Slow cookin

I had purchased a few packages of boneless country-style ribs when they were on sale a few weeks back and had no clue what to do with them so I food savered them up and tossed them in the freezer. I was sick of looking at them so I decided that I just needed to make something out of them.

I have been hearing many raves about this recipe from a cooking board that I post on so I decided that I would give it a try. Of course I had no root beer in the house. So I headed down the street to the local drive-in and a bought gallon of fresh homemade root beer. YUM!

This had great taste to it even before I shredded it and added the BBQ sauce. My husband and I both enjoyed it. Usually the BBQ sauce that I use has a bit of a kick to it but for some reason that did not come out in this dish. So next time I will probably add a few dashes of hot sauce or some red pepper flakes to the recipe. Overall, it was wonderful.

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

(Source: Allrecipes.com)

Ingredients:
1 (2 pound) pork tenderloin
1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle root beer
1 (18 ounce) bottle your favorite barbecue sauce
8 hamburger buns, split and lightly toasted

Directions:
Place the pork tenderloin in a slow cooker; pour the root beer over the meat. Cover and cook on low until well cooked and the pork shreds easily, 6 to 7 hours. Note: the actual length of time may vary according to individual slow cooker. Drain well. Stir in barbecue sauce. Serve over hamburger buns.

My modifications:
- used boneless country style ribs instead of tenderloin

-made a dry rub of salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder & chili powder

- coated meat in rub then pan seared

- cooked 6 hours on high, drained root beer, shredded meat, added in BBQ sauce and cooked for 1 1/2 hours longer

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I had some green beans and red potatoes that I wanted to cook up for dinner but I did not want to have to stand over them and stir or turn them while they cooked. So I decided to go back to a technique that I used on the grill one evening, the foil packet. They were so easy and so good that I ended up eating more beans that I did pork.

Green Bean and Red Potato Packets
(Source: Ambers Delectable Delights)

Ingredients:
1 pound green beans
3 small red potatoes
3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 -2 tbls olive oil (I used garlic flavored)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp chili powder

Directions:
- Preheat oven to 375
- Wash and trim the green beans, wash and thinly slice the potatoes and toss them into a plastic baggie. Add the oil, garlic, and other seasonings into the bag and shake to coat. Lay a piece of foil onto a cookie sheet (about 12" long) and dump the mixture onto the middle of the foil. Place another piece of foil over top and fold the two layers together to make a pouch that no air will escape from. Place into preheated oven and cook for 20-25 minutes. Transfer to serving dish and top with Parmesan cheese if desired.