Household hint--laundy

This has nothing to do with the kitchen, but it has made laundry day infinitely easier at the Zollinger house.
At the dollar store I found a bunch of those tiny brass safety pins( 150 for a dollar!) and every night when I take off my socks I use one to pin them together. NO more matching for me! They are washable, and I am to the point where I just leave the safety pin on one of my socks when I wear them.There was a day a week ago where one of my students was in dire need of a safety pin due to a ripped pants issue, and he was amazed when I took one off the cuff of my sock and saved his day. If you are a super laundry hater like me, you don't even have to fold the socks, you can just throw them in a drawer already pinned together.
I hope this saves a few people from having a basket full of mismatched socks!

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Sandwiches

I am sure there are better recipes for this out there, but I can't think of any easier. Jake and I love to do these on a day we have planned to be busy.

2-3 lbs picnic pork roast (this is a cheap meat--we have found it on sale for 99 cents a lb. before!)

1 cup chicken or beef broth ( I suppose you can use water too, this just keeps it from burning in the slow cooker)

2-3 tbsp hot sauce

Dash garlic, pepper, paprika (whatever flavoring you like, it will be just a hint when the roast is done)

1-2 drops of liquid smoke(totally optional)

1 bottle BBQ sauce

Hamburger buns, split potato rolls, or hoagie buns

Put the roast in a crock pot with all ingredients except the last two (buns and sauce).

Slow cook 6-8 hours on low.

You will know when the roast is done when you can shred the meat by stirring it with a fork in the pot.

At this point you can pour in your desired amount of sauce in the pot, or you can just place the meat on buns and  each person top it with their own amount of sauce.

This recipe can easily be doubled, tripled or whatever to feed a crowd. To me it is reminiscent of the wallaby's pulled pork sandwich that my Uncle Ryan used to run.

It would be fun to get several unique BBQ sauces when you are feeding a group for them to try.

Vegetable Chowder

I am in a dinner group with a ton of people in my student ward at BYU. My good buddy Adam made this soup for dinner and it was amazing.

2.5 lb bag of Normandy blend frozen vegetables
(broccoli, cauliflower and carrots)
5 Chicken Bouillon Cubes
2 8 oz packages of cream cheese
6 cups of water

Place frozen vegetables in pot with bouillon cubes and
Water. Boil covered for 20 minutes. Mash with potato
Masher until lumps are small. Cube the cream cheese
Bricks into small pieces, and whisk into soup mixture.
Turn heat to medium low and stir until cream cheese
Is incorporated and melted.

Serve immediately.

Cheese Ball

This is a Thanksgiving Staple in the Smith and Beckstead homes. My dad always makes it, and my grandma thinks my mother is the chef:) Delicious!

Ingredients: 1 pkg Cream cheese, softened
¼ cup mayonnaise
½ cup grated cheese
1 pkg wafer ham, chopped into small pieces
 
Chopped walnuts
 
Directions:
Combine first four ingredients, mix well. Shape into ball, roll in nuts if desired. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.