Today we hosted a housewarming party. All of our family and friends came over to see our new house. It was so much fun!
On the menu was crock pot pulled pork sandwiches, Italian pasta salad, green salad, watermelon slices, brownies, orange cream cake and banana nut cake. We had SO much food! Everything was delicious. Below are the pulled pork and pasta salad recipes. The pasta salad is my own creation, the pork was inspired by the Beantown Baker – with a few tweaks of my own.
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Crock pot Pulled Pork
INGREDIENTS:
1 6-8lb. Pork Shoulder
Spice Rub:
2T. Ground Black Pepper
2t. Cayenne Pepper
2T. Chili Powder
1T. Hot Mexican Chili Powder
2T. Ground Cumin
2T. Brown Sugar
1T. Dried Italian Seasoning
4T. Paprika
1 T. Sea Salt
1T. Garlic Salt
1T. Table Sugar
1/4C Water
Barbecue sauce (amount will vary depending on how ‘wet’ you like your pulled pork)
DIRECTIONS:
Mix all spices in a large Pyrex dish. Add pork to the dish and roll around to coat, making sure to coat all sides.
Cover with saran wrap and let sit overnight (or longer if you like).
Add pork and 1/4C. water to the crock pot and set to low. Cook 10-12 hours.
Remove all liquid and shred pork with 2 forks.
Add BBQ sauce to the shredded pork until it is as wet as you’d like it – I probably used about 2-3C.
Serve on buns of your choice.
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Italian Pasta Salad
INGREDIENTS:
2lbs. Tri-Color Rotini Pasta
1 Bottle, Italian Dressing
Raw veggies of your choice (I used broccoli, cauliflower, snow peas, yellow peppers, carrots and red onion)
DIRECTIONS:
Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and rinse in cold water.
Cut veggies and add to pasta in a large bowl.
Cover with dressing (I used about 3/4 bottle) and set in the fridge. Of course you can eat this right away, but it is better if it sets overnight.
Congrats on your new house and your menu looks wonderful!