Denise – Page 12 – All About Becoming

BBQ Pork Ribs

This is an easy and great meal. Perfect in the summer or winter. What you’ll need: 1-2 Racks of ribs, kosher salt, pepper, garlic powder, ketchup, liquid smoke, and brown sugar.

Get your large cookie sheet and a piece of tinfoil long enough to wrap around and seal the ribs. Make sure the tinfoil is really heavy duty. I get mine at Costco. If you do not have the really heavy stuff, you will probably need to double wrap it. I also got these ribs at Costco. They are the pork ribs and have two racks in a package. I place them on the tinfoil to keep the mess confined to one spot.

Take the ribs out of the package and sprinkle both sides generously with kosher salt, pepper, and garlic powder. I tried to show you the amount sprinkled on, but it soaked in quick. Just get plenty on there. Pork needs the seasoning to be good.

Kind of stack them back up….

Then wrap them up. Go ahead and wear your sweats. I’ll feel better.

Fold it over this way….

Add a piece of tinfoil if your’s is not long enough….

Then seal up the sides….

Now put them in your 300 degree oven to cook for 3 hours.

Make your BBQ sauce by mixing ketchup, brown sugar, and liquid smoke.

Before you get ready to serve theribs, take them out to your grill. It was raining, so I didn’t dare go out with my camera. So use your imagination here until I cook them again and add these pictures.

Take the whole pan to the grill and unwrap it. Take your rack of ribs and place them meaty side down first and let them cook for about 5 minutes. Flip them over and slather on your BBQ sauce and let them sit for another 5 minutes.

When they are done cooking, you can set them right back on your tinfoil pan and bring them back in the house. Ready to eat!! YUM! Keep some extra BBQ sauce on had just in case you need a little more while eating.

BBQ Ribs

1-2 Racks of ribs Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder

Generously season both sides of ribs with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Wrap in tinfoil and bake on cookie sheet in 300 degree oven for 3 hours.

Remove to grill and brown meat side down for 5 minutes. Turn over and cover with BBQ sauce. Grill 5 more minutes. Slice between bones.

BBQ Sauce

1 C Ketchup

1 C Brown Sugar

1 t Liquid Smoke (Can add more if you’d like)

Here is another Sauce recipe from my friend, Jill, who showed me how to do these ribs. She said that she makes her sauce using equal portions of ketchup, honey, and brown sugar.

For example:

1 C Ketchup

1 C Brown Sugar

1 C Honey

Try them out and see which one you like best and let me know!

I’m Your Mom

Here are my writings from the week of 10/12/03.

Cinco was on one this week!!!!

First of all, I was fixing some toast the other morning. I figure– how can you mess that up???? (Evidently I was having trouble fixing foods that everyone liked…) Well, I offered Cinco some toast and this is his reply…. “That’s not toast! It’s a square and a sandwich!”

Funny mother. See funny mother???

After the toast bit, I was in cleaning the bathroom. Cinco woke up from his nap with a really dirty face. He came walking in the bathroom where I was cleaning. He saw his face in the mirror and was staring at himself, then said, “Look at my owie on my new head.”

(As opposed to your old one???? And by the way, there was no owie, just dirt, in case you were wondering.)

Brooke loves coming over here. She is our almost two-year old neighbor. Cinco ususally freaks out when she comes and hoards all of his toys. She was walking over to the house. Cinco saw here and hollered to her mom, Nola, “can you get her the broken power ranger?” I looked at Nola. Evidently they have a broken power ranger at her house and he wanted her to bring her own toy because he didn’t want to share.

I was at the Michelle M’s house this week for a little meeting. Michelle and I were waiting for another mom to come, so while we were waisting time, I said to Michelle (who is a hairdresser), “maybe I should have you cut Cinco’s hair. Maybe he’ll be good for you.” (He never sat still for me and always cried when I tried to cut it.

So we went into her shop. Cinco was balking at the opportunity, so BJ Dude hopped up to have his hair done. We kept trying to convince Cinco that he should get his hair cut. He kept saying that it hurt to have his hair cut. BJ Dude was telling him that it didn’t. Then Cinco said, “dat’s it! I’m outta here!”

I thought Michelle was going to die laughing!!!

Just this morning, we were walking to the car to go to church. Brooke was outside and started yelling “Hi Mom” to me. (She calls me “mom” because she hears Cinco calling me mom.) Well, Cinco was coming behind me and heard her and got mad.

Yelling at ME, he said, “Brookie’s not your mom! I’M your mom!”

Superman, Where Are You?

Back in the BC days (Before Cell phones), we didn’t have a whole lot of money to spend on cars. Well, truth is, we didn’t have a whole lot of money at all. So we typically bought something well used. That being the case, it was not unusual to have car troubles. One week in particular seemed to be especially fun. It was the week I learned the truth about Superman.

The week started off with my car stalling on me in the middle of the road just past the college. I was able to get off to the side of the road. I had a couple of little kids with me and it was the middle of July. (Why does everything seem to happen in July when it’s blazing hot??) Some nice person stopped and helped me. I was able to get to a phone and call MP for some help. He came and got the car started again. All was well for a few days.

Then I locked my keys in the car. Of course, I called MP. I mean, who else do I call?? Well, he had to call the Key Man (who really is called “The Key Man”) and we were back in business again.

Just a few days after that, the car stalled again. Still middle of July. Kids in the car. In the intersection, of course. Fortunately, I wasn’t too far from home or MP’s shop. It was at the intersection by Dutchman’s market, a little gas and goodies place on the corner. I was able to get some help pushing the car out of the intersection and into the parking lot and went inside to call MP. I think this ‘three times in a week’ was starting to get to him because when I called MP he said, “Quit calling me! Can’t you find someone else to help you?”

“Well, who do you WANT me to call??? Superman??” I replied. I mean really!?

“Yes, if he’ll help!” MP said.

“Well I guess you’re my superman, so put on your cape ‘man of steel’ and fly over here and help me out!”

Since then MP has lovingly been referred to as “Superman.” His only kryptonite (or that which he stays away from) are the words, “Honey, I need some help!”

Several years later, on Halloween Day, MP was mowing the lawn. The kids had been trying on costumes and Shotgun, who was 3 years old at the time, wanted to be Superman for Halloween. He put on his costume and was “flying” around, only to realize that his dad was out mowing the lawn without him. He rounded up his plastic lawnmower and went out to help his dad. I looked out the kitchen window and there he was stride for stride following directly behind his dad. As I sat there watching them, I couldn’t help but think how cute that was and I thought to myself, “Every dad needs a superman!”

As I watched the two of them, my heart began to swell. How I loved both of them. I saw him following his dad’s example and realized that we really are training little supermen. Hopefully all of mine will grow up to be like their dad.

I’m also wondering if any of them will be a mechanic that will come to bale their wives out when their cars break down because they hate sitting in a HOT car in the middle of the summer wondering if their mom even knows what a battery cable is.

Pirates and Indians

Shotgun and Cinco were playing with a bunch of pirate stuff we brought home for Halloween costumes. Shotgun came in the dining room swinging his sword. He was all dressed up. MP said, “Hey it’s Sunday! So you better be Ammon with that sword and not Blackfoot.”

I whispered, “I think you mean Blackbeard! You’re not going for the Indian tribe are you??”

Pirates and Indian Tribal names can get really confusing for some people. History gets mixed up with movies and myths all the time. Especially at our house. Then there’s all those Star Wars and Star Trek civilizations. It’s just too much to keep up with sometimes.

Fortunately, MP came up with a scripture name that I was familiar with. I actually thought it was funny that he told him he’d better be Ammon (a great man from the scriptures), it being Sunday and all, but then Blackfoot came out of his mouth. That made it REALLY funny!

Written 10/12/03

Ham & Cheese Omelets

I love making omelets for my family for a hearty easy breakfast. Especially when I have a ballplayer who has a game that day. It makes me feel like I am giving them a little bit more to help them through the day.

My picky eaters only like ham and cheese. Personally, I love green onions and mushrooms too, but I rarely have sauteed mushrooms on hand at breakfast. Fresh salsa or pico is something else that you can put on the top of them, too. Be creative. Have fun.

I neglected to get a beginning picture of ingredients. Probably because I started cooking and then remembered…..

So what you will need: Eggs, milk, ham cheese, salt, pepper, butter or margarine, and any other optional ingredients you would like.

Use your small omelet pan for this. Put about 1 tablespoon of butter in your pan and turn the heat on low. I believe that cooking it on low is key to a good omelet. It takes a little more time, but it doesn’t turn them brown and crusty. I HATE brown and crusty eggs!

Melt your butter and turn the pan to cover it. You want plenty in there.

While your butter is melting, crack your eggs into a bowl. I figure 2 eggs and 1/2-1 tablespoon of milk per person. I have 6 eggs and 2-3 tablespoons of milk in this bowl. Then whip them up.

Pour the egg mixture into your pan and sprinkle with some salt and pepper.

While it’s cooking, dice up your ham. This is just some deli ham that I have diced up. It’s easy. That’s why I like it!

Keep watching your eggs. See how the edges are nicely cooked and it is still a little runny on the top, but you can see that it is set up pretty good even in the middle? You can flip it now. If you’re really good, you can loosen the edges and flip the pan. I’ve done it. It only works good if your egg is cooked well and if you have a lot of butter so that it can slosh around a little bit before flipping.

But really, just use a larger spatula and slide it gently under it and flip it over.

Like so. You can push that little crinkle out if it bugs you. It bugged me, but evidently not enough to push it out.

Have your cheese handy. I love having this on hand so I don’t have to work too hard first thing in the morning. If you don’t have this, just grate you some up.

I try to pick the half of the omelet that is thicker and will take longer to cook to put the cheese on. That side will get a little more cooking to it when you flip half over. (If that made sense.)

Now sprinkle your ham on, and anything else if you’d like.

I’m missing a picture, I guess. Just flip the top half over the ham and cheese side. I like to sprinkle a little more cheese on the top, just for effects and to hide anything that may bug picky children. Scoop onto your plate. You will notice that paper plates are the dishes of choice in our family. This is a lovely paper plate. Usually you will see nice plain white ones. It’s your lucky day.

For the life of me, I cannot understand why people put ketchup on such a fine dish, but it happens in my house. I refuse to take a picture of it. Now if it were summer and the pico was in the fridge, Mr. Perfect would probably use that, but for now, he uses ketchup. I blame him for teaching this aberration to my children.

Ham & Cheese Omelets

2 Eggs per person

1/2- 1 Tablespoon of milk per person

Ham

Cheese

Salt

Pepper

Optional Items: green onions, sauteed onions, sauteed or fresh mushrooms, tomatoes, peppers, etc.

Homemade Bread Crumbs

In this day and age, we have an opportunity to live by the motto our parents and grandparents did, “Use it up, wear it out, make it due, or do without.” Making your own bread crumbs is easy and a great way to be practical while saving money.

If you’re like my family, most of them won’t eat the crusts of the loaves of bread. All you have to do is set them on a plate or in a bowl and let them dry out overnight. Or you can put them in an oven and toast them for a few minutes.

The reason why I made these breadcrumbs is 1) because I had made ribbon sandwiches and we always have a lot of leftover bread that I can’t stand to just throw away, and 2) because I was out of breadcrumbs anyway.

It’s easy to do. Just set your bread out to dry, as I mentioned above.

Then place them in your food processor or blender.

Mix them until you have fine bread crumbs.

Voila! Easy. Store in your pantry.

Brown Butter Noodles

The first time I ever had brown butter noodles was at the Old Spaghetti Factory in Salt Lake City. They were so yummy that I decided I needed to figure out how to make them. It seemed like it would be simple. And it was. Here is my recipe for Brown Butter Noodles. You will love how easy they are to make. You will also be glad to have a dish that cooks up quick and looks and tastes like you went to a lot of work. This is a nice one to serve to guests.

Here’s the list of ingredients….brace yourself……

Butter (must be real), Noodles, Myzithra Cheese (pronounced Meh-zee-tra. You should be able to find it in your specialty cheese section.)

First, bring your water to a boil and add your noodles with some salt and a little oil, if you’d like.

While that’s cooking, grab another small saucepan and put it over low heat.

Let it start melting.

It will start to bubble. That’s okay.

I actually had the heat at just a little above low, like so. And the stove was wiped off. It looks like my kids wiped it. Hmmm……

Keep letting it cook. It will get really bubbly. You can stir it a time or two if you’d like, as well. You don’t want the butter to burn, but to brown. That’s why we keep it on low heat.

After it gets really bubbly, it will suddenly start to turn brown. You can tell because the frothiness starts to dissipate.

See how low the bubbles are now? And you can see the brown color. So shut your stove off.

I slid some of the bubbles over so you can see the color and how it is so clear that you can see some brown bits on the bottom. Brown bits = Yummy!

Your noodles should be done by now, so drain them. Then put them back in your pan or in a serving bowl.

Pour your butter over the noodles.

Make sure you put in those nice brown bits.

Stir it all into your noodles.

To Serve: Take a scoop of noodles out and put it on your plate, then grate some Myzithra cheese on top. The cheese is what makes it so good. Start with a smaller amount, then add as desired.

Browned Butter Noodles

1 cube butter

1 8 oz package spaghetti noodles

1 wedge Myzithra cheese

Cook noodles according package directions. Drain. Melt butter in saucepan over low heat. Continue cooking until butter has browned. Turn off heat. Pour butter over cooked noodles. Place noodles on plate. Sprinkle grated cheese on top. Serve warm.

Lake Powell and the Train Part 2

Repairs

We began to take off, but with only three lugs attached to our tire and pulling a boat, MP knew we couldn’t make it very far. Kanab was an hour away, but Page was only 20 minutes in the other direction. Decision made. We turned around and headed to Page. J, our neighbor, began to complain and tried to convince MP to head to Kanab. But to Page it was. We found an after-hours service station and it just so happened that another car had pulled in in front of us and the mechanic was already on his way. The mechanic arrived, looked at our vehicle, and said he would need to call for a part and began fixing the other vehicle.

So we waited and watched. The mechanic was kind and showed the kids the tools and how to fix tires. It was getting late and we were getting hungry. Just as the mechanic was finishing, MP decided that we could go to a fast food place for some dinner. When we went to pay the mechanic, we only had one check left. (This is BDC—Before Debit Cards, people! The younger generation may never understand my pain here.) Let me explain: We had NO cash and now we had NO checks, and we were HUNGRY. Thinking quick, MP sent me to the convenience store to see if I could get some cash off our credit card.

Red Dots

I went into the convenience store and asked if I could get some cash. The lady at the register was a beautiful lady from India with a red dot on her forehead that I could not stop staring at. Probably because I was trying to extract anything I knew about the Indian Culture and what it all meant……see what I mean, you get side tracked! So I asked her if I could get twenty dollars. She held up her hand and said, “Five dollah.”

I said, “No, I’d like TWENTY dollars, please.”

“Five dollah.” she said again.

I was beginning to cry thinking that they were only going to let me have five dollars and I couldn’t feed all of us on that, and didn’t she know that we were in distress, and man did I look ugly, she probably thinks I’m homeless and crazy. Now what am I going to do?

She must have picked up on my pitiful facial expressions and said, “five dollah, you twenty.”

The dim light bulb in my head went off!! “Oh, you mean it will cost me five dollars to get twenty?”

“Yes.” Came the response.

Oh, what relief!! “Okay, great! Go ahead!” I said, but in my mind I was thinking that this was highway robbery and they were getting a great return on their money.

On the Road Again

With my twenty dollars in hand, we headed to KFC and got everyone some dinner. By now it was between 8:30 and 9:00 pm. It was getting dark. “At least everyone will sleep all the way home,” I thought. Off we went.

We passed by Lake Powell (again) and the little gas station past that. As a matter of fact we were just about to the spot where we had the flat tire when we heard, “THUMP, THUMP!!”

“OH NO!! What in the heck could THAT be?” we wondered. So we pulled over AGAIN!

MP gets out and checks. The tire on the boat trailer had gone flat. I’m not lying here. I couldn’t make this stuff up! Although, I did think it was sort of funny. Not MP. Not happy.

It was dark. There was no light. We had to fish the jack and the tools out again. MP had to turn the flashers on so we wouldn’t get hit in the dark, but at least he had light every few seconds when the lights blinked.

MP put the jack under the frame and began to turn. It wasn’t moving. The boat was too heavy. So MP unhitched the boat from the van to relieve any weight if possible. Then he began turning again. Nope, not budging. Then J, our teenage neighbor tried. Then MP tried again when “CRACK!” The crank broke.

I think at this point MP was muttering obscenities under his breath. I mean, now what were we going to do? We had nothing. And for some reason, there was not a car on the road. I kept asking MP if I should flag down some help. He wasn’t about to, because he’s a man and all, but me—no pride! I wasn’t afraid! So I decide that was IT! I was flagging down the next car that came by and stood in the road just so they wouldn’t miss me!! (Listen, intelligence flies out the window when one is desperate.)

With some luck and a little prayer, the next vehicle stopped and you will not believe this!! It was a MECHANIC!! With a REAL JACK!! This man and his wife were just heading home from repairing a tire for someone stranded at that little gas station 10 minutes behind us. Were we ever blessed??!!! He put that sweet jack under the boat, cranked it up, and pulled out the spare tire only to find out that it didn’t fit. Well, if you turned it the wrong way, it fit, so we took the chance. I mean, we had no other choice. Just as they finished putting the tire on, a Highway Patrolman stops. (Just in the nick of time, right?) He left and we thanked the couple profusely and hopped in the van.

MP turns the key and the battery was dead! Some things just aren’t funny at 10:30 at night. But we were feeling a little better seein’s as a mechanic is behind us. I hurried and jumped out of the van and ran back to the mechanic couple before they could leave and asked them for a jump. I really was thinking, “This is so funny and NO ONE will believe us!” I mean really—TWO flat tires and dead battery!! It seemed like the story of stories. A fish tale.

BUT, it was still a long way home. We were drowsy and tired by the time we hit Kanab. I think I had even dozed off myself. MP said that he was having a hard time staying awake, too, so we stopped in Kanab for some treats and water to keep us awake.

We took off again and were eating our snacks. We were listening to the radio, and I was thinking, “Boy, it does help to keep eating a little something and this radio show is interesting. I should be able to stay awake for a little while. MP seems to be doing good.” We were on a straight stretch of land. I could see a long way up ahead some car lights coming toward us. Off to the sides were these beautiful red hills. I was thinking how beautiful this country is even in the dark when all of a sudden, MP JERKS the van to the right and swerves to the shoulder of the road as a car was passing us.

I thought, “OH MY GOSH!! What is the matter NOW??!!” A few children even began to stir as MP yelled, “DID YOU SEE THAT TRAIN??!!”

“A…..WHAT? A TRAIN?” I look at MP. “You have REALLY lost it!! What are you talking about……a TRAIN?”

MP shakes his head. “That is so weird. I was looking at that car up ahead and was watching the lights and I fell asleep or something; and when they came close and passed us, I thought it was a train that was going to hit us.”

That’s what you get for cursing, I guess. It just messes with your mind.

We finally made it home. It was 2 a.m. MP struggled staying awake for the last 45 minutes. I did, too. He was sticking his head out the window—doing everything he could to keep himself awake. Poor guy. Now if I would have been driving, he would have been WIDE awake. He cannot sleep when someone else is at the wheel, especially me.

This was the first of many vehicle stories for us. However, we always watch for trains when we’re traveling to Lake Powell. Never seen one since that night. It was a gift. Like a UFO.

Lake Powell and the Train Part 1

Although I had heard countless descriptions of trips– the grandeur, the beauty, the fun– and although I only live 3 hours away, I had never been to Lake Powell. My first trip there came for a couple of reasons.

1. My cousin worked for my husband and was a Lake Powell junkie.

2. My hubby’s company had done some work for friends who wanted to trade out the pay for a trip on the houseboat. So my cousin helped arrange for the trip and we took all the couples from the shop. This is where our “Boating Vacations” began. (Think Griswold here.)

We had so much fun on that first trip that the next year we decided to go as a shop again and take our families. Some more remodeling work and some more trade later, we were set to go for a couple of more years. We planned the trip for August. Nice and hot.

We owned a van that was having some brake problems, so it was necessary to have them worked on before the big trip, at the last minute, of course. We picked up the van the night before we were going to leave. The next morning, we finished loading, hitched our “new hillbilly boat” (an old boat acquired through trade which is another story in and of itself), and set out for Lake Powell. We had four kids at the time and also had our 16 year old neighbor, whom I’ll call “J”), in the van with us. J worked for my hubby, too.

As we began driving, Mr. Perfect said, “These brakes don’t seem to be working quite right. They feel funny.” We shrugged it off as “new brakes needing to be worked in.” As we turned onto the Boulevard (about 10 minutes from our home), there was a big BANG under my seat, and the brakes went to the floor.

Fortunately, it was early in the morning when we left, so there wasn’t much traffic. We negotiated to the end of the Boulevard and turned into the Ford Dealership to have them fix whatever they didn’t do right the day before. Everyone was antsy and anxious to be on the road. But here we sat in the Ford dealership for 1 ½ hours waiting for them to finish all the brakes. By about 10 a.m. we were finally on our way again.

We made a quick stop in Hurricane for some more stuff, then we were off, and made it to Lake Powell without a hitch.

We had a wonderful weekend on the lake! Here’s proof:

The Fun Begins

We had everything loaded up and started to head for home. We left about 6 p.m. because we wanted to get home early enough to get everything unloaded that night. Little did I know that the brakes had been the omen for the remainder of the trip.

About 15 minutes from Lake Powell, we heard a POP, THUMP, THUMP, THUMP! We pulled off the road to find that the back left tire on the van had gone flat. Technically, this should be no problem, we could change a flat! We just had to find the jack first. Let me help you understand the scene: we’re all sunburned, scaggy-haired, ugly, and tired. The kids had just started going to sleep. The van is LOADED with crap. So is the boat which is hitched to the van. We’re on a busy stretch of highway and have to keep the kids in the car (think over 100 degrees here), and we had to find the jack. Yes, I repeated myself. Finding the jack is imperative to changing a tire and we didn’t know where it was.

In my perfect angelic manner *smile, polish halo*, I wanted to maintain a positive attitude so I could show our teenage neighbor how to have a good attitude in a frustrating situation. Little did I know!

First, we had to unload part of the things out of the back of the van to get to the jack. Then we had to unhitch the boat because of the weight. Then we realized that this was a little dorky jack that had a thin metal bar crank. No problem, have a good attitude, get started. So MP, my hero, did just that. He positioned the jack and started to crank. Then came the time to loosen the lug nuts; typically not a problem unless they have been screwed on wrong with a power wrench. MP, the buff man that he is, had no other choice than to break three lug nuts just to get the tire off.

Now, here was MP, sunburned and lying on a hot asphalt road that had recently been tarred and rocked. I was feeling so bad for him, thinking how painful that would have been to be lying on the ground with those hot rocks smashing my sunburn. Truly, MP was my hero. Just to keep the mood light, I made some wifely comment about how he wouldn’t win any competitions at changing tires so quickly like they do at the racetracks. It didn’t receive quite the funny reception I thought it would. So I stood there wondering if I could hand him tools or something to be helpful.

After finally getting the tire off, we couldn’t find the spare. Honestly, it’s large, how do they HIDE these things?? Finally MP realized that the tire was UNDER the van—in its belly so to speak. MP was laying on the ground again, and shimmied under the van trying to unscrew the tire, but it wouldn’t come out. (Make sure you add children whining and questioning and trying to get out of the van all through this commentary. It adds truth to the moment.) He finally put me to use finding the owner’s manual and trying to find the secret code and ritual to the spare tire release. At this point, I was wondering if it included the words, “Oh Mighty Isis!”

Alas, our search turned up the valuable information that the little wimpy jack crank held the secret powers. Somewhere inside the van, you place this crank and turn. Voila’, you’re spare tire lowers. Thank you to the Secret Combination Gods. NOW, we could make some good time. MP put the tire on, twisted the nuts on the remaining lugs, loaded up the crap, hitched up the boat, and climbed back in the van. It had taken approximately ONE hour. Needless to say, MP was a little irritable. I, on the other hand, was still trying to be Miss Positive, but still knew better than to say a word, when our little daughter, from the back of the van said, “Where did you get the new tire, Daddy?” (Aww…so sweet!)

“FROM HELL!” He responded abruptly. MP never swears. Never. This caught everyone off guard, except for the little kids in the back who couldn’t hear him anyway, who asked, “What did you say?”

In my mind, I’m thinking, “Yea, that’s pretty much where he got it from. Can’t argue with that,” as I look at him and we both start laughing. I notice little tiny rocks stuck to his shoulders with tar.

We’re not done. Oh, no! To be Continued…….

Dutch Oven (or crock pot) Ribs

I had team night at my house. It happens often, but was our first for Shotgun. Knowing I’d have a house full of hungry boys, I tried to think of something hearty and filling. Ribs were on sale, so that decided it for me!

You can do these in the crock pot just as easy. I just wanted to use the dutch oven and cook them outside on the grill to keep my messes down since I was making rolls, too.

What you’ll need:

boneless ribs, salt, pepper, garlic powder if wanted, BBQ sauce

Since I wanted these to taste a little rustic and campfire-y, I started at the grill. You can brown them on your stove top if you’d like. Just brown them. As you can see it was nice and sunny after all our rain, so I went for the good stuff! Besides, I hate washing pans and cleaning up splatters!

I put the ribs on a hot grill and sprinkled them with kosher salt and pepper. I like kosher salt! It has such better flavor!

Put plenty on them. You can add garlic powder, too, but I forgot.

Flip them over and season them on that side, too. I’m not sure if my grill was not hot enough or if I was impatient. You can brown them more than this.

Once their seared, put them in your dutch oven or your crock pot, whichever you prefer.

Stack ’em on in there. Then put the lid on them and set them back on your grill with the temperature turned to low. If you have a thermometer on your grill, I kept the temperature at 300 and cooked them for 3 hours. If you are crock-potting, then turn them on high for 3-4 hours or low for 5-6 depending on your time.

After cooking for 3 hours, drain off the liquid. It took two of us to drain, so there was no picture taking of draining the dutch ovens, but here is the liquid. Now you can save this and freeze it or refrigerate it if you are going to use it soon for soups or gravies.

After the liquid is drained off, then pour your BBQ sauce over the top. You can use your favorite or make a homemade one. (I’ll post one below). Then put the lid on and put it back on to cook for another 30 minutes or until you are ready to eat.

Looking good already, huh? This picture will have to suffice for the final one because once we brought them in and had prayer and lined them up, I forgot to take a picture.

But here is a picture of some really cute boys eating their dinner.

There you have it. Two dutch ovens full of ribs, baked potato, green salad, Herbed Oatmeal Pan Bread and koolaid. It just doesn’t get any better than this!!

Oh yeah, with the team’s 14 + my 8 + the 1 who dropped in= around 23 people. We had just enough left for Mr. Perfect to have a couple of lunches made which left 1-2 ribs. I hope they were all full!