4 thumbs up baby back ribs.

Sorry to be so silent lately, I've just been busy trying to get Awana wrapped up for the end of the year awards and planning all my crafts for VBS. Jeana is home sick today to I thought I would post something since I was gone taking her to the doctor this morning... No strep throat at least, just a cold. So my day was a little crazy yesterday, I was the only teacher in my room yesterday, not that they told me that I was going to be the only one. No that would have been considerate of my feelings, that is not to be. So anyway I had 6, 2 year olds yesterday, although some of them have turned 3 by now and A (a little boy in my class is almost 4 he acts more like a 2 year old.. kind of sad but we got the parents as Teachers to evaluate him and talk to his parents so he can go to a school that has a teacher that can maybe help him next year. I personally think he has some form of autism but I don't really have any training to back that up. Anyhow after pre-school I had to rush home to get the ribs out of the oven, I had been baking them all morning in a low heat oven so they would be done so we could have early dinner. Dinner had to be early because Jana had a orchestra concert for school. It was the solo concert so each child got to play the solo that they played at the music festival that they went to last weekend. Jana's orchestra got first place! I was very proud of them. Back to dinner, Jeana said while we were eating that she gave the ribs 4 thumbs up! Pretty cute. So I thought that I would post the recipe. so here goes.

4 thumbs up baby back ribs.

I usually just do one rack and that gives us about 4 ribs a piece, otherwise it is a little pricey. This is a excellent special occasion dinner and super easy to do ahead of time and just put in oven and forget about.
Dry Rub
1 cup white sugar
1 cup table salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
5 T + 1 t chili powder
2 T + 2 t ground cumin
1 t Accent (msg) the original recipe calls for 4 t but I reduce to 1 t since this give my husband a head ache.
4 t cayenne pepper
4 t black pepper, freshly ground
4 t garlic powder
4 t onion powder
mix all together and keep in airtight container, will make at least 5 to 6 batches of ribs.

So after I have this done or I get out my batch that is in my container I rinse the ribs and pull the membrane of the inner part of the ribs and toss. I then take about 2 tablespoons or so of cider vinegar and brush the meat, I then dust the meat with the dry rub both sides. I then place the meat in a 13 x 9 Pyrex dish and cover with foil and place in fridge over night. I have just marinated for 4 hours or so and then cooked but I like the overnight version better.
Then when done marinating I remove from fridge and remove foil and brush with sauce below.
Carolina Vinegar BBQ sauce:
1/2 pound margarine
1/2 cup Vinegar
juice of 1 lemon
1 1/2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
dash cumin, dash Cayenne pepper, dash chili powder ( I added these they are not in the origanal recipe)
4 T Brown Sugar
melt margin in sauce pan add lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, honey, salt, pepper and spices and bring to boil. remove from heat stir in vinegar and 3 to 4 T of brown sugar.
This also make enough for tons of ribs so I keep in container in fridge and warm up a little before I brush it on.
After basting the ribs I add about a 1/2 cup coke to the bottom of my pan to keep everything moist while cooking, recover with foil and bake at 225 degree oven for about 4 to 5 hours or a little longer if you want them to fall completely from the bone. I usually just check to see if you can wiggle the bone easily to see if they are done. I then remove them from the oven let cool slightly and then we put them on the grill from a few minutes and sauce them with some regular tomato based BBQ sauce (optional) we like Head Country. Or you could use some more Carolina BBQ sauce and enjoy! For those of you who like to use the Crock pot I am sure you could adapt these to be cooked on low for the crock pot just not sure about the times.

I know, your saying, where have you been?? Well, to tell the truth, I have just felt quite and reflective. 2 weeks ago my husbands grandmother passed away. This is the 2nd grandmother in our family this year. So my girls had 3 greatgrandma's at the start of 2009 and now we are down to one. The one that is still with us is not doing so hot. So please pray for her. She actually told me when I went down for my Mamaw's funeral that her teeth were hurting her so bad she hadn't been sleeping, but she didn't get them fixed last year because she didn't want to WASTE the money. She thought she would die before the temporary crown started bothering her. I told her in no uncertain terms to get it fixed I wasn't letting go that easy. She has several medical problems and I know they are hard on her. Anyway she has not been doing so good since my Mamaw died, she was actually too sick to attend the funeral and I think that has been bothering her. She keeps talking to my Dad about changing arrangements for her funeral and things also. Anyway she is 86 years old and lives alone and now her hip is bothering her. But it was be very hard to handle right now if something happened to her. My relationship is very different with her, than my other grandmother but I love her and we have had enough this year.
I will miss Brian's grandma (they called her grandmumsey) she was a funny lady, that did many things for others. I remember the first time I met her she was talking to us and she said to Brian, he my hair is growing back (she had some heart medication that made her hair fall out) So then as soon as she blurted that out she lifted up her wig and showed us. I just about fell over laughing. She also gave me a rolling pin for a wedding present. She had a cute little poem with it that said something to the effect that the rolling pin was for baking but it could also be used to keep husbands in line! I wish I had saved the poem. Well it is late and I have lots of work for tomorrow. Gotta gear up for VBS planning. God is comforting us and we really are doing pretty good.