The Crockpot is Your Friend

I love to cook.  Be it making dinner, or baking yummy desserts, I absolutely love to do it, and even more than the process OF cooking, I love to share what I create.  This produces a bit of conundrum with Mr. Combat Boots being deployed for the next year, as it leaves me making dinners for just Princess and me.

And toddlers?  They are so picky.  I can't make a well thought out dinner and share it with Princess like I can with Mr. CB's, because she's happy as a clam with chicken nuggets, pasta and peas.  (No dinner for Princess is complete without peas, they are her favorite.)  Unfortunately, this leads to my eating way more fast food than I would care to admit (and also adding on the pounds that come with so much junk food.)

Then I found a community called "What A Crock", and a new love of cooking was born.  I can get up, make breakfast for Princess, and sit her down in the high chair and proceed to make dinner right then as well.  This also yields enough that I can freeze meal sized portions in the perfect amount for both Princess and myself later on in the coming weeks.  This also saves quite a bit in the pocket book as cooking for one day yields enough food for up to five or six meals for a toddler and an adult.  Even for a bigger family, the recipes can be tweaked to yield left overs for pennies on the dollar.

If you don't have a crockpot, I highly encourage you to invest in one!  There is a whole new world to cooking out there, especially if you're a single parent without a lot of time on your hands, and you would rather be playing with your child than slaving away in the kitchen.

Princess at 7months, when her love of peas began.

BBQ Pulled Pork

Spice Rub:

• 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 4 tablespoons paprika
• 2 tablespoons table salt
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground white pepper
• 1 tablespoons chili powder

If you like your BBQ on the spicy side, add this to the spice rub as well:

• 1-2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoons ground cumin

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

• 1 bone-in pork shoulder (I used a 5lb cut, and froze the leftovers)
• ½ teaspoon liquid smoke (optional)
• 2 cups Sweet Baby Ray's barbecue sauce

1. Mix all spice rub ingredients in small bowl.

2. Massage spice rub into meat. Try to use the whole rub. Wrap tightly in double layer of plastic wrap; refrigerate for at least 3 hours, though I would recommend overnight.

3. Unwrap roast and place it in the crockpot. Add liquid smoke, if using, and 1/4 cup water. Turn slow cooker to low and cook for 8-10 hours, until meat is fork-tender.

4. Transfer roast to cutting board; discard liquid in crockpot. Pull by tearing meat into thin shreds with two forks or your fingers. Discard fat.

5. Place shredded meat back in slow cooker liner; toss with 1 cup barbecue sauce, and heat on low for 30-60 minutes, until hot. Serve with additional barbecue sauce.


You can eat this on french rolls, straight out of the crockpot, with mashed potatoes! There are so many ways to enjoy this meal, and most kids will gobble it up!

This recipe was seriously, ridiculously, delicious.  I made this while my mother was visiting just before Mr. CB's deployed, and both of them enjoyed it so much that they were sneaking bits out of the crockpot because they couldn't take the smell anymore.

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