National Pulled Pork Day: An Old-Fashioned Crock-Pot Recipe That Feeds My Family on a Budget

For David and I it’s been harder to purchase groceries because everything is so high, Neither Charlie or Gerald is working or helping with groceries even though David has asked them to go to the Food Banks and apply for Food Stamps more times than I can count.

Both my freezers are almost empty and the dinners I’ve ben coming up with either Gerald or Charlie doesn’t want them or both of them will not eat and that leaves to much food for David and I and even though we eat leftovers more times than I can count sometime we end up wasting food.

That is what happened this weekend when I made Pulled Pork there is a bowl of it left and instead of it being eaten because Gerald doesn’t want anymore and Charlie refuses to eat it David took our Pork Chops for dinner. This makes me furious because they needed to be used for another meal. I told David to put the left over Pulled Pork into a freezer bag and instead he gave it to the dogs so now, I don’t have anything for lunch this week.

This is why I become frustrated with my family and more times than not I feel like telling them to fend for themselves when I stop working to make dinner and no, one wants to eat what is being prepared because its what I could afford since David is the only one working.

The funny part about this recipe is its one I found in a magazine and at one time it had turned out to be the very recipes our family loved the most. You know the kind I mean. You look at a recipe and wonder whether anybody in your house will actually eat it, but you decide to give it a try anyway. Before you know it, that recipe becomes a family favorite.

That is exactly what happened with my pulled pork recipe years ago, back when my daughter Suzzane was still here. I was looking through a magazine, probably Woman’s Day or something similar, when I came across a recipe for pulled pork made in a Crock-Pot. Back then, I had just started using my Crock-Pot, and I was still married to my ex-husband.

I showed him the recipe and decided to make it for dinner. Little did I know that I had found one of the easiest meals I would ever make! All you needed was an onion, a pork roast, and barbecue sauce. You put the onion in the bottom of your Crock-Pot, set the roast on top, pour barbecue sauce over it, turn the Crock-Pot on, and walk away. Later that evening, you had dinner!

Once the roast was tender enough to fall apart, all you had to do was shred the pork and serve it however your family liked. We usually made sandwiches, although you could serve the pulled pork with your favorite sides or enjoy it in a bowl. Personally, I often made myself a half-fold sandwich with mayonnaise and then ate some of the pork in a bowl. If you know me, you already know that I am not much of a bread person! It was easy, it tasted good, and it didn’t require me to spend all day in the kitchen. What more could a busy mom ask for?

And before somebody comes at me telling me I can make this in the oven, on the stove, in an Instant Pot, or in an air fryer, let me stop you right there! Buttercup, I don’t have any of those fancy gadgets. I have an old-fashioned Crock-Pot. No, it isn’t digital. No, it didn’t cost me a million dollars. It has a knob that you turn, just like those old-fashioned televisions we used to have. And you know what? I’m perfectly happy with it!

I don’t need a kitchen full of expensive appliances to prove I can cook. I don’t need the latest gadget everybody is talking about on social media. What I need is something that will help me put dinner on the table without spending a fortune or wearing myself out in the kitchen.

My old-fashioned Crock-Pot does exactly that. I can put a roast in it, pour on some barbecue sauce, turn that little knob, and go about my day. Hours later, I have a meal ready for my family. That’s what matters to me. Not how much my kitchen appliances cost. Not whether my Crock-Pot connects to Wi-Fi. Not whether I can control dinner from my phone. Just a good, simple meal that feeds my family and helps stretch our grocery budget.

So if you have a fancy Instant Pot, an air fryer, or some other gadget you love, that’s wonderful. Use it and enjoy it! But here at my house, we’re keeping things simple with an old-fashioned Crock-Pot, a bargain roast, and a bottle of barbecue sauce. And honestly? That’s good enough for me!

When David and I got together, money was tight. Whenever I could afford a roast, I would buy one, but sometimes it was too much meat for just the two of us. I would split it up and use part of it for a meal. Back then, I usually made pot roast. These days, I sometimes cook a roast in the oven the way my grandma did. David has finally decided that he likes it better that way!

But sometimes you need a meal that practically cooks itself, especially when you have been working all day and don’t feel like spending the evening in the kitchen. That brings me to this weekend. I had been working and really did not feel like cooking, but I knew we needed dinner.

Thankfully, I had a roast I had purchased at Kroger for just $4 from the clearance bin. The original price was $15! Yes, you read that right. I got that roast for four dollars. Let me tell you something: meat in the clearance bin is not automatically bad. You can find bargains if you check the packaging, dates, and storage conditions and make sure the meat is safe to use.

I am always looking for ways to stretch our grocery budget, and saving money on a roast means I have more money available for other things my family needs. I had David pull out my Crock-Pot the night before, so getting dinner started was easy. I don’t use an onion anymore because David won’t eat it. Although an onion adds a little flavor, it isn’t necessary for the way I make my pulled pork.

I placed the roast in my old-fashioned Crock-Pot, grabbed a bottle of Kraft Original Barbecue Sauce but here is another tip Buttercup you can use any bar B Que Sauce you like. Ipoured about half the bottle over the top. I didn’t even add water this time, although I sometimes do.

Then I turned the knob, put the lid on, and walked away. I started cooking the roast around eight o’clock that morning. By four o’clock that afternoon, the meat was falling apart. I took the roast out, shredded it, and let everybody make their own sandwiches. That was it. No complicated recipe. No fancy kitchen equipment. No standing over a stove. Just a roast, barbecue sauce, and my trusty old Crock-Pot.

Charlie used to love pulled pork, but lately, he has been in one of those phases where he gets tired of eating the same foods too often. So now he is bored with it and doesn’t want it. Who knows what he ate last night? I honestly don’t know, and at this point, it isn’t my problem because he is grown!

Gerald ate some of the pulled pork, David ate it, and I thought it turned out really good. And it wasn’t just because I was the one who cooked it. Even David said it was really good! That is always nice to hear when you have thrown together a meal without much effort. We still have about half a bowl left, so guess what we are having for dinner tonight? Pulled pork! Or at least I thought we was but as I said earlier David had other plans for us.

I know Gerald said he was finished with it. He left half a bowl sitting on the stove instead of putting it away. But that is all right because today has turned into one of those fend-for-yourself days because I’m not cooking. But when you are living on a budget, leftovers are part of the plan. You do not throw away perfectly good food just because somebody is tired of eating it. You find another way to serve it, or you eat it again the next day.

And if someone doesn’t want what is available, they can figure out something else. I suspect Charlie may have helped himself to my jar of peanut butter last night. So now I may be short on peanut butter, too! But that is motherhood. You pick your battles. As long as your child is eating, sometimes you learn to let the little things go.

This is why I love recipes like this one. They don’t require fancy ingredients, a lot of preparation, or expensive appliances. You can use a roast you found on sale, add some barbecue sauce, and let your Crock-Pot do most of the work. And when you have leftovers, you have another meal ready to go.

For our family, this recipe brings back memories of when Suzzane was still here, reminds me of the early days of learning to cook with a slow cooker, and helps me stretch our grocery budget today. Sometimes the best recipes are not the ones that look impressive in a cookbook. They are the ones that feed your family, save you time, and give you a little breathing room on a day when you just do not feel like cooking.

You don’t need the fanciest kitchen, the newest appliances, or a pantry full of expensive ingredients to make a good dinner. Sometimes all you need is a little planning, a good bargain, and a Crock-Pot with a knob you turn by hand. That is something I can be grateful for!

In honor of National Pulled Pork Day, I want to hear from you. What are you having for dinner today, and why? Do you have a family recipe that has been handed down through the generations? Or do you have a simple meal you turn to when you don’t feel like cooking?

Maybe your favorite recipe came from your grandmother, a magazine, a friend, or a meal you threw together one day because you had to feed everybody. Come share it with me! I would love to hear what is cooking in your kitchen and learn about the recipes that make your family happy. And remember, you don’t need fancy kitchen gadgets to make a meal worth sharing. Sometimes an old-fashioned Crock-Pot and a little barbecue sauce are all you need!

Happy National Pulled Pork Day from my kitchen to yours!

Grateful. Thankful. Blessed.

GreatfulMoments.com

Thank you,

Glenda, Charlie and Charlie David Cates