in a dinner rut? look no further!

a long-time, good friend of mine had her second baby!  but now with a three year old and a newborn, she gets swamped from time to time.  so i put together this dinner for her and the family.  it requires some planning but once you have things going, it's a breeze.  give it a go!  (*in the interests of full disclosure and honesty, i admit that when i had dinner with the family i had to rely on restaurant pulled pork and mac & cheese for the sake of time.  but i have made both homemade versions before, and they're delicious!)

main - slow cooker pulled pork sandwiches 

ingredients 

2 pork tenderloins

1 bottle of your favorite bbq sauce 

1 large onion
8 pieces of texas toast

how to

1. slice onions and layer on the bottom of the slow cooker. 

2. cut tenderloins in half to fit better in slow cooker and place on top of onions. 

3. pour entire bottle of bbq sauce over everything. 

4. set the slow cooker on low and forget about it for 6-8 hours.
5. toast your toast and enjoy!

side 1 - mac & cheese 

ingredients
8 ounces of rotini pasta
2 cups of shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese
3 cups of milk
1/4 cup of butter
2 1/2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons of butter
1/2 cup of panko bread crumbs
1 pinch of paprika (optional)

how to
1. cook pasta al dente and set aside.
2. melt butter over medium heat in a saucepan and stir in enough flour to make a roux.
3. add milk to roux slowly, stirring constantly.
4. stir in cheeses and cook over low heat until cheese is melted and sauce is a little thick.
5. place pasta in a large casserole dish and pour cheese sauce over pasta.
6. melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a skillet over medium heat and add panko.
7. spread panko over pasta and sprinkle with paprika.
8. bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

side 2 - broccoli salad

ingredients
10 slices of bacon
1 head of broccoli
1/4 cup of red onion
1/2 cup of dried cranberries
3 tablespoons of vinegar
2 tablespoons of white sugar
1 cup of mayo
1 cup of sunflower seeds, slivered almonds, or roughly chopped walnuts

how to
1. cook bacon until it's crisp (i like doing it in the microwave but some prefer the ole skillet method). drain and crumble.
2. whisk together mayo, sugar, and vinegar.  chill in fridge for about an hour.
3. chop broccoli in bite sized pieces.  quarter onion and slice thinly.
4. combine broccoli, onions, and cranberries with mayo dressing.
5. before serving, toss with sunflower seeds (or nuts if using) and bacon.

dessert - banana pudding 

ingredients
4 oz. of cream cheese, room temp
7 oz. of sweetened condensed milk
2.5 oz. package of instant vanilla pudding (if you can't get this exact measurement, it's ok to eye ball it)
1 1/2 cups of cold milk
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
4 oz. of frozen whipped topping, thawed
2 bananas, sliced
vanilla wafers

how to
1. beat cream cheese until fluffy.
2. beat in condensed milk, pudding mix, milk, and vanilla until smooth.
3. fold in half of the whipped topping.
4. line half of the serving dish with the pudding mixture.  top with bananas and vanilla wafers.  spread the remaining half of the pudding mixture and top with bananas.  spread the remaining half of the whipped topping and top with vanilla wafers.