Sweet and Sour Spareribs

One of Oma's go to recipes.  Very simple to prepare, with simple ingredients and a comfort food for sure.  Great for an autumn meal and can either be finished in a crockpot or in the oven.  Oma sometimes simmered the ribs on the stovetop as well.

Ingredients

1 cup cold water
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 to 1/2 cup vinegar (or pickle juice, sweet or sour)

ketchup (original recipe calls for 1/2 bottle so take your best guess as to amount)

1 1/2 tbsp. cornstarch

soy sauce as desired

Combine water, sugar and vinegar.  Bring to a boil.  Add ketchup. 

Mix cornstarch with a little water and add.  

Add 2 pounds browned spareribs (cut for sweet and sours) to sauce and simmer for 2 hours.

Notes: Cut for sweet and sours is generally small pieces of individual bones.

  I find that they are seldom found at the grocers these days. 

 The butcher can be asked to saw them, they can be sawed at home

 or I generally just prepare with longer ribs and they are just as yummy.

I usually double the sauce for 2 pounds of spareribs

 as we like plenty of sauce for the rice we usually serve with the ribs.

This recipe is also found in the Centennial Cookbook.

Pulled Pork in a Crock Pot

• 3 tablespoons paprika
• 1 tablespoons salt
• 2 teaspoons black pepper
• ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon dried thyme
• ½ cup honey
• ¼ cup red wine vinegar
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, peeled and cut in half
• 3 to 3 ½ pounds pork shoulder, cut in half

1. In a medium size mixing bowl, mix together the first six ingredients (all of the spices) with a fork.
2. Pour in the honey, vinegar, and olive oil and stir to form a paste.
3. Place the onion in the bottom of the slow cooker. Top it with the 2 pieces of pork and then pour the honey paste over all sides of the pork pieces. It’s okay if some of it (or a lot of it) just drips down to the bottom.
4. Turn the slow cooker on to low and cook for 7 to 8 hours or until the meat is tender enough to be easily shredded with a fork.
5. Serve warm with fixings like homemade cole slaw and cornbread. My husband also likes his dipped in a little hot sauce. Refrigerate or freeze the leftovers.

Slow Cooker Korean Pork Tacos

NOTES:

• This recipe makes a lot of pulled pork. Stash half in the freezer for a quick meal another night.
• Depending on the jalopenos, this makes for mild-medium heat pulled pork. If you'd like to make it spicier, add 1-2 tablespoons of sriracha to the soy sauce mixture before cooking meat.
• Would be good with plain Greek yogourt or sour cream too and Jenny says next time she would go extra heavy on the jalapeno and lime.

PULLED PORK:

• 1/2 cup light or dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup diced red onion
• 2 jalapeno peppers , finely chopped
• 2 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 3 lbs pork tenderloin or pork butt/shoulder roast
• Salt and pepper , to taste
• 5 whole garlic cloves

SLAW:

• 1 tablespoon light or dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Juice of half a lime
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups shredded green cabbage
• 2 cups shredded red cabbage
• 4 scallions , chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro

TACOS:

• Corn or flour tortillas
• Shredded pulled pork
• Slaw
• Cilantro , optional
• Lime wedges , optional

TO MAKE THE PORK:

• Combine the brown sugar, soy sauce, red onion, jalepeno, ginger, rice vinegar, and sesame seeds in a bowl and whisk until smooth.
• (Optional step) Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper and brown in a large pan set over medium high heat. Brown all or most sides, about 3-4 minutes per side.
• Place pork in a slow cooker. Pour soy sauce mixture over the top. Add the garlic cloves.
• Cover with lid and cook on low for 7 hours, on high for 4 hours.
• Shred pork slightly into large pieces and continue to cook uncovered for an additional 30 minutes.
• Shred pork completely and use immediately or store in the fridge for up to 1 week in the freezer for up to 3 months.

TO MAKE THE SLAW:

• Combine the brown sugar, sesame oil, olive oil, ginger and salt in a bowl and whisk until smooth.
• In a bowl toss the green and red cabbage, scallions and cilantro together. Pour dressing over the top and toss until combined.
• Use immediately, the slaw won't keep for very long.

TO SERVE THE TACOS:

• If desired, toast tortillas in a dry skillet over medium heat.
• Top tortillas with pork, slaw, cilantro and a squeeze of a lime wedge.

Pulled Pork

1 pork shoulder
1 cup coke
2 cups brown sugar
1 jar original bullseye barbecue sauce
crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

Sweet and Sour Spareribs

1 cup cold water

1 cup brown sugar

1/4 to 1/2 cup vinegar (can use half sweet pickle juice)

ketchup (about 1/2 bottle)

1 1/2 tbsp. cornstarch

soy sauce as desired

Combine water, sugar, vinegar and bring to a boil.  Add ketchup.  Mix cornstarch with a little water and add.  Add 2 pounds of browned spareribs (cut for sweet and sours) to above sauce and simmer for about 2 hours.

Slow Cooked Ribs + Skating

What's better than an afternoon skating at the local park?  Maybe having supper ready when you get home?  That's why I love my slow cooker!  I'm always on the hunt for slow cooker recipes that don't taste like slow cooker recipes.  You know what I mean, everybody has had that mushy grey meal emerge from the slow cooker.  Not good!  This rib recipe will make you think BBQ on a warm summer's day.  I've even served it for company and so far, it's been a winner!

Amy’s Slow Cooked Ribs

2 racks of pork back ribs
4 tsp mesquite or Cajun seasoning
salt + pepper
2 cups ketchup
½ cup wine vinegar (or cider vinegar)
4 tbsp granulated sugar
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Cut ribs into single-rib portions; place in large shallow glass dish.  Rub mesquite seasoning, salt and pepper over ribs.  Place dish under broiler, on high, until browned, about 5 minutes per side.  Transfer ribs to slow cooker.

In bowl, mix all other ingredients together and add to slow cooker, stirring to coat ribs.  Cover and cook on low until tender, 6 to 8 hours.

Love,
Twin B
xoxoxo

Old School Pork Chops with Apples

A chilly February Day calls for a simple classic.  I love Jamie Oliver's take on pork chops and apples.  His Old School Pork Chops with Apples recipe is simple, flavourful and super easy.  The kids love it just as much as we do.  I served them up with creamy sweet potato/potato mashed potatoes.  I really liked Jamie Oliver's method of cutting the edge of the pork chops...  it looks cool and really helps cook the chop evenly too.  I had an extra sweet potato leftover from the weekend and simply added it to the pot of regular potatoes.  Yummy supper!

This dish would also be great during the fall, when the weather starts getting that 'edge' of chilly, where you need to put a sweater on in the evening to stay cozy.  When I think apples, I ALWAYS think GRANDMA and her huge yard full of apple trees.

E-man at ONE, chomping a sour apple.

E-man with apple juice dripping from his chin, sitting on Grandma's porch.

E-man at TWO, with his pants full of apples.  

E-man (2 years) and T-man (3 months) in the leaves at Grandma's House.

T-man, tasting a sour apple at age ONE.

Ooo, look at all the yummy apples!  T-man (1 year old)

E-man holding the ladder steady at three years old.

Reegs at 6 months, reaching for her first apple.

Reegs loves all of Grandma's flowers!

Love Twin B
xoxoxoxo

Dreaming of San Diego

So we have been missing our friends in San Diego the last few weeks.  A lot of our big little's buddies became siblings over the last month or so.  We are missing all the new snuggles with all of those adorable bubs.  Dreaming about the warm weather, our days at the beach and zoo and most of all, the giggles with our pals.  My big little spontaneously said yesterday without prompting, "Hummm, where's friends, where are you Diego?".  So sweet.  We looked at pictures of our sunny state buds, and we cooked these pork carnitas up for dinner.  Yum.  I'm not a big pork fan, ask my hubby who loves BBQ pork chops, I rarely cook pork, but I have to say, these were SO SO good, I ate three!  Was a challenge to find the salsa verde here in upstate NY, fellow Canadians might have the same issue.  I was shocked since in SD you have a row of green salsa options.  Worth every aisle searching minute though.  This recipe was from the Kelle Hampton blog that I follow.  Thank you!

Sending Love,

Twin A

Pork Carnitas

2 pork tenderloins (about 1 pound each)
1 jar of salsa verde (green salsa–any kind)
1 can Rotel tomatoes (diced tomatoes with chile's, for the Canadian-folk go ahead and just use diced tomatoes)
1 can chopped green chiles
1 onion, chopped in large pieces

Cover in crockpot and cook on low until pork easily forks apart (about 10 hours). Serve buffet-style with flour tortillas, cheese, cilantro, avocado, tomatoes, lettuce and sour cream.

Love these pictures!

These moments are why I am a Mommy!  xxoo