Slow Cooked Pulled Pork Sliders

Football season continues, and I continue to be enthralled in watching as many games as possible, every Sunday. I watch Thursday and Monday night as well, but Sunday has me hooked for hours. Thanks to my dear friend, Alwin, who invited me to join his family's fantasy league, I have not stopped obsessing over the entire season since week 1. It's a bit' addictive for anyone that loves sports and has a competitive side to them (me!). Anyhow, football requires tasty snacks and meals on those long, hard days of cheering and praying. You may not have time to squeeze this recipe in for tonight's Thursday game, Eagles vs Giants, but you should surely try it out on Sunday, or keep it in your back pocket for your Super Bowl bash. The best part about this is that you serve the sliders with a light beer (in a frozen mug) with a few drops of olive juice and 3-4 olives. This is called a Foggy Moose and it's delish for anyone that enjoys a Miller, Coors, or Bud on any given Sunday. Now, you are all set for the game. Go Birds! xo RCN

The pork recipe originated from Food Network, but I made a few changes. Link HERE to original recipe. See my version below pics.

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons light brown sugar

2 teaspoons hot paprika

1 teaspoon mustard powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

1 3-4 pound boneless pork shoulder or butt, trimmed of fat

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar 

3/4 cup water

Barbecue sauce

2 small onions

Dill pickle chips

Directions:

Combine brown sugar, paprika, cumin, 2 teaspoons salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper in small bowl. Rub mixture all over entire pork butt. Chop 2 small onions in large chunks, about 4-5 slices each.

Heat vegetable oil in large pan, cook and brown pork on all sides (only for about 5 minutes total). Remove pork and place on plate. Whisk in 3/4 cup water into the drippings in pan, then transfer liquid to slow cooker. Add the vinegar and 2 cups of water to the so cooker and whisk to combine. Add 1 of the chopped onions and a few squirts of barbecue sauce into slow cooker. Place pork on top of onions and into slow cooker. Add a few more squirts of barbecue sauce and the last chopped onion. Cook on low for 7.5-8 hours.

Remove pork from the slow cooker after the 7.5-8 hours. Shred pork in large bowl and add salt and vinegar to taste. Serve with slider buns, pickle chips, and barbecue sauce. Coleslaw would taste grand, in lieu of pickles. However, I did not include slaw in my recipe and went for the pickles instead. Top with a team spirit toothpick and serve for the next football game.

Some Sun Before Snow (I Hope)

I am not bragging that it is still 85 degrees in South Florida. I am actually a little sad I am missing out on the snow and scarves elsewhere in the country. I am truly looking forward to heading up North at the end of this week. Though, I figured before I go, why not enjoy the sun and tanks, and wear a few true Miami looks before I go. I love how comfortable and cute this Topshop dress is. The ruffle and embroidered florals are everything. I found it at Nordstrom and could not, not, have it. I paired it with my Gucci gold Webbys, Chloe clutch, and some fabulous vintage gold lion earrings (from the Lincoln Road Antique Market). Now, let's hope it snows when I go to New Jersey so I can start changing up the wardrobe!! Fingers crossed. 

xo RCN

Magazine Trees

I learned how to make magazine trees years ago, thanks to Martha! I have put my own spin on it over time, always changing up the embellishments and decoration each year. This is one of the easiest craft projects to make over the holidays and it's great for kids too! Select a favorite holiday movie on Netflix and get to folding. You will have a recycled forest before you know it. Watch the youtube video and pictured steps below to create a magazine tree (or few!) of your own. Have fun! xo RCN

Step 1. Select a magazine, the larger the magazine, the longer it will take to fold, but the bigger it will be. Be sure to massage and flatten out the binding as much as possible. This will come in handy as you fold more and more. The pages will become more flexible to manage.

Step 2. Fold cover down to make the top edge of magazine lined up with binding of magazine.

Step 3. Fold the same cover once more so that the folded edge then lines up to the magazine's binding.

Step 4. Fold bottom edge that is sticking out, underneath and parallel to bottom of magazine edge.

Step 5. Continue steps 1-4 repeatedly until all pages have been folded.

Step 6. Once you have come to your very last fold, (the bottom edge of the last page), you will take that small cornered edge and tuck it into the bottom edge pocket of the page/cover that is next to it. Refer to images below and video for complete understanding.

You are complete with folding. Now, onto the decorating. For the embellished tree pictured below, I used glitter, ribbon, and extra/old Christmas decorations I was doing away with. First, I applied tacky glue to the top of the tree with a paintbrush, followed by sprinkling glitter on top. Then, using hot glue, I attached the bells, bows, and pinecones. This tree is quite eclectic, a bit' like my home. How did you decorate your paper trees? Send me a shout out in the comments below, would love to hear your ideas!