bbq pork, gorgonzola coleslaw and a hospital visit

WELL. Here I am. Day 3 in the hospital at Northwestern Memorial. Luckily, today I’m feeling much much MUCH better. Hopefully I get released today. How do you get a kidney and liver infection anyways? It’s painful as heck, I can tell you that for sure; and the fevers have been brutal! But, luckily I am feeling better and hopefully can get out of here today! It’s funny how healthy I eat, but how sick I can get sometimes. My immune system must hate me!

Speaking of healthy, here some healthy and unhealthy food since it was Memorial Day last week! BBQ was definitely the same of the game and I LOVE BBQ pork. LOVE it. When I lived in North Carolina for 6 months, I pretty much lived at this little place by my Dad’s house called “Dixie Belle’s” and man is Dixie Belle’s goooooodddd. I could eat the BBQ pork from there for every meal if I was given the chance. My Dad actually inspired me to make this because he posted a picture of his wonderful BBQ pork on Facebook (yes my parents are awesome and have facebook) over Memorial Day weekend.

BBQ PORK SHOULDER

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons paprika
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon dry mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 3 tablespoons coarse sea salt
• 1 tablespoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1 (5 to 7 pound) pork roast, preferably shoulder or Boston butt
• one large white onion, roughly chopped into strips
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cups of water
• 1 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 jar of your favorite BBQ sauce (I use “Two Fat Guys” because it’s all natural, gluten free, and yummy!)

Heat a large pot over medium heat and add your tablespoon of olive oil and the onion. Cook the onion for just a minute or two to get it going. Next, pay your big hunk of meat down with paper towels and in a small bowl, combine the paprika, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, brown sugar, dry mustard, black pepper, and coarse seas salt. Rub it nicely into the meat and toss the meat into the pot. Add the water and apple cider vinegar and bring to a small boil, then turn your heat down to low, cover and let it cook. This should cook for about 4-5 hours. You’ll be able to tell when your meat is fork tender and pulls apart. After your meat is fork tender, and the onions are cooked thoroughly so they are soft and translucent,  drain them meat and onions in a strainer then put it back in the pot. Start pulling it apart with two forks and add your BBQ sauce. The BBQ sauce can be to your discretion. I added about a cup and a half to mine because I didn’t want it too saucy. Then you are ready to serve!

GORGONZOLA BROCCOLI AND CABBAGE SLAW

Ingredients:

• 1 head of green cabbage
• 1 lb bag of broccoli slaw
• fresh gorgonzola cheese
• 1 1/2 cups plain greek yogurt
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• 1/4 tablespoon garlic powder

This is SUPER easy and yummy! Shred your cabbage or cut it using a knife so it is roughly chopped and shredded. In a large bowl add the cabbage and the broccoli slaw. Next in a smaller bowl, combine your greek yogurt, salt and pepper to taste, parsley and garlic powder. Then chop your gorgonzola and add that. Mix it all together and TADA, you have coleslaw! This coleslaw is amazing if you top your pork with it. You get the spicy and tangy taste of the pork with the cool crisp coleslaw. Super yummy!

ARUGULA LEMON AND PARMESAN SALAD

Ingredients:

• 1 bag of fresh, organic arugula leaves
• 1 large lemon
• 1 cup olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• Shaved parmesan (or grated, I used grated this time around, but shaved is even better!)

In a small bowl, juice your lemon, and start whisking in your olive oil to emulsify the combination. Add your salt and pepper and whisk well. In a large bowl, lightly toss your dressing with the arugula. Make sure you do not over dress this salad, so you may have more dressing than you need and can save it for a future salad. Crack more pepper on top and toss in the parmesan cheese. I used an asiago blend that had rosemary crust on the rind, which was really yummy, but use whatever you have! I also grated this, but the shaved big chunks of parm are even better! Enjoy!