Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Last weekend we cheered on the Indianapolis Colts at the Super Bowl with good friends and good food. Sadly, the Colts did not take home the  cup, but we did dine on some delicious chili and pulled pork, so I feel like overall the night was a winner (thanks again Ian and Kate!). They were both so good, in fact, that we decided to cook our own pulled pork this Sunday in the slow cooker. This was also the weekend we brought in lots of extra hands to help - Matt's sister Erin, her husband, and two kids! And what a great time we had!  

Saturday we all took a walk to Kensington market to pick up some fresh buns and pork shoulder (and also a great Mexican lunch...). Back at home I put a quick rub on the meat, which included onions, garlic, cumin, salt, pepper, and bbq sauce (I sort of went by a recipe found in a cookbook, and sort of made up my own... this being the first test, I didn't want to screw up dinner for 5 too terribly, so I went easy on the spices). I then wrapped in plastic wrap and let sit overnight to marinade. The next morning, we popped it into the slow cooker (getting two shoulders in there was a bit trickier than we thought...) and let it simmer the day away.

Sunday we headed out to visit family (the McLean's met cousin Noah for the first time), and when we returned from more walking in Queen St W, the whole condo smelled of yummy bbq pork (I love that about slow cookers!!). There was a lot more juice in the pot then I thought there would be (I was worried that it might dry out), and also a lot more meat. Turns out 2 shoulders were more than enough! We froze a batch for a later date, and since we just found out that grocery stores are closed on Family Day, we'll also be enjoying the sandwiches again tonight.  We served with buttered buns, coleslaw, and potato chips... That made up for the Fat Friday we missed this week.

And to top the night off, we celebrated Emily's and Brad's birthday with cupcakes! Emily turned three this past Friday, and Brad shares his birthday with St. Valentine.

After all that, the nap today was well deserved...and I guess the gym might be in order, too.