SpruceHill

I'll miss my sweet Chloe. She is no longer in any pain, and is chasing squirrels up in heaven. Running through rolling hills filled with bacon and cheese.

I will miss you my Chloe Monster Boo-boo.

Southern Style Pulled Pork Barbecue

 
This recipe is the perfect weekend meal. The crockpot does all the work for you. It can't get much better then that!

The Ingredients:

• 1 whole Pork Tenderloin Or Pork Shoulder
• 3 cloves Diced Garlic
• 2 Tablespoons Lawry's Season Salt
• 1 teaspoon Freshly Ground Pepper
• ½ cups Apple Cider Vinegar, Divided
• 3 cups Water
• 2 cups Ketchup
• 1 teaspoon Ground Mustard
• ¼ teaspoons Liquid Smoke
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
• ¼ cups Brown Sugar

 
Generously rub the pork cut that you prefer with the season salt, pepper and garlic. When I make this recipe I don’t measure the ingredients, I just sprinkle away. You can let the rub sit on the pork for as long as you like. I never remember to do it the day before but if you do it ahead your pork will taste even better. So if you think ahead warp it up after you rub it down and put it in the fridge overnight, It's well worth it.

 
After you allow the rub to sit on your pork place it into your crock pot with the water and vinegar. You may need to cut your pork in half depending how big your cut is. Let this cook on high until the meat falls apart. About 4 to 5 hours.
  
Remove about 3/4 of the cooking liquid from the crock pot. Shred the pork with a fork and remove the fatty pieces, and return it to your pot. Prepare the sauce in a small bowl, using your ketchup as your base and then adding the remaining vinegar, mustard, liquid smoke, worcestershire, and brown sugar. Add the barbecue sauce to the pulled pork in the pot, and toss together. You may need to add some of the removed liquid back into the pot, the mixture should be nice and moist. Let the pork and sauce simmer for a bit so all the flavors mix together.

 
Serve on your favorite crusty bun or bread. I love to eat this with cole slaw and home fries. It will please even a picky eater. It is also good with a nice heaping pile of mashed potatoes. Which ever way you like it is a real family pleaser. The leftovers store well and you can go back for more the next day.

My Chloe

It's been quiet around here in the last week. I celebrated my two year cancer anniversary last Sunday. It is such a good feeling to say I am a two year cancer survivor. Then last monday I had an appointment with a specialist for our yellow lab Chloe. She has been back and forth to the vet for sometime now with a chronic sneezing, snuffing and gagging. We had the appointment to talk to a specialist about doing a scope on Chloe to see what was going on up there in her nose. I loaded her up into the back of the truck and we set off for the hour long drive to Baltimore of all places. She has never been any further then our hometown much less to the city. She did great and I took lots of treats along with me and some water in case she got thirsty. We met with the specialist and he was concerned after looking at her xrays. They showed a spot in her nasal passageway that had shown noticeable change in a short period of time. His feeling was that she has a mass that is growing in that small area. Her eye has changed on that side as well. My fears had been confirmed and I did not need to put her through the procedure to know deep down in my heart that there was nothing that we could do for her.

 I loaded her back into the car and headed home, my head spinning. Chloe is the first dog of my very own, while I have had lots of pets in my lifetime she is my first Fur-child. When I returned I emailed her vet, my husband's cousin telling him what the specialist had said. Then on Tuesday I talked to him on the phone to let him know that we were not going to do the scope, it was a very hard conversation to have. He was so great and explained to me that there was no right and wrong decision on my part. We talked about what our plan would be to make her more comfortable.

She is comfortable and the medication is doing it's job. She is a bit peppier now that her pain is being managed. She is being utterly spoiled by everyone in the house. She has blankets all over the house in her favorite places that she likes to lay and nap.

Yesterday I had to tell the girls that I didn't know how long she would be with us, and that she would let us know when it was her time to go. They took it pretty hard. My kids have had a tough couple of years with my cancer diagnosis and treatment. I wish I didn't have to have this conversation with them. Just one more heart wrenching thing going on in their lives. It doesn't seem fair.

 
 So now we wait and enjoy Chloe's company. We laugh about her bad breath and her constant flatulence. We give her endless treats and extra gravy in her dinner, and lots and lots of kisses and scratches. I see changes in her everyday, noticing how much she has aged in the last few weeks. She sticks to me like glue and follows me where ever I go. So for now I am home keeping her company, just like she never left my side when I was sick from my chemo and surgeries two years ago. Making sure she is not alone.

It's been two years

It's been two years since I heard the words "you have breast cancer" Those four words changed my life forever. Cancer puts your life into a tail spin, with so many thoughts spinning around in your head. It is unbelievable to me what I went through, and how I got through it all. I would have never thought I would be strong enough to handle a cancer diagnosis let alone make it through treatment. Surgeries, chemo therapy, hair loss, and lymphedema. It's not a pretty thing. But I did it, I look back now and wonder how I did it.

This blog of mine has been a big part of my life since my diagnosis. I started it just shy of a month after I was diagnosed. It has been an important part of my recovery for me. It has made it possible to meet other survivors from all over the US and other far away places. 

 
I have received so much support from all of my blog readers in that time and I thank each and every one of you for it. It is always a comfort to know there are so many people out there routing for me. It has really made a difference in my fight and recovery.

No one knows what lies in their future. We never know what is ahead for us and how we will handle the challenges in our lives.  I am not happy about having cancer but, I am very proud to be called a cancer survivor.

Munchies for the big game

Our local football team the Baltimore Ravens are playing in the playoffs this weekend! To celebrate I am sharing a few of our favorite game day munchies.

One of our family favorites is buffalo wings, because we have three daughters I have to be a bit conservative on how hot I make my hot wings. This is our favorite way to eat these game day favorites.

Not too Hot Buffalo Wings

• 1 package Chicken Wings (enough For 8 Servings)
• 1-½ Tablespoon Lawry's Seasoned Salt
• 1 cup Franks RedHot Sauce
• 1 cup Your Favorite Barbecue Sauce

Place wings in a greased baking pan. Sprinkle with seasoned salt. Combine RedHot sauce and barbecue sauces, and brush wings with sauce, leaving a little left over. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, preheat your oven at 400 degrees. Bake wings for about 40 to 45 minutes, flipping over halfway through. Drain most of the fluid and then lightly brush a bit more of the sauce mixture on top. Cook until the edges of the wings get brown, about 10 minutes. Remove from the dish and allow to cool for about 15 minutes.

Serve with blue cheese dressing.

Chili Dip

Ingredients

• 1 block of cream cheese
• 1 15oz can of prepared chili ( you can use what ever chili you like, Left over homemade chili is the best in this recipe)
• 1/2 cup of grated cheese (cheddar, mexican mix or Monterey jack)

In a greased pie plate spread softened cream cheese on the bottom of dish. Add a layer of chili on top of the cream cheese. If you are using canned chili use the whole 15 oz can. Sprinkle top of chili with 1/2 a cup of cheese of your choice.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 min or until it bubbles and cheese melts. Serve with tortilla chips.

This recipe is a family favorite of ours and when put out it usually does not last more then 5 minutes. Everyone loves it!

Boardwalk fries 

• 1 5 lb bag of baking potatoes
• Canola oil
• Salt to taste (for crab fries use Old Bay seasoning instead of salt)

 Using a french fry potato cutter cut your potatoes up into fries, just cut what you will eat.

Using your deep fryer (if you do not have one of these you need to run out and get one right now! It is so worth it) Fill it per the instructions with your canola oil. Set your temperature on high and allow your fryer to heat up adequately. We cooked our fries for 7 minutes per batch, trying not to cook too many at a time so that the fries are completely submerged when in the fry basket.

Remove from fryer very carefully and sprinkle with salt of Old Bay seasoning.  Serve with malt vinegar and ketchup.

We made these last weekend with the help of my brother in law, and my niece. They were the best fries we have ever had. They were well worth the effort!

Printable recipe for buffalo wings.

GO RAVENS!