In a large bowl add mayo, milk, vinegar, celery seeds, sugar (or substitute), salt and pepper. Mix well until combined. Pour Coleslaw mix in and toss until all of the slaw is moisturized. Transfer to an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Another type of slaw we eat here in the south where I’m from is Mustard Slaw. I remember we used to order this from a local BBQ pit with our meals. At home I just make mine by taking 1/2 of my already prepared Coleslaw above and add few Tbsp. Mustard (I start at 3 Tbsp.) to it. It tastes great on BBQ Pulled Pork sandwiches, on top of grilled BBQ hot dogs or burgers, or just as a side to any BBQ meats.
Grilling season is upon us and that means it’s time to break out all the good meats. One thing I love making is the Memphis BBQ rub recipe I found online many years ago. This is a great season for meats before grilling. I also have a regular season I use for my crockpot pulled pork used for meal prepping. Now let’s take a look at the 2 different ways I cook pulled pork.
Easy Crockpot Pulled Pork
Ingredients:
up to 5 lbs. bone-in pork butt Pulled Pork Season or BBQ rub (I make my own. See below.)
1 medium onion, sliced or chopped 1 cup chicken or bone broth
Pulled Pork (or Chicken) Season
1.5 Tbsp. Paprika
1/2 Tbsp. Onion Powder
1/2 Tbsp. Garlic Powder
1/2 Tbsp. Black Pepper
1/2 Tbsp. Sea Salt
1 tsp. Mustard Powder
Directions: Clean the pork roast and pat dry with some paper towels. Add as much pork season (or BBQ rub) to both sides of the meat. In a lightly greased 6-quart slow cooker, place the onion at the bottom. Place pork roast on top. Cover and cook on LOW setting for 8-10 hours or until fork-tender. Take out pork and discard all but 1/4 cup of the liquid. Remove the bone and shred the meat. Now add the meat back to the slow cooker to toss in the reserved liquid. I love cooking and having pulled pork around for meal prep. It makes it easy to use in various ways or separate into meal portions to freeze for later. I’ll share more about that in a later post.
Directions for making BBQ Pulled Pork: I suggest using 3-4 lbs. of boneless pork butt/roast. Mix BBQ rub ingredients together and use to season meat. Just coat meat with your desired amount of rub. Cook in a sprayed 4-6 quart slow cooker with 1/2 cup broth on LOW for 6-8 hours or until fork tender. After cooking remove the meat and leave 1/4 cup of broth. Now just shred the meat and add it back to the slow cooker. Combine a 12 oz. bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce, 2 Tbsp. honey (less or more according to your taste), 1 tsp. Liquid Smoke, a few dashes of hot sauce in a bowl or glass measuring cup. Pour over roast, toss meat to coat, and cook for up to 30 minutes on LOW to warm up the sauce. Serve over your choice of buns. It is delicious topped with Cole slaw too.
Note: This stuff is good on ribs, chicken, beef, or any pork. Just use desired amount to season meat of choice. For ribs or steak just rub into the meat before grilling. When we grill we often add sauce on ours before the meat has finished cooking. My go-to BBQ sauce is the Kraft or Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce. I just mix up some Kraft original BBQ sauce with a little honey. Sometimes I add a few drops of Tabasco or Hot Sauce for an extra kick.
Ingredients: 4 cups cooked and shredded chicken (or 2 cans of chunk chicken breasts) 1/4 medium yellow or white onion finely chopped (or use 1/4 tsp. onion powder) 1 stalk of celery finely chopped 3 hard-boiled eggs chopped 2/3-3/4 cup of Mayo 2 Tbsp. Sweet Pickle Relish salt and white pepper to taste (or use 1 tsp. curry powder)
Directions: If you are using canned chicken, drain and break up the chunks in a medium sized bowl. Finely chop up onion and celery. Add in the bowl along with the remaining ingredients. Stir together and pour into another container with a lid. Let chill for a few hours if using this to make sandwiches or use right away if you want to eat it with lettuce as a salad. I love eating it on top of crackers too. Another version we like:
Chicken Salad (w/fruit and nuts)
Ingredients: 4 cups cooked and shredded chicken (or 2 cans of chunk chicken breasts) 1 cup of red or green grapes cut in half (or diced apples) 1/4 cup onion finely chopped (or use 1/4 tsp. onion powder) 1/2 cup of celery finely chopped 2 hard-boiled eggs chopped 1/2 cup chopped pecans (or nut of choice but it can be omitted) 3/4-1 cup of Mayo (or your choice of a creamy replacement like plain Greek yogurt) salt and white pepper to taste (or use 1 tsp. curry powder)
Directions: If you are using canned chicken, drain and break up the chunks in a medium sized bowl. Cut grapes in half, and add to bowl. Chop onion and celery. Add in the bowl along with the remaining ingredients. Stir together and pour into another container with a lid. Let chill for a few hours if using this to make sandwiches or use right away if you want to eat it with lettuce as a salad. I love eating it on croissants.
Note: If you choose to use the Greek Yogurt, be aware that your salad may be more watery upon sitting in the fridge overnight.
Ingredients: 8 slices bacon cut in half 1 medium onion, diced 1/2 medium green pepper, diced 3- 28 oz. cans pork and beans (see notes) 3/4 cup barbecue sauce (your preferred brand) 1/2 cup brown sugar 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar (or distilled white vinegar) 2 tablespoons Yellow mustard (or Dijon mustard)
Directions: Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees. Fry bacon in large, deep pan or cast iron skillet until bacon has partially cooked and you have about 1/4 cup drippings. Remove bacon from pan and drain on paper towels. Add the diced onions and peppers to drippings in pan and sauté until tender (about 5 minutes). Open and drain some of the liquid from the beans. Add beans and remaining ingredients to skillet and bring to a simmer. (If skillet is not large enough, add just the beans and heat to a simmer then transfer to a large bowl and stir in remaining ingredients). Pour flavored beans into a greased 13 x 9-inch dish or ovenproof pan. Lay the pieces of bacon on top, then bake until beans are bubbly and sauce is the consistency of a thick syrup (about 1.5 hours). Remove from oven. Let it stand to thicken slightly more and serve.
*Serves 10 or more. (I like to make plenty to freeze half for later to use with other meals.)
**Notes: I have replaced the pork and beans with the 28 oz. sized Bushes Homestyle Baked Beans for this and it’s just as good!
Homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup Ingredients: 3/4 cup butter or ghee 3/4 cup of gluten free, wheat or white flour 6 cups of warm milk (of your choosing but be sure it’s unsweetened) 2-3 Tbsp. Chicken Better than Bouillon base 2 tsp. sea salt (or to your preferred taste) 1/2 tsp. black or white pepper 4 oz. fresh mushrooms sliced and sauteed
Directions: In a large saucepan melt butter or ghee over low heat. Add flour and stir until smooth. Cook flour mixture until it begins to bubble but don’t let it brown (This how you make a roux.). Gradually pour and stir in milk. Keep stirring until the sauce has thickened. Stir in Better Than Bouillon base, salt, and pepper. You could leave out the salt and pepper if you prefer. Turn off heat. Dice up your sauteed mushrooms into smaller pieces and add to the mixture. Stir and allow to cool down before storing for later use.
Note: This makes 4 cans of those (10- 3/4oz.) soups. Measure out 1 1/2 cups to place into jars, containers, or even Ziplock bags (if you want to try freezing for later). Keep in the fridge until ready to use.
When making you can also replace some of the milk with water to make lower in calories. For regular Cream of Chicken Soup just omit adding in the mushrooms. You can put in a small amount of small diced chicken pieces instead of that’s what you like. If you want more soup varieties check out this version.
(quick and easy spread for crackers, veggies, or for wraps/sandwiches)
Ingredients
2 cans of tuna
2-3 boiled eggs, peeled and chopped
2 Tbsp. onion, diced (or 1 tsp. onion powder)
1 Tbsp. of sweet and/or dill pickle relish (can dice up a few pickles instead)
1/3 cup Mayo (less or more if needed)
pinch of sugar (not needed if you’re using Miracle Whip)
Directions
Open and drain cans of tuna. In a medium bowl combine tuna, eggs, onion, pickle relish, Mayo, and sugar. Mix together and use it to eat with crackers or to make tuna salad sandwiches. Refrigerate any unused tuna salad in an airtight covered container.
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