Barbecue Turkey In The Slow Cooker!

This one's easy folks. And with everything that's going on around the cottage, easy is working really well right now!

Ingredients:

3 lbs. turkey boneless skinless turkey breast

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup hot barbecue sauce

1/2  cup water

3/4 cup mild barbecue sauce

This is going to take most of the day to cook but it doesn't need much attention, which is good news!

Don't heat the slow cooker first. Place the turkey breast meat into your slow cooker. Sprinkle with the salt and add the hot bbq sauce and the water. Turn the cooker on low and cover. My turkey breast was frozen because I didn't plan ahead :) That's how I roll sometimes. (a lot) Cook for at least an hour before checking on it, even if it isn't frozen. I also need to add that this was wild turkey and it has to cook low and slow or you might as well put a baseball glove in to simmer!

At this point it had been cooking for three hours and I could separate it with a fork. This helps it get tender through out. Add 1/4 of the mild sauce, return the lid to the pot and continue cooking.

This is at hour number five. I took a fork and tore it apart a little more and added 1/4 cup of the mild sauce. Recover and continue cooking.

Hour number seven and it's ready to remove from the pot.

I couldn't believe just how tender it was! I was able to shred it easily with two forks.

Now one last time return the shredded meat to the pot and add the rest of the sauce. Cover and cook for another hour. 

So tender and so juicy and oh so yummy!

These are huge plates. And I had seconds....

Easy Double Duty Grilled Shrimp!

I love it when this happens...you spend an afternoon preparing for a meal, cook it, eat and enjoy it and you have leftovers. Immediately I begin scheming on how I can take the leftovers and turn them into something completely different. That's what happened with this grilled shrimp. One day it was a meal with salad and bread and then because of the seasonings used I was able to turn the leftovers into fajitas the next. Love, love, love it!

Ingredients for the shrimp:

1 pound shrimp (large)

2 medium green bell peppers

1 medium red bell pepper

1 medium onion

Tequila lime marinade mix

I have never ever used a packaged marinade (that I can remember) but I have to tell ya, this one was pretty darn good!

I just followed the directions on the package.

Cut the vegetables so that they are large enough to thread onto skewers and won't fall off while you're grilling them. About two inch pieces.

I didn't actually marinate the shrimp. Instead I threaded them onto two skewers (shells on) and brushed them with the marinade.

I used two skewers to keep the shrimp from flopping around on the grill :0

I grilled the limes too. Oh. My. Goodness. They were so delicious!

Place on a grill heated on the medium low setting. 

The vegetables take a little longer than the shrimp, so I put them on the grill a few minutes before. Grill them until they're just tender. Cook the shrimp for about eight minutes on the first side or until the shrimp turn pink.

Turn them over and cook for about another five minutes or until they are pink on the second side. 

I made a chopped salad to go along with the shrimp. Lettuce, tomato, cucumber, and chopped green onions. 

I served the salad with blue cheese dressing. This recipe is crazy easy and I have to tell you that I have tried to use fresh garlic in it once instead of garlic powder and it wasn't as good. For a half cup of dressing, add about 1/3 cup mayonnaise (Duke's) to a jar.

Add enough buttermilk to get the dressing to the consistency that you prefer. I use about 3 to 4 tablespoons.

Add about 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder....

And half of a 5 ounce container Gorgonzola blue cheese, or whatever blue cheese you prefer. I like Roquefort too! And Maytag. And Clemson. Okay, I like it all...

Blend with a whisk.

So good I wish I were having it again tonight. I also wish that I had taken pictures of the fajitas, but since I didn't I'll just have to tell you about them. I peeled the leftover shrimp and cut them in half. I added a little canola oil to a skillet heated on low heat and tossed in the leftover peppers and onions, then added the shrimp and heated just until warm. Then I heated some flour tortillas and stuffed them with the shrimp, veggies, lettuce and tomato and topped them with sour cream and cilantro. Wish I had more double duty dishes. Gonna have to work on that...