crock pot pulled pork bbq sandwiches

Crock Pot Pulled Pork BBQ Sandwiches

(great freezer meal option!)

Ingredients:

2 lbs pork roast (shoulder or butt)
1 large onions
1/2 cup ginger ale
9 oz. (1/2 bottle) favorite barbecue sauce (I like Sweet Baby Ray's)
Barbecue sauce, for serving

Directions:
Slice the onion and place 1/2 in crock pot. Put in the roast and cover with the other half of the onion. Pour the ginger ale over the contents of the crockpot. Cover and cook on low for about 6-8 hours. Turn roast over after 3-4 hours.

Remove the meat, strain and save the onions, discard all liquid. With two forks, shred the meat, discarding any remaining fat, bones or skin. Most of the fat will have melted away.

Return the shredded meat and the onions to the crock pot, stir in the barbecue sauce. Continue to cook for another 2-3 hours on low.

Serve with hamburger buns or rolls and additional barbecue sauce. Any leftovers freeze very well.

Serves 5.

Freezing:

Cook as directed. Freeze ready-made sandwiches - a scoop of meat on a bun, individually well-wrapped with plastic wrap. These make a great quick meal or snack. To reheat, remove wrapping, wrap in a paper towel, and zap 1-2 minutes in the microwave or in the oven tightly wrapped in foil at 400 degrees for approx.15-20 min or until cooked through.

Photo credit and recipe to food.com. The original recipe can be found HERE.

broccoli cheese soup

Broccoli Cheese Soup

(great freezer meal option!)

Our Rating: ★★★★½

Ingredients:
1 c. carrot, finely chopped
1/4 c. celery, finely chopped
1/4 c. onion, finely chopped
1/4 c. green pepper, finely chopped
1/2 c. fresh broccoli, cut in small pieces
1 3/4 c. chicken broth
2 c. milk
1/4 c. flour
1/2 t. paprika
1/2 t. salt
4 oz. Velveeta cheese
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 c. shredded provolone cheese

Directions:
In stockpot, heat first 6 ingredients to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Combine milk, flour, paprika and salt in a bowl. Add to broth mixture. Cook until thick and bubbly.
Add cheese and stir until melted. 

Freezing:

Cook as directed. Once sufficiently cooled pour into gallon or quart sized freezer bags. Freeze flat in the freezer. Thaw in the refrigerator once you are ready to use. Warm up in a saucepan until hot. Do not boil. Serve with your favorite bread.

Recipe came from the book "Don't Panic, Dinner's in the Freezer" and the original recipe is also posted online HERE.

chair reupholstery

So I did my own dining room chairs reupholstering. I was gung-ho about it, bought my seersucker white and tan striped fabric online, it came in the mail and then... it sat around for months. Such is life! Finally, with a little last minute motivation I got the staple gun out and got it done. I love how it turned out! No more nasty stained seats to be embarrassed about. Brand spanking new!

...and I realize I've been gone for pretty much a lifetime. But that doesn't mean I haven't been doing anything. :) Stay tuned. Eventually I will post again. Promise!

golden pork chops

This is a perfect Sunday dinner meal. The definition of comfort food. My husband and I loved this. I've literally never cooked with pork chops until now. I've been wanting to try preparing other types of meats besides the typical chicken, hamburger, and pork roast. I have a couple pork chops left so maybe another recipe will be coming soon when I try something else with them.

Golden Pork Chops

Our Rating: ★★★★

Ingredients:
4 pork chops
1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon crushed minced fresh garlic
1/2 tablespoon butter or margarine
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 cup fresh sliced mushrooms
2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed golden mushroom soup

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

Put butter, garlic, onion, and mushrooms in a large frying pan. Saute the vegetables on medium until soft. Move to medium mixing bowl. Mix in soup.

Rinse pork chops, pat dry, and season with seasoned salt and pepper. Brown them in same pan used to saute vegetables. Place them in a 9x13 inch baking dish. Cover with soup and vegetable mixture.

Cover with foil, and bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 45 minutes. Uncover, and bake for 15 more minutes (note: time could be less or more depending on the thickness of the chops). Pork chops are done when their internal temperature has reached 160 degrees F (70 degrees C).

My comments:

I added a few more seasonings to the pork chops to my liking. This is best served with mashed potatoes because the remaining sauce works perfectly as gravy! I also served with a side of corn. We will definitely be having this again!

Photo credit and recipe go to allrecipes.com. The original recipe can be found HERE.

diy framed screen earring holder

Me and my good friend Kristi made these earring holders a couple weeks ago. Probably couldn't have been a more easy project and it turned out great!

Here's how mine turned out... :)

We bought frames from the D.I. for $1 each

We sanded them and painted them. Kristi painted hers all turquoise and I color-blocked mine with a creamy white and turquoise. As you can see below I used black masking tape to make a clean line with the turquoise.

We had an electric staple gun which we had used for the first time... as you can see some of the staples were a little iffy but effective! I'm sure using hot glue would be effective as well.

We also stapled on the ribbon to hold it up.

We also glued large beads on the back corners to set the holder a little further off the wall so the earrings don't hit the wall when they poke through.

And here's Kristi's :)

super creamy zesty italian crock pot chicken

Zesty Italian Crock Pot Chicken

Our Rating: ★★★★

Ingredients:
4 frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 tbsp. margarine
1 packet zesty Italian seasoning (we use 1½ for extra flavor)
4 cups cooked rice
optional 2 cups sauteed or steamed vegetables (i sauteed some Kroger brand key largo blend frozen vegetables)

Directions:
Put frozen chicken breasts, soup, and margarine into crock-pot.

Cook on low 3-4 hours. After about an hour open crock-pot, add cream cheese and zesty Italian seasoning, Stir everything together.

When complete, shred or cut chicken into chunks. serve over steamed rice with vegetables of your choice.

My comments:
After you cut or shred chicken you may want to let it sit in the sauce for 10 minutes or so to let it soak in.

Others have substituted the rice for pasta noodles. Bowtie and angel hair pasta is supposedly very good but I haven't tried it yet.

Crock-pots vary so therefore your cooking time may vary also. Cook until chicken is cooked all the way through and tender.

Recipe is from kraft.com. The original recipe can be found HERE.

latest craft ideas & inspirations

Haven't quite gotten onto the Pinterest craze yet but here's a few things I suppose I would "pin" if I were on there a little more. Some ideas I'd like to try out along with a couple inspirational rooms. i got these ideas from apartmenttherapy.com.

DIY home-made clocks

DIY scrabble decor

DIY modernized vases

Wooden chandelier decoration

Home theater room (seriously how cool is this?)

Craft room. Oh Pottery Barn, you get me.