Monday 30 December 2013

Crock Pot Bbq Ribs

   Tap, tap, tap, is this thing on? Whoopsie, it's been a while.

   I certainly let the holiday's take me over the last week! How was Christmas? We had a great time over here! My kids were so excited, Grey was beyond himself on Christmas Eve! I love the holiday's with the little guys! By Christmas Eve it gets pretty hairy, but somehow it all falls together at the last minute! I must say, matching jammies rule!




   I decided that on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day that I was going to have fun and eat what I wanted. Sort of. :) I was, after all, in charge of most of the food so I figure I was mostly safe? My day got so crazy when someone wanted to buy the dresser we had for sale, and they wanted to come right now. I was frantically trying to empty it, into the house I was trying to clean! Then it went downhill. Kids were over excited and I was running out of time! Long story short, I had a Chilada in hand by 3pm. Ask me if that was the last thing I had to drink. Then my dear mother shows up here with a Jesus sized platter of "surprise dip". You know, the cocktail sauce, cream cheese, shrimp layered thingie? It's god damn delicious, that's what it is. That was for sure my big splurge of the day (besides booze) and it was worth it!

   For the two days I tried to just save it for things that I really wanted, and then just had a reasonable portion. Just so we're clear, coffee and Bailey's does NOT fall into any category as I feel it's a parents staple item during the holiday's. And it should go unmeasured and unlimited. If you didn't have any, what kind of friend are you, anyways? Suggested serving? What the hell is that?

   I have been trying to get my groceries stocked back up and back into my usual cooking/eating habits. Sure does not take long to stray away and get lazy. No matter if you stuck to the straight and narrow, or you ate your family's weight in chocolate and appetizers, it's over now! Time to get focused and back in the game.

    I am only 10 pounds until the original goal I set for myself almost a year ago. When I reach that I will be about 90 pounds down. That's right, 90!! That's more than my 2 kids weigh together! There is no secret. There is no "easy" way. Eat real food and exercise. It has to be sustainable for you. If you set unrealistic goals, you will fail. It's vital to do what is best for you and the people in your life! Everyday when my oldest is at school and my youngest goes down to sleep, I get my workout in. I sure wasn't happy every day, giving up my 2 hours to myself. But, if I hadn't made myself do it I'm sure I wouldn't be where I am now! It's not easy, but make it work! I have girlfriends that work out at 9 at night. First choice? Probably not, but that's what works. No excuses! 

   My darling husband used some of a Canadian Tire gift card and bought me a new crock pot this week.( a desperate plea to try a different one, I think) I am so excited about this bad boy! It has a temp and time setting so it shuts off when you get to desired settings. No more overdone meat in this house! It won't have "that taste" as my husband always says about anything I ever made in the old crock pot! Today was it's maiden voyage, and ribs were the first experiment since I already had those out. The beauty of these is they smell so amazing while cooking, you look like a miracle worker before anyone has had a bite. Adjust spices to your liking, and reserve any sauce leftover until the end in case you need more to baste. If everyone ends up with a a sauce mustache- you win.

Crock Pot Bbq Ribs:

2-4 pounds baby back or pork side ribs ( I had pork side ribs)
sea salt 
black pepper
1 tsp each, onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika (or regular)
Sauce:
2 cups bbq sauce (home made or store bought)
1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup packed coconut sugar (regular brown sugar can be subbed)
4 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 cup Frank's Hot Sauce (optional)

Pre-heat oven to 400. Rub the onion powder, garlic powder and paprika on the ribs to coat. Salt and pepper to taste. Place ribs on cooking racks on a baking sheet and brown for 30 minutes in the oven. This helps to render some fat so it's not all in your sauce in the crock pot. 



After braising in oven:


Once ribs are done, place into crock pot on low. Mix together your sauce ingredients until combined and pour over ribs in the crock pot. Reserving some if there is any.


Do not be a lookie-loo! It's very important to not open the lid for at least the first 2 hours of cooking. You are trying to lock in that flavor and establish a solid cooking temp. Stay out!! If you must later on, give them a little stir and make sure they are all coated. Once in a while does not mean every 5 minutes, you'll ruin all your hard work! I did just under 6 hours on low. I'm still learning my crock pot, so I took them out when the bones were coming off. I put them back on the racks and into the oven at 400 for 10 minutes to caramelize the sauce. This is optional. Baste with your remaining sauce if you like. The saucier the mustache, the better! :)) I made some cauli rice on the side, delish. Not a single leftover. 



Original recipe pingback to "thegirlwhoateeverything.com"

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