Root Beer Pulled Pork

Posted by Lori:

For our oldest son, Zachary's birthday meal last week, he wanted "Pulled Pork".  I hadn't ever made it, so called in one of the best "chefs" I know....my brother-in-law, Ken.  Zachary actually even wanted to help me prepare the pork and thanks to Ken's directions, the Pulled Pork was a great success!!

Directions:

Purchase pork shoulder or pork butt. I bought four pork...two of them had bones in them.  This served about 20 people. Inject the pork with a bottle of liquid smoke.  (I used clean needles and syringes that my husband had for his goats!!  Ha ha!!  I made sure they were clean, never used, unopened!)

 Rub both sides of the pork with a generous amount of salt, pepper, and onion powder.... (a lot.more than you would think!).  Place in baking pan (I used a roaster).

 Pour a 2 liter bottle of root beer over the pork.  Cook at 250 degrees until pork is very tender and pulls apart.  I cooked mine about 6 hours.

Using two forks, pull the pork in opposite directions, making your "pulled pork"!  Discard bones if there are any.

Sauce:  Pour another bottle of root beer into a large sauce pan or stock pot.  Cook until liquid is reduced to about 2 cups, forming a glaze (It will still be fairly thin.).  Serve pulled pork with this glaze and/or barbeque sauce.

Thank you, Ken!  You made Zachary's meal the "best" in his opinion!
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Fruit Water

Posted by Donna:

Fruit Water

This is a very simple post, but this is certainly refreshing on these hot summer days.

I've been drinking fruit water all week. I tire of plain water; so, this has been a great substitution. Restaurants serve water with or without lemon--some offer oranges slices. A couple or so years ago, I was attending ladies' night out at Tamarack Church of Christ. Fruit Water was served as our drinks. It was so good and really pretty to look at.

For mine, I added slices of oranges, lemons, and limes. Mangoes, pineapples, apples, or whatever you like can be added. Store the water in the refrigerator for a cool, refreshing, fruity drink during these hot summer days! Pin It Now!

Banana Slush Punch

Posted by Lori:
For our oldest son's birthday, he requested Banana Slush Punch.  I have had it several times before at weddings and showers, but had never made it myself.  This is the recipe I used.  Unfortunately, I didn't read the recipe really well and only let the "slushy" part thaw for one hour before serving it, so it wasn't too slushy!  Thankfully, I divided the mixture and still have some frozen for another time.  Either way, my son was pleased!

Banana Slush Punch
4 cups sugar
6 cups water
5 mashed bananas
1 can frozen orange juice
1 can frozen lemonade
1 can pineapple juice
2 quarts 7-Up soda ( room temperature)

Bring water and sugar to a boil.  Boil for three minutes, then allow to cool.  Make frozen juices according to directions on cans.  Mix bananas and all juices together, then add the sugar water.  Freeze mixture.  Allow to thaw for 2 or 3 hours before serving.  Just before serving, add the 7 UP slowly.  Serve while still slushy.
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Morning Glory Muffins

Posted by Donna:

I've been reading about these muffins for about two or three years. The recipe kept popping up in cookbooks, all recipes, and other places. I was on a roll last week as far as baking was concerned---not housework!!!!! First, I made cinnamon rolls; then decided we needed some Morning Glory Muffins. They lived up to their reputation.

Morning Glory Muffins

2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/4 cups sugar
3 tsp. ground cinnamon
3 eggs
3/4 cup applesauce
1/2 cup vegetable oi1
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups grated carrots
1 medium apple, peeled and rated ( I used Granny Smith)
1 ( 8 oz.) can crushed pineapple, drained
1/2 cup chopped pecans

****The recipe called for 1/2 cup coconut, 1/2 cup raisins, and 1/2 cup chopped walnuts; but, I omitted the coconut and raisins, and substituted the pecans for the walnuts.

In a large bowl, mix the first five ingredients. In another bowl, combine the eggs, applesauce, oil and vanilla. Stir in the carrots, apple, pineapple, and nuts. Add to the first five ingredients and mix well.

Fill greased muffin tins about two-thirds full. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20-25 minutes.

These are really good. I shared some with some of our friends and they really liked them as well.









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Homemade Flour Tortillas

Posted by Lori:

Last night a friend on Facebook said she had made yummy homemade flour tortillas.  After having been  in Arlington, TX, for the weekend and eating homemade tortillas at Pappasitos, this sounded wonderful to me!  I look forward to trying this recipe!!  Erika found this recipe that is like her mom's, who doesn't need a recipe!  Thank you, Erika M!

Homemade Flour Tortillas

2 1/2  cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoons shortening
1 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 cups HOT water

Mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt in large bowl. Cut in shortening to resemble cornmeal. Add water slowly, mixing with your hands to make a soft dough. You may not need all the water.

Knead a few minutes on floured surface until smooth and elastic. Lubricate top with oil, put back in bowl and let rest, covered for 10 minutes.

Divide into small balls the size of golf balls and proceed to roll out into size and thickness you prefer.

Cook on top of stove over medium heat using a cast iron grill or heavy skillet until top is slightly bubbly then turning on opposite side for a minute or two.

Keep stacked and warm inside a clean dish towel...

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Creamed Corn

Posted by Donna:

Back in April, Larry and I visited my brother in Keller, Texas. He took us to this great restaurant in Roanoke called Babes. Talk about home cooking!!!!! It serves chicken fried steak, chicken fried chicken, real mashed potatoes and gravy, homemade bread, green salad, and really, really good creamed corn. My sister-in-law and I tried to figure out what all was in the corn. I even went to Babes web page to see if it had the recipe---I knew it wouldn't. I thought I might even call them and see if they would share what was in it, but not tell the exact measurements. However, in small print, they stated they never share their recipes. I decided to go online and see if I could find something that had the ingredients that I thought were in it. I finally found one that sounded just right. If it's not the same, it's so close that I feel like I'm eating at Babes.

Creamed Corn

1 (16 oz.) package frozen corn kernels, thawed
1 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper to personal taste
2 T. sugar (I really think 1 T. would work.)
2 T. butter
1 cup whole milk
2 T. all-purpose flour
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

In a skillet, combine the corn, cream, salt sugar, pepper, and butter. Whisk the milk and flour together, and then stir into the corn mixture. Cook,stirring over medium heat until the mixture is thickened, and corn is cooked through. Remove from heat, and stir in the Parmesan cheese until melted. Serve hot. This is just as good the next day.









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Making Memories Craft Project

(Note: I posted this on my devotional blog last week, so some of you may have already seen it.  This is for those who haven't seen it yet! :)

A few weeks ago my mom and I went in a new shop that had opened in Altus, OK.  There was a cute frame that had been made into a photo holder. 

This week my daughter has been changing up her turquoise and white bedroom, but adding black as an accent color, so I told her about the frame idea.  She decided to try it!

First of all, get an old frame (or a new one, but we had an old, unused one in a closet).  Paint the frame as desired. 

Put desired number of eye hooks down two sides (Lauren did three on each side, making three rows for photos), being careful to measure and screw them in directly across from each other.

Tie on wire (like framing wire), twisting to secure each end.  You may want a little slack in the wire, but not too much.

Purchase mini clothes pins (Walmart has them.)  Paint them in a desired color or leave them natural.

Attach photos to wires with the clothes pins.  We made the pictures using black ink only to go with Lauren's room.  We also made the pictures in various sizes to add interest.

Notice the theme to most of Lauren's pictures???  Texas Rangers games on all but a few!  Yes, she's a huge fan!

The frame can be hung by a nail on the frame itself or tie ribbons for added "cuteness"!

Loop the ribbon on the top two corners, tie a bow, and hang on  a nail.  You could also bring two ribbons together and tie at the top to directly hang on the nail.  There are lots of possibilities!

This is a quick project that adds a sparkle to any room, but it's also a very useful way to display all of those special photos!

Note:  This post is linked to Gratituesday.  I am grateful for special ways to display those special memories of the many, many photos I have - and most likely you have!  What a wonderful memory!  Join us for Gratituesday at Heavenly Homemakers! Pin It Now!