Crock Pot Pulled Pork

When planning my son's birthday party, I fell into the Pinterest Trap, sucked into the bright Photoshopped images of picture perfect children's parties: the fondant cakes, the balloon sculptures, the jumpy castles, the matching accessories for each child that fits the party theme.... After an hour of late night Pinning, I woke up my sleeping husband.

"Hey, love, do you think we should get blue or red bandanas?"

"Hmmh, uhh, wha?"

"For Ben's party. I can buy a dozen kids' train conductor hats online, but they need bandanas too. We can hang them from the railing with clothespins and twine and each kid can wear them and they can have train whistles and if we can find a big refrigerator box we can build our own engine..."

"I don't think we need hats."

"What? Really? But that's the whole thing. The hats are part of the thing. You know. Trains? Conductor hats?"

"We really don't need hats. I mean, do whatever, but..."

"You don't like the hats? But think about it with the bandana!"

I'll spare you the details, but as I came down from my Pinterest cliff and returned to my senses, I realized that I'd much rather spend cash on good eats vs. cheap trinkets. I whipped up some hummus with veggies, stocked the fridge with beer and juice boxes, and had a slightly Pinterest-y moment with the kid-friendly snack train made out of aluminum loaf pans.

And I made this pulled pork in the slow cooker, which turned out to be so, so delicious. I'm not a big fan of pork - yes, I'm fully aware that it's practically criminal in the food scene to not adore all things pig - but even I dug into this with gusto. Throw it on a bun with a dab of barbecue sauce and some crunchy coleslaw, and I'll take that over a cheap train conductor hat any day.

(Ps, for any parents who can relate to the situation described above, here's a great article that reminds us one simple thing: as parents, we don't need to make our children's childhood magical. Childhood is inherently magical already, even if it isn't Pinterest perfect. Right on.)

Crock Pot Pulled Pork
Adapted from this recipe on 100 Days of Real Food

3 tablespoons paprika
1½ tablespoons salt
2 teaspoons black pepper
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ cup honey
¼ cup red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, peeled and cut into thick slices
4 to 5 pounds pork shoulder, cut in half

In a bowl, mix together the first five ingredients (all of the spices). Pour in the honey, vinegar, and olive oil and stir to form a paste. Place the onion in the bottom of the slow cooker. Top it with the 2 pieces of pork and then pour the honey paste over all sides of the pork pieces. Turn the slow cooker on to low and cook for 7 to 8 hours or until the meat is tender enough to be easily shredded with a fork, draining any excess liquid. Serve warm with fixings like coleslaw and cornbread. Refrigerate or freeze leftovers.