you ask? Well, yes my 2 year old did. He loves going to the driving range with Joel and watched golf tournaments all summer with him. He was recently diagnosed with asthma and has to do daily breathing treatments and the only way I can get him to sit still is to put golf on. I know….he is weird. But I wouldn’t have it any other way! It’s quite the conversation starter when we have to go EVERYWHERE with his golf club and ball…the vet, doctor’s office, library, grocery store, seriously everywhere. I will have pictures for you all of my dapper little golfer soon.

Rainbow Fruit Skewers

Strawberries, cleaned and hulled
1 0r 2 orange cuties, peeled and dissected
Pineapple, peeled and sliced into bite-size chunks
2 kiwis, peeled and sliced into bite-size chunks
Blueberries
Red grapes
Greek yogurt (any flavor) for dipping
Wooden skewers

Skewer the fruit in the order listed then dip in Greek yogurt.

5 Fruit Smoothie {Crazy Cooking Challenge}

Today brings back the Crazy Cooking Challenge and the item to make is fruit smoothies or shakes. Today is also a very special day in my personal life. Four years ago today, I married the man of my dreams. It’s hard to believe how fast these four years have gone and how much we have accomplished together. We became homeowners and parents. We went through an incredible amount of happy times and very few hardships. We grew up together and became the wife and husband we wanted and needed to be for each other. So this post is for you Joel. I love and cherish you more than you could ever know. Here are some of my favorite pictures from our big day and the honeymoon.

Joel and his guys. Don’t they look like they belong on the cover of a boy band cd?

Newlyweds.

First dance.

Joel’s “classic” moves.

Relaxing at Maho Bay.

Trunk Bay, St. John U.S. Virgin Islands.

I wanted to find a way to tie the challenge in with my anniversary so I decided I would search for a tropical smoothie to bring us back to our honeymoon in the Virgin Islands. I ultimately decided on this one because of the coconut and pineapple. A lot of the drinks we enjoyed there included those two ingredients so I thought it was fitting.

I’m so glad I picked this recipe from Made With Pink because it was amazing and just what I was looking for in a smoothie. The coconut and pineapple really jumped out and screamed tropical. The addition of the berries and banana helped round it out and put it over the top. I absolutely love strawberries so I think it would be great with just the pineapple, coconut and lots of strawberries.

5 Fruit Smoothie
recipe from Made With Pink

15 blueberries, frozen

1/2 banana, frozen

10 raspberries, frozen

7 large pineapple chunks, frozen

5 strawberries, frozen

2 Tbsp shredded Coconut

1/3 cup vanilla yogurt (I used Greek vanilla yogurt)

1/3 cup pineapple juice

1. Dump everything into a blend and blend until no large chunks are left. If it’s too thick, add more pineapple juice. If it’s too thin, add more frozen fruit and blend.

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DIY Smoothie Packs

And it’s Pinterest for the save again. When I saw this wonderful DIY smoothie pack idea I knew I had to give it a try. Smoothies are so stinking expensive to buy but it’s just so much more convenient rather than having to prepare all the fruit each time. Well, now with just a little prep work in advance, you can have smoothies within seconds.

You can create whatever combinations you like for these delicious homemade smoothies. I purchased bananas, pineapple, blueberries, strawberries and raspberries. You can use either fresh or frozen. I bought some frozen because the fresh did not look great and found it even better than the fresh because I didn’t have to slice and freeze it before assembling the packs. The fresh does have to be prepped and frozen in a single layer so that it doesn’t stick together in the bags.
While your fresh fruit is freezing, scoop about 1 tablespoon of yogurt into either a mini muffin tin or ice cube trays. I used a mini muffin tin and made 24 yogurt cubes. Cover and freeze until solid.
Once everything is frozen, grab it all out of the freezer and measure out about a cup and a half of fruit (whatever variety you desire…the sky is the limit) per bag. After the yogurt has sat out for a few minutes, use a spoon to scoop them out and place three in each bag.

Here is the approximate amount of ingredients I used to make 8 smoothie packs:

1 lb. strawberries
3 bananas
2 cups blueberries
1 cup pineapple
8 oz. raspberries
20 oz. yogurt

All you have to do is dump the bag in your blender, add a splash or two of milk and blend it up! Yum!

Fruit Infused Rum

I hope that you all had a great 4th of July! We drove down to Nebraska where my parents live and had a great time. We spent the whole weekend either outside swimming, at the zoo and of course blowing up lots of explosives! It was great spending lots of time with our family and friends. Living so far away we really cherish the time we get to share with our loved ones.

Speaking of summer and outside fun, I have the perfect idea to spice up your summer cocktails. Infuse your favorite liquor with you favorite summer fruits.  Many bottled liquors and mixes taste artificial but this is sure to taste pure, especially if you use fruit that is in season. The possibilities are endless with this booze infusion.  Combine your favorite liquor and fruit to create a fresh, clean tasting liquor that you cannot find in any store.

I just started a pineapple rum and a strawberry rum about a week ago so I have not tasted them yet but I wanted to share this with you now so that you could try it out this summer.

First, clean and prep your fruit. Get rid of anything you wouldn’t eat (pit, cores, stems, seeds, skins depending on the fruit). Then dice into chunks and place them in a clean mason jar.

Pour in your liquor then seal the jar tightly and store in the fridge until you reach your desired taste. It could take as little a week or as long as a month depending on the strength of the fruit.

Use your imagination to create your combinations. We aren’t big drinkers and the only liquor we really like is rum so we stuck to that but tequila, gin or vodka would also work perfectly for this. Try cherry vodka or mango tequila.

I’m thinking of using my infused rums for daiquiris, mojitos or homemade spiked lemonade.

Idea from bonappetit.com.

Linked to Everyday Sisters Sharing Sunday!

Cherry Dump Cake

This is the easiest dessert you could ask for, it has 4 ingredients that you literally dump in a 13×9 and bake.  My husband always requests this cake for holidays and I’m always glad to make such a simple dish on busy days. 

I highly recommend topping this fruity, delicious cake with whipped cream.

Cherry Dump Cake

1 can (20 oz.) crushed pineapple
1 can (21 oz.) cherry pie filling
1 box yellow cake mix
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted

1. Mix pineapple (with juice) and cherry pie filling in a 13×9 pan.
2. Sprinkle yellow cake mix evenly over the cherry.
3. Pour melted butter evenly over the cake mix.
4. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until golden brown.
5. We like to refrigerate this and serve with a dollop of whipped cream on top.

Recipe linked to Everyday Sisters Sharing Sunday!