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STRETCHING YOUR MEAT w/ @shannon_stokely
STRETCHING YOUR MEAT w/ @shannon_stokely
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About this episode
Kelly and Liz share relatable stories about parenting, budgeting, and the challenges of modern motherhood. They discuss a recent field trip experience, the rising costs at Dollar Tree, and the impact of social media on personal lives. The episode features an insightful interview with Shannon Stokely, who offers practical tips for stretching grocery budgets and meal prepping with kids. Shannon shares her viral recipe for using a pork butt in multiple meals, emphasizing the importance of flexibility in cooking and connecting with other moms online.
Topics:
all wheel drive
Today on the Carpool Podcast, Kelly and Lizz welcome Shannon Stokely, a young mom and Instagram influencer known for her relatable content on motherhood and cooking. Shannon shares her journey of becoming an influencer, the importance of community among moms, and practical tips for stretching ingredients and meal prepping. The conversation delves into the challenges of navigating social media as a mom and offers easy dinner solutions for busy families, emphasizing the joy of cooking with creativity and resourcefulness.
Follow Shannon on Instagram @shannon_stokely
Filter:
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Technical
Too Afraid to Ask
Term
all-wheel drive
"...I'm ready to upgrade to a small SUV with all-wheel drive."
All-wheel drive means that power goes to all four wheels of the car, which helps it grip the road better, especially when it's slippery or rough outside.
All-wheel drive (AWD) is a drivetrain system that powers all four wheels of a vehicle simultaneously, improving traction and stability, especially in adverse weather conditions. It's commonly found in SUVs and crossovers.
Car
Hyundai Elantra
"...Liz. I currently, I'm currently driving a Hyundai Elantra and I'm ready to upgrade to a small SUV"
The Hyundai Elantra is a small car that is easy to drive and good on gas, making it a popular choice for many people. It's known for being affordable and having a lot of features that make it comfortable and convenient. People often talk about the Elantra because it's a smart option for those looking for a reliable vehicle without spending too much money.
The Hyundai Elantra is a compact sedan known for its affordability, fuel efficiency, and modern design. It has gained popularity for its value proposition, offering a range of features typically found in more expensive vehicles. Discussions about the Elantra often revolve around its practicality as a daily driver and its appeal to budget-conscious consumers.
Car
Mazda Cx5
"I've tested it in the Mazda CX-5, Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4."
The Mazda CX-5 is a small SUV that is fun to drive and has a nice design. It's a good option for families or people who need space but want something easy to handle in the city.
The Mazda CX-5 is a compact crossover SUV known for its stylish design and engaging driving dynamics. It offers a balance of performance, comfort, and practicality, making it a popular choice among families and urban drivers.
Car
Toyota Rav4
"...ested it in the Mazda CX-5, Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4. The CR-V felt too big for our environment"
Car
Honda Crv
"I've tested it in the Mazda CX-5, Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4. The CR-V felt too big for our environment"
Car
Hyundai Tucson
"...that need to be would be the Hyundai Tucson, stunning and the Subaru Forester, stunning."
The Hyundai Tucson is a small SUV that is comfortable and has a lot of cool tech features. It's a good choice if you're looking for a stylish and affordable vehicle.
The Hyundai Tucson is a compact SUV that offers a comfortable ride, modern technology, and a stylish design. It's known for its value and comes with a variety of features.
Car
Subaru Forester
"...and the Subaru Forester, stunning. Should both be under 40K..."
The Subaru Forester is a small SUV that can handle rough weather and has a lot of room inside. It's great for families and people who like outdoor activities.
The Subaru Forester is a compact SUV known for its all-wheel drive capability, spacious interior, and safety features. It's a popular choice for outdoor enthusiasts and families.
Select text to request an explanation
Welcome to the Carpool podcast with Kelly.
In the way that it's just my Super Bowl, because I pull up to the preschool, and you know, the
parents who aren't going leave the car seat, so I just see 10 car seats, and I'm cracking
my knuckles, and I'm like, mm-hmm, let's go.
And Liz.
It's not all sun shines and rainbows on the, when you post your life and your family
and yourself on social media, you're definitely opening yourself up to criticism, so if you're
not interested in that, it might not be for you.
Your mom time off starts now.
Welcome back to the Carpool podcast with Kelly.
And Liz.
Hey, Liz.
Hey, Cal.
How are you?
You know, Liz, I'm great.
Thanks for asking.
I just got back from Hattie's field trip, and it's such a cute little field trip
because they take the preschooler to the Dollar Tree, and then they pick out a
present for their parents.
It was just like a cute, fun sentiment.
Two things.
First of all, I know this like isn't a news to anyone.
Dollar Tree is not a dollar.
Nothing under a dollar 25.
Most things, a dollar 50 to $3.
Now, we only had a dollar 25 to spend per kid.
It was exhausting.
Because like things that should have been a dollar 25 were a dollar 50, and this
girl, so you get paired up with different kids who aren't your kids.
Like I was shopping with this little girl and she's like, I want to find my dad a coffee
mug.
And I'm like, surely we can handle that.
They were all a dollar 50.
I finally just gave her an extra quarter.
I gave her my Aldi's quarter.
I said, we have to just be done with it.
And then I did tell the teacher, I was like, I think whatever donation you need
to get these kids all a dollar 50 to spend, I'm willing to do that.
I mean, how many kids are there?
There's like 20 kids.
You need to throw $5 at the problem so I can spend a dollar 50.
I said, I like to be solution oriented and I will happily give you $5.
I was like, I'll even do it next year.
I won't even have a kid here.
It's fine.
Like, let me just do that because like it was, it was just, I mean, it's a good
enough lesson where it's like, no, you can't get the $5 item.
But there was nothing for a dollar 25.
Nothing.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So I have no idea what I'm hiding.
I think this, I think the school just needs to like go with inflation
and like everything's expensive.
So.
Well, and you know, these schools are always asking for money.
So like they ask every parent for a quarter.
And so I have no idea what Hattie got me because, you know, like she was with a
different mom.
So it's just a fun little field trip.
And the way that it's just my Super Bowl because I, I pull up to the preschool
and you know, the parents who aren't going leave the car seat.
So I just see 10 car seats and I'm cracking my knuckles and I'm like, mm hmm.
Let's go.
It really should count towards your CPST sort of like recertification.
100%.
100%.
You're never so happy to see a bright text click tight as you are in that
scenario.
Totally.
Like, I'm like, yes, I can do this totally.
Just interesting.
Um, aside from, so that's where I was up to today.
Um, well, while you were doing that, I was putting on the ugliest
freaking, the ugliest nails I've ever seen in my entire life.
Eyes.
I love glue on nails.
I found these Christmas press-ons.
They came in a pack of three.
Two of them are super cute.
One of them, heinous.
But since I have a few weeks before actually Christmas, I was like,
let me put on the ugly ones because my son will like them.
And then I can test out the stick-ons because they're not glue.
They're stick-ons.
Um, anyway, I'm regretting.
They're so ugly, but I'm just going to be committed.
I'm going to see how they go.
So they're super distracting.
They're super distracting.
Um, even a neutral outfit on too.
And they're like a more colorful would be better.
It's almost like put your Santa hat on and don't take it off
because then they make sense.
Then they feel intentional.
Those just feel ugly.
I think even our mother would say it's too much.
It's the holidays.
No, you know what the stick-ons were so easy.
I'm so curious to know to see how long these last.
I'll be sure to give an update
because stick-ons might be my new glue-ons.
Yeah, I'm worried for the nail.
I'm worried for the nail industries.
A couple of industries I'm worried about.
I'm still worried about the movie theater industry.
I'm just not sure how they're ever going to make it.
I'm worried about the nail salons
because I just think glue-on nails are such an easier, cheaper.
The problem with it is it just, it got too expensive.
And, you know, I loved it.
I mean, I want to pay people for their time,
but like I just don't think a manicure should cost $65.
And that's just what they were costing.
But you know the nail salons will always stay in business
because pedicures.
Pedicures.
Well, I think they'll hurt, though.
Sure.
So they may not go extinct,
but I'm just wondering if any nail salons
are feeling the press-on glue-on effect yet
is I guess just, I'm just wondering.
So I'm worried about those two industries.
Other industries I'm worried about.
I was way more worried about AI.
I'm not as worried about it anymore.
I find it to be just kind of a nuance.
I just kind of think it's kind of annoying.
Yeah.
In the sense where it's like,
I don't like watching fake videos of fake people.
You know?
It just makes me question everything.
I'm like, is this AI?
So, all right, so as I'm questioning everything,
I'm like, I don't, none of this is real anymore.
You know?
I've started, I'm trying to cut back on my screen time,
like Taylor's oldest time,
but I'm really gearing up for a major cutout
in the new year.
Like a major cutout in like a major way.
And I've been reading.
Let me tell you something.
A Kindle is so good.
The worst part about reading is starting the book.
Once you're started, then it's like such a delight.
It's such an easy thing to do.
And it puts me to bed so quickly,
which I'm so about prioritizing my sleep.
Like I have no qualms with going to bed at 8.45.
No qualms.
And if I'm scrolling my phone or watching TV,
I'm up til, I blink and it's 10.
My book, I'm getting heavy eyelids after 15 minutes.
Yeah, for sure.
Do you know what I mean?
Yeah.
So I've just enjoyed it for the simple fact
that it puts me to sleep.
And I'm reading a delightful book.
Don't ask me what it is,
because that's the problem with the Kindle.
It's like I have no idea what it's called.
I'll follow up.
Because you just don't revisit the cover or why?
Yeah, because I just like pick up where I left off.
Oh, okay.
It's something winter.
It follows a couple through like 50 years of marriage.
And it's actually really sweet.
And so the book starts and they're like 90 years old,
like about to die.
And then it goes back through all of their years together.
And then it makes the first chapter so much sadder
because they've been through so much.
And it's so relatable.
The flashbacks I'm in right now
are they're in the thick of it.
They've got three kids five and under and life sucks.
And I'm like, yes.
And just hearing the marital problems
that they're going through.
And I'm like, right, okay.
Because Ruth did give up her career for him.
And, but they obviously get through it.
So I'm excited to see him get through it.
It's just like, it's like reading a love story
where like, you know, it ends up good,
but like it's kind of like a reverse book.
Okay. That sounds really interesting.
That sounds good.
Yeah, I'll keep you guys posted.
People want us to bring back the book club.
Would you ever consider?
Yeah, I would consider.
I don't have a Kindle.
That is maybe some, you know what?
I just fall asleep so early.
I don't even need to scroll my phone
or I could just crawl into bed,
turn on my side and fall asleep.
So I'm just looking for something.
I love listening.
I love listening to books.
I love having something to listen to.
And I do too, but the problem is it's like,
I was looking for something to replace my scrolling.
And I think a book is doing that.
Like I can't just turn on an audio book
and like lay in my bed like this.
Like, can you imagine?
Yeah, no.
That would be so weird.
That would be so interesting, yeah.
Yeah, it's interesting.
And I'm also just struggling
because I have like a mirror ball trophy hole in my heart
because dancing with the stars is over.
Like it sucks.
It sucks.
So.
It sucks.
So that's that on that.
So that's that on that.
Well, we have some things to get to today.
We have, you have some base model luxuries.
We have some industry news and we have another,
oh, we have advice questions.
We have good advice questions.
And we have another interview
to wrap up our homemaking budget.
It's called the homemaking series.
A series where we learn from other moms
and like what they're doing
and how they're making it work
in this crazy busy time and this crazy economy.
And I just have to say this is like,
I am loving this series and I love talking to,
I love my favorite content is regular people
being influencers who not everything is beautiful.
Like you're not, like you're not the makeup girl.
You're not the fashion girl.
You're not the hair girl.
Like you're just a girl
and you're just like have kids
and you're just like, here's how I'm doing it.
So relatable, so attainable
and really just like good tips.
Just like tips for the regular person.
That could be an industry I'm worried about
because what do you think about?
Have you heard about like all the Jaclyn Hill
like influencer drama?
I saw one reel on it.
So maybe fill in for people who don't know.
Well, like it's just,
so I think people have found a lot of influencers
hopefully not me to be pretty insufferable for a while now.
And I myself find some of them pretty insufferable.
And I mean, I like to think that we're a little different
than like your typical influencer
because we're, we are like trying to like,
we're on the cars.
Like all the lifestyle stuff you see
is just like extra fun stuff that we're doing
because we enjoy it.
But like our bread and butter
and like the reason we wake up every day
is like help families by their cars.
But like the true like lifestyle influencers,
I think people just have like a lot less
of an appetite for than they used to
because you know, it's just,
it's this overnight in some cases,
it's this overnight success
and some cases it's not
in Jaclyn Hill's case, it's not
but it's just so much wealth.
And then I think these influencers-
So back up, back up, back up,
explain what the Jaclyn Hill stuff is.
Okay, so Jaclyn Hill was like an amazing,
amazing YouTuber like back in the day.
Like when everyone was watching
makeup YouTube tutorials,
like she was one of the OGs.
And like she stayed, I think pretty relevant.
She's had a couple of cancellations here and there.
8.5 million Instagram followers.
Yeah, like she's huge.
8.5 million.
And she went on TikTok the other day
and she was complaining that her views were so low.
And I guess she was trying to like complain
about like the algorithm being like,
you know, I have all these followers
and like I'm getting 30,000 views.
Like, I don't know why
people aren't connecting with my content.
I don't know why people aren't watching my stuff anymore.
And I think what she was just missing
is like she was, how unrelatable
I think her content has just become
and how like uneducational it's become.
Because you know, like when you,
when she started this journey,
it was like full phase using drugstore makeup.
Like let me show you how to do these things.
Like let me bring value.
And then it just turned into more like,
and I'm not saying all of her content was this,
but then a higher percentage of her content
just turned into like luxury shopping halls.
And like, I like scrolling her page and watching some
and like, yeah, like they're crazy.
Like she buys herself six pairs of like $2,000 shoes.
Like she's holding $12,000 worth of shoes.
And she was like making a TikTok about it.
And then she's like, people just aren't relating.
And like, I think some people care about luxury goods
but like the majority of people just don't
because it's just, it's never gonna be,
especially not a shoe.
Like I like to see a nice luxury bag every once in a while,
but like a luxury shoe, like I would never,
would never spend money on a luxury shoe, ever.
No, like we love a luxury fashion purse, but like, yeah,
a shoe. We love a fashion, we love a fashion purse.
We do. Only one per bedroom though,
that your kids share.
Like you can't have more than one, that would be crazy.
Crazy.
But anyway, so, and then like I guess in the comments,
like her responses were just like still kind of tone deaf.
And I don't know, it just begs the question
of just like people's appetite for influencers in general.
I think ultimately though, it's like people,
I mean, I'm not gonna tell people what content
to consume and what not to consume.
Like I'm not gonna defend her either way.
Like, hey, it's not working.
So like right, wrong or indifferent,
people don't wanna watch your stuff.
So like, I think it's kind of silly to like double down
and like defend why you're doing it
or why you think you deserve to do it.
Because at the end of the day, like no one cares.
So just like move on with your life.
And I guess we will take it really sensitively too
because I think they,
I think that one of the hardest parts
for these influencers is that their audience feels like
they own them or like they made them that way.
Like you made them famous
because I think it's really interesting
like the juxtaposition of how someone views an influencer
flaunting their wealth versus how someone views
like a celebrity or like a business person flaunting
their wealth, they don't really feel
as mad, I guess, about like just like
a really rich CEO of a company
versus like a really rich influencer.
Like I don't know why there's,
it's just interesting that there's like this disconnect.
Yeah, I don't know.
Maybe it's just like, you know, you're making,
I don't know.
I don't know why there is alls to say,
I'm happy that now just like regular people
can just like start making content and start making money.
And like I prefer watching that content.
Like I would never watch
Jaclyn Hill's content, like no hate to her,
but like I just like seeing people
with just like that insane wealth,
like it doesn't, it doesn't make me feel great about myself.
I'm like, well, shoot, I kind of, you know,
I wish I could do that or I wish, whatever.
It doesn't make me feel good.
It makes me feel good to learn about life hacks,
kitchen hacks, how I can, you know,
be more efficient in my motherhood, in my life.
Like that's the kind of stuff that I like to consume.
So I agree.
I'm happy there.
I'm happy there is now a space
and really truly anyone can do it.
And so that's what we have today.
We have Shannon Stokely on the podcast
and that will be coming up.
So let's get into some of the base model luxuries
that you have, Kel.
Yes, I've been base model luxuring
or we share a recent new discovery
and they're not groundbreaking
because the point is that they never are, right?
But I have decided that I'm just looking
for more consistency in my skin and makeup routine.
And I think consistency is something I struggle with.
I don't know if anyone else struggles with this,
but like Liz, like, can you honestly say
that you wash your face every morning and every night?
Like do your full skin care routine
every morning and every night?
I do, yes.
Wow.
Okay, I don't or I haven't been.
I haven't been.
So I'm really just-
Mine's like three things though.
Yeah, I know there's days I'll just take a makeup wipe
and I'll just go to bed.
That's crazy.
Okay, well then maybe I should stop talking
while I'm ahead.
Because I don't wanna be like the only one.
What are you gonna say?
Do you just wash your face?
Is that your base model luxury?
No, it's not just washing my face.
I'm like consistently, because here's the thing,
I want to get better skin care routine.
But like I would like some different products
because I don't know what I'm doing.
I don't know what a retinol is.
I'm not there yet.
I just, I don't know.
But I have a couple of products.
I'm like, if I consistently use all of these up,
like I'm going to use all these up
every single morning and night,
and then I'm gonna reward myself with a skin care routine
or a couple of pieces in my skin care routine.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah, that sucks.
Okay.
I can pivot.
I can get out of here.
That was very good.
Did I tell you about reading?
You have to be so,
you have to be so careful with retinol though,
because I was like, oh, I'll get a retinol,
got like a nice one.
I put it on every night.
You can get what's called a retinol burn.
I remember that.
And then I screwed up my face.
So you have to be like very,
you have like do research before you do like
the hard stuff, like the hard skin care,
like retinol.
Okay, well, good to know.
Okay, you guys, we are having
such technical difficulties.
Elizabeth and I are like 10 seconds delayed
and it's causing a lot of friction between us.
So we have to just kind of finish this episode
a little differently and I'm just gonna talk and yeah.
So it's like a half solo.
She sent me good advice questions though
that she wants me to cover.
Okay, the first one is from Paige.
Hi Kelly and Liz.
I currently, I'm currently driving a Hyundai Elantra
and I'm ready to upgrade to a small SUV
with all-wheel drive.
We don't have kids yet, but we hope in the next four years
and want this car to be something
we can comfortably keep long-term.
We live in this city with tight one-way streets.
So size really matters.
I've tested it in the Mazda CX-5,
Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4.
The CR-V felt too big for our environment
while the RAV4 seemed like the perfect size.
It was creeping above our budget.
I also felt the RAV4 seat were less comfortable
and the interior felt less luxurious to the Mazda.
My husband and I were both surprised
on which we loved the Mazda CX-5,
especially for the price on the hired trim.
Oh no.
It felt really nice, drove quietly and fit our needs well.
My only hesitation is the interior space.
It felt fine with the two of us,
but I'm wondering how future car seats
would fit in the back and whether it's future-proof.
Okay, are there other small SUVs
that we should consider?
Here it is.
It's the Mazda CX-5 event.
The Mazda CX-5 effect every year, every week.
I feel like I do consultations
with people regretting their Mazda CX-5 purchase.
There are a few people out there.
There are a few people out there
who like to comment every single time and say,
I love mine, I have two kids, it works perfectly.
And that's like, that is your truth
and I would never take that away from you.
If I'm a betting woman, which I have to be
in this scenario, you will not like the Mazda CX-5
by the time you have kids.
And I think you should absolutely not get it.
I'm surprised that you felt the CR-V was too big
because to me, the CR-V and the RAV4
couldn't be more similar in size.
And those are two cars that I would definitely recommend
but I also understand the Toyota RAV4 being more expensive.
I think two cars that are like glaringly not on your list
that need to be would be the Hyundai Tucson,
stunning and the Subaru Forester, stunning.
Should both be under 40K, should both,
you can get all wheel drive,
will fit two car seats nice.
Nothing's really gonna be a three across machine.
But I don't think you're really asking for that.
So those are what I would,
I'm telling you do not get the CX-5 with this in mind
and I'm telling you to get either the CR,
I approve the CR-V, I approve the RAV4,
I would approve a Hyundai Tucson
and I would approve a Subaru Forester.
And that's what I have to say on that.
Okay, you guys, I am so sorry,
we are having such technical difficulties
and so we are just gonna have to cut this episode
a little short and get to our interview
but thank you guys so much for listening
to The Carbwell Podcast.
We'll be back on Wednesday with no technical difficulties.
I'm hoping, I'm knocking on wood.
So please welcome Shannon to The Carbwell Podcast.
Shannon Stokely, welcome to The Carbwell Podcast.
Hi, thank you for having me.
Thank you for joining us.
We were so inspired by your content recently.
You came across my desk.
I said on a few podcasts ago that there was this girl
who posted a video of how to use
Crock-Pot pulled pork four ways.
Meet the girl, it was Shannon.
She posts all kinds of unfiltered mom life,
content, freezer meals, Crock-Pot meals,
stretching your grocery budget,
all that kind of fun stuff.
So we're going to dive in.
We're gonna talk to Shannon a little bit about
how she had started, her history, her credentials
and hopefully get some tangible takeaways
as what we can be doing in the kitchen.
And it's funny because Shannon,
that had to be one of your more viral reels
because I saw it also.
Yes, actually the first time I went viral
it was off the mom blog.
And since then I've had a lot.
I've just kind of taken off since my first viral reel.
So what made you want to start posting
on Instagram in the first place?
So I had my kids back to back
and motherhood is super lonely.
I'm a young mom.
I'm only 25 and I had my first daughter at 22.
So everyone my age, all my friends did not have kids.
So finding other people like me was hard
and I found playgroups and stuff like that.
But I felt like connecting online
was really how you connect to more mothers.
And I wanted to make more moms feel less alone.
Cause once I found friends and stuff,
motherhood just felt so much better.
And I feel like there's so many moms out there
that feel alone through motherhood.
So when did you start posting on Instagram?
In June, six months ago.
Wow.
That's crazy.
That's awesome.
She has 60,000 plus Instagram followers right now.
That's incredible.
And so you have two kids, you said?
Yes, I have two.
One is a Lorelai is three
and Iris is 16 months now.
Oh wow.
Cute.
I love their names.
Thank you so much.
And so kind of, I mean,
if I've been looking at your Instagram bio,
you say messy, sweet, unfiltered mom life,
stretching ingredients and sanity daily.
So what are some tips you can give our audience
for ways to stretch ingredients?
So I feel like we all go to the grocery store
and we buy things based off of recipes.
So why not make recipes that use similar ingredients,
similar meats, vegetables?
I've only done stretch that meat era right now.
So I'm teaching my followers how you stretch a pork butt
or a rotisserie chicken throughout the week.
But I also want to show y'all
how you take three different vegetables
and you use them for the same recipes
all throughout the week
because it just saves you money
and it saves you time too.
Yeah.
Yeah, freezer meals or something else
I feel like are really important
and just reusing ingredients.
Like I had an episode a long time ago
that wasn't with my stretch that meat
was about how you take your bananas
that are turning brown
and you turn them into banana bread.
You turn them into syrup.
You don't throw things away.
You reuse what you have.
It feels so good.
So when you reuse something to its full
like when you empty it out
when you throw away a bag of something
you're like, I used every last...
I know it's my favorite feeling.
Yes, yes.
It's a great feeling.
Okay Shannon, so let's talk about the reel
that kind of landed you here
and landed us with your content.
So you made a pork butt in the crock pot
and you turned it into four different recipes
to have that week.
Talk us through those recipes
which one was your family's favorite?
Tell us a little bit about that.
So we love pork butt.
We eat it a lot.
Sometimes my husband will smoke it
but I like to do it in the crock pot.
And so my favorite recipe on there is the tostadas.
We're definitely a Tex-Mex family.
We love Mexican food in this house.
So you'll see a lot of my recipes every week.
I'll probably have one of those.
So my first one was tostadas
and I just try to use ingredients I have.
Like I always keep cilantro with me
and I chop it up at the beginning of the week
and you just reuse it all week on everything.
That's kind of how I see ingredients.
It's easier to prep your veggies, cut them up
and use them throughout the week.
I try to do that with onions too.
My next recipe was barbecue pork sandwiches.
I was going to do slaw on that
and I forgot it at the store.
So I improvised and I used what I had
and I made some crock pot mac and cheese
because my kids love it.
And that actually turned out great
and I actually made that yesterday.
I'm one of those cooks that,
I do have recipes on my account
but I cook with my heart
and I kind of just make it work.
That's how I've always been.
And then the next one,
it was such a long time ago honestly.
You did the aciate bread enchilada sauce.
That was one of them?
Yes, and that was, I don't want to roll things.
So I decided to make an enchilada bake
and just saw the tortillas in there.
And it's basically a casserole, a Tex-Mex casserole
but it just makes things easy
and it's honestly not cooking.
It's throwing things together
and that's my favorite part of cooking.
I like a dump and bake for sure.
And then your last one was the pizza,
the barbecue pizza.
Oh yeah, by the end of the week
you know you're kind of done with pork.
So I was like, I need something
that's like kind of minimal pork
and you're kind of using what you have left.
So I just used it and made a pizza with it
and my family loved it.
Yeah.
So that's so, I love that it's the same protein.
It's basically two flavor profiles.
Like you had like a Tex-Mex
and then you had more of a traditional barbecue.
But I think those are recipes that,
I mean, of course the sandwiches are pretty pork heavy
but they use a fair amount of pork
but it's not just having pork.
So I think that's a really great cost effective way
to kind of make it stretch longer.
And then, I mean also like it's just if you,
if your family doesn't want to eat pork
you could always freeze the pork.
And when you're doing like smaller portions like that
it's so much easier just to pull out like a smaller bag
or a smaller portion of pork from the freezer
to then turn it into one of those recipes.
And that's normally what I do is I take the whole pork butt
and I split it into portions and I freeze it.
But I wanted to show my followers
how you can use it throughout the whole week too.
Like instill, not feel like you're eating the same meat.
Totally.
Shannon talks to me about the logistics
of let's to go with the pork
but freezing shredded pork and then unfreezing it.
Like that kind of, it kind of intimidates me.
Like what bag, what kind of bag are you putting it in?
When are you pulling out?
How are you thawing it out?
Just talk to me about that.
So everyone, I feel like this is something
that people freak out about a lot, you know
things thawing out.
And really what I do is I,
you don't want to put it in there super hot.
I was told so I just take the pork butt
you shred it and you split it
into how many freezer bags you want
like probably a pound.
I do the freezer bags.
I know you can do it in containers.
Really it doesn't matter.
And when it comes to thawing out
I think the best way to do it
is you just put it in the fridge the night before
and then it comes out.
Yeah.
Totally.
That's what I do.
It's so easy.
It's so easy.
And it's just like, I even this weekend
I kind of had a bit of an epiphany
because I have two crock pots
and I just pulled both of them out at the same time
and I used both crock pots
and I was like making dinner for tonight.
And then I was just making one to put in the freezer.
And I was like this,
why am I not doing this every time?
Like I'm already here.
I'm already doing it.
Like just literally do it twice.
And also I recommend if you're using a bone
and meat like rotisserie chicken or a turkey
which I'm gonna do for Thanksgiving
after you're done with it, don't throw it away.
Put it back in the crock pot
and make some bone broth out of it.
Yeah.
And it's not working.
I mean, I feel like what it kind of comes down to
and I think kind of an issue
with maybe like our generation is
I just don't know if we are the cooks
that the women before us were.
And I think that's just something
that we honestly really need to work on.
We're so like recipe obsessed.
And it's like if we can't follow,
if you don't have the recipe
then you think you can't do it.
And I think we kind of need to learn kind of
how to learn how to actually cook.
And then you can just kind of like
make your recipes from there
because I just think there's so many people
who are like so used to like
and maybe that's the way they grew up.
Like I'm not even saying it's their fault
but if they never learned those skills
or learned what you could do,
I think it can get hard
and it can get really expensive.
So I think an account like yours is great
because it's definitely educational
and just teaching people,
I actually like that you don't aren't a recipe person.
I'm not really a recipe person either.
I'm like we have recipes we talk about
and everyone's always blowing me up for the measurements.
I'm like girls, I taste it.
I have no idea what the measurement is.
Like that's just, that's how I cook.
And I actually think we need to get
more comfortable cooking like that
because if you're trying to make your budget
or your pantry work longer for you
it's not always gonna fit into an exact recipe.
Okay, so Shannon you said that you started posting
on Instagram because you wanted to connect
with some more moms.
What advice do you have to anyone who's sort of like
struggling, feeling kind of lost,
feeling kind of lonely and motherhood.
What advice do you have for them to meet more people
and second off jumping off that,
what advice do you have to someone who's like
I kind of feel like I might be interested
in posting on Instagram.
How do you recommend they get started?
So you gotta be able to take the heat.
I feel like that's one thing I didn't know
when I came on here.
And really people work at TQ in any way possible.
And you gotta be really confident in yourself
as a mom, as a person, whatever you post online.
And if you wanna get into it
I recommend finding a mom community.
I have a whole group of moms online
that I connect with on their posts every day
and they come back to my posts.
And that is the best way to do it.
That's such good advice.
And it's true because it's not all sun shines and rainbows
on the when you post your life
and your family and yourself on social media
you're definitely opening yourself up to criticism.
So if you're not interested in that
it might not be for you.
Yeah, it's not as easy as people make it out to be
for sure.
I mean, you do a lot of mom vlogs.
I find vlogs some of the hardest videos to make
cause you're constantly setting your camera
but it takes so long to edit it.
See, yeah, honestly I do it every day.
I do a morning vlog every day.
It's just kinda, I'm used to it.
And I feel like that's how I really connect with my audience
cause they get to be a part of my life every morning
and see my morning with my girls.
And I really, I really enjoy it, honestly.
That's my favorite.
Good.
But I do also love sharing recipes.
I feel like that's my way of giving back.
Totally.
So.
Well, a segment that we do here on our podcast
is called Ditch the Drive-Thru
where we give our listeners an easy dinner recipe
to mix it up to get them out of their dinner rut.
Do you have a recipe that you could share?
Yes, of course.
My favorite recipe, when I was pregnant with my second,
I swear I made it like a million times
because it was just so easy and I didn't wanna cook.
And it's called, it's a chicken orzo bake
and I just take a rotisserie chicken
and you assemble it all and you put it in a pan,
put it in the oven and it cooks itself.
It's my favorite thing.
Break us down the ingredients.
I know we're not gonna do measurements here,
but give us the rough ingredients.
So what I do is I take my rotisserie chicken,
I pull it apart and then you can make bone broth out of it.
That's what I normally do.
So you don't even have to buy bone broth
and you do orzo bone broth, a little bit of cream,
some parmesan and then veggie wise,
you can kind of do what you want.
You can do tomatoes, undried tomatoes, spinach.
It's an Italian take on a dish, I would say.
So I do Italian seasoning and garlic powder and stuff.
I do minimal veggie cutting for sure.
Totally.
That sounds good and so like comforting.
Yes, it's very comfort food and my toddlers love it.
Like it's one of their favorite meals.
That's awesome.
Yeah, I like orzo.
It's a different grain.
Yeah, it's really good.
And it's easy to cook in the oven.
Awesome.
Well, everyone you can find Shannon over on Instagram
at Shannon underscore stokely, S-T-O-K-L-E-Y, correct?
Yes.
She did tease it.
I hope you don't mind.
I'm about to spoil something.
She did tell us that she's going to be doing
a freezer meal segment on her Instagram coming up.
So she's working on that.
So we all know how much we love our freezer meals
and prepping with the holidays coming up.
So be sure to check her out.
Shannon, thank you so much for joining us.
Of course, thanks.
Thanks, Shannon.
Thank you for listening to the Carpool podcast
with Kelly and Liz.
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