Root Beer Pulled Pork Sliders

I have found a recent love of my slow cooker. Because of the schedule I work, coming home at nine o clock and dreading the fact that I then have to spend at least an hour making something to eat, used to upset me. But no more...no more, friends. Because now whenever a day comes along when a lack a little energy and hope to head to bed early, I know my dear friend, the slow cooker, is there to help. And every time (so far) I take a chance on it, great things happen.

So, without further a-do, another easy delish treat from the kitchen of M. Suzanne, I give you:

Root Beer Pulled Pork Sliders

You will need:

1lb. pork tenderloin

6 oz. barbecue sauce (whatever barbecue sauce your heart desires, I almost always use Cookie's, unless I make my own)

One bottle of Root Beer (don't skimp out with canned or generic root beer. Find the bottle that looks old fashioned, something with a cowboy on it, next to the sarsaparilla)

Hamburger slider buns (I used wheat slider bun because it complimented the taste of the pork.

What you'll need to do:

1.Place pork tenderloin in your slow cooker. Pour the root beer over the meat.

2. Cover and cook on low until cooked through and the pork shreds easily with a fork. It should take about 6-7 hours.

3. Remove the pork and drain it well.

4. Shred the pork and then mix in the barbeque sauce.

5. Pile high on the slider buns and eat.

6. If you want to get a little fancy you could always add a few caramelized onions or any sort of toppings, but I'm a purest myself when it comes to barbecue.

I served them with fresh cut green beans and mashed potatoes. But really, you could serve it with anything. Coleslaw, macaroni salad, whatever you want.

This dish is easy and yummy. And if you double the recipe you'll have leftovers for sandwiches to send the kids, hubbie, boyfriend, or yourself to school or work with.

And there you have it. Another easy fall dinner from the kitchen of M. Suzanne.

Re-purposing Lamps

Do you like walking around thrift stores? You can find the most amazing things. I always browse the store in sections, and thoroughly, looking for hidden treasures. Sometimes, the most disappointing part is the lamps. Some don't have shades, others look ugly, but on a recent trip I came across a gem.

It was the perfect specimen for this kind of project. It had no shade with it, but just looking at the base of the lamp was beautiful enough. $5.99 went to the cashier, the deed was done. I checked the lamp before I dismantled it just to see if it would work. It did, but that didn't matter at this point.

I unscrewed the socket that the light bulb goes into. Leaving the the metal fixture that holds the lamp shade.

Then I cut the cord right below the base where it meets the socket.

The lamp also had some weird tube that protected the cord from the metal foot of the lamp. I pulled this out.

Then I pulled the cord entirely out of the bottom of the lamp, thus completely gutting the fixture components.

Then I used an old handheld candle holder, and unscrewed the part that holds the candle and set it on my new lamp where the old fixture was. I used pliers to close the lamp holders around the candle holder. At this point the candle holder was not completely stable.

I debated whether to whip out the glue gun but then saw that the cord I just pulled out of the lamp was a beautiful green with a gold stripe in it. A spark went off and... brilliance! I cut off the plug from the cord.

I took the cord and wrapped it around the entire part with the candle holder and the lamp shade holder. Starting at the bottom I secured the end piece by tightly wrapping it and then coiling up the fixture. Then I made a criss cross pattern to hold the coils in place. I tied the cord in the back and voila.

One, it's green, no electricity. Two it can be dangerous; be sure not to leave them burning if your not there. Three, if the power goes out, you'll thank me later.

I originally did this with another lamp I was just keeping in the closet because I broke the glass shade that it came with.

I also did a variation on it by taking old cream soda bottles I had sitting around and wrapping them individually in rope with a glue gun. I glued them together and stuck candles in the top.

This was a tall lamp so i decided to set it on the floor. I couldn't be happier with my finished project!

If you have any more questions feel free to ask!

D. James

Slow Cookin' Fall Chops

I've been trying for the last two weeks to find a great fall recipe. As the temperatures are dropping and the pumpkins are being carved, I was craving something warm, slow cooking and full of fall flavors. After much thinking/trail and error, I've figured it out.

Here it is! Be amazed by the simplicity and deliciousness:

Slow Cookin' Fall Chops

Serves Two

2 good looking boneless, skinless pork chops

2 small onions, sliced

2 apples, your choice, cored, sliced

1 acorn squash, halved, seeds removed
A sprinkle of brown sugar
A sprinkle of cinnamon

A splash of apple cider (optional)

Step one: Cut the ends off both onions, make a slit down the side and peel off the outer layer of the onion. Slice into ringlets. They do not have to be pretty, they do not all have to be the same size. Place them in the bottom of a slow cooker (crockpot)

Step Two: Place two good lookin' pork chops on top of onions. Do not trim any fat, you'll want it there.

Step Three: Core two apples, your choice. I used honey crisp apples. Whatever apple looks really good in the store. I wouldn't recommend green apples for this one. Slice apples and place on top of pork chops.

Step Four: Cut bottom off of acorn squash, cut in half vertically, remove seeds and goop from squash and place on top of apples/pork chops.

Step Five: Sprinkle as little or as much as you'd like with brown sugar and cinnamon. Squish everything down gently to make sure the slow cooker lid can rest evenly. Splash with a little apple cider. Turn on low and let it cook all day. Seriously, all day.

Not only will this dish taste divinely like a bite of fall itself, it will make your entire apartment/home smell wonderful! Obviously, if you need to feed more than two people, just convert the recipe to fit. I have a decent sized, but not huge, slow cooker and its filled to the brim. It should be.

This dish is also great if you like cooking with local items. Stop by your farmer's market or those little parking lot stands with fresh produce to find your onions, apples and acorn squash. The apples and acorn squash should be easy to come by since they are in season right now. Look for quality apple cider, you should not be able to see through it and it should have floaties in the bottom. That's how you know it's good.

Enjoy!! And happy Autumn everyone.

* From the kitchen of M. Suzanne

Carving a 3D Pumpkin

While looking for the perfect pumpkin carving design, have you ever stumbled across a really insane 3D pumpkin? What looks like the ugliest pumpkins carved into creatures or faces with the most artistic and intricate of details. Well this D.I.Y. will show you the easy way to carve one yourself! I can't teach the years of experience some of the pro's have...(http://www.pumpkingutter.com/) The guys from Pumpkin Gutter are pretty ridiculous. But I can give you the tools to explore the new style of pumpkin carving.

So over a course of 3 days I created this pumpkin of an Egyptian pharaoh. I chose this design because it was very symmetrical and looked simple. At first I tried to carve a cat but it didn't turn out quite right because there were so many intricate details with the fur. This is my second time carving a 3D pumpkin so I am just a beginner myself. That's why I downgraded to something that looked a little more achievable. So make sure whatever design you choose to start with is simple.. Unless you like a challenge!!

So you're gonna need some tools to carve this type of pumpkin.
1. A basic pumpkin carving kit with a gut scoop, and a few small knives.
2. A basic kitchen knife.
3. A regular sized flat head screwdriver
4. A set of clay carving tools. (the wooden handled objects in the picture) I got a ten piece set from the craft     store down the street for about ten bucks. I only used the tools pictured.
5. Newspaper
6. 2 large towels, and 2 hand towels.
7. A table to work on. I used a wooden T.V. tray.
8. And obviously a design!
9. A pumpkin that seems a little heavy for its size.

I did this in my living room on the couch so that's why I used the towels. I took the newspaper and spread it on the floor in front of the couch. Then I put one of the large towels on the couch cushion so that it  covers just the seat and the front of the couch and overlaps onto the newspaper for easy clean up. Then I took the T.V. tray on the newspaper and placed more newspaper on top of the tray. I set aside all of my tools within reach.

So I cut the top off the pumpkin and gutted it as usual. I used the kitchen knife to make sure that I cut all the way through. There's nothing worse then ruining your pumpkin lid. Removing all the seeds and as many loose pumpkin strands as I could, I made sure to level out the bottom so the light source has a place to sit without falling over.

Completely gutted, I turned my pumpkin to find where I want to carve. Then I got the second large towel and placed it on my lap for easy tool cleaning, and to keep myself from being covered in shavings.

Then I took the clay carving tools and scraped off the outer layer of the pumpkin. This is probably the hardest part of the whole thing. Sometimes the skin is tough to get off and sometimes it easy. It all depends on what pumpkin you pick. You want to shave enough off of the pumpkin so you get the light colored flesh below the skin. You might see some veins but don't worry, they'll go away later on.

If you're like me and you don't have time to sit all day and carve a pumpkin then you'll need a way to preserve it while your carving. This first part took me a few hours to make and then I had to leave for work. I took one of the hand towels and wiped off any shavings left, then I took the other hand towel and got it completely soaked and rang it out a little so it didn't drip. Then I put the towel on the face of the pumpkin and secured it with the lid and under the bottom of the pumpkin. Doing this between carvings will keep your pumpkin flesh soft and easy to carve. Like so...

The next day I repeated the process of setting up my carving station and went at it again! I stared by making the main shape of the pumpkin, no details, just the general shape of the design before making all the intricate cuts.

I carved out the main shape of the nose eyes ears and crown. I used the metal tipped carving tools to carve the flesh, and I used the flat head screwdriver to make the crown by slowly making two lines vertically and then getting rid of the extra flesh with the flat head.

I also used the screwdriver to shape the eyebrows and the nostril holes. I used the carving tools to round out the hard edged lines that the screwdriver made.

Then I used the carving tools to shape the lips, chin, and ears.

To make the eyes I took the screwdriver and found where I wanted the pupil to be. I slowly, slowly, pushed all the way through the pumpkin making a small hole for the pupils. Then I took the pumpkin carving kit knives  and slowly made the pupils larger so you have a hole about the same size as someones iris.

I used the carving tools and the screwdriver to shape the eyes and ears more realistic.

Finally I did the same thing that I did with the crown but horizontally down the sides of the face to finish the headpiece. I also used the screwdriver to put the criss cross pattern on the beard.

Then I took the pumpkin gutting tool and carefully carved out the skin on the inside of the pumpkin. I made sure I didn't carve through my design. Just enough to see light through the skin. After a few more trials of scraping the inside of the pumpkin and lighting it up, I finally got the amount of light to shine through that I wanted and voila!

So know you know a pretty basic and easy way to carve your own 3D pumpkin. Remember to keep your design simple, and don't rush it or you might just get frustrated. Again it took me three days to do this so take your time, have fun, and teach your friends! If you have any additional questions don't hesitate to comment!!