Fun on a Tuesday

Yesterday I me up with a dear friend of mine whom I grew up with. She and her hubbie and sweet little girl now live in Nevada, so I haven't seen her in several years!
We met at Chick-Fil-A , as apparently they don't have those where she lives. When they come to Texas to visit family, they get as much of the Golden, chickany goodness as possible.
Once we entered the restaurant, she asked her adorable little 3 year old girl what she would like. Perhaps some chicken nuggets or strips? Her daughter proclaimed loudly, "No mommy, I want a hamburger!" You gotta love those little independent personalities.
After lunch I went to my folks house in Carrollton and my mother and I whipped up a batch of the most amazing gingersnaps. It is a super easy recipe- sugar, butter, eggs, flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger...I'll have to dig up the exact measurements and post a little later. These would be perfect for the summer with a little peach ice cream!

I can however post what I made for dinner last night- pulled pork sandwiches and Down Home cheesy grits.

I have to admit, the pulled pork was REALLY hard work (note the sarcasm)
Ingredients-
1 barbecue season dry rubbed pork shoulder already seasoned from the store. (Yes, I cheated, but I'm a big fan of things that make life less complicated)
Place the pork shoulder in a crock pot, with 1 cup of water.
Cook on low for 10 hours.
When finished, this will practically shred it self! I served it on butter toasted buns with pickles and some additional BBQ sauce.
Whew, that was tough.

Now for some real cooking.. The cheesy grits
You will need:
3 cups water
3/4 cups instant grits
pinch salt
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 yellow onion chopped
1 tablespoon fresh garlic minced
ground pepper to taste
1 cup grated Cheddar/ Jack cheese.

Prepare your grits according to the package directions
In a separate saute pan, place your butter and let it melt. Add your chopped onions and caramelize. Add your garlic and lightly toast, don't burn! Add your cooked grits and stir. Now is the time to add your fresh ground pepper- I used about 4-5 twists and a pinch of salt (about a 1/4 teaspoon)
Now comes the magic, ad about 3/4 cup of your cheese and stir until melted.
Pour all of the mixture into a bowl and top with remaining cheese.
If you really want to be sinful, you can add some crumbled bacon on top.
This makes enough to serve probably 4-6 people so adjust if you don't need as much!

This was delicious and my house still smells like a Carolina kitchen:)
Tonight we will use the left over pulled pork for tacos. I'll lightly fry up some corn tortillas and serve with avocado and shredded lettuce, cilantro, onion and a squeeze of lime. Yum.