Handy Dandy

We are lovers of BBQ-anything sandwiches at our house. You name it- beef, chicken, pork, turkey- we love it. When possible, leftover meat becomes shredded for sandwiches. My hubby loves it when I make a big roast because he knows what is for supper the next night! (It might also have to do with the fact that we love Sonny's Sweet Sauce.)

It can be rather tiresome though to shred the meat in preparation for our sandwiches. {Enter new handy dandy trick} I read about this on one of the blogs I follow, so its not something my genius mind came up with, but it has forever changed the way I looked with dread upon shredding meat. I am now a believer and just in case anyone else out there loves to make bbq sandwiches I am posting this for YOU and the fact that I am so excited that this actually worked!

This was the meat I intended to shred.

 Out of all the kitchen appliances that I have this is most definitely my favorite, my Kitchen Aid stand mixer. I turned that bad boy loose on my meat for about one minute and it gave me the most beautiful shredded meat I've ever had.

 What used to take me at least half an hour to get that meat mostly shredded now takes a minute! Insanity! I love it!!

 Add a little butter and Sonny's sweet sauce to the meat then simmer for an hour. Spoon that heavenly and purely Southern concoction over a slice of homemade bread makes happy tummies (at least at my house).

The next thing I tried from a blog (or maybe it was Pinterest) was using baking soda to get stains out of your counter tops. We HEART sweet tea at my house. I make two gallons at a time so I don't have to make tea three times a week. :) And, well, sometimes I get a little sloppy or distracted by a random airplane sitting on my counter or perhaps I just tripped over a stool that magically appeared with a three year old fireman on top and I spill that precious liquid on my counter. Unfortunately sometimes it stains. And sometimes it won't go away with my regular dish soap or any cleaner that I have on hand.

 I made a paste using the baking soda and a little water and after a little elbow grease... TA DA!!!! No Stain!

I know this isn't like my normal posts, but I really liked the fact that these new tricks worked! That annoying tea stain had been on my counter for about two months so I was thrilled to say goodbye to it! :) I hope someone else will find these tricks helpful.

Joy