CROCK POT KALUA PIG AND CABBAGE

This Saturday, I am having a luau with my church. It's going to be great. My first luau since leaving Hawaii. Fun! And since I'm "The Hawaiian," I'm in charge of all of the Hawaiian foods. Lucky me :) But seriously, I'm excited. I will be making Kalua Pig and Cabbage, Chicken Long Rice, Shoyu Chicken, Potato Macaroni Salad, Rice (nice and sticky,) and Haupia. Yummmmm. However, I have never actually made any of these before. Well, I can make rice actually, but that's it. My family made them, or we went out to eat at Hawaiian restaurants. Young's Fish Market is my favorite! The most delicious Hawaiian food. I'm getting so hungry/home sick just thinking about it.


Ok, back to why we are here. So, since I've never cooked any of this before, I knew I had to try out all of these recipes before the actual luau to make sure they'd be tasty. I wouldn't want to show up to the party with a whole bunch of inedible food. No thank you. Only 'ono (delicious) food allowed. So first up, Kalua Pig and Cabbage. My absolute favorite. I found this amazing recipe for Crock Pot Kalua Pig and Cabbage here. I was so excited to find this recipe. You know my love for Crock Pots. This recipe is so legit. It tastes like I dug an imu (hole in the ground used as an oven,) placed the pig on some rocks, and cooked it. (That's how you kalua something btw.) You can't even tell the difference. A-MA-ZING! I jumped up and down I was so excited about it. Haha. I really did. And it's so easy to do. Here's the recipe.


Crock Pot Kalua Pig and Cabbage

All You Need Is (LOVE):

• 2 lb. Pork butt or shoulder
• 2 Tbsp Concentrated Mesquite Liquid Smoke
• 2 Tbsp Kosher, Rock, or Hawaiian Salt
• Small Head of Cabbage
• Water

What to Do:

1. Place pork into the crock pot.
2. Pour the liquid smoke and sprinkle salt over it.
3. Fill the crock pot with water to cover the pork completely.
4. Cook on HIGH for 4-6 hours. (Or on LOW for 8-10 hours)
5. Pork should fall apart when stuck with a fork. Remove pork from the crock pot and shred using forks. Remove bones, if any.
6. Cut cabbage into large chunks and place in the crock pot, with all the liquid.
7. Put the pork back into the crock pot and cook on HIGH until cabbage is done to your liking. (For me it was 30 minutes.)
8. Serve Kalua Pig and Cabbage over hot white rice. Enjoy!

Before I Go:

I am so happy that I tried this recipe. It is so super easy and tastes so good. Even better, the kids loved it! Sammy said she remembers eating it in Hawaii. Sammy doesn't really like cabbage, but she loved this cabbage. Haha. I hope you try out this recipe. If you do, please let me know, I'd love to hear from you. It tastes like home to me. I can picture myself eating outside on the beach, surrounded by my family. :) Feel free to leave any questions or comments below. Thank you so much for stopping by!

Have a great day!

♥ K i K O ♥

CROCK POT YUMMIEST POT ROAST

Let me tell you how in love I am with our Crock Pot. It's so wonderful. You can make dinner in the morning and it's ready at dinnertime. I know that slow cooking isn't a new thing, but to me it kind of is and I still get excited when I make something fabulous. Crock Pots ROCK! Ok. Now that I've calmed down, let me tell you about the recipe of the day. I got this recipe from the Crock Pot Girl. I changed it a tad bit, but it's basically a halved version of hers that I make. This is my boss' favorite meal that I make. The meat is so juicy and tender. It just melts in your mouth. The gravy is amazing. So amazing in fact, that Sammy, who does not like mushrooms at all, actually asked for more mushrooms and said, "I only like mushrooms with this sauce!" The kids love it. I love it. We all love it. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. Sammy even licked her plate clean once. (Until we reminded her that that's not using good manners.) But seeing her do that made me smile :) So are you ready for the most amazing delicious pot roast of your life? Here we go!

Crock Pot Yummiest Pot Roast

All You Need Is (LOVE):

• 2 lb. Pot Roast
• Salt, pepper, & garlic powder (for taste)
• Flour
• Olive Oil
• 1 can Cream of Mushroom
• 3/4 c Beef Broth
• 1/2 package dry onion soup mix
• 8 oz. Sliced Mushrooms

What to Do:

1. Set Crock Pot on LOW for 4 hours (you want the Crock Pot to heat up before you add the meat in because adding hot meat to a cool pot can damage the Crock Pot, and we don't want that)
2. Sprinkle salt, pepper, and garlic powder on all sides of the pot roast and use a spoon to rub it into the roast (or your fingers, but I don't like touching raw meat [I even use tongs to flip the meat over])
3. Coat your entire roast with flour so it is completely covered
4. Add olive oil to a skillet and set to medium heat
5. Once the oil is heated, place the pot roast into the skillet and brown on both sides (browning is essential as it seals in the flavor and prevents the pot roast from becoming chewy)
6. While the roast is browning, add the cream of mushroom, beef broth, dry onion soup mix, and mushrooms into the Crock Pot and mix well with a spoon (be careful because the Crock Pot may be hot)
7. When the pot roast is finished browning on both sides, transfer it into the Crock Pot
8. Spoon the sauce over the pot roast so that it is completely covered
9. Place the lid on top
10. When the 4 hours on LOW is finished, set it to HIGH for 2-3 hours (I usually set it for 2.5 hours on HIGH) or until meat is tender
11. Eat it all up! (But save some for me please. Just kidding.)

Before I Go:
Serve with mashed potatoes or rice. If I have a busy day, I just make rice in the rice pot to serve with the pot roast. The rice pot cooks the rice and keeps it warm until dinner (just like what a Crock Pot does). You see, I'm from Hawaii. We are big on rice down there. We love rice. So in our house, we have the ginormous 25 lb. bag of rice from Costco. Just thought I'd share that quick fact with you all. But when I do have time (which is more often than not), I prefer to make mashed potatoes from scratch to go with it. I also serve it with a vegetable. Gotta get that green into the kids! They love zucchini and it's easy to cook up right before serving, so that's my go-to vegetable to go with the pot roast. But anything will do. I use a lot of mushrooms for this recipe because I love mushrooms and they shrink into the gravy anyways. And I use fresh mushrooms. I love those best. I hope you try out this recipe because it is the most delicious thing ever! It will change your life. It's just so simple to make and oh so tasty. Make this for someone and they will be begging you for more. Feel free to leave any questions or comments below. I'd love to hear if you tried this recipe and how it turned out for you. Thank you for stopping by!

Have a great day!

♥ K i K O ♥