Dinner

I had the task of making dinner for my small group - about 15 to 20 people. I took on the main course. I wanted something different and yet delicious and easy. :) I found this fabulous recipe for North Carolina Pulled Pork that is cooked slowly in a crock pot. I also made some good ol coleslaw to go with it! That recipe I found here.

I happened to find pork butt that was on sale for 1.89 per lb. I bought almost 10 pounds! I slow cooked the pork in the crock pot for about 13 hours.

I seasoned it with salt and pepper and poured 2 1/2 cups of apple cider vinegar around it. Not the best smelling while cooking - however, the meat has this delicious flavor now! I started it at 11PM at night.

Once all cooked, I shredded it. Took a little longer than expected - but that could be because I'm kind of a perfectionist! Plus picking out the fat was tedious. I hate fat. Maybe I should be working out more....anyways.

 

Next I took some of the broth and added a lot of delicious seasoning. It's a bit more spicy than I thought! But I enjoy a kick. 

I am excited to taste it after the meat has marinated in the seasoning for awhile! I added all the meat and it's ready to marinate in the refrigerator. I'll let it sit there for about 4 hours and then reheat it and it's ready to go!

Next was the coleslaw. I found this GORGEOUS purple cabbage at the store. It's so stunning. 

After chopping it into strips (I don't like the fine chopped cabbage), I whisked together sugar, ketchup, chili sauce and red cider vinegar. Poured it over the cabbage, stirred and popped it into the fridge to let the flavors blend.

 

 

Let's hope it's a hit! :)

Flower

I got this idea from Pinterest! I took a large canvas and painted it black. I used acrylic paint. Then I bought scrapbook paper and cut pedals of differing sizes. I used 5 different patterns. Here was the hard part, gluing the pedals on the canvas. I used a spray adhesive - a little messy! I ended up having to use super clue on the pieces that wrapped around the canvas. All in all, I like it! 

Cake Balls

Yesterday I made Cake Batter Truffles. And if I do say so myself, they are delicious! They were also very easy to make. I got the idea here.  I have been in quite a baking mood as of late. I recently made cake balls and they were SO time consuming. These actually were quite quick.

 

Cake Batter Truffles
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup flour
1 cup yellow cake mix
1 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp salt
3 - 4 Tbsp Milk
2 Tbsp Sprinkles

TRUFFLE COATING:
16 oz Almond Bark
4 Tbsp yellow cake mix
Sprinkles
2 Tbsp Crisco
 
- Beat together butter and sugar with electric mixer
- Blend in vanilla
- Add cake mix, flour and salt
- Add 3 Tbsp of milk or more if needed to gain desired dough consistency
- Mix in sprinkles by hand
- Roll dough into 1 inch balls and place on wax paper
- Refrigerate for 15 minutes to firm up
- While dough is in fridge, melt almond bark with crisco
- Using a fork, dip truffles into almond bark
- Tap on edge to remove access
- Place on wax paper
- Sprinkle, sprinkles on top

I placed them back in the fridge for 15 minutes and then put them in an airtight container. They are a hit and a definite make again! ;) Recipe from The Girl Who Ate Everything.

And for those who are watching their weight and counting calories - each truffle has 110 calories (each batch makes 30 truffles.)

Christmas

This year I painted my mom a picture for Christmas. I love to paint trees - my favorite! I can't say I love what I paint. I always have these great ideas in my head - but I can never get them onto the canvas. Honestly, I want to throw away everything I paint. But my boyfriend won't let me do that. I need to learn to enjoy the "mistakes" or imperfections in the picture. It brings interest and can make the painting dynamic. Sigh... learning as I go! 

 

Isn't my mom pretty?