For my outdoor little girls, this is nothing but good news! Hot temperatures means grilling out and Cades Cove and hikes and parks and, the best yet: water fun. (Admit it. They're pretty much the cutest ever!)
But, I digress. On the food front, Madelyn feels that summer means endless hot dogs.
Endless.
Hot.
Dogs.
Don't get me wrong, I'm all about some all-beef franks every now and again. But, this kid is asking for them every single day! (The plus side is I no longer hear the words 'Momma, want a roll-up!'. Those things were getting old, quick.) The downside is that I'm ready for a break from hot dogs. That being said, Sunday is our crockpot meal day. Since my husband and I work in the two year old class during second service at church, we get home a little past our normal nap time and still need to have lunch. If I don't want to go out and buy something on the way home, the crockpot is about my only option.
I decided that this Sunday, I would try something a little outside our norm: a pulled chicken sandwich. It would be ready when we got home, and, hopefully, could become a new toddler favorite, which would grant me a blessed reprieve from hot dogs. Did I mention that she wants them every day? I did? Well, go figure.
I'm pleased to report that these sandwiches were a hit!! We put them on Hawaiian rolls, and they were delish! We ended up getting two meals out of it! Score! Madelyn even asked for them today for lunch, instead of hot dogs!! Miracle!!
Now, I will say this isn't the healthiest meal option that we've had in a while. It's got processed sugar in it(eek!), the rolls certainly don't make it low-carb, and we definitely had to tweak some things to control the salt content. But, if you're looking for something summery, easy to make, and toddler approved--this is definitely for you!!
Couple of notes, as always:
First, credit where credit is due: this picture isn't mine. It belongs to the creator of the original recipe (link above).
Secondly, due to my oversleeping, I cooked this on high for four and a half hours as opposed to low for six to eight. Third, I didn't add the teaspoon of salt, I used low sodium soy sauce, and I cut the Worcestershire sauce to 3/4 tsp instead of 1 1/2 tsp, all in the name of lowering the sodium content. Finally, I used dairy free butter instead of the "real" thing.
I do intend to try this and cut out some of the sugar, whether by just cutting it down, or replacing it with a healthier option.
Overall, I've got to give this dish two thumbs way up--the girls loved it, I loved it, Matt loved it...it's definitely earned its way onto our regular meal rotation!
Give it a try, let me know what you think!!
And, just because I can, one more picture of my summer-lovin' babies!
