The month of love is fast approaching and we know Valentine’s Day as Moms can take on a whole different experience. Just because we’re Moms doesn’t mean we shouldn’t celebrate this day of love, and honestly I think we have even more of a reason to celebrate. This Valentine’s Day we cooked up the perfect recipe in partnership with Michigan Pork to celebrate the season. We have to cook dinner either way, so we might as well make it special with this Valentine’s Day Line-Up of Pork Shoulder, Sweet Potato Mash, Green Beans, and Chocolate Covered Strawberries, that the whole family will love!
This post is brought to you in partnership with the Michigan Pork Producers Association. For more information about raising pork in Michigan, visit their website, Instagram, and Facebook.
We’re bringing you a full meal line-up with some of our tried and true favorite recipes from our Lansing Mom Team to make a perfect recipe in partnership with Michigan Pork. Read on below for our ingredient list, cooking instructions and more!
Ingredient List
Pork Shoulder
- Pork Shoulder, we used a 5 lb pork shoulder (Comes in all sizes, you’ll need to adjust cooking time dependent upon weight)
- One stick of butter
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 maple syrup
- 4 garlics cloves (minced)
Sweet Potato Mash
- 5 Sweet Potatoes
- 1/2 stick of butter
- Salt (to taste)
Green Beans
- Fresh Green Beans
- 1 TB Olive Oil
- Salt to Taste
Chocolate Covered Strawberries
- Strawberries
- Melting Chocolate used for baking
Other things you’ll need:
- Aluminum Foil
- Wax Paper
Cooking Instructions for the Perfect Recipe in Partnership with Michigan Pork
Pork Shoulder
- Combine all ingredients for the marinade in a pot and place on the stove top, stir until combined and butter is melted. Place pork shoulder in a pan lined with aluminum foil, OR place it in your slow cooker. Cover the pork shoulder with your marinade. If cooking in the oven set the oven to 250. Place aluminum foil over the top of the pork and then place in the oven. We checked on our pork every hour to determine when it was done, it took about four hours. Oven times will vary and be dependent on the size of your pork shoulder! You’ll want your pork shoulder to come out of the oven when it reaches a temperature of 170 (using a meat thermometer is essential!)
Sweet Potato Mash
- Peel and boil sweet potatoes until soft, (like you can stick a fork through them!) place them in a bowl (we used a stand mixer), and mash with butter and salt! That’s it!
Green Beans
- You can place your green beans in a pan with a tablespoon of olive oil and salt to taste! Cook until they start to brown just a tiny bit, or less if you like them really fresh!
Chocolate Covered Strawberries
- Wash and DRY your strawberries (super important to dry them or the chocolate won’t stick), cut the tops off (we shaped ours into hearts). Melt chocolate on the stove top or in the microwave and dip strawberries, place on a tray covered in wax paper. Keep in the fridge until you’re ready to eat!
And Finally . . .
Grab your favorite drink of choice, we chose, Love You Bunches Rosé, because Dry Rosé’s will definitely pair well! Set the table, and enjoy!
