Slow Cooker Success!

The Slow Cooker and I have a love-hate relationship so far. I would LOVE to use it more, but I HATE that nothing has turned out they way I wanted... until now! I was determined to get something right in the slow cooker, and decided on pulled pork sandwiches and homemade fries. There are a ridiculous amount of pulled pork recipes out there but after a lot of searching I found one simple enough for me. I found mine on foodnetwork.com my go-to site for recipes.

Pulled Pork

4lbs boneless pork shoulder (although mine said boneless, I found one while shredding the pork)

Spice rub (I used paprika, pepper, garlic, salt, use any rub you have)

Sliced onion (I used 1/2 red onion)

Enough water to cover pork

Allow 7-8 hours to cook on LOW (mine cooked for 7.5)

Oven Fries
1 russet potato per person
1-2 T olive oil (I never measure)
salt, pepper, garlic powder
cook in 400 degree oven, flipping once until golden brown.

WARNING: once you make these fries you will never be able to go back to frozen fries, so be prepared.

Put the lid on the slow cooker and DON'T PEEK! at least not for the first couple of hours, so you don't lose heat.

About 35-40 mins before you want to eat wash and cut the russet potatoes into wedges. Toss with olive oil and spices and place on foil lined baking sheet in 400 degree oven.

After 15 mins be sure to flip the fries otherwise they'll stick to the foil. Return to the oven and cook until as brown & crunchy as you like. Try to time the fries to come out right before you want to eat, they are best when hot out of the oven!

Fish out all of the pork from the juice, get rid of the fat and slightly shred the meat.

 (mine pretty much fell apart with little to no effort) Add your favorite BBQ sauce, toast buns, and top with cheese.

I totally forgot to take a picture before digging in, at least you know that means it tastes AWESOME!

This recipe is 100% Husband Approved, Justin couldn't wait till the pork was on a sandwich to try a bite.

As some of you know last February I did a February Photo Challenge (one picture a day for the whole month) I wanted to keep my tradition alive although I needed something that involved less time since the baby is on the way, but still challenged me. My February Challenge this year is to cook 1 Slow Cooker meal a week, and blog about it step-by-step. So here's to February, hopefully I will improve my relationship with my slow cooker and eat some good food!

Baby Update!

 Here we are in the home stretch of waiting for this little guy to arrive. It's hard to wrap my mind around the fact that he will be here in about 2 months (or less!) I have been watching my belly grow for quite some time, although most people couldn't tell until late October. Here are the pictures I've taken of my growing bump so far. I haven't been consistent about taking them although I wish I had been.

Now here are some questions answered.

How far along are you?  I am currently 30weeks and 6days along (probably more spesific than you needed, right?) or about 7 and  half months.

How do you feel? Good, other than some uncomfortable stretching around my ribs

Do you have a name picked out? No, We have a few we like and are waiting till we meet this little guy to decide on one.

Do you have everything ready? Not yet, although I would like to be totally ready.

When are you due again? March 16th

Are you excited? of course! I can't wait for him to be here!

Here I am today!

Today I had another doctors appointment and the baby is looking good! He has a strong heartbeat and really likes to wiggle around. The doctor said he has flipped head down now which is good, and it means more kicks to my ribs are on the way!

Holiday Crazy

This holiday season has been quite busy for Justin and I. We drove down to California to spend Christmas with our families. My Family flew to California, and Justin's Mom, Step-dad, and siblings live there. We also have 3 sets of grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends galore to visit while we're in town. I wish I had pictures of everything that went on, but I spent time enjoying the moments instead.

Justin gathered together my brothers and cousins, and created his own backyard football team. It was Justin and the younger kids vs. the bigger kids. They had tons of fun in the huddle trying to decide who to pass to next. They only had one minor injury and Dr. Justin was there to get things all fixed up.

Justin also found some time to tell stories to the kids, they all had fun telling their own stories too. When my aunt Jill saw this gathering she said "It's too bad they don't like him at all." They all love Justin (with the exception of Sydney...) and it's easy to see why I fell in love with him too.

We had a baby shower a few days before Christmas since we had the whole family together, which doesn't happen often. Everyone was so generous and we came home with a car packed to the gills with clothes and toys for our little guy.

The decorations were so simple and so cute! my mom and aunt made the blocks from boxes and scrapbook paper. The Pooh bear on the motorcycle was made by my mother-in-law Laurie-ann. It's made from a bottle, burp cloth, blanket, mittens, and diapers.

Somewhere in the Christmas crazyness we found time to take family pictures with both families. The pictures with the Hart family were taken at Craig Park in Fullerton by John Fredette (Justin's uncle, and the same photographer who did our engagement pictures) see his other awesome pictures or more from us at http://www.photography.johnfredette.com/

The pictures with the Croft family were taken at La Mirada Regional Park, by Forest Ferkin (The same photographer who did our wedding photos)

Christmas was a busy time but we enjoyed spending time with both families and our friends too. We hope you enjoyed your holidays as much as we did!