Pulled Pork Deliciousness

Playing in the kitchen has really become fun for me. I used to be so afraid. What if something comes out bad? What I have learned is sometimes things come out bad and that's not fun, but then you try again and make adjustments and it could turn out to be your favorite meal!

My mom recently cleaned out her extra freezer and had some pork shoulder she wasn't going to make, she donated it to the feed the Cindy fund and I happily cooked it up. I did some research first online..the usual places..google and pinterest. I wasn't really sure what to do, but the crockpot seemed like the best option. I found a couple of different recipes, took what I liked about each one and made my own recipe hoping for success. I can tell you I was not disappointed! Hello melt in my mouth and happy belly food pork shoulder.

Recipe time...

This is just one of many many ways to cook the pork shoulder

** I forgot to add 1/2 cup of water to the above recipe. **

Done and shredded. Ready to be eaten!

I couldn't believe how juicy and tender it was when it was cooked and the flavor blew me away. I made that! And my condo smelled delicious for days.

In the past I didn't really share my cooked food, especially if I made up the recipe. I was afraid no one else would like it, but then I realized I wanted to know. I wanted other people's opinions and I wanted to know if there are tweaks I could make to make it even better.  Thankfully my dad and a few coworkers are brave and have been my go to testers. They all approved and asked for this dish again!

Happy dad, happy daughter!
He loved it and trust me he is not an easy sell.

I had plenty for the week and loved mixing it up with different sides.

Broccoli and zucchini 

String beans and caulirice,
I also added a little balsamic dressing to this dish

Enjoy!  If you make it I would love to hear your thoughts.

Cauliflower Mash

Let me warn you before you read any further, this dish is addictive. You will want it all the time! Don't say I didn't warn you.

I started seeing more and more recipes for cauliflower mash aka caulimash online and would think about making them, but never did. It was actually my mom's idea to try and make it when I was sick and couldn't chew. I was looking for mushy foods that wouldn't irritate my body, you don't get any more plain than cauliflower. The first time I tried it, I knew my mom was a genius. It allowed me to eat without pain, it was delicious, and filling.

Now it's my turn to share with you. My version is very simple. You can find a ton of recipes online that will add in cheeses and spices and different techniques. Maybe someday I will try those too, but for now I am happy with my way.

Ingredients:

Cauliflower (frozen or fresh)
Garlic
Salt (I prefer sea salt)
Butter

I started making it with frozen cauliflower, but when my boyfriend made it for me using fresh cauliflower I loved the freshness and started cutting up my own. I really wasn't sure how to cut a cauliflower so I googled and got some pointers. Removing the stem is the big thing. It's actually not that hard. After you clean the head, flip it over and cut the branches like someone would cut a tree branch to separate from the trunk.

This is how I cut up my cauliflower. If you have a better technique feel free to let me know.
I made this up as I went

Once the stem was removed find all the little florets was easy, a bunch of them just fell off and the others was just quick cut at a branch or two.

See how once you remove the stem you can see all the different florest

I fill a pot with the cauliflower and then filled the pot with just enough water to cover the cauliflower add a little salt and then cover the pot.

I cut mine up into smaller pieces to make it cook a little quicker.

I then turn the heat up high and wait for it boil. When it gets really going I turn the heat down a little so the water doesn't go all over the place. Then just let it cook away.

As the cauliflower is cooking, I start chopping up fresh garlic to throw in. I love garlic so I will usually chop up a few cloves, go by what you like.

I love garlic!  Mmm the smell and taste, yum

Once the cauliflower is soft I dump it into a strainer to remove the water.

Strain out all the water.
BE CAREFUL it will be steamy and HOT!

I then dumped the cauliflower back into the original pot, because it will still be warm and makes it easier to mash the cauliflower. I scatter the garlic and a couple tablespoons of butter.

Mmm the start of something delicious. See how the butter is melting already

Another find, compliments of the man, he loves this type of butter and I have to agree.
It's delicious

Now the fun part.  Take your masher and just start mashing!!  Some people use a food processor, but I don't want to add to the cleaning pile, and let's face it, it feels good to get a little aggression out sometimes...use it to mash!

MASH MASH MASH!!

Doesn't it look like mashed potatoes?

And that's it. Now serve and enjoy.  Even when I am all better I plan on keeping this on my menu. It's healthy, low carb, easy to make, and delicious. If you try it, I hope you love it as much as I do. Now I have to go make a batch because I am drooling at my pictures.

ENJOY!

TV/Movie Gathering Healthy Style

I thought with the weekend coming up this would be a fun post to share. I love to have friends over to just hang out around the coffee table relaxing and catching up. I also love when we sit around watching tv or a good movie. Usually these fun events are accompanied by some not so healthy food choices including pizza, chips, dips, fries, and of course brownies and cookies for dessert oh and usually some wine. Fun times, but after all that I usually regretted it the next morning.

In the past if your friends couldn't decide on dessert....you get all three!
Bring on the sugar hangover

Last week I made plans with a friend of mine to come over and watch the NBS show "Chicago Fire". The new season is going to start up soon and we wanted to be caught up with all the story lines. My first thought, awesome TV party time! My next thought...I don't want to eat bad food, but I want it to be a fun time and be a good tv party hostess. What to do...text mom. She came up with some great ideas, off to Shoprite I went.

Chicago Fire on NBC
New season starts September 23, whose watching?

The creative food ideas were flowing...I picked up cucumbers, broccoli, cauliflower, baby carrots, tomatoes and some ranch dip. Healthy, but I needed more flavors and some protein. I added to my cart cheddar and colby cheese cubes, pepperoni slices, and I stopped by the olive bar for kalamata olives and garlic and blue cheese stuffed green olives. I figured to be a fair hostess I would include chocolate chip cookies and Fritos just in case my friend wasn't looking to stay totally healthy that night.

Healthy and nutritious snack choices
Now to make it look nice and get everything ready to be served

It was the perfect spread. We nibbled on everything while watching, a little of this and that. I was able to eat within my calorie goal for the day and stay low carb! My friend mixed it up and did enjoy the fritos and cookies as well.

A little of this and a little of that but most of all lots of  fun for your guests
The majority are healthy snacks that everyone will enjoy, even those not watching their weight.
I also love that I was able to keep it low carb
ENJOY!

So the next time you are planning a get-together remember to find the balance of fun, healthy, and tasty snacks everyone will enjoy!! You will be able to enjoy and still have the button on your pants thank you the next day.

Here's to many fun tv parties!

Crockpot to the Rescue

This week has been busy! Fun, but busy. Sunday is my day to usually do the food shopping and cooking for the week. I really love being prepared and knowing the I will something to eat for every meal. I know that more "ugh why did I eat that" moments happen when I am not prepared. My usual Sunday turned into a really fun creative day. My mom and dad have been changing and redoing rooms on and off with lots of DIY (do it yourself) projects. My sister and I headed over for this weeks project of updating photos and hang frames. I admit I left the designing to them, but helped with picking out photos. Like most projects once you start it's too fun to stop and it also turned into a fun family dinner when my brother in law came over to help too.

Beginning of the DIY photo hallway

Fast forward to Monday morning. I am in the kitchen having breakfast before work when I realize I only have enough cooked food for lunch. I was also supposed to have plans to meet up with Debbie for coffee later that night. Not leaving me much time to cook. And then I heard my crockpot calling my name from the cabinet. I pulled it out with a plan. I grabbed a chuck steak from the freezer and placed it in. No need to remember to defrost the extra moisture from being frozen just makes it that much juicers as it cooks. I cut up some garlic, sprinkled some salt and pepper, and put in a couple of teaspoons of butter. I know, I know, you are saying BUTTER? That's what I said to my mom when she first told me how to make this meal, but trust me it works and it's delicious! I put the lid on and set the crockpot for 8 hours on low.

I found neat garlic tip...
After you cut off the end, put the flat end of the knife on top and push down lightly.
This helps you peel the garlic so much quicker!! 

It is as easy as it sounds
Place chuck in crockpot/garlic/butter, cook, and enjoy

I came home for lunch and let me tell you my place smelled amazing. I was drooling just thinking about my dinner.

Lunch time check in...I didn't want to open the lid and release the heat
but you can see it getting delicious and juicy

Finally home after a busy Monday and was really happy I had remembered to use my crockpot. I roasted up some broccoli and had a complete, healthy, low carb dinner meal with enough for leftovers during the week. Thank you crockpot and my mom for teaching me her meal ideas.

Finished crockpot chuck steak!

My finished low carb/paleo dinner
The meat came out so juicy and tender.
I was full after eating, good thing Debbie and I only got coffee

Food for Thought

I have always known I was somewhat of an emotional eater in addition to a I'm sitting on the couch and want to munch eater. But either way, it wasn't hunger that was controlling my eating. I recently started reading the book "It Starts with Food" aka Whole 30 I am not done with the book yet, but I will say so far I have had more aha moments than I can count. There was a part in the book about certain foods and emotions being connected. This is how I interpreted what they said in the book; if you think happy when you eat Doritos your brain will associate with that feeling and the next time you need that happy you will crave those Doritos. The good news is that can be changed, the brain has to basically be rewired.

Chelsea keeping me company reading 

So there I was sitting on the couch and thought well if I can get happy feelings from Doritos I can definitely get happy feelings from the bowl of blueberries I was currently munching away on. So I closed my eyes and as I ate the blueberries I let myself truly enjoy every single taste and thought about happy things while eating them. I have continued to do this with blueberries and other healthy foods. On the flip side I have also tried, when I think about cookies, chips, and things that are not so healthy to think of how I felt last time. I try to remember every yucky feeling and how miserable I felt after and sometimes days after. Maybe now when my brain thinks about those foods it will think yuck no thanks that is no longer happy food. I have no idea if this is going to work.Will this new method of thinking hold me back when I am feeling particularly down from grabbing a chocolate bar or a bag of chips? Only time will tell, but I figure it's worth a shot.

Cindy