mr. roastie. [+ recipes]

good news comrades. the pork roast turned out beautifully [if i do say so myself]. spices tasted yum yum together and with some sweet baby ray's bbq sauce on a keiser roll, it was divine! i combined this recipe and this recipe, and adapted the measurements for 3 lbs. of pork loin roast [our crockpot is only 4 quarts, so a 7.5 lb. pork shoulder wasn't really an option].

mr. roastie, or crockpot pulled pork sandwiches

ingredients: 3 lbs. boneless pork loin roast | 1 bottle [18 oz.] sweet baby ray's original barbeque sauce | 1/2 walla walla sweet onion | 6-8 keiser rolls | 1 tsp. ground black pepper | 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper | 2 tsp. chili powder | 2 tsp. cumin | 2 tsp. dark brown sugar | 1 tsp. dried oregano leaves | 1 1/2 tsp. paprika | 2 tsp. salt | 1 tsp. sugar | 1 tsp. white pepper

directions:

1. mix spices together in a bowl and massage into meat. wrap the meat in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or up to 3 days. [i put mine in the fridge on wednesday night] 

2. unwrap meat and place in crockpot with a little water [1/4 cup or less]. cook on low for 10 hours [i stuck mine in the crockpot at exactly 10:40pm last night, and took it out at 8:40am this morning].

this was the most nerve-wracking part of the process for me! leaving it all up to this little machine...

confession: i woke up at least three times last night thinking "okay, the apartment hasn't burned down yet, that's good. should i check on it? i can't smell it! did i forget to turn the crockpot on? sniff, sniff, oh, yes i can smell it. it smells like meat. i wonder what it looks like. i hope it's not too spicy. i hope my alarm goes off in the morning." and then i fell back asleep without getting out of bed each time.

BUT, 6:54am came around and i hopped out of bed so fast you would have thought i heard santa climbing down the chimney that we don't have. 

i made my way to the kitchen and behold, those little piggies were just bubbling and steaming and roasting away. thank goodness.

3. remove pork from crockpot and discard liquid. shred meat with a fork, discarding fat.

landon had the pleasure of eating his breakfast to the sounds of, "wow! this is so easy to shred! look at this! mmm...can you smell that?"

4. place shredded meat back in crockpot along with onion, roughly chopped. toss with barbeque sauce and heat on low for another 2ish hours.

5. lift the crockpot lid and take it in, the scents, the steam, all of it. i did. serve on keiser rolls. 

i served the pulled pork sandwiches with oven fries and baked beans. 

landon's co-workers enjoyed the meal, but deep down, i was definitely the most excited about it. i mean i'm quite the deep sleeper, so i don't wake up in the middle of the night for just anything. 

we finished it off with some yummy chocolate chip cookies. my sister, jen, has perfected the recipe [in my opinion] for the best doughiness to crunchiness ratio. and by perfected, i mean she just adapted the tollhouse recipe to come up with the best combinations of butter and shortening to keep them fluffy without sacrificing taste. nothing too scientific, but she still has my admiration. 

and yes, i'd love to share it with you:

chocolate chip cookies

courtesy of jennifer layne browning

makes 3 dozen cookies

ingredients: 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour | 1 tsp. baking soda | 1 tsp. salt | 1/2 cup butter + 1/2 cup shortening OR 1 cup butter flavored shortening | 3/4 cup granulated sugar | 3/4 cup packed brown sugar | 1 tsp vanilla extract | 2 large eggs | 2 cups chocolate chips | 1 cup nuts [optional]

directions:

1. preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. combine flour, baking soda and salt [sifted].

3. beat butter/shortening, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla in a large mixer until creamy.

3. add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each is added.

4. gradually add flour mixture until completely mixed.

5. stir in chocolate chips and nuts.

6. form small mounds of dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

7. bake for 9-11 minutes.

8. cookies will be doughy in the middle, but baking will continue.

9. leave on baking sheet for a minute or two before transferring to a cooling rack.

thanks jen!