The 2 Spoons

Next Best Thing to Smoked, Crockpot Pulled Pork

March 17, 2019 by Becky Spoon

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Crockpot Pulled Pork…hmmm! I mean, I don’t know? Ok, so I have to confess that I have never, ever cooked pulled pork any other way than smoking it outside. Yes, that’s true. I kept seeing recipes of crockpot pulled pork, even tasted it, and I had friends that swore by the greatness of their crockpot pulled pork, but I was completely not interested.

Until the other day, when I was faced with a huge pork butt. I had thawed it out in the refrigerator for a day or two with the intentions of smoking it in my Big Green Egg. Then the weather changed and I no longer wanted to be outside smoking anything!

Faced with this delima of what to do with a huge pork butt, I halved it and made two recipes. One with Cajun spices I had made for years, and I decided I’d try what so many had said was great, make pulled pork in my crockpot. It turned out yummy and delicious and Mr. Spoon loved it too! I won’t stop smoking my brisket outside but this recipe is certainly an alternative when in need!

Crockpot Pulled Pork

The first time I had pulled pork, in the 1970’s, was in Tennessee. You’d go to a little stand on the side of the road and buy a sack full of pulled pork on a bun with coke slaw, lots of pepper and a vinegary bbq sauce. So, trying to mimic those memories I also served mine with cole slaw and a vinegary sauce. I buttered and toasted the buns, piled them high with pork, slaw and slathered in bbq sauce. I used a Texas favorite, Franklins Bbq, Vinegar Sauce. http://www.amazon.com/groceries

Serve this recipe with my Southern Potato Salad, a perfect combination! https://the2spoons.com/super-good-southern-potato-salad/

Here you go for the recipe! Don’t have a smoker but still want pulled pork? This recipe solves your problem! Yay!

Crockpot Pulled Pork (Sandwiches)

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Course dinner, Lunch, Main Course, Sandwiches

Cuisine American, bbq

Ingredients

2 tbsp Kosher salt
2 tbsp packed dark brown sugar
2 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp chili powder
2 tsps dry mustard
2 tsps garlic powder (not salt)
2 tsps onion powder
1 tsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp celery seeds
1 7-8 lb pork shoulder or pork butt
2 medium onions, quartered
1/2 cups cola (used Coca Cola)
1 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp worcestershire sauce

For the Pulled Pork on a Bun with Coleslaw

Hamburger buns
butter for toasting
recipe, coleslaw
BBQ Sauce, our choice

Coleslaw

4 cups shredded cabbage and carrots
1 cup mayonaise
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp red wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat to 500°F. (Use convection if you have it.) Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil, then fit a wire rack inside it.
Place the salt, brown sugar, paprika, black pepper, chili powder, smoked paprika, dry mustard, garlic powder, onion powder, cornstarch, cayenne, and celery seeds in a small bowl and stir to combine.
Pat the pork dry with paper towels. Evenly coat the pork with 1/2 of the rub, then place it on the wire rack fat-side up if possible. Roast until the pork is sizzling with a bit of char on the edges, about 10 minutes, but don’t let the spices burn.
Meanwhile, place the onions in a 6-quart or larger slow cooker. Sprinkle with the remaining rub. Pour in the cola, vinegar, and Worcestershire.
Transfer the pork to the slow cooker. Cover and cook on the LOW setting until the pork is soft enough to pull apart with a spoon, maybe 8-10 hours? I would check around 6 for tenderness and go from there.
Transfer the pork to a large bowl and let stand until cool enough to handle. Pull the meat apart into large chunks or shred with a fork, discarding any bone, connective tissue, and large clumps of fat.
Fit a fine-mesh strainer over a medium bowl. Pour the cooking liquid through the strainer and discard the solids. If you are serving immediately, spoon off as much fat as possible from the surface. For best results, refrigerate until the fat solidifies and collects on top, then scrape off and discard the fat (keep the meat covered and refrigerated during this time).
Toss the meat with enough defatted cooking liquid to moisten. Serve the meat warm, or let cool, cover, and refrigerate to use in other recipes and with your favorite BBQ sauce.
For the Slaw: Shred your cabbage and carrots or purchase a package of Coleslaw from the supermarket. Combine the dressing ingredients and check for seasonings before pouring on your cabbage. If you want sweeter, add a little sugar. I like sweet coleslaw. Like it vinegary, add some vinegar. When you get your dressing right, pour on your slaw and combine.
For the Sandwich: Butter and toast your buns lightly on each side. Put a little BBQ on the bottom bun and pile some pulled pork on. Pour on a little more BBQ sauce, top with your coleslaw and place the lid on top! You will need a lot of napkins! Enjoy!

Super Good, Southern Potato Salad

March 17, 2019 by Becky Spoon

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If you grew up in the South as I did, every picnic, family reunion, or Church potluck, there would be Fried Chicken, potato salad and baked beans. Oh yes, I forgot about the 4th of July!

There were mustardy potato salads, salads with just mayonnaise, salads with whipped potatoes or a little chunky like mine. I used russets, but sometimes I use red potatoes or Yukon golds and I don’t always remove the skins when using the red or gold.

I still make potato salad like I had growing up and I always have it with BBQ. It just seems mandatory! Every BBQ joint in Texas will serve potato salad as a side dish.

Super Good, Southern Potato Salad

Other than this recipe German Potato Salad is great! I don’t have a recipe on my blog yet for the German style but here is a link that sounds delicious: https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/german-potato-salad

This recipe is crunchy from all the added vegetables, creamy from warm potatoes mixed with mayonnaise and a little mustardy from added yellow mustard, I love this recipe. It is sweet and sour from sweet and dill relish and a little spicy from Louisiana Hot Sauce. I love that part!

This is the perfect side dish for my Crockpot Pulled Pork: https://the2spoons.com/next-best-thing-to-smoked-crockpot-pulled-pork/

Hope you like this recipe as much as we do!

Southern Potato Salad

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Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Servings 6 servings

Ingredients

2 Large Baking Potatoes diced (I used the really big russet baking potatoes, if you don’t have use 4 medium)
3 hard boiled eggs
2-3 tbsps red wine vinegar for drizzling over the potatoes while still hot
1/4 cup red onion, chopped
3 green onions, tops and bottoms
1/2 cup celery, diced
2 3/4 oz jar pimento
2-3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup dill relish or dill pickles chopped
1/2 cup sweet relish
1/2 tsp celery salt
1/2 tsp pepper
salt to tast
1 tbsp yellow mustard
1 tsp Louisiana hot sauce or other hot sauce of your choice
1/2 cup mayonaise
paprika for garnish

Instructions

Dice the potatoes and boil them in salted water until fork tender. While the potatoes are boiling, cook your eggs to a hard boil by placing them in cold water, bringing up to a boil, lowering the heat to medium-high and cooking for 10 minutes after they begin to boil. After 10 minutes, drain and place in ice cold water. Peel your eggs, dice or chop and set aside.
When your potatoes are fork tender, not mushy, drain and place in the bowl you will be mixing your ingredients. Douse with 2 or 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar while they are still hot and toss with a couple of spoons or your hands. This just adds to your flavor and you are starting with a flavorful potato before you add the other ingredients. You don’t want too much so 2-3 tablespoons just depend on your amount of potatoes.
Add all of your ingredients except for the mayonnaise. Toss and check for seasoning. Add a little salt and pepper if you need. I say salt to taste because you are adding celery salt, so you don’t want to add salt until ingredients are combined and you taste before adding more.
Now add your mayonnaise, starting with 1/2 cup. Add more as needed or until you reach your desired creaminess. Place in a serving bowl and garnish with a little paprika.

My Popular, Italian Salad with Lemon & Olive Oil Vinaigrette

March 15, 2019 by Becky Spoon

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Italian Salad with Lemon and Olive Oil Vinaigrette is a favorite in the Spoon household. It’s my go to when having guest and I want to add an easy delicious salad! And, everyone loves it!

Light and fresh from the lemon, this salad is a great addition to almost any meal!

I used mixed greens in this recipe today. I like the different textures and colors; however, romaine is always perfect for the salad.

This is like a green salad and an antipasto all in one, which I love. You could add salami, ham, peparoni, along with big chunks of mozzarella or other cheese. Grilled chicken or shrimp would be delicious. Pepperoncini would add a tartness, and toppings like croutons or nuts would add a crunch!

Greens for my Italian salad with Lemon & olive oil Vinaigrette

You could easily substitute the lettuce for pasta in this salad and have a completely different salad for even a main dish. Here’s a link to give you some ideas of pastas to use in a a salad: https://www.thekitchn.com/the-best-pasta-for-pasta-salads-ingredient-intelligence-205203

My Popular, Italian Salad with Lemon & Olive Oil Vinaigrette

When my oldest son was growing up, I’d make a salad for him with iceberg lettuce, onion slivers, olives and I would top it with red wine vinegar, oil, and parmesan cheese, the kind in the can. I would add salt and pepper and adjust the oil and vinegar to get the right taste I wanted. He absolutely loved it.

Well, later as we grew older, I learned to class it up a little, lol! I started making the salad with chopped romaine, tomatoes, green onions, avocados, different types of olives, sometimes I’d add capers or artichokes, you know a lot of those delicious foods to make a terrific Italian Salad.

I started making the dressing separate combining olive oil, lemon, salt and pepper and either Parmesan, Asiago cheese or pecorino Romano in one jar for a great dressing. Here’s the link for the salad dressing which is also included in the recipe: http//://www.the2spoons.com/delicious-lemon-olive-oil-vinaigrette/

Italian Salad with Lemon and Olive Oil Vi aigrette

Here’s the easy recipe! Enjoy! Hope you love it as much as we do!

Italian Salad with Lemon & Olive Oil Vinaigrette

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Course Salad

Cuisine American

Ingredients

Romaine Lettuce, sliced into 1 inch pieces or a Bagged Spring Mix
English Cucumber, thin slices
Tomatoes, diced
Green onions, sliced
Avocado, cubed
Kalamata olives, sliced
Other salad items of your choice
My lemon and olive oil dressing ( https://the2spoons.com/lemon-olive-oil-vinaigrette/)

Instructions

I didn’t give amounts because of course, that depends on how many servings you are making. Also, I used a bag of Spring Mix because I needed to but normally I would use Romaine hearts, either work well.

Keyword salad

Lemon & Olive Oil Vinaigrette, Delicious

March 15, 2019 by Becky Spoon

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Lemon & Olive Oil Vinaigrette is a favorite! I have a daughter from another mother and she absolutely loves this dressing. That is one of the reasons why I am posting this recipe because she always wants to make it or does make it but can’t remember the measurements, so now all she has to do is go to my blog and she has the recipe! Yay! Love you Claire!

When my oldest son was growing up, I’d make a salad for him with iceberg lettuce, onion slivers, maybe some olives, you know the ones with the pimento, and I would top it with red wine vinegar, oil, and parmesan cheese, you know, the kind in the can. Lol! That’s all I had 50 years ago! I would add salt and pepper and adjust the oil and vinegar to get the right taste I wanted. He absolutely loved it.

As I got more experience in the kitchen, I’d class the salad up a little! I started making it with chopped romaine, tomatoes, green onions, avocados, different types of olives, sometimes capers or artichokes, you know a lot of those delicious foods to make a terrific Italian Salad but I would always use this same salad dressing, but I switched the red wine vinegar to lemon, resulting in my Lemon & Olive Oil Vinaigrette.

Finally, I started making the dressing in a jar with lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper, garlic, parmesan, pecorino romano or asiago cheese, so I would always have it on hand. It is that essential dressing that works so well. I really like using pecorino romano because it is a hard, salty cheese, perfect for grating. When I do use it I don’t add salt until I’ve added the cheese and combining first to check for saltiness. Here are some tidbits about pecorino romano: https://www.thespruceeats.com/pecorino-romano-italian-sheeps-milk…

Lemon & Olive Oil Vinaigrette is perfect for any Italian salad! It is my go-to dressing always for almost any green salad. If you want my Italian Salad Recipe I use this most often with, here’s the link: https://the2spoons.com/italian-salad-with-lemon-olive-oil-vinaigrette/

Lemon & Olive Oil Vinaigrette, Delicious

Here you go! Great reciepe!

Lemon & Olive Oil Vinaigrette

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Prep Time 10

Course Salad, Salad Dressings

Cuisine American, Italian

Ingredients

1 cup olive oil
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
juice of 2 lemons
1 cup pecorino romano, asiago or parmesan, grated
1 tsp black pepper
salt to taste

Instructions

Place all the ingredients into a jar and shake well. Check for salt. The cheese is salty, so taste then add. Serve on your favorite salad. Store in the refrigerator, bring to room temperature before using. The longer it sits the better the flavor

Keyword Vinaigrette

Colorful, Spinach and Berries Salad with Dill

March 13, 2019 by Becky Spoon

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Not only is this Spinach and Berries Salad with Dill beautiful, but it is also absolutely delicious. I have made it for years and everyone who tries it loves it! Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, toasted almonds, fresh spinach, fresh dill, and soft lettuce….what is there not to love?

I served the salad the other day for a family gathering with my easy Broccoli and Cheese soup, with other dishes my sisters brought like my Avocado and Poached Salmon toast, a delicious chicken salad, and a beautiful sliced deli meats and cheese board with fresh loaves of bread and condiments. This menu worked so well with the salad. Here is the link for my soup recipe: https://the2spoons.com/best-4-ingredient-broccoli-cheese-soup/ and the Avocado Toast with Poached Salmon: http://www.the2spoons.com/avocado-toast-with-poached-salmon/

Colorful, Spinach and Berries Salad with Dill

I originally got this recipe from the cookbook “Colorado Colore A Palate of Tastes” by the Junior League of Denver. https://barnesandnoble.com/w/colorado-colore-junior-league-denver/…

The original recipe calls for Butterhead lettuce which I can’t always find so I substituted red leafy lettuce which adds even more color. You just want soft lettuce and not a crunchy lettuce like iceberg or romaine. The recipe makes a lot of the vinaigrette so be sure and store it to use on other salads. It is a delicious vinaigrette. I’d use it on an Antipasto Salad or you could use it as a marinade for fish or chicken.

Besides the options I gave previously to serve with the salad I think it would be a beautiful side dish to a lovely piece of salmon, a roasted chicken, or even a grilled steak.

Want another delicious salad recipe?

Here’s the complete recipe! You will love it!A Classic – Beautiful Caesar Salad

Caesar Salad with Homemade Croutons and Dressing

Here’s the recipe for this delicious Berry Salad:

Spinach and Berries Salad with Dill

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Course Salad

Cuisine American

Ingredients

Red Wine Vinaigrette

1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp dry mustard
1/4 tsp onion powder

Salad

1 cup slivered almonds
1 lb baby spinach leaves
1 lb butter lettuce or a soft leafy lettuce I have used a red leaf and it’s beautiful with the berries
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1/2 pint fresh strawberries, sliced
1/2 pint fresh raspberries
1/2 pint fresh blueberries
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill weed

Instructions

For the Vinaigrette

Combine the olive oil, vinegar, sugar, garlic, salt, pepper, dry mustard and onion powder in a jar with a tight-fitting lid. Shake to mix. If you are not using right away, chill until serving; however, I always bring it to room temperature before using.

For the Salad

Spread the almonds on a baking sheet. Toast at 350 degrees for 5 to 7 minutes or until golden brown, stirring after 3 to 4 minutes. let stand until cool. Toss the almonds, spinach, lettuce, green onions, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and dill weed in a large salad bowl. Add the vinaigrette just before serving and toss to coat.

Broccoli Cheese Soup — Spinach and Berries Salad with Dill

Allen’s Favorite, Delicious Cherry Pie

March 12, 2019 by Becky Spoon

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Oh, Cherry Pie! I don’t even bother to ask Allen what kind of pie he wants or what he wants for his Birthday dinner or even Thanksgiving and Christmas anymore, it is always going to be CHERRY PIE!

And easy? This is so easy. I used a prepared pie crust and canned pie filling that I add stuff too. I use Comstock Cherry Pie filling :https://www.duncanhines.com/products/comstock-more-fruit-cherry/ but I’m sure there’s other good fillings out there!

Allen’s Favorite, Delicious Cherry Pie

What could be better than a piece of cherry pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream?

I made this with my Sunday chuck roast and we loved it! Here’s the link for my roast! https://the2spoons.com/stove-top-chuck-roast-the-best/

Here’s the recipe! Make sure you have plenty Vanilla ice cream, whipped cream or both!

Allen’s Favorite, Delicious Cherry Pie

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Prep Time 10

Cook Time 45

Total Time 55

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Ingredients

2 cans Cherry pie filling of your choice
zest & juice of one lemon
zest & juice of one orange
1/4 cup sugar plus more for topping the final crust
2 tbsp corn starch
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 pie crust
1 egg, beaten to brush your crust
2 tbsp butter pieces for dotting your filling

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl combine the cherry pie filling mix, add the zest from the lemon and orange, the sugar, and cinnamon. In a separate small bowl combine the lemon juice, the orange juice, and the corn starch. Blend, adding a little water if needed to make a smooth slurry and add to your pie mixture.
Place your bottom crust in a pie pan, pour in your filling and dot with your butter pieces. Top with your second crust sealing the edges and crimping. Cut slits in the crust with a sharp knife to allow the steam to release. Brush the beaten egg over your pie crust and sprinkle with sugar.
Place on a sheet pan and place into the oven for about 45 minutes or until the pie is bubbling and golden brown. Serve with Vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Keyword cherry pie

Cherry Pie
Cherry Pie
Cherry Pie
Cherry Pie