My name is Bonnie and I like diet coke.

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. 

All opinions are mine alone. 

#ShareYourSummer #CollectiveBias

Were any of you guys confused about what my favorite drink is?

It's Diet Coke!

Are you wondering what drink I would drink if I could drink any drink of all the drinks?

It's Diet Coke!

One more time... just to make sure everybody's on the same page...

I like Diet Coke!  

A LOT! 

And I drink A LOT of Diet Coke!  

Possibly more diet coke than is legal!  

I drink Diet Coke...

In the morning, as a perfect companion to my breakfast

During second period when lunch still seems so far away

With a sugar cookie when I'm watching mindless reality tv

When I am laying by the pool

When I am taking a bubble bath after a busy and stressful day

When I go play tennis

On the beach

With pizza and breadsticks- it goes down so smooth!

While I am working in the yard, putting in sod and planting my vegetable plants (more on that next week- my yard is totally coming together!)

(Also if my students are less than five minutes late to class I let them erase their tardy if they come bearing diet coke.  Some days I get four diet cokes in a day! It's a sweet sweet life.)

Diet Coke makes everything about life a little bit better.  The past year I have LOVED that Coke has put names on their bottles.  The other day at Wal-mart I looked for one for me or my family with our names on it. The searching was actually quite easy.  Wal-mart has coolers in the front with an organized display to make your drink name hunting a piece of cake.  My name is pretty old school so I wasn't shocked that I couldn't find my name,  but don't worry, Coke has a solution for that!  (One of my favorite comments after I had June and announced her name on instagram was someone who responded, "I love that you gave her a little old lady name like yours!"  Uh... thanks?)  If you are like me and have a "little old lady name" or a name that isn't quite as common you can check here and create your own bottle with your name on it.  Boom baby!

While I didn't find my own name, I did find a Rebecca, which is June's middle name and my mother in law's name so I called it a success!

Greg drinks a lot of coke so our house is always stocked with both coke and diet coke.  I use coke to make one of my favorite recipes of all time- sweet pork.  It is the easiest and yummiest recipe so I will share it with you in hopes that your coke can be put to good use.

CAFE RIO SWEET PORK

(Adapted from Fav Family Recipes)

• 2 pounds pork (boneless pork rib meat is what is recommended, but it can be tricky to find.  I have made it countless times with the bones- you just have to pull them out before you shred the meat.  Annoying, but the taste is still the same)
• 3-4 cans Coke (NOT diet) 
• 1 ¼ c. brown sugar
• dash garlic salt
• ¼ c. water
• 1 small can diced green chilies (I like mild)
• ¾ (10oz) can red enchilada sauce (Again, I go with the mild but if you want more oomph, by all means, go spicy)
• OPTIONAL:  Dash of cinnamon.  

Instructions

1. Put the pork in a heavy duty ziploc bag to marinade. Add about a can and a half of coke and about ¼ c. of brown sugar. It tastes the best if you marinade it overnight, but if you forget, you can marinade for a few hours in the fridge.  (Also, I like to up my sugar on this step- I usually put in closer to 1/2 c. of brown sugar.)
2. Drain marinade and put pork, ½ can of coke, water, and garlic salt in crock pot on high for about 3-4 hours (or until it shreds easily, but don't let it get TOO dry) or on low for 8 hours. Remove pork from crock pot and drain any liquid left in the pot. Shred pork and remove bones if there are any.  If your meat is hard to shred, that means it hasn't been cooking long enough.  It should easily tear apart from each other
3. In a food processor or blender, blend ½ can Coke, chilies, enchilada sauce and remaining brown sugar (about a cup, you can add a little more or less to taste..). If it looks too thick, add more Coke little by little.  Here is where you can add your cinnamon if you so choose- gives it a sweet and unique taste.
4. Put shredded pork and sauce in crockpot and cook on low for 2 hours. That's it!
5. Use pork for any of the following- tacos, enchiladas, quesadillas, or even barbeque sandwiches.  I love to add a little bit of barbeque sauce and stick it on a bun. This pork keeps great- I'll make a huge recipe and we'll eat a form of pork for three or four straight days.  There is no one who doesn't love this recipe.  Everywhere I go I make this and the people love it!

I'd love to hear how you make coke and diet coke a part of your awesome summer life.  Got recipe ideas or craft ideas?  Let's face it- you know I'll always have diet coke on hand to try anything you might suggest!  Oh, and before I forget, here is the hub for more fun share your summer ideas and conversation.

Here is a list of Walmart stores where you can find a large quantity of personalized Coca Cola bottles to share with someone this Summer! If your store is not on the list you can still find these bottles at all Walmart locations.

Stay classy and enjoy your long weekend!