Barbeque Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Cherry Coke #FinalFourPack #Ad #cbias

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #FinalFourPack #CollectiveBias Coca-Cola is a corporate champion of the NCAA®. 

It's NCAA® March Madness time and these basketball fans have a blast hanging out and shooting hoops together. They try to get together at least once a week---this photo is from our homeschool co-op day yesterday. The teens always get a chance to play a little ball and chat before we get started with our classes.

A few days ago, Lynzie and I picked up some Coca Cola NCAA® Final Four Packs available at Walmart. We found a large display near the soda aisle with these great basketball-themed cans. Our local store in Jane, MO has the special Coca-Cola NCAA® Final Four Packs for $1.25 each, so we grabbed two Vanilla Coke (Lynzie's favorite), one Cherry Coke and one Coke Zero. I had a couple of recipe ideas I wanted to use them for, and we thought we'd take a few to share at our homeschool co-op later in the week.

Everything (well almost everything) is better when it's shared, so Michael passed out Cokes to his basketball buddies, Devante and Larenz. What better way to make friends than to hand them a cold drink, right?

The night before, I tried out one of my recipe ideas: Barbeque Pulled Pork. We have this often, but this time I changed it up by using a can of Cherry Coke in the mix. I cooked it all day in the slow cooker and it was so moist and tender when Jamie came home from work. I toasted the homemade buns and added cheese to the sandwiches for a hearty sandwich---just the right thing for a guy who has been working all day. 

In addition to the sandwich, he was super excited to snag to a Vanilla Coke. The good stuff goes fast around here and sometimes Dad is the last to know when there is (or has been) a treat in the house!

This pulled pork is super easy to make. It goes together in minutes in a slow cooker and cooks all day for a perfect dinner or game time meal. It would also be great on smaller slider buns for a basketball game day snack. 

Start with a 3-4 lb. boneless pork loin roast, a package of BBQ pulled pork seasoning mix, a can of Cherry Coke, and a half cup of brown sugar if you like a sweeter sauce. Spray the slow cooker with oil and mix the sauce ingredients together in a bowl.

Set your roast in the pot---cutting to fit, if needed, and pour the sauce over top. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. Then pull it apart with two forks and serve on buns. I "toasted" the insides of my homemade buns by buttering them and cooking them, butter-side-down, in my skillet on the stove top (think grilled cheese sandwich). Then I set a slice of cheddar cheese on the toasted bottom bun and let it warm in the oven for a few minutes until the cheese melted a bit. The guys and Lynzie really liked them this way.

Barbeque Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Cherry Coke

3-4 lb. boneless pork loin roast

1.6 oz. pkg. BBQ pulled pork seasoning mix

1 can Cherry Coke

1/2 c. brown sugar (optional)

8 slices cheddar cheese (optional)

8 hamburger buns

Spray the slow cooker with oil and mix the seasoning mix, Cherry Coke, and brown sugar together in a bowl. Set the roast in the pot and cover with the sauce mixture. Cook on low, 8-10 hours. Pull meat apart with two forks and stir well to mix all the sauce in. If desired, toast buns and add cheese before placing a large scoop of pork mixture on each bun. Eat with a knife, fork, and lots of napkins!

Are you excited about NCAA® March Madness? Check out the National Coke Zero Final Four Selfie contest. Just upload a selfie with a Coca-Cola product on the site below, and be entered to win 2016 NCAA® Final Four tickets. Then, go on the site to find your selfie and see all of the others!

For more from Coca-Cola, visit them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest. For specifics on Coke Zero, visit them on Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest. Coca Cola #FinalFourPack Walmart Sweepstakes - $1,000 in Prizing

The {Not Just} Homemaking Party

Welcome to The {Not Just} Homemaking Party! This week, Lynzie and I are busy sewing, crafting, and baking to fulfill orders from sweet friends who are helping us get to England this fall! Lynzie is making crocheted gloves for Easter gifts and I've got an order for some delicious fudge to deliver tomorrow. It's a busy week, but I'm thankful and happy. How's your week? Thanks for stopping by The Homemaking Party!

Skittles Crispy Cupcakes #SkittlesTourney #Ad #cbias

 This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #SkittlesTourney #CollectiveBias

Skittles is a great treat during March basketball season and I've come up with a fun way to share them with your biggest basketball fans. Our family loves to mix Skittles in with our favorite treats like popcorn for a fun movie or game night, so I figured---why not expand on the idea and try them in other goodies we enjoy? Check out my easy tutorial below for Skittles Crispy Cupcakes.

We've been snowed in off and on the last few weeks, but it looks like warmer weather is about to make it's appearance. The kids can't wait to get outside and play all their favorite sports---like basketball! In the meantime, it's fun to follow the tournaments online and our family loves to make basketball sweeter with a fun treat made with Skittles.

I found a pallet of 54 oz. bags of Skittles at Sam's Club last week. I love buying bulk candy at Sam's Club---they've got great prices for buying large quantities.

This is such a fun and easy treat and looks great on a party table. Even better, they don't crumble like cupcakes so they're way less messy!

I started with simple ingredients to make the "cupcake": crispy rice cereal, marshmallows, and butter. I prefer to use real butter, instead of margarine, because there's not a lot of water or oil to make the cereal soggy.

I melted the marshmallows and butter together in a saucepan. I cut up the butter so it would melt faster and tried to make sure it was coating the bottom of the pan so the marshmallows wouldn't stick too badly. I recommend using a double boiler, if you have one, to keep the marshmallows from scorching. Otherwise, just stir the whole time and you'll be fine.

After the mixture was smooth, I stirred in the cereal and Skittles. I waited until the cereal was mixed in almost all the way before adding the candy. This allowed it to cool a bit and keep the colors of the candy from running.

Finally, I pressed the mixture into a greased muffin tin and rounded the tops a little for frosting. I let them cool about an hour, then removed them from the tin, frosted them, and decorated with Skittles. 

These guys served as my photography crew so they got to be the first taste-testers. They all declared them fruity and delicious! 

Come on Spring! These boys are ready to quit just talking about the game---and start playing it! 

Let me know if you make this slam dunk treat for the basketball fans in your life. I'd love to hear how your family celebrates March tourney fun!

Skittles Crispy Cupcakes

1/4 c. butter

10 oz. marshmallows

6 c. crispy rice cereal

1 c. Skittles plus extra to decorate

frosting

Grease two muffin tins and set aside. This recipe makes about 18 cupcakes, so if you only have one tin, grease a small pan to press the rest of the mixture in. Measure cereal into a large bowl and set one cup of Skittles aside. Melt butter and marshmallows together on medium heat, stirring until smooth. Pour over cereal and stir until almost combined. Add in Skittles and mix well. Press into muffin tin cups, forming a little dome on top. Let cool an hour or so, then frost and decorate. Store covered at room temperature.

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