BBQ Chicken Sliders with Cole Slaw

Serves:6-8

Ingredients:

• 12 Homemade Rolls, split
• 4 cups shredded chicken

Sauce:

• 1 cup barbecue sauce
• 1 (12-ounce can or bottle) beer
• 1 teaspoon seasoned salt
• 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon ground mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon Frank’s hot sauce

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan, over medium heat, bring all sauce ingredients to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes.
2. Add shredded chicken to crock pot. Pour sauce over chicken and stir until combined. Cook on low heat for 4 hours.
3. Spoon bbq chicken mixture on rolls and top with cole slaw (recipe below)

Cole Slaw for BBQ Chicken Sliders

Ingredients:

• 1/2 green cabbage, chopped
• 1/2 red cabbage, chopped

Dressing:

• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon white vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, mix dressing ingredients together. Wrap with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator to chill. (Do this while the BBQ Chicken is in the crock pot.
2. Keep cabbage wrap in plastic wrap or zip loc bag until ready to use.
3. When ready to serve, add cabbage to a medium to large bowl. Pour just enough dressing to lightly coat the cabbage.
4. Top BBQ Chicken with cole slaw and serve.

Welcome to our first week of Just In Time Family Meal Planning Challenge!

As we move into the first week of our meal planning challenge, for February, my goal is to make a lot of meals in 30 minutes or less during the weeknight and for those weekend days when I just want to slow down, let the meal take it’s own sweet time; whether it be cooked in the crock pot or slowly roasted in the oven.

We’ve started off the week with an easy Sunday meal of BBQ Chicken Sliders topped with cole slaw. It was nice having an easy meal after a busy weekend of celebrating our son’s birthday with family and friends. There’s just enough leftovers for lunch later in the week.

Last week, I got pretty well stocked up on many of my pantry items, adding a few new items to my pantry:

• artichoke hearts
• Greek Kalamata olives
• roasted red peppers
• chipotle peppers in adobe sauce

I don’t normally keep ingredients like these on hand but after watching Pioneer Woman’s Stocking The Pantry episode, I was inspired to give a few of her ideas a try like using the chipotle peppers in adobe sauce in this Spicy Dr. Pepper Shredded Pork recipe.

Here’s what the rest of the week’s menu looks like: (recipes will be shared throughout the week as this is a new meal plan for us.)

Monday: I’m making  Sloppy Jose’s; a Mexican type twist to the good old fashioned Sloppy Joes. (I was inspired with this idea  from making a 7-layer bean dip on Saturday for our son’s birthday party. Using leftovers from this dip with ground beef and tortillas.

Tuesday: Curried Chicken and Apple Stew over Rice

Wednesday: Spaghetti Casserole

Thursday: Blender Cheese  Soufflé

 Friday: Cheese Steak Pizza

 Saturday: One Potato, Two~ So easy you can double the recipe for more. Our kids love these!

As you’re putting together your weekly meal plan, remember that there are some items that are always going to be on sale during the month. Be sure and check your local grocery store ads for what’s on sale in your area.

It’s National Oatmeal Month!  So if you haven’t already, stock up for making favorite recipes like my Quick Handy Breakfast Oatmeal Packets and Sweet Apple Oatmeal and Coconut Cookies.

• Granola Bars
• Granola Cereal with dried fruits like cranberries, blueberries or apples
• Fiber Bars

What is on your weekly meal plan this week? I’d love to hear your ideas!~ You can participate in the 6-Week Just In Time! Family Meal Planning Challenge by adding your weekly meal plan below. And for more ideas on how you can participate and spread the word, visit Here.

The ultimate in all appetizers. Add to that a tall, frosty beer and you’ve got the perfect recipe for game day.

7-Layer Bean Dip

Serves: 8-10

Ingredients:

• 2 (16-ounce) cans refried beans
• 2 Tablespoons Taco seasoning
• 1 cup non-fat sour cream
• 1 cup guacamole
• 1 cup salsa
• 1/2 cup Cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup Monterey Jack cheese
• 1 (2.5 ounce can) sliced olives
• 1/2 cup pepperroncini, sliced
• green onions, sliced for garnish

Directions:

1. In a bowl, mix refried beans with taco seasoning until well combined. Spread mixture evenly on a large platter or round dish.
2. Add remaining ingredients layering each ingredient. (Combine the two cheeses together before layering the cheese.)
3. Top with green onions.
4. Serve with tortilla chips.

With the ever so many changes and updates that the internet provides us, there are numerous ways to stay connected to your favorite blog sites. In March, as I’m sure most of you have read by now Google will be making some changes. If you haven’t had a chance to read about the changes, you can read more about them here.

I hope that with Google’s upcoming changes, I won’t lose contact with you. I want to make sure you know alternative options for staying connected with me.

You can subscribe to my RSS (feedburner) here and never miss a recipe, kitchen tip, menu or tips for moms balancing family as a working mom blog post again.

You can subscribe via email by typing in your email address in the subscribe option on the sidebar. You can also keep in contact with me in other ways, such as those below.

You can connect with me

On Twitter @NoelsKitchen, I love tweeting with my followers. If you mention me and I am online, trust that I am faithful and will respond. If I am not online, no worries I will get back to you.

On Facebook , my Family Meals Matter Cooking Club family has grown, and I welcome you will stop by and “like” my page. I do share  my blog posts, kitchen tips and of course talk about family mealtimes. And of course, you will be privy to some of my random thoughts  about family if you add me to your newsfeed.

A Busy Mom’s Kitchen Newsletter, It will give you the latest information on nutrition, meal planning, cooking tips, budget shopping, monthly promotions and much more. Don’t forget, it’s also a great way to discover new recipes every month! AND you’ll receive you’ll receive a free 15-page E-Book with Tips, hints and recipes for kids in the kitchen;“Cooking With Kids E-Book”!

On Google + This is also a page that is slowly coming along when I have the time, and I’ll be sharing posts there as well. I love giving my favorite blog sites the +1, and you will find some of my favorite reads from the week there too.

On Pinterest, well honestly it’s fun saving and sharing new ideas in one place, and it has things I like personally, ideas and some of my favorites from my blog. But if you find yourself in need of another person to follow to check out for inspiration, feel free to follow me there too.

There you have it.

Consider this if you are looking to connect with me in other ways, instead of typing in your blogsite in the webaddress, unclick the commentluv and then type in the address you would like me or others to check out.

FYI: If you leave links in the comment box, your message will be forwarded to my spam box temporarily until I approve it.

How are you staying connected with me? How do you stay connected with all your favorite bloggers? Feel free to share.

If most of you fellow foodies are like me and enjoy watching Ree (Pioneer Woman), then you must have seen her episode this past Saturday where she wakes up at the crack of dawn to throw a pork butt into the oven for a mouth watering lunch. I do mean mouth watering!

On my last grocery shopping trip, our grocery store was having a BOGO sale in the meat department so I stocked up. I added Ree’s recipe to my shopping list to try out and was on last night’s meal plan. I didn’t want to wait till the weekend totry out the recipe, so I improvised the recipe by using the crock pot. I cooked it on the low setting for 8 hours; little longer than the 6 hours her recipe called for and it still was falling off the bone, tender and juicy. I had used a 12 ounce can of chipotle peppers in adobo and it was a bit spicy, even for my husband and I. (We love spicy food!) However, it was way too spicy for the kids. Next time I’ll cut back on the peppers to maybe half the can so they are able to eat it. I’m still trying to think of a way to balance the flavors a little better so one ingredient isn’t overpowering the other. Here’s the recipe:

Pioneer Woman’s Spicy Dr. Pepper Shredded Pork

Servings: 18

Ingredients:

• 1 whole Large Onion
• 1 whole Pork Shoulder (“pork Butt”) – 5 To 7 Pounds
• Salt And Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• 1 can (11 Ounce) (I used 12 ounce can) Chipotle Peppers In Adobo Sauce
• 2 cans Dr. Pepper
• 2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2. Peel the onion and cut it into wedges. Lay them in the bottom of a large dutch oven. (I used the crock pot.)
3. Generously salt and pepper the pork roast, then set it on top of the onions in the pan.
4. Pour the can of chipotle peppers over the pork (include the sauce.) Pour in both cans of Dr Pepper. Add brown sugar to the juice and stir in.
5. Place lid tightly on pot, then set pot in the oven. Cook for at least six hours, (6-8 hours using the crock pot and I didn’t touch it.) turning roast two or three times during the cooking process. Check meat after six hours; it should be absolutely falling apart (use two forks to test.) If it’s not falling apart, return to the oven for another hour.
6. Remove meat from pot and place on a cutting board or other work surface. Use two forks to shred meat, discarding large pieces of fat. Strain as much of the fat off the top of the cooking liquid as you can and discard it. Return the shredded meat to the cooking liquid, and keep warm until ready to serve. (You can also refrigerate the meat and liquid separately, then remove hardened fat once it’s cold. Then heat up the liquid on the stovetop and return the meat to the liquid to warm up.
7. Serve on warm flour tortillas. Top with shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, grated cheese, avocado slices, salsa, and whatever else you’d like.

Recipe and from by Ree (Pioneer Woman)

For those of you who have tried the recipe, have any suggestions for balancing the flavors?