Crock Pot Blackened Chipotle Country Ribs

No one ever said life should or would be easy. But sometimes it does seem harder than it should be. Like most of ours weekends, during the spring sports season, we are swamped. This past weekend we had five games (actually a light schedule), regular yard work, plus 3 yards of dirt, and two rose bushes.

That should be enough for one weekend, but we decided to throw in a swarming attack of flying ants Saturday night, a twisted ankle and sunburn (while doing said yard work on Sunday), and the topper, a broken garage door Sunday night.

So this morning I had plenty of phone calls to make. I also needed to make a dish for teachers appreciation luncheon at school, plus we have away games every night this week,

To add a little more craziness, my mother (who lives with us) started six weeks of radiation treatment today, for breast cancer. Even though I sound like I’m complaining, I’m not. Life is good and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Well maybe without the swarm of ants and busted garage door.

I’m glad I had this easy crock pot dish ready to go. Oh well, I hope you enjoy this great pork recipe during your busy week. Try not to sprain your ankle in the process..

I served the country ribs on top of easy cheese grits. Click here for the recipe

Enjoy!

Check out this post and many other great recipes on Fiesta Friday link party

Crock Pot Tips and Tricks

I love my slow cooker. I usually use it twice a week. I plan on posting a new crock pot recipe each week. If you have a favorite recipe you would like converted to be cooked in the crock pot, let me know and I will give it a shot.

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Here are some great crock pot tips from crock-pot.com

How do I prevent meat from drying out?

• To prevent poultry from drying out, use chicken thighs—they have more fat and won’t dry out as quickly, Cook thighs for about six hours and breasts for a maximum of five hours on low heat. Beef, depending on the cut, is much more forgiving. For better results, use stewing beef, short ribs, or brisket as opposed to a rib steak or a sirloin.

How much liquid should I use?

Homemade Dry Onion Soup Mix

This is from my Crock Pot Pork Philly Cheese Steak Post. Thought it would be easier to find as a separate post.

Homemade Dry Onion Soup Mix:

Ingredients:

3/4 cup dried onion flakes

1/3 cup low-sodium beef bouillon granules

4 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp parsley flakes

1/4 tsp celery seed

1/4 tsp paprika

1/8 tsp ground black pepper

1/8 tsp sugar

Directions:

Combine all ingredients and store in an airtight container

About 5 tablespoons of mix are equal to 1 1¼-ounce package

To make onion dip: Mix 5 tablespoons with one pint of sour cream.

Adapted from AllRecipes.com and Food.com

Guinness Irish Stew

In honor of St Patrick’s Day and the fact that winter seems to finally be leaving, I made my version of Irish or Guinness Stew. This is a traditional stew except for the addition of sweet potatoes. It is a subtle change, adds a little sweetness to the dish and a few more vitamins. If you want to serve this on St Patrick’s Day you could use the crock pot version at the end of this blog.

Crock Pot Buffalo BBQ Chicken Sliders with Ranch Slaw

There are many versions of Buffalo Chicken Sliders on the internet. My version is made in the crock pot using bone-in chicken breasts, Sweet Baby Ray’s Buffalo Wing Sauce and Honey Barbecue Sauce. I add the barbecue sauce because when I make wings my kids like a mix of buffalo and barbecue, instead of the heat of straight buffalo.

My recipe is a little sweet with just the right amount of heat. If you want to spice it up, just splash more hot sauce on your individual sliders. This recipe would be perfect for a cold Saturday watching March Madness basketball with friends. The ranch slaw adds a nice tang to the slider. Easy to make and kid friendly.

Beef Daube Cajun Style

Beef Daube Cajun Style, Dadwhats4dinner.com

In honor of New Orleans, Mardi Gras and french influence’s on their local cuisine, I wanted to share my recipe for Beef Daube Cajun Style.

Beef Daube Cajun Style Dadwhats4dinner.com

I made this dish yesterday to have for dinner tonight. It is better if served the next day but can be served immediately. I also made fresh Quick Ciabatta Bread which goes great with this hardy dish. It is very cold and snowy today and a warm hearty dish will hit the spot.

Quick Ciabatta Bread, Dadwhats4dinner.com

I spiced up the traditional Beef Daube by adding Cajun blackened seasoning. I use all natural Cajun’s Choice brand. This adds just enough kick to add a New Orleans flare.

Crockpot BBQ Chicken

If your family is like ours the weekdays are extremely busy. Our kids play soccer, baseball, gymnastics and our oldest referees. Needless to say providing a good healthy meal during the week is a challenge.

Earlier this week I wanted something different to cook in the crock pot. Often Tyson chicken is on sale at the local Kroger and so I will stock the freezer. I decided to use two packs of drumsticks and one package of thighs for this dish. Any combination of chicken pieces will work. The great part of this recipe is you can put the chicken in the crock pot frozen. This is a great tip for any chicken crock pot dish.  You might need to defrost the chicken a few minutes in the microwave. This will allow you to remove the chicken from its packaging and remove the skin.

This is a very inexpensive meal that makes a large quantity of shredded BBQ.

Throw it all in and walk away.

Serve with a green salad and mac n cheese for the kids.

Enjoy!