Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Overnight Coconut Oats

I came across this recipe yesterday and thought what the heck I might as well try it.  It was super easy to make, only took about 5 minutes.  The recipe came from the blog My Whole Food Life.  I tweaked it a little bit to accommodate what I had available.

Overnight Coconut Oats
Makes 1 serving
1/2 cup gluten free rolled oats
1/3 to 1/2 cup half almond or coconut milk **
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons unsweetened shredded coconut
2 teaspoons chia seeds
2 teaspoons maple syrup
fruit - strawberries or blueberries
Put everything in a jar and mix.  Cover and place in refrigerator overnight.  Top with your favorite fruit.
**I made two servings of this, one was with 1/3 cup of milk and the other with 1/2 cup.  They were both really good and the 1/2 cup one was not watery.  Experiment with this to get it to your taste.  The author of the blog where this recipe came from makes several jars for the week, so she can grab it and go.


Monday, April 14, 2014

Crock Pot Pork Barbecue

If you are a regular follower of my blog you have probably noticed that I have been absent for a while.  I have been really busy.  I am currently a student pilot.  I am working on getting my private pilots license and so a lot of my free time I am trying to study (it has been awhile since I was in school and trying to get back into a study habit is hard).  I will try to put my recipes out here for everyone to enjoy.

Crock Pot Pork Barbecue
1 large onion, peeled and sliced thin
1 large pork butt, with some of the excess fat removed
1 tablespoon onion powder
In a crock pot add the onion, place pork, fat side up, on top and sprinkle with onion powder (if you are wondering why onion powder and onions - I add it because it adds another dimension of flavor).  Turn crock pot to high and let cook all day (about 6 hours).  The pork should be able to be pulled apart with a fork when it is done.  Just before serving, keeping the pork in the crock pot, using forks, shred the meat and remove bone if there is one.  The pork and the onions will come together.  Serve on your favorite bun or by itself.  I added a little cooked bacon and some homemade sauce (see recipes below).

North Carolina Vinegar Sauce
1 cup cider vinegar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh black pepper
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (if you wanted it hotter you could also add some cayenne pepper or your favorite Tabasco sauce)
Mix all ingredients.  I mixed it into a mason jar so that you could just shake the ingredients to mix them.

Tomato Vinegar Sauce
3/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup ketchup
1-1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (if you wanted it hotter you could also add some cayenne pepper or your favorite Tabasco sauce)
Mix all ingredients.  I mixed it into a mason jar so that you could just shake the ingredients to mix them.

Mustard Sauce
1/2 cup white vinegar
6 ounces yellow mustard
1/4 of a onion, minced
8 tablespoons of water
8 tablespoons of tomato puree
1/2 tablespoon paprika
3 cloves of garlic, minced (I use a garlic press)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
Mix all ingredients in a saucepan and simmer for about 20-25 minutes.