Sometimes, if I get sad, or feel like I need something really cute and fun to pick up my spirits, I'll go to www.pinterest.com and just search for something like "chocolate cake" or "Dachshund puppies". OK, I'll search "Pugs" too because nothing says "I'll make you happy and keep you there" like a fat little pug staring right at you from the other side of the monitor. I could look at Pinterest all day and night and probably not get very bored. I go down so many rabbit holes with it. I don't save things to my boards like I thought I would, I just go there, look, get ideas, move forward, and then try to mimic what I found! I actually can do that some of the time! I once used two sawhorses and an old vintage door for a desk. The hole that the door knob went into was awesome for allowing cables through! You can't beat Pinterest for really cool ideas.
I also use Pinterest, or I should say I have used Pinterest and still do, to look up, research, and find food menu ideas for lunch and dinner. I use it for ideas of what to take to an office party food event. I use it to look up and search for ideas for snacks when I want something different from what I usually make. I even look up really really unusual things with ingredients I haven't purchased often in the past just to see if I would think it was worth trying again. I decided against most of them, but I picked up a bit of courage along the way, and I did try one or two things.
Earlier this month I decided to do 25 unique dinner preps for the month. You may say "but there are 30 days in September, why only 25?" The answer would be that I don't cook on Thursdays. I guess I could have looked up dinner menus that didn't require cooking! I don't know when I started the whole "I don't cook on Thursdays" thing, but it's a thing, and I really don't cook on Thursdays. My darling kids know this by now and they often take me out that night! It's a win. So, with Pinterest dinner and dining planning, I decided to look up meat dishes for the most part, but I threw in a few non-meat dishes. I'm a meat eater, so I don't often go without it. I won't apologize, I am who I am. I only do dinners because I know I can make extra and save it for the next day's lunch! (Ha! Clever!)
I found chicken meals, beef meals, pork meals, and more. I don't really cook lamb, but I would if I decided to. I would need a bit of research and practice on that one. It's a bit more expensive and to be honest, the kids wouldn't necessarily eat it, so I can get an authentic gyro on one of the Thursdays that I'm roaming about the town looking for a good meal that someone else has prepared. Gyros count! There are at least 3 really good Mediterranean restaurants in the area. We even have a really cool Med-T shop for food too! I love their olive choices!! I digress. I found American dishes, Scottish dishes, other European dinner ideas, and of course Mexican food! I love good authentic Mexican food, but I can't always handle the peppers. I'm on the weenie side of things when it comes to that spice! I found a few Indian preps as well, and then of course...RAMEN!
Tonight it was hometown goodness; BBQ pulled pork sandwiches, cornbread muffins, and iced tea! To start the process so it would be ready at six, I began cooking the pork in seasonings and stock in the slow cooker around noon. I added things as the day progressed, and by 5:30 it was time to separate the water from the meat, save a bit of meat for tomorrow's ramen meal, and then start chopping up the pork! I added Sweet Baby Ray's sauce, and stacked my bun from Aldi! They have amazing bread choices. I made cornbread muffins with a bit of flaxseed. I never cook with sugar, and a good Southern woman never adds sugar to the cornbread either -- so I used monk fruit. It's amazing!! Let me just say, this meal is going on next month's menu planner as well as this month's. Say what you wanna say, but you really can't overdo BBQ.
I'm not doing things like sides of ribs, entire brisket, etc. I live with Laura, and soon I'll just live alone and if she wants to eat at my place she can. I prep for one or two, and I cook for two or three just in case any one of my kids decides to knock on the door. They may bring a few others with them too, so I do appreciate a heads up so I can add more to the crock pot! I typically make an announcement when I'm making something like a stew, Shepherd's Pie, or Marry Me Chicken. That way they can come over in droves and we can eat as a family - - always a fun time. We don't really do Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner as a family, as my two kids who are married have other plans and it seems silly for Laura and me to go all out for the two of us. We typically Pinterest something small and fun; this year will not be any different.
As for desserts, that's next month! I'm not eating much in the way of desserts because I'm working out, but I think as the holiday seasons crop up I'll need to take something here and there to work so that the co-workers really understand who is sitting next to them. I can be persuaded to pop into the office with a cobbler or a fun-fetti cake for someone's birthday! I'm told this office does impromptu food days as well as a month-end food day! That's wonderful. It's not just about the ingredients, but how you put them together, how you present them, and all the love and care you pour into the process as well. I love my kitchen. When I do move, I've already decided to buy myself all new utensils, pots, pans, and anything that can be considered a cooking necessity. I will spoil myself. I have for years, why stop now?
Tonight's BBQ sandwiches were inspired by something I remember seeing when I went to eat at Earl's BBQ, here in OKC. I'll put a link to that blog here: https://judestringfellow.blogspot.com/2021/03/earls-rib-palace-that-is-all.html I watched as the cook was pulling the pork and it was both a pull and a sort of cutting, chopping. The pieces (bits) were bigger and chunkier, and you could really sink your teeth into them. I loved it! My sandwiches turned out amazing tonight, and although it was just Laura and me tonight, no others, we had ourselves a nod or two with our mouths full of incredible goodness! I think I want to take a minute and just say how grateful I am to have been born and raised right here in Oklahoma! Boomer Sooner!
Photo Credit: Me
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