Parenting

  Once…I went to Georgia.  It was my cousin’s wedding and the rehearsal dinner was held at this spectacular BBQ place.  The pulled pork literally melted in my mouth.  As a semi-vegetarian (in that I didn’t really like meat all that much, so ate a lot of cheese based dishes instead), I had no idea meat could taste that good.  Every time I’ve eaten at the BBQ place since then, I have ordered the pulled pork off the menu and hoped it would be as amazing.  I’m always disappointed. This crock pot recipe comes pretty darn close to the deliciousness of that Georgia restaurant.  The best part is that it is super easy and makes the house smell good all day. You will need: 5-6 pound pork shoulder roast 2 yellow onions, sliced 3 Tbs chili powder 1 tsp coriander 2 tsps cumin 2 tsps onion powder 1 Tbs dried parsley 2 tsps salt First, slice up the onions and place them on the bottom of the crock pot. Then, mix the spices together to form a dry rub. Rub the spices all over the meat. Attack any children nearby. Place meat on top of the onions and close the crock pot lid.  Cook the meat for 5-6 hours on high.  Then lower the heat to low and cook an additional 3-4 hours.  You do not have to add any liquid.  At the end of the cooking time, your pork will look like this: I recommend taking the roast out and draining all of that fat.  Including the fat is super yummy, but it isn’t needed.  The meat is still very moist and flavorful without it. Shred the meat and serve. We chose to have carnitas burritos the night we made it.  We used whole wheat tortillas with sour cream and Tapatio sauce. You can eat the meat just by itself too (as Erik chose to do). This recipe makes a lot of food.  Leftover carnitas make an excellent salad topping as well, if you aren’t up to eating a plethora of carnitas burritos.  However, this meat is so good, using a fork to eat it straight out of the refrigerator works as well. Original recipe from Everyday Paleo.

Conversation with my daughter: Cam: Mama, I want to make a surprise for Daddy. Me:  Ok, what should we make? Cam: Something with chocolate because Daddy REALLY likes chocolate. Since I knew anything we made, she (and I) would end up consuming as well, I wanted to keep this treat on the healthier side.  A few years ago, I read in Runner’s World that chef Richard Blais (from Top Chef) dips pieces of clementine in dark chocolate for a mini indulgence.  I thought this sounded easy and fantastic, so.. This is incredibly easy to do. All we used were dark cocoa candy melts and clementines. 1. Line a baking sheet with waxed paper or parchment paper. 2.  Peel clementines and divide into slices.  Make sure to remove any stringy pith from the slices. 3.  Follow directions on candy melts to melt the chocolate.  I used the microwave. 4.  Dip half of clementine slice in melted chocolate.  Let the excess chocolate drip off into the bowl.  Lay the dipped clementine slice on the baking sheet. 5.  Place cookie sheet in the refrigerator to harden for half an hour. We like our clementines cold, so to store them I simply took them off the cookie sheet and placed them in a Tupperware container in the refrigerator.   They lasted about 2 days…. because we ate them. Do you have any easy, healthy snacks to recommend?  Please tell us in the comments below!

Eating healthy is really hard!  Getting ingredients and actually cooking before you become ravenous is one struggle.  Doing all that while taking care of kids and actually making something that they like adds an additional level of agony complexity.  I’ve read a lot of blogs that post these amazing recipes with beautiful pictures and then show the author smiling in her perfectly clean home with three children.  That is the dream, but I have yet to discover how to make that happen.  Here is a delicious and healthy recipe that I have found, with little snippets of life with kids. I adapted this recipe from the Fitness Magazine website. I wish that my 6-month-old son would have taken a nap this afternoon, but he didn’t.  So, I placed his Excersaucer down in the kitchen and plopped him inside, hoping he would be happy in it long enough for me to get the chopping done. First, you will need the following ingredients: Juice from 1 lemon (about 4 tablespoons) 3 cloves of garlic, chopped 1 teaspoon thyme, dried Freshly ground black pepper 1 pound chicken tenders 4 teaspoons canola oil 1 shallot, chopped 1 bag frozen edamame 1 1/2 cups grape tomatoes, halved 1/2 cup crumbled feta (or goat cheese) 1. In a ziplock bag, combine 3 tablespoons lemon juice, 2 teaspoons garlic, and 1/2 teaspoon thyme; season to taste with salt and black pepper. Add chicken tenders, seal the bag, and gently turn to coat.  However, I like to give the bag to my five-year-old and have her vigorously shake it.  This lets her participate in the meal process and it’s a lot of fun to watch. Set the bag aside. 2. Heat 2 teaspoons canola oil (or more) in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallot, remaining garlic, edamame, and tomatoes; saute 4 minutes.   My son is starting to fuss, so I start singing “Old MacDonald”.  I try to incorporate his name – And on this farm, he had an Erik – but I find it hard not to make the next verse, “With a wah-wah here.” 3. Use a vegetable peeler to slice zucchini into long ribbons. Add zucchini and remaining lemon juice and thyme to vegetables in skillet; saute 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a serving bowl, stir in feta, and season with salt and black pepper to taste.  I used goat cheese in this recipe this time, however I prefer feta in it. By this time, my son has completely rejected his Excersaucer and this is how I’m cooking.  He won’t even sit upright and insists on being Superman. Add remaining oil to skillet. Remove chicken from marinade and saute 2 to 3 minutes a side or until cooked through.  I am very nervous when cooking chicken, so I use a thermometer.  I take the chicken off when it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees. Serve with vegetables and 2 whole wheat toast triangles.  This chicken has a slight tangy-ness and stays really […]