Slow cooked pulled pork, hashbrown casserole, and mandarin raspberry salad

Alright, so Mike had the brilliant idea of having people over for a game of risk, then watch the Canada vs USA game this past Sunday. I thought this was a great idea until I started to panic as to what to make for supper as everyone was showing up at 4:00 for games and the game started at 6:30! Well never fear, I figured out an easy menu that was equally as delicious, and fed 10 people! It all could be pretty much prepared before hand, so I didn't have to worry about taking time out from playing games and have to be a grown up and cook supper!

Slow Cooked Pulled Pork

4-5lb pork shoulder blade roast **I used a hip or something as Sobey's was all out of the shoulder blade roast at 11pm Saturday night!

1 lg onion, chopped and fried in a bit of butter (chop and fry two onions up if you're gonna make the hashbrown casserole too!)

Add some chopped garlic to the onion mixture too while you're frying it.

1 1/2 cups water

your favorite bbq sauce

Layer onions, roast, and rest of onions in your slow cooker. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. (I started this at midnight). Remove roast, "pull" apart with two forks, and dump out the liquid from the crockpot (saving the onions if you want and adding it back to the meat). Mix the pulled pork with enough bbq sauce that it mixes easy, and cook on low for another 4-6 hours. Serve on fresh buns!

Hashbrown Casserole

1 kg hashbrowns

500 ml fat free sour cream

2 cans reduced sodium cream of chicken soup

1 onion chopped and fried (see prev recipe)

A few pinches of paprika

A few pinches of cayenne

some dill

2 cups shredded old light cheddar, divided

Mix up everything except the hashbrowns in a large mixing bowl. Spices are added to taste, ie if you like dill, put more in, if you don't, just omit it! Add a cup of cheese. (This can sit in the fridge overnight.) When ready to prepare, mix sauce with hashbrowns, pour into a 9x13 greased pan, top with remaining grated cheese, sprinkle a bit of parsley on top for color, then bake at 350 degrees for 1.5 hours.

Mandarin Raspberry Salad

In your favorite salad bowl, add mixed greens, candied nuts, diced or grated cheese, a can or two of mandarin oranges (depending on how big your salad is), some croutons, and raspberry vinagrette. Add dressing right before serving.