GOOD MORNING SUNSHINE! Lurve this weather….I think it’s safe to say “SPRING IS HERE!” Go ahead….shout it out….LOUDER….now whisper it…now shout it again…..whoooo that feels good! Today is gonna be a great day…(I’m still shouting) I’ve got my yoga class, lunch afterwards, then date night with my girls to Spezias and Water for Elephants (and a smidgen of painting in between!) Since it’s a wonderful day and i’m feeling quite generous…i will share our recipe for the meal of food we made last night…..you know what made it taste great? Jerime made the ribs….the only problem….I have no idea how he did it….I’ve been searching and searching the internet for step by step instructions on how to make BBQ Ribs on the grill with a smoker box….FRUSTRATING….they are all so different…so i’ll give you the tools you need….and then i’m gonna leave you with an open ended recipe….hate doing that ….but this searching is really tedious…..
First things first……soak your chips overnight in a bowl of water: this was an easy step…i can totally do this!
I know he used this smoker box…he bought it from Amazon for a little over $10
Jerime came home for lunch at noon…well, not really for lunch….he came home to prepare dinner…..and I KISSED THE COOK! first step…fill your smoker box with the chips….easy…i could do that
and I found this on how to get your smoker box ready for the grill……this was actually really helpful http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=droqmzBbBsE How to Use a Smoker Box….
now prepare the ribs for battle
pull off the membrane on the back of ribs with a knife and remove all visible fat
add spices to the meat…we use Famous Dave’s RIB RUB
now…this is where you rub you meat…..feel free to sing while doing so…the song we choose was “Push it….Push it REAL GOOD….” but we inserted the word RUB instead of PUSH….dance too! BA BABY BABY…..UMMMMMM RUB IT…..RUB IT REAL GOOD!
~now they are ready for the grill…….the only tips i know
- heat must remain at 225 degrees (cook 6 hours)
- half way in between cooking…refill smoker box with new cedar chips….i did this all by myself! ha
- spread bbq sauce on 30 minutes before you take off the grill…we used Cookies for Gracie’s and Jack Daniels for ours
AND THAT’S ALL I’VE GOT!
GO AHEAD….KISS THE COOK AGAIN! and now sing….I want my baby back baby back baby back ribs…..GET IN MY BELLY! (sounds way awesome if you do it in “fat bastard’s” voice from Austin Powers
We served our ribs with Sweet Potatoes and Cucumber Salad
For the sweet potatoes…..stick in oven at 450 for 1 hour….remove and prick with fork….steam will be hot….now slice and “x” in the middle and push ends together to open (using mitts) now add some marshmallows and throw back in the oven for about 3-5 minutes or until marshies start to brown……delightful and easy
For the cucs…I sliced them and put them into a colander with a bowl underneath….sprinkled with sea salt and put in fridge for one hour to let drain….while waiting, in saucepan bring 1/2 cup rice vinegar, 1/2 cup water and 3 Tablespoons of sugar to a boil….keep boiling until only 1/3 cup liquid remains (about 10-15 min) Remove from heat and cool to room temp….when ready to serve, remove cucs from fridge and blot with paper towels to remove any liquid…pour liquid over cucs and stir to mix….so good!
Now, for the best part…..dessert…this is another kid friendly recipe…Gracie loved helping mix the sugar cookie crust, spreading it into a circle, mixing up the cream cheese and spreading on the fruit
For the sugar cookie crust you will need:
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cream of tarter
- 1 3/4 cup flour
- 1 T vanilla
cream together butter, sugar and eggs, add dry ingredients and mix together to form dough…i added a little water to moisten….spread on oiled cookie sheet into a circle….i’ve also made these as individual cookies too (u can even use a cookie cutter to make shapes)bake at 350 for about 15 – 18 min or until sugar cookie is cooked thru…let cool completely
for the cream cheese topping you need:
- 1/2 block reduced fat Philadelphia Cream Cheese (softened)
- 2 T powdered sugar
- 1/2 tub lite cool whip
mix cream cheese and powdered sugar together and fold in cool whip…spread over cookie crust
now cut up strawberries, kiwis, and open up a can of mandarin oranges…i normally don’t use oranges, i use bananas…honestly…like the bananas better…but you can add any kind of fruit you want…that’s the beauty
this is the part gracie enjoyed the most….decorate your pizza crust with the fruit…she thief-ed A LOT of fruit during this process….i didn’t mind!
then we melted about 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips and drizzled it over the pizza with a spoon…..
mmmmmmm….sooooo good!
