Crockpot BBQ Ribs

I normally pour a bottle of BBQ sauce into the crockpot with some ribs, maybe add an onion and some garlic and call it a day. The result is never great. The marrow from the ribs mixed with the breaking down of the sauce create a running, greasy "sauce" that covers the meat. The ribs are good, but never GREAT.

Today was different.

I found this recipe on Facebook through the Crockpot Recipe Exchange group. It calls for making a simple rub, rubbing down the ribs and adding some water to the crockpot. Then, just before it's done, you add some BBQ sauce. It was SO good! The meat still fell off the bone, but there wasn't really any greasy mess and the meat still had good feel to it (it wasn't TOO soft). Here's more specific directions:

Ribs: 3 lbs Pork spareribs

Rub:
1 Tbls Brown Sugar
1 Tbls Paprika
2 tsp Garlic Powder
1 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
-----Mix ingredients together in a small bowl. Rub the ribs down, place in crockpot. If you have any rub leftover - just sprinkle it on top.
-----Add 1/2 Cup water to the crockpot (I guess you could do this before or after you put the ribs in, not a big deal).
----- Cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 5-6 hours
About an hour or so before dinnertime, take your favorite BBQ sauce and pour about 1 or 1 1/2 cups over the ribs. I ended up pouring 1 cup (3/4s of the bottle) so I could have some dipping sauce with the ribs at dinner.
----Turn the heat down to Warm (what I did) or to low if you don't have a warm setting (or even just off with the lid tightly shut). The sauce will warm up and gently coat the ribs.

***Note that this is a little different then the origial recipe. For the original recipe - click on the link in the above paragraph.

I served this with corn on the cob, the extra BBQ sauce from the bottle and lots of napkins! Delicious!

Weekly Menu - 8/4 - 8/10

Here's my weekly menu and grocery list for August 4th - August 10th
*** We have SEVERAL tomatoes from our garden as well as TONS of basil. So I'll be using those a lot this week! :)

Wednesday : Ginger Glazed Mahi Mahi with Green Beans (from the garden)
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Ginger-Glazed-Mahi-Mahi/Detail.aspx
Need: Mahi Mahi


Thursday: Margarita Pizza and a salad
Need: Tomato Sauce and Mozzarella Cheese


Friday: Spare Ribs and Corn

3 lb. country style pork spare ribs
1 T. brown sugar
1 T. paprika
2 t. garlic powder
1/2 c. water
1 1/2 t. pepper

Put all ingredients in crock pot and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 5-6 hours.
During last 2 hours of cooking add 1 1/2 c. bottled BBQ sauce - whatever kind you like.

Need: Spareribs, BBQ Sauce, Corn


Saturday: Caprese Lasagna
http://bakeorbustblog.blogspot.com/2009/08/caprese-lasagna.html

Need: Mozzarella Cheese


Sunday: Birthday Parties - no dinner


Monday: Date Night -- no dinner


Tuesday: Leftovers or a big salad

Dinner Menu Grocery List
Mozzarella cheese -- 1 bag shredded and 1 fresh ball (approx $5)
Tomato Pizza Sauce ($3)
2 lbs mahi mahi fillets (2.99'lb = $6)
3 lb. country style pork spare ribs (1.99/lb = approx $6)
BBQ Sauce (3.50)
Corn (.15 each = $1)

Approximate Total: $25

Add-ons for the grocery list:

Sprouts Apple Juice ($3)

Banana Chips ($2)

Deli Meats ($??? Sale "40% off"

--may get some depending on price)

Fruit Leather (3 for $1)

Red Grapes (88 cents/lb = $2)

Watermelon (4lbs for $1)

Butter (2 for $5)

Applesauce ($3)

2 Gallons Milk ($5)

TOTAL Guesstimate for groceries for the week = $50

GROCERY UPDATE!

I went to Sprouts today and did my grocery shopping. I did an awesome job and came in under budget! I still need to get 1 more gallon of milk, mozzarella cheese and butter. All of which I'll be getting at Fresh and Easy later today. Here's the breakdown:

Banana Chips ................ 0.67lbs @ 1.99/lb .........................1.33

Milk (1)........................... 3.19 / gallon...................................3.19

Ham off the bone........... 0.66 @ 4.19/lb .............................2.71

Turkey Breast................ 0.53 @ 4.19/lb .............................2.22

Pastrami......................... 0.41 @ 4.79/lb .............................1.96

Mahi Mahi (HUGE filets!) 1.00@ 2.99/lb...........................2.99

Pork Spareribs (pre-packaged) 1.77/lb

Package 1 ............................o.98 lbs..............................1.73

Package 2...........................0.72 lbs...............................1.27

Package 3........................... 0.87 lbs..............................1.54

Applesauce .........................................................................2.29

BBQ Sauce...........................................................................2.99

Fruit Leather .............................3 for $1................................1.00

Natural Apple Juice...................2 for $6................................3.00

Red Seedless Grapes................2lbs @ 0.88/lb....................1.76

Seedless Watermelon...............7.34lbs @ 0.15/lb...............1.10

White Corn................................ 4 ears @ 0.15 each.............0.60

Used bag credit (3) ............................................................... 0.15CREDIT

TOTAL Grocery bill ---------------$30.93