Manic Spooky Holiday

Welcome to Halloween Week Less Cake {more frosting} readers. I don't know about you, but I'm ready to move on with the orange holiday. Because in the Ellie G handbook of rules it says I'm allowed to get out the Christmas music and movies on November 1st.

That's right.

Say what you will, but that's the handbook I abide by.
So I'm ready to get on with it already. (PS...I LOVE Christmas)

But without skipping this entire week...

I thought I'd blog all my last minute ideas and preps for you this week. I swear that all these things are things I'm doing NOW. Last minute. So I know that you can do them too.

For Manic Monday, I thought I'd talk about food. Let's be honest, I like to talk about food a lot anyway. But during a holiday week, it's super important.

2 reasons:

1: food is so closely associated with holidays at our house, it becomes tradition. And we all know how I feel about tradition. So I need to plan to have the things I need for those traditional foods.

2: food can kind of sneak up on you when you're getting ready for parties, and trick-or-treating and such. And you're stuck thinking, "oh no! What can we eat for dinner?"

First may I just suggest you sit down for a few minutes on this Manic Monday and plan out your meals for the rest of this week.
I know some of you ALWAYS do this.
And some of you NEVER do.
(and then there's the rest of us who intend to do it....but only get around to it sometimes)

Planning it out, and making a shopping list, now....will prevent those "oh no!" moments throughout the week. 
(and less trips to Little Ceasars at 6:15pm.  
What?  
C'Mon now!
We can't be the only family that uses $5 pizza to solve all our problems!
Nothing against that company.  I LOVE them.  But they're making my dinner too many times lately.)



And while your planning, consider this little meal.  It's a crock-pot one.  So it's "set it and forget it" which can be a MAJOR part of a successful afternoon/evening before a big event.

Start with a pork roast.  I get mine at Costco.  It's so easy!  They come 4 to a package.  I freeze them, and always have them handy for a Sunday "oh no!  Moment."  (yep.  I have those too.)

Put your thawed roast into your Crock Pot with a liter of the Red stuff.  Now here's where planning comes in.  I NEVER have the full octane in my house.  If this was made with Diet Coke, I'd be all over it.  But you need the full sugar to sweeten and soften the pork.  So go out and buy the real deal.

Cover your roast completely.

Then set it and forget it.  You can cook it slowly up to 10 hours.  Or in as little as 6, if you kind of forgot until lunchtime.

Keep your bowl ready when you take it out.  It's so soft that you probably won't be able to get it out in one piece.  Seriously people.  This stuff is TO DIE FOR!

Then take your fork over the roast until it's completely shredded.  It literally takes 2 minutes.  So Yummy!

At this point it's your call.  Eat it plain.  Yum.
Once we added terryaki sauce to it and served it over rice with steamed veggies.  (a la Rumbi's for anyone who has eaten there)

On this night we went for the BBQ.  Just add your favorite BBQ sauce.

You CAN throw it back in the crock pot with the BBQ and let it cook for another 1/2 to an hour.  But you don't HAVE to do that.

I broiled some hogie buns in a 400 degree oven until they were light brown.
And then put the pork on top with a slice of provalone cheese.
Then they went back in the oven to melt the cheese and heat the pork.

We served it with my favorite 3 bean salad recipe. (Which I made that morning, so it can totally be made way in advance)

Yummiest! Seriously.

Put the pork recipe in your crock pot arsenal.

And have fun at all your activities this Halloween week! I'm off to make my grocery list.