Mar9

Dr. Pepper pulled pork sliders

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One of Paco’s best friends, Matt, is coming to visit tonight.  He is getting here on the later side, so I thought it would be fun to make something easy to eat and guy-friendly (but still tiny and perfect!) to eat before we head out to meet friends.

I have posted about my love of pulled pork and how to make it in the slow cooker before, but this time I decided to try The Pioneer Woman’s Spicy Dr. Pepper Shredded Pork. I served it with my go-to cole slaw on the mini sweet Hawaiian rolls. I took this picture before I put the tops on so that you would be able to see the filling.

Dr. Pepper Pulled Pork
Inspired by The Pioneer Woman

3 1/2 lbs pork butt
1/2 onion, sliced
1-2 cans Dr. Pepper
5 chipotles in adobo
kosher salt
pepper
2 T maple syrup
1/3 c barbeque sauce
1 T mustard

Season the pork butt liberally with salt and pepper. Place in a slow-cooker with the onion, Dr. Pepper, and chipotles in adobo. (Pour enough Dr. Pepper in to cover the pork about 3/4 of the way.)  Allow to cook on high setting for 4-5 hours, or low setting for 8-10 hours.

When the pork is tender, remove it from the sauce and shred. Strain the onions and chipotles from the cooking liquid, and skim off as much of the fat as possible. Pour into a saucepan, then reduce the cooking liquid by half. Add the barbeque sauce, sugar, and mustard, and stir to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary.

Put the sauce and the shredded pork back into the slow-cooker or a large pot, and allow the pork to heat through.

Mar8

Pork chops and fried rice

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When I saw the Pioneer Woman’s post about Pork Chops with Pineapple Fried Rice and realized that I have both pork chops and pineapple in my fridge, I decided that I had to give the recipe a shot!

Her pork chops look delicious, so I followed the recipe closely and made a sauce out of onions, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sriracha, and honey. I brined my pork chops first for added juiciness.

To brine: Dissolve a spoon of sugar and a spoon of salt in a cup of hot water in a large bowl. Add ice cubes and cold water until the bowl is 2/3 full, then add your pork chops. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes to 4 hours before cooking. Rinse the pork chops before cooking. Do not salt them!

For the fried rice, I made my usual version, with ginger, garlic, red bell pepper, spinach, pineapple, and peas. The only additional seasoning that I added to the rice was a drizzle of sesame oil, since I cooked it in the same pan as the pork chops and the sauce. Taste your rice and add soy sauce, sriracha, fish sauce, or sesame oil as desired.

Serve the pork chops with onions and sauce over the rice. Enjoy!

Mar7

Walnut Sandies

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Paco asked if I could make pecan sandies, and I said, “Sure!”  I pulled a fast one on him though, and used walnuts instead.  I always have walnuts on hand, and I often use them as a substitute for pecans.  Yes, I realize they’re not exactly the same, but for me, they’ll do the trick.

I used a super simple recipe from Taste of Home and modified it a bit.

Walnut Sandies
Adapted from Taste of Home

1/2 c of butter, room temperature
1/4 c sugar, plus an addition 2-3 T
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt
1 c flour
1/2 c walnuts or pecans, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the butter and 1/4 c of sugar until the mixture has a creamy consistency. Add the vanilla and salt and combine. Add the flour and walnuts, and stir until roughly combined. If you are not using an electric mixer, the mixture might not quite come together, but that’s okay.

Roll the dough into small balls, about 3/4 inches in diameter. Roll the balls in the additional 2-3 T of sugar.

Place the balls onto a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet about 1 1/2 inches apart, then use the tines of a fork to make a criss-cross pattern.

Bake for 15 minutes.

Mar5

Happy birthday to me!

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It’s my 29th birthday, and I just got back from an awesome 4-day trip to Washington, D.C. Four of my friends from college/San Francisco now live there–Cher, Alexi, Kathryn, and Elliotte–and our other good friend Kari came down from New York, so it was quite the reunion! It was so fun to see everyone, and I have to say that Alexi deserves some sort of medal for hanging out with girls the entire time with zero complaints.

Kathryn and I were roommates while studying abroad in Santiago, Chile, where all of the foreign exchange students drank liters of draft beer (litros de schop) like it was our (our) job. Here we are nine years later partaking in some of the same!  All that is missing is some fried empanadas and Big Pan.

Mar2

Finally gave in to the comfy call of Uggs!

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For the past ten years or so, I have been completely indifferent to the Uggs trend. However, my in-laws generously gave me a Nordstrom gift card for my birthday, and I decided to use it towards a pair of sweater Uggs! They arrived on Monday, and I have no idea why I’d been holding out for so long.

The thing that convinced me is that they’re designed to be worn without socks. I despise wearing socks, and I try to be in sock-free situations at all times (i.e., wearing flip flops). However, sometimes I have to walk the dogs, go to the grocery store, or go to yoga on a chilly Southern California morning/evening. (Life is hard, I know.)

I don’t usually wear shoes inside, but these were so cozy and new that I couldn’t resist.