Bret's BBQ Baby Back Ribs

Whenever we visit my brother and his wife in Virginia, two things are guaranteed, good meat and moonshine. So when we had a wings & ribs night on vacation, I knew my brother's ribs would not disappoint. The ribs were falling off the bone and you could taste the love he put into them; they were marinated overnight, braised in beer, and then smoked over wood chips. Below is a picture of them, post marination and pre-braising.

Say hi to Bret.

Say hi to the ribs.

Slow Cooker Carnitas

A slow cooker is a must for any busy cook. You can't beat throwing some ingredients into a slow cooker before heading to work, and coming home to a great smelling apartment and dinner ready. I tend to use mine more in the fall and winter, but really it would be a good way to avoid spending time in the hot kitchen in the summer. I had some pork butt in the freezer so I decided to make carnitas, as it would be a great way to use up some of my tomatillo salsa that I made last week. By the way, the pork butt does not actually come from the pigs rear end, it's part of the shoulder. This is also another one of those dishes that doesn't photograph nearly as well as it tastes, the recipe is below.

Barbecue Rubbed Pork Chops

These Barbecue Rubbed Pork Chops from Cooking Light are a staple in my house. They make for a quick weeknight meal and are very juicy and flavorful. I stock up my freezer with pork chops when they are on sale, and I have all of the other ingredients in my pantry so the lack of planning required is a big bonus for me. The only changes I make to the recipe are that I add extra brown sugar if I'm in the mood to make it a little sweeter or extra ground red pepper if I want something spicier, I add more rub each time I turn the meat, and if I have onions on hand I slice them up and grill them with the meat and rub.

I usually serve this with the grilled sweet potatoes from this post or just microwave a sweet potato (poke some holes with a fork and microwave 5 minutes, flip it over and cook for 5 more minutes), but tonight I wanted to make whatever side I could find at the small farmers market outside of my building. So red potatoes and random ingredients from my fridge resulted in mashed red potatoes with spinach and mascarpone cheese. The recipe is below.

Smoky Slow Cooker Chili

I'm on a quest to find a really good chili recipe, this Smoky Slow Cooker Chili was a step in the right direction.  I did most of the prep the night before, and then put everything in the slow cooker before heading to work.  I followed the recipe for the most part; I did add some chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, cayenne pepper, more chili powder, and used brown sugar instead of regular.  Our first serving we forgot to add the lime, but don't worry we had seconds and remembered the lime, which added a really nice touch.  Next time I will add more beans, I'm debating whether it's more pinto or if I should add kidney beans or black beans.