Finger lickin good

Eric and I went to a BBQ place in Denver over the weekend and it was pretty delicious.  We tried some single ribs since they were $1 but they were less than delicious so I thought I'd make some on my own for dinner.  I've never made ribs in the crock pot before b/c it just doesn't seem like it should be allowed being the Southern woman that I am but since I have to work and don't always have time to sit around and wait for them to cook, I decided to try it out since I've read good reviews about others experiences.

I started by buying 2 racks St. Louis ribs since they were on sale and cut them in half so they'd fit in the crockpot.  I covered them in rub using:

salt

pepper

garlic powder

cayenne pepper

chili powder

I rubbed em down on both sides and put them in the oven at 400 degrees for 10 min each side. 

They then went into the crock pot with the sauce that I "semi" made. The sauce consisted of:

BBQ sauce I had laying around

ketchup

onion

oregano

worcestershire

brown sugar

I made sure to cover all the ribs with the sauce and then cooked them on low for 7 hours.

After they were done, I put them back on a baking sheet and covered them in sauce again.  They then went into the oven under the broiler so the sauce could caramelize and the remaining sauce went into a pot to heat and thicken.

Earlier in the day, I also decided to make a corn salad as a side since it could sit in the fridge all day and I wouldn't have to worry about it once I got home from work.  The corn salad consisted of:

corn

onion

cider vinegar

olive oil

salt

pepper

basil

It all went into a bowl and got a quick toss before going into the fridge 

While the ribs were cooking, tater tots sounded good so I just bought a bag of frozen ones and baked them in the oven. 

So once everything was done, it got plated and I spooned some more sauce onto the ribs.  We only went through 1 rack of ribs between the 2 of us which made for great leftovers!

The ribs were surprisingly good! They were fall off the bone, tender, and had really good flavor.  The sauce absorbed a lot of the rub flavors, such as the kick of spice from the cayenne.  I think the flavors were really allowed to develop.  I also think the pre-cooking in the oven helped eliminate some of the fat from the pork once it was put in the crockpot so the remaining sauce wasn't fatty.  The corn was good but I think it could've been better had I used fresh corn instead of frozen but since it's winter, there really isn't fresh corn around =/  We put some of it in salads for the next night and it was a really good addition.

To anyone that may be skeptical about ribs in the crockpot, I say you should try it!! It's not exactly the same as ribs on a smoker/grill but it definitely hits the spot when you have a craving and don't have the time to sit and wait for them :)

Pork is so yummy...especially when it's stuffed!

I know I keep saying that I'm gonna stop being so slow and terrible about updating but it clearly seems that I was mistaken and that I'm getting even worse about it :(  Work at the bakery has begun and so I feel my updates have gotten behind me.  I will try to update as much as possible! I just find myself taking less pictures of things I cook.  Still cooking...just not so much blogging =/

Anywho...I learned today that I have a limit on how many pics I can store on this thing so I'm gonna have to stop uploading so many per meal.

 A while ago...some time before Thanksgiving, I made stuffed pork chops with sweet potato casserole.

To start, I made the stuffing for the pork which included:

apples

onion

celery

This all got put in a pan and just cooked down to release some of the flavor and to soften the celery and onions. 

Next, I cut the pork in half, making a pocket, and stuffed the chops with the above stuffing.  After they were all full, I wrapped a piece of bacon around each one and secured it with a toothpick. 

These were put in a pan and browned on both sides, partially to cook the bacon too. They were finished in the oven. 

While these were cooking, I made the casserole.  I had bought yams and baked them a couple of nights before but we didn't eat them.  They didn't look as good a couple of days later just whole so I figured why  not make sweet potato casserole since it's delicious.  

I took the sweet potatoes and peeled them.  Then, I added butter, egg, sugar, and milk and mashed it all together. This went in the bottom of the baking dish. 

Next, I made the topping.  It was made up of pecans, brown sugar, and butter.  I sprinkled it on top of the yams and the whole thing went into the oven. 

After a big, everything came out of the oven.  Since the sweet potatoes were mostly cooked, it was just letting the topping come together and melt into deliciousness. 

This meal was perfect b/c the day I cooked it was kind of chilly and felt very much like fall.  Even though it was almost Thanksgiving and I knew we would be eating sweet potato casserole, this stuff was still delicious.

These flavors went well together since the pork also had sweetness to it but the smoky bacon helped balance out the flavors.  The sweet potatoes were delicious but anything with a brown sugar topping usually is.  This was a really hearty meal without being over-filling and too much which was nice b/c I really hate feeling too full.

So I have a few meals that need to be posted so hopefully I will be able to catch up on some entries this week.  We are planning on doing a cleanse at some point so that should be an interesting few days.  Hope to write more frequently than I have been :)