BBQ Ribs

The other day while I was looking at my Pioneer Woman website I came upon an entry that she did and it was ribs. It sounded so good to me that I had to try it. I can make ribs but I usually just buy the hickory smoked BBQ sauce and slow cook it in the oven. This required a little bit more work but it was so worth it in the end.

I bought some baby back ribs (pork) from the grocery and cut it into two slabs and put it on any rack that you have. I used my broiler pan because I would use it later.

It's time to make the rub. I mixed brown sugar, salt, pepper, paprika and garlic powder together.

Isn't it pretty up close?!

Next take Dijon mustard and spread a thin layer on each side of the two slabs.

Next put some of the rub mix onto the ribs and just rub it in.

Should look like this...

Cover it with foil and put it in the oven @ 250 for and hour and a half.

While the ribs were cooking I decided to mix together regular BBQ sauce and some liquid smoke to give it a nice mesquite flavor. After the ribs are cooked for an hour and twenty minutes you should take them out and slather both sides with the BBQ sauce mix and put them in the bottom of the oven to broil for the remainder of the time. It should make the outside nice and crispy. You need to watch it every 5 minutes to make sure the sauce doesn't turn black. It cooks very quickly.


It should come out like this! Oh man was it smelling nice in my apartment.

Here is the finished product with some creamy mashed potatoes.

Take a closer look.

By the time the ribs were finished I was so hungry that I woofed all the food down and didn't get to taste it properly. I went to work the next day and my friend asked me how the ribs turned out and I said "Ok i guess". I decided to give those ribs an other shot and had them for lunch. Oh man was I wrong about the taste. It wasn't just good...it was GREAT!!! They were a bit spicy with the paprika and a little smoky after taste that was to die for. If you ever like to eat ribs I really think this would be the perfect recipe. One word of warning...Do not use a lot of the liquid smoke or it will feel like you are eating a big piece of camp fired wood. Just a couple of splashes would do the trip. Well until next time....

Surprise party

Time for another birthday party. When the fall hits, our family's birthdays come shooting out from every direction. This time it was my aunts and my uncle (who I work with) came up with a idea to surprise my aunt with a small party. Just some family with lunch and cake. I said "I'm ready for the mission general!" I decided to make her favorite meal which is spaghetti pie. I will show you in another entry how to make it. I went over after my uncle got my aunt out of the house and began the cake.

I was making a white cake with whipped cream topping.

Started with 4 egg whites.

Poured in a cup and 1/4 of water.

Some oil...

Then the cake mix.

Stir it all together with a mixer.

Until smooth....

Take some Crisco and coat the bottom of the pan so it doesn't stick.

Add some flour to that.

It should look like this when you are done.

Spread the cake mixture into the pan.

And there is your cake.( Oh I forgot about the part of baking it in the oven @ 350 for 35 minutes. Ha

While the cake was baking I blew up some balloons.

Set the presents out.....

And waited with my grandma and uncle R for my aunt to come home. I had some more pictures but unfortunately my computer erased them. Stupid thing! So I'm going to leave it all up the your imagination. it was a great party. When she came in everyone yelled surprise and that was it!

Tailgating

See that flag, oh how it shines! OK I don't know where I head that from but I thought it was an appropriate saying for this entry. A few days ago I went a football game for the Houston Texans against the New Orleans Saints (Who dat?!) There was a big controversy because my boyfriend was there and he is a Texan fan and I am a Saints fan. We went to a tailgating party I guess you call it before the game and it was so much fun. The food was great and the drinks were good too. I just had water but that didn't matter.


Here is the tent that was set up. There were fans at different places so there was a breeze in the 90 degree weather (without the sun).

Here is reliant stadium. I had my high school graduation here. It is super big.

I posted this picture because I think we look so good together:)

As we were walking up to the stadium I shot some pictures of things I saw along the way. This was the local new station interviewing some players before the game started.

Budweiser truck that was filled with beer. HA

Oh and here is the game! Come on Saints...I man Texans.....I mean Saint....Oh whatever

These were our seats. It wasn't that bad because it was suite tickets and the food there was good. One thing about people that grew up in new Orleans (Me) is that the conversation is always hovered around food. Just a little info for ya. Go Texans...I mean go Saints...I mean go Texans.. Oh whatever..... (the saints kicked butt).

Road Trip #2-Freeport Beach

One day at work I mentioned to some girls in the office that they looked so much more tanner than I was and I wish I wasn't such a whitie. I am so white that I am whiter than my sister! And she used to be pale white until she started working outside. Darn it! You know I never used to be so white. My first job was a lifeguard and I was always out in the sun. I was nice, tan and loving it. Then one day everybody and their brother started to say "Oh you'll get cancer." Now everyone around me is tan. AH! Well and the other tiny thing......I work full time in an office. I think that will do it. Oh how I miss those days up on the stand in the sun, waiting for someone to drown. Anyway, I loved my other trip to the beach so I decided to go again but to a different beach. Just to try something different. ROAD TRIP NUMBER 2 BABY!!!!

I decided to go to Freeport beach. Boy was I surprised on how it looked. While driving there I had no clue where I was going except for the small instructions my uncle gave me. Take such and such highway and go left (GO LEFT WHERE? I was thinking). Then he said just follow the signs. Well that helped, NOT. I kind of got lost on the way but I made it none the less.

Here is little houses on the beach. We were going over a bridge and I yelled to my sister in law "Quick take a pic, or hold the wheel and let me take one".

As you can see there is no cute set up, big blanket or umbrella. There is just a tiny blanket covered in sand and a white $1.99 cooler with drinks in it. HA. It sure was nice of my aunt and uncle to let me use their stuff last trip.

When I got to the beach I was expecting something like the beach in Madagorda, Texas. The water there was not that pretty and probably the same as Galveston. But this beach was nice and green and some of it was see through. Very beautiful.

It was a bit crowed but enough room for people to have fun. There were a lot of fishers there.

My sister-in-law came with her puppy Sammie dog.

I brought Rocky along too. He seem to be more used to the water now. When we took the other trip it was his first time to the beach and he was afraid of the waves so he resisted going into the water. This time he was a bit more brave.

Here is what I mean with the water being so clean and clear. There was a bit of sea weed but it provided a bit of entertainment for Rocky.

He started batting at the seaweed and playing with it.

Here comes Sammie dog. Run girl run!! She is Rocky's secret girlfriend.

Isn't she cute?! This is my brother's dog by the way.

Laying getting some sun.

In my last entry I wrote that it would be good to be a dog because someone is always there to care for you, feed, bathe and do everything for you. Here is a picture of pure happiness. You get all of those things plus a chauffeur to drive you around while you take a long nap. Life is good for a dog. And sometimes for people too when you see this and know (even though they aren't human)that you satisfied someone out there.