Hi friends, you made it to the last challenge of my first month! Gold star for you. I can’t believe I’m already at the end of my first challenge! It has been a fun adventure so far.

For this last challenge meal, I went all out. Most of the time Matt and I eat one thing for dinner, but this time I made these Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Sandwiches and homemade fries from an actual cookbook – Eat, Drink, and Be Merry! I also cheated a little and bought salad from the store.

In addition to being a great recipe for the summer, these sandwiches are deceivingly easy to make because you just throw it all in the crock pot! I knew I liked those things for a reason.

Step 1: Pull out an onion to chop, realize that you forgot to get an onion and only have 1/4 of one instead of half. Oops.

Step 2: Place 2.5 lb. pork loin in the crock pot. Cover with about half a bottle of BBQ sauce, onions, 1 Tbsp Paprika, 1 Ts. salt, 1 Ts. pepper, 2 frozen garlic cubes, and 1/3 cup of water.

Step 3: Set to cook on low for 8-9 hours. Go to work and come back home to the delicious smell of BBQ pork!

Step 4: Shred pork and put on hamburger buns.

In between when I got home from work and I shredded the pork, I made these homemade fries from Eat, Drink, and Be Merry, written by my very own boss! It’s a great cookbook for gluten-free folks. Check out her facebook page, Kira Joy’s Kitchen.

Step 1: Preheat oven to 425. Chop 2 large baking potatoes into 1/4″ by 4″ sticks. Toss the sticks in a bowl with 1/4 cup of olive oil. Spread the potato sticks on a rimmed baking sheet in a single layer and bake in the upper third of the oven, turning once with a spatula, until they are golden and crispy, about 30 minutes. I think my oven is too hot for its own good because after 30 minutes they were a little more than crispy!

Step 2: Sprinkle on 3 minced garlic cloves (or if you’re lazy like me, garlic salt), 1 Tbsp. minced thyme and 1 Tbsp. minced rosemary and roast for about 10-15 minutes longer, until the herbs are fragrant. #thankyouspicerack

Step 3: Once 5 minutes is left in baking time, sprinkle with 1/4 cup of freshly grated Pecorino Romano or Asiago cheese (or grated parmesan because you can’t find either of those at Walmart). Place back in the oven for five minutes. I didn’t because they were too crispy at this point!

Step 4: Transfer fries to a large bowl and sprinkle with more cheese.

Here is the finished meal!

Pros:

• The pulled pork sandwiches were a breeze to make and super delicious
• I loved the seasoning on the fries
• This is a meal that reheats well, so leftovers are great!

Cons:

• My oven got too hot, so my fries were a little more like chips. But they would’ve been great if I had checked on them more often!

Reflections on my first challenge:

I learned that cooking is actually not that bad! Although I don’t think any of my meals were exactly perfect, it was a great learning experience and I surprised myself at how much I enjoyed it! I definitely feel motivated to cook more often, especially as I’m still in the phase of marriage where my hubby will say he likes it even if it’s not the best meal.

I really hope you have enjoyed following me along on this challenge! Before I announce next month’s challenge, do me a favor and sign up to follow my blog! That way you won’t miss any of my funny failures or surprising successes. Thanks!

Next month I will be focusing on DIY – it could be anything from crafts to home decor to who knows what else! I am really excited to bring out my crafty side with this challenge and see what fun things I can make. Stay tuned for my first post next week!