Carolina BBQ (Pulled Pork)

One of the things I miss most from home is Eastern North Carolina Barbecue. There's nothing quite like it, and I'm always looking for the right sauce. Therefore, you can expect to find many renditions below. Last time I was in NC, I did find out form my favorite BBQ restaurant that they cook the meat with no sauce first, shred it, and then pour their delicious sauce over it. 

Sauce
Ingredients:
1 C White Vinegar
1 C Cider Vinegar
1 T Brown Sugar
2 tsp Cayenne Pepper
2 tsp Tobasco Sauce
1 tsp Salt
2 tsp Black Pepper

Combine all ingredients in a jar, shake, and store for 2 days - 2 months prior to using. I usually make a few batches and leave them in the fridge until I am ready to use them.

Pulled Pork

1. Place a pork shoulder in a crock-pot, or other slow cooker, with fat-side up 
2. Lightly Salt
3. Pour in 1/4 cup water
4. Cook for 6-8 hours on high or 8-10 hours on low
5. Remove pork from slow cooker, discard juices, fat, bone, etc. and shred
6. Mix with sauce and serve on a plate or as a sandwich on a bun

Spaghetti Squash with Italian Sausage Marinara

This is one of my favorite meals right now, and it's an easy for weeknight prep. Not very different from your traditional spaghetti with meat marinara, but it's a slightly lower carb alternative, and the Italian sausage lends a nice flavor to the marinara. I start out by getting my squash in the microwave, and while it's cooking I move on to the marinara.

Spaghetti Squash

1. Cut a spaghetti squash in half lengthwise
2. Scrape out all of the seeds
3. Place the squash cut side down in a dish big enough to hold the squash, but small enough to fit in the microwave
4. Fill the dish with about 1/2 inch of water
5. Microwave for 15 min each half (now is the time to start on the marinara)
6. Use a fork to scrape the meat out of the squash 

Italian Sausage Marinara

1. Brown a package of Italian Sausage in a medium pan
2. Pour in your favorite jar of marinara sauce (I tend to like sauces with garlic) and simmer until ready to use

A Trip Back Home

The second-to last week of June, Branden and I made a trip back to the east coast for a friend's wedding. We had just enough time to go sailing with my dad, visit Wilmington, and make it back to Raleigh for a few days with my mom and her parents.

New Bern is a pretty neat place. It doesn't feel like a beach town, but it is a small town, and the older I get, the more I realize that I love those. We ate great seafood, bought a toy for Finn, and ate breakfast at the Baker's Kitchen.

After New Bern, we headed south to Wilmington to visit Branden's cousin and to scope out the town. Unfortunately, I think both Branden and I were a bit disappointed because it wasn't a city that spoke to us. Oh well, we'll keep searching the country for the place we want to settle down in.

After our coastal excursions, we headed back to Raleigh to spend some quality time with my Mom and Grandparents. The following morning, my grandpa tried his hand at cooking breakfast for everyone. What a treat!

The wedding was wonderful, and the bride was absolutely beaming. It was neat getting to see some of my old friends from high school (and before... I've known the bride since preschool). After chatting with everyone, I can't wait to see them all again.

On the way home, a delayed flight actually allowed us to leave Detroit faster than initially planned. Unfortunately, that also meant that we left Detroit faster than our luggage. It meant that we had a bit of a hectic week, last week, but all in all, I'm glad we went.

On a side note, we were originally hoping to fall in love with Wilmington and make it our goal to move there some day. We were quite disappointed that we didn't love it when we visited, but it did reassure us of our love of the home (and town) we live in now.

House Hunting

"... or I guess you could call it larger apartment/townhome/house hunting. Were getting a little tired of only having one bedroom, but, at the same time, it would be sad to move out of our first apartment." That was from a few months ago, and I can say, looking back, we don't miss our old place at all.

We began the search in December, mainly so that I could familiarize myself with the market, and figure out what I wanted in a place. We fell in love with a three bedroom home and applied. At the time we were told that they hadn't received any applications. Unfortunately, we found out that they had received a few before ours, and we weren't even considered for the place, though we were pre-approved for any of the other properties they managed. When that fell-through we were more eager to jump on a place, and almost moved into a place to the north of Salt Lake; however, it never did feel quite right, and we let that one go as well.

We were about to give up (our apartment required us to give them 60 days notice prior to moving out), when we found a beautiful property in a smaller town near Salt Lake City. We've been doing work on it ever since, and it's come a long way, but this is what we started out with.

Front Elevation

Laundry

Dining Room

Kitchen (looking to the left)

Kitchen (looking to the right)

Master

As I mentioned, we've been doing a lot of work on it (removing waste, growing grass, painting walls, installing a dishwasher), and more photos will follow. One thing I learned from the apartment is that I will never be "done" when it comes to decorating a home, so I'll keep you up to date on the in-progress stats!

Productivity to the dog

Its 8:15, and I feel like I've already had quite the productive morning. I got up, and dressed myself and the dog for snow. Yes, he has a snow jacket and booties. Now normally, I'm no advocate for dressing pets up, but in this case, it means he stays warm enough to actually stay outside for more than 5 min. We ran around and played off leash, practicing the " come" and "heel" commands. I can say, there are very few things cutter than a little white dog running to you at full speed wearing a navy blue coat and little yellow shoes. Then we came back inside and I gave him a bath. Half because he needed one and half to melt the snow off of his little face. Then I cut his hair, brushed it, and dried it with my hair dryer. Now I feel quite accomplished, but I realize, its all gone to the dog.

I'm not going to dress him up for a photo, but if we go out in the snow again, I'll try to catch you one.

Get Fit Fridays - Week 3

 This week was a better one for me. I was pretty motived. Still... I had trouble saying no to the french toast that my coworker got for me as a surprise. I did make and freeze a few home-made meals though, and I did make my 3 meal goal. Stay tuned for my recipes over the next few weeks (I have to take pictures when I thaw them). I also reached my first reward point! How exciting. Time to schedule a pedicure.
 
Current weight to lose: 16.6% of Bodyweight - Reward!

Goals for the week: Take Finn on actual walks 3 mornings this week. It's something I one did daily, but since our first snow of the year, it's more difficult. I may actually have to buy him some snow booties. This fits in with the Primal Blueprint rule: Move frequently at a slow pace. We'll see how the slow pace thing works when I'm freezing.


Motivation: (updated)
% to lose - Reward
17% - Pedicure - 11/09
14% - Hair Cut
11% - Nails
7%   - New make up
4%  - Massage
0%  - Shopping Spree

 

 

 

 



Get Fit Fridays - Week 2

Ok... I know, I know. I skipped a week. But in my defense, it took me two weeks to get through the book. I'm not sure I agree with everything (grain is a poison to humans?), but a lot of the other topics addressed in the book make sense. The fact of the matter is that processed foods mimic natural compounds, but they don't function the same.

Also, I really had trouble giving up the baked goods brought to work for team breakfast and the Halloween candy sitting around the office. Hopefully I'll be a little better this week. I'm already noticing a difference in the way my clothes fit and I can't wait for them to be even looser!

Current weight to lose: 17.8% of Bodyweight

Goals for the week: Record 10 primal recipes and/or adjustments to family recipes. Make 3 of these recipes and save enough to freeze for future meals.


Motivation: (updated)
% to lose     -     Reward
       17%     -     Pedicure
       14%     -     Hair Cut
       11%     -     Nails
         7%     -     New make up
         4%     -     Massage
         0%     -     Shopping Spree

What are the challenges that you have been facing when it comes to your goals? How are you overcoming them?