Beat the Hell Outta Arkansas!

Well, we tried at least. Since the Arkansas mascot is a pig, we made a day of it. Sausage biscuits for breakfast (call it semihomemade McDonald's), BBQ pork from the crockpot for lunch, and jambalaya w/ sausage and ham for dinner. It really can't get much better. Now if only the game had gone this well.

The sausage biscuits were easy. Open a package of precooked sausage patties and heat after baking up a can of biscuits. Real hard there.

I wish my nose had been working all night and morning. It probably really smelled good in here with the BBQ pork in the crock pot. This one was equally as easy. My sweet hubby started it for me while I dealt with a sinus headache (and resulting drainage once I relieved the pressure)...stupid allergies. Throw a 3-4 lb. boneless pork roast (Boston Butt) into the crockpot. Pour a 18 oz. bottle of the barbecue sauce of your choice and 12 oz. of coke (from a can or 2 liter) over it, and cook on low 8-10 hours. Shred meat and toss back into degreased sauce. Our roast ended up being 5 1/2 lbs. Sweet hubby also started it on high. Oops. No biggie though, since I turned it down when I got up and turned it off a little earlier than I would have otherwise. By about noon, the meat was falling apart. It only took stirring it with a fork to shred it! The biggest problem I had was degreasing the sauce without just throwing the whole thing into the fridge overnight. Even with my nice degreasing pitcher, I still ended up with a lot of fat to skim off once it's solidified tomorrow. This was out of the current issue of Southern Living. They suggested serving w/ buns and slaw, over cornbread, or over cheese grits.

The jambalaya took the most effort, but is still easy. It's out of my 2004 Southern Living Annual Recipes, p. 289. Should you choose to kick up the heat (which I usually did until I had the princess), add in your choice of tobasco, crushed red pepper, or cayenne pepper just before the beef broth.

1 lb. smoked sausage, sliced 1/4 in. thick on the diagonal
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
garlic to taste, chopped
2 c. beef stock (or 1 can and 2 oz. water)
1 c. rice
chopped ham or chicken
1 can diced tomatoes, drained

Brown sausage over medium heat, stirring constantly. Add in onion, bell pepper, and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until veggies are soft. Add in garlic, stirring until fragrant. Add in beef stock. Once boiling, stir in 1 c. uncooked rice. Reduce and simmer 20 min. or until rice is done. Stir in ham and tomatoes, and heat through. Serve with potato salad and french bread.