Pulled-Pork Sandwiches

I love pulled-pork sandwiches, and my aunt swore to me they were easy to make. All I needed was a crockpot and about 6 hours. I’m all about slow cooker recipes, because I can put the stuff together before I head out to work and then come home to a great-smelling house and food ready to eat.

Lately I’ve been cooking recipes from Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food, and almost every recipe I’ve made has been a winner. (Only one recipe was a total failure, but at least Roger and I figured out we don’t like lentils.)  So I turned to their website for a pulled-pork recipe.

Pulled-pork sandwiches

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Chicken Stir Fry

Monday night I tackled chicken stir fry, and it turned out a little too spicy but really yummy!

Chicken stir fry

The recipe is from Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food: Great Food Fast. My friend Heather gave me the book, and I’ve already made a few recipes from it. Don’t let Martha scare you, because the recipes in this book are not complicated. And they use ingredients you can find at Publix. Not that I don’t love going to Harry’s but I don’t have time (or money!) for that every week.

Chicken stir fry in the wok

The recipe called for Boston lettuce leaves to make the meal into lettuce wraps. I love lettuce wraps so I did just that. I made some brown rice on the side just in case the lettuce didn’t work out. Both were great.

I’m looking forward to these left overs!

If Granny Arnold could see me now

When I was a kid, my granny (Mom’s mom) loved to eat zucchini. I equated the green veggie to the likes of Brussels sprouts and spinach. In other words, I wouldn’t go near the stuff. On my journey to adulthood, however, I discovered I actually liked spinach and the occasional zucchini slice.

So tonight I tried a new recipe for a squash and rice casserole. You can use yellow squash, zucchini, or both. I stuck with the green stuff. It turned out pretty good, and it was easy to make. Maybe one day I’ll try something with Brussels sprouts. But they’re not all that appealing . . . even as an adult.

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The perfect man

Run, run as fast as you can
You can’t catch me, I’m the Gingerbread Man.

I decided to try making gingerbread man cookies, and they were surprisingly easy to make. I’d never worked with gingerbread before, and the dough proved to be the greatest test for my mixer so far. It actually slowed down when trying to mix in the flour. Talk about some thick dough!

By the time the cookies were done I was covered in flour and smelled like molasses. But the tiny, tasty men were worth the effort!

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Broccoli Casserole and Thanksgiving

I just finished cooking broccoli casserole for our Thanksgiving lunch at work tomorrow. The company’s providing turkey and dressing, and everyone else is bringing the rest. Personally, I’m looking forward to my co-worker Kristen’s hashbrown casserole. I always beg her to make it for any lunch we have at work, but she always begs me to make broccoli casserole so we’re even.

I still can’t believe Thanksgiving is just a week away. I haven’t been in a big holiday mood these days, because I’m too focused on finishing school work (only 2 weeks left!). But between previews of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and now my house smelling of broccoli casserole, I’m starting to get more in the spirit.

This time next week I’ll know whether my dressing turned out OK for a second year in a row. At least broccoli casserole is simple enough – I can actually remember the recipe without looking at it. Dressing is always a surprise. But I know it will be great at Christmas time – April makes it then and she’s had a lot more practice!