GOODEness Gracious: crock pot

Showing posts with label crock pot. Show all posts

Friday, July 1, 2011

Summertime Kitchen Tips

4:21 PM Unknown 4 comments

Dear Reader,
I just heart summer-- don't you?

Lightin' bugs, sprinklers, fresh veggies, camp fires, grillin' and summer nights just make me smile.

Now, truth be told, I do like my air conditioning too... just sayin'

With so many things vying for my attention this summer, I gots to thinkin' about the summer tips that let me enjoy cooking up a storm while still participating in all the fun.

So, I put together this little list and would love to hear what you other Super Mommies out there do to keep the masses fueled up and ready for all their summer time play.

Summertime Kitchen Tips

Don't Heat Up the Kitchen. Crockpots aren't just for wintertime stews.

The programmable ones are quite handy to put dinner on in the morning and head out to the park or pool and come home to a cool kitchen and piping hot dinner at night.

I love to cook up some pork loin for some pulled pork sandwiches or pull a June Cleaver and have a whole chicken or yummy pot roast waiting for the crew.

You can even make oeey gooey lasagna in a slow cooker.

My crockpot is definitely a year-round bff 'round these parts... just sayin'
Freezin' and Grillin' Go Well Together. I wouldn't be the FREEZE-O-RAMA mama if I didn't tell you over and over again how my freezer saves me so much time and that is very true during the summer too!

I love to season my ground beef with Lawry's salt and pepper and freeze them in pattie form to be able to throw burgers on the grill straight from the freezer.

I also love to freeze up all kinds of marinades so that my chicken or pork can marinade while it thaws in a water bath during summertime afternoons before making their appearance grill-side in the evenings.
Nuke It Baby. I have to admit, I didn't know what kind of friend my microwave could be before I started cookin' with my bloggy pal Leah.

From using a Micro Cooker to cook up raw or frozen meat--not to mention veggies or pasta-- to melting the marshmallows for fruity pebbles or rice crispy treats to even cooking up corn on the cob in 6 minutes flat, Miss Leah has broadened my horizons when it comes to my microwave-- letting me get home cooked meals done fast-- without the headache of heating up the whole kitchen!

What summertime cookin', grillin' or kitchen tips do you have?

Links featured on GOODEness Gracious are often affiliate links. GG often receives products for free to review. GG opinions are however very much Cris' own. Just try to get her to say something she doesn't believe in... dare ya ;) If you have any questions about the products or recommendations found on this blog, just pop us an email :)

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Zippy Shredded Pork

4:55 PM Unknown 5 comments

The other day I got the most touching comment from an anonymous reader about a recent Crockpot BBQ Pulled Pork post...

Every Monday I make dinner for a family who has a child in the hospital battling leukemia ~ hospital is 2 hours away from home. Mom pretty much lives at the hospital while Dad is holding down the fort with his 2 other sons (both teenagers) and his father. Always looking for new and easy ideas that fit in with my work schedule and will keep everyone happy. Brought this over tonite with fresh rolls, coleslaw and homemade mac and cheese. A HUGE HUGE HUGE success and so simple ~ cooked 2 pork loins on low all day in the crockpot. Delicious. Sweet aby Rays is our favorite, too. Thank you!

Well Anonymous, first of all, God bless you and your heart for people. And, secondly, thank you so much for sharing your story with me... it made my day. Thirdly, this post is dedicated to you. It too is quick, easy and an awesome use of that time saving crockpot!

I found this new spin on pulled pork in my Slow-Cooker Recipes Cookbook that I have been telling ya'all I wanted to start using a bit more... and I am glad I did!

This recipe is soo easy and sooo tasty.

I started with a 4 lb loin, but I cut up half of it for various marinades and such (that I will be sharing on Sweet Jeanette in June).

With the other half, I popped a crockpot liner in my Smartpot and put the other half of my loin in... salt (Lawry's) and peppered it...

And then flipped it fat side up and salt and peppered it again.

Then I just grabbed my favorite salsa and a can of chilies and poured them over the top.

Then I put a lid on it...

And set my Smartpot on high for 6 hours (or low for 8).

After it was done cooking, I took two forks and that baby just fell apart ;)

Now we had sandwiches that night...

Put enough in the fridge for lunch the next day...

And froze enough for lunch on another day... Mommy score!

Enjoy!

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Links featured on GOODEness Gracious are often affiliate links. GG also often receives products for free to review. GG opinions are however very much Cris' own. Just try to get her to say something she doesn't believe in... dare ya ;) If you have any questions about the products or recommendations found on this blog, just pop us an email :)