Crock Pot BBQ Ribs (A Pin a Day #2)

Let me start this off by saying that I LOVE BBQ, and Charlie just thinks it's OK. I could eat ribs all day and never get enough, but my biggest complaint is how expensive they can get when you order them out. I never really attempted to make them, probably because I didn't know where to start, so every time I saw ribs on a menu, I was all over them. Then I found a pin for ribs cooked in a slow cooker, and I thought, "YES! I can do this!".

I love using my crock pot, I don't care what season it is. I love putting the food in and 8 hours later, pulling my dinner out with little to no work involved. It's great for a busy mom like myself. So ribs in a crock pot was like 2 of my favorite things ever having a delicious smutty relationship and dinner was going to be the bastard son result of the tryst. I bought a rack of ribs when they were on sale, figuring 1 rack was enough for 2 people, but these ribs were so tasty I totally regretted not getting 2 racks and will in the future (maybe even 3, nom nom nom). Heed this warning, 1 rack just barely satisfies 2 people, so do your math people.

It's so easy! Plus it's the week before 4th of July, so you KNOW your local grocery store has ribs on sale right now. Albertson's has them for 2.99/lb.




I adapted this recipe from MMM is for Mommy, and she adapted it from America's Test Kitchen, so feel free to add and subtract at will.

You will need;

• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tbsp smoked paprika (the smoky flavor really helps here!)
• salt  & pepper
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 2 racks of Baby Back Pork Ribs
• Favorite BBQ sauce of your choice, homemade or store bought

Combine the dry ingredients and run all along the outside of the ribs, coating them well. Place them into your slow cooker on LOW heat and cover with BBQ sauce. Cook for 6-8 hours.

Here is where my recipe differs, only because my broiler hates me and I really love utilizing cooking on the BBQ outside in the summer.

Carefully remove your ribs from the crock pot and put onto a plate to rest. Transfer the juices and BBQ sauce in the crock pot into a sauce pot and simmer until reduced and thickened.

If you want to use the broiler, follow her directions for broiling the ribs, if you want a smokier flavor, keep reading.

Preheat your BBQ on HIGH for a few minutes and clean the grates with a wire brush. Reduce heat to MEDIUM and place the ribs bone side down on the grill. Baste the ribs with reduced BBQ sauce mixture every couple minutes until sauce becomes thick and sticky, about 10 minutes. Remove from grill, pour extra sauce on top if you wish and serve.

Charlie said they were THE BEST ribs he's ever eaten, which is saying a lot because as I said before, he doesn't really care for ribs. The meat LITERALLY fell off the bone, and by that I mean, when I picked up a bone to bite into it, all that I pulled up, was a bone. The meat was tender, smoky and delicious, like I had paid $20 for the plate at a BBQ joint. I did it!! Abbey loved them too.

We served ours with some Bush's Grillin' Beans in Bourbon and Brown Sugar and some mustard potato salad from the deli. Delish!

Perfect Pan Fried Pork Chops

Here in our house, we love pork chops. I especially love when they are on sale and I can get them really cheap! And by really cheap I mean for like a buck each, now THAT'S cheap! I often struggle with new ways to cook an old standard, because after awhile, I just get tired of baked pork chops.

I found this recipe in the 2010 issue of The Best of America's Test Kitchen, and fell in love with it the first time I tried it out. It produces a flavorful and juicy chop, and in a lot less time than baking them. Plus! cooking it this way doesn't heat up the house in the summer. A perfect pan fried pork chop is such a staple in the south, home of comfort food, and I am always happy when I find something Charlie requests on a semi-regular basis.

You will need;

• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 chops, bone in or boneless will both work, about 1/4" thick
• 3 slices bacon (or reserved drippings, about 1 tbsp)
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil

 Combine all the spices together to make a rub. I sometimes use this rub recipe, or I will use Amazing Taste Brand Malibu Seasoning, which is perfect for pork chops. Place flour in a shallow bowl or plate. Pat the chops dry, make 2 slits in the fatty side of the chop (to prevent chops from curling when cooking) and season with rub. Dredge the chops through the flour to coat. Let rest 10 minutes and dredge again.


Cook the bacon in a large skillet until crisp, or heat up reserved drippings. Discard bacon for another use later and keep the drippings in the pan. Add oil and heat over medium until just smoking. Cook chops until brown, about 4 minutes on each side.

Stuffed Pork Chops

So last week I was in LA, visiting for the Burbank International Film Festival in between working at the salon. I always enjoy going up there and staying with the boys because it gives me a chance to plan menus and cook!

Brian and I went over to Vons for some grocery shopping for the week and along the way passed by the deli. Usually I don't get any of the prepared stuff and just stick to getting my fresh meat there, but week after week these delicious stuffed pork chops have been calling my name.

At around $3.50 each they are a pretty decent deal, and they are amazingly delicious. I checked them out as I was cooking them and figured I could make them myself, cheaper and better. So that's just what I did. It's amazing how easy this is to make on your own.

You're gonna need;

Unseasoned Stuffing Mix
Seasons to taste
A medium to large apple (any kind, peeled and chopped)
Chopped nuts (We used pecans but you can use anything you want)
Chicken broth
Thick cut boneless Pork Chops

We started off with some basic unseasoned stuffing mix, we used Mrs. Cubbison's. In a medium sized bowl combine the stuffing, seasons, chopped nuts and chopped apple, and mix with boiling chicken stock til combined. Let it sit and then fluff with fork. You can also grab a box of Stove Top if you want and just add apple and nuts into it if it's easier for you, regardless this will sit to the side and cool while you prepare your chops.

The thicker the chops you get, the cooking time with increase, so getting something thick but not insane is best. You will make a long incision lengthwise to create a pocket in the chop and then stuff with the cooled apple dressing. Place the stuffed chops on a lined baking sheet and put them into an oven preheated at 400* for 30-40 minutes. That's it. They should look something like this; and impress everyone.


I topped mine with a basic brown gravy with peppercorns and capers.

Genghis Cohen

Adam decided a few weeks ago to take me out for my birthday, I'm just getting around to blogging it now. Shame on me I know, but I'm so far back logged I'll be posting things that have long past happened for the next few weeks.

A few years ago I stumbled upon Genghis Cohen with an ex-boyfriend. He was a HUGE Seinfeld fan, and rumor has it that Jerry LOVES this place, so well we had to try it. It's been a favorite ever since. I took Adam there one night and he's a convert as well.

The best thing about eating out with Adam, is that he LOVES to try everything and we usually end up ordering more than we can eat, thank goodness for take home boxes! This night was no exception.

One of the best things about Genghis Cohen is the blatant Jewish references in the restaurant. They are kinda have that New York Chinese food thing going for them, and as far as I know are one of the only places you can get those big East Coast NY egg rolls in LA. They even have silly names for things like, Krispy Kanton Knish , Cohen Slaw & Pickles and my favorite of them all, Shalom Pork.

I ordered a pot of hot tea and a glass of water I had to beg for 3 times while we waited for all the food we ordered. The waitress, as she finished our order, had to mention what fat asses we were by saying "Ooh that's a lot of food."

Hot Tea.

We started off with some crispy noodles. They have the BEST crispy noodles, seriously.

Crispy Noodles, "Duck Sauce" and Hot Mustard.

For our Pork dish we got the BBQ Pork Fried Rice. I think fried rice is pretty hard to mess up, so this compares to most fried rices I've had, but it's still really freaking good.

BBQ Pork Fried Rice.

For our Chicken dish we got the Orange Peel Chicken with Broccoli. Amazing. I've actually had the Fried Tofu version of this as well, and it's the BEST tofu I've ever had to this day.

Orange Peel Chicken with Broccoli.

We decided to be adventurous and order the Crispy Duck, which we didn't like. I'm not a huge fan of duck and I keep giving it second and third chances for some reason and it always lets me down. Their No Name Duck comes with a plum sauce and is actually a lot better than this. I'm not much of a fan of that one either, but Adam eats it up.

Crispy Duck.

For the Beef dish we got my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE THING AT GENGHIS COHEN EVER; Mabu Beef in a Basket. It's yummy thinly sliced beef, tossed with some yummy sweet sauce and then cooked til crispy AND THEN! placed in an Egg Roll wrapper BOWL! YOU CAN EAT THE FREAKING BOWL! I always get this, it's a given.

Mabu Beef in a Basket.

Being pretty close to Hollywood, on the corner of Fairfax and Melrose, lots of celebrities eat here, so we felt we had to do the only thing left to do, Pose like the last remaining heirs to the Massengill fortune. We fit right in.

"Douche Chill!" - Tobias Funke

Crock Pot recipe #1!

So here it is...

My first crock pot recipe!!

My dad's famous bean soup! (well *he* thinks its famous)

It's the best soup for cold days and it's really cheap to make, plus it will feed you for days and is really great reheated.

I asked him how he makes his beans and he told me he starts off by soaking pinto beans for 12-24 hours. You can use any beans you want, or even a bean medley.

The next morning, get out your crock pot (my dad says thats the trick) but if you don't have a crock pot you can use a big pot on the stove, either way use low heat.



Into the crock pot add

8-12 oz Pinto beans, soaked, washed and drained
4 carrots, cut into inch long chunks
2-4 potatoes, cut into cubes
2 onions, roughly chopped
6 garlic cloves, smashed
4 stalks of celery, chopped
3 strips of bacon, cut into pieces* (or omit for a vegetarian friendly recipe)
1 can of stewed tomatoes (my dad says this cuts down on "bean farts", but I'm not sure if I believe him.)

Add some brown sugar, salt and pepper to taste and optionally, you can add some ketchup or a bay leaf, just remove the bay leaf before eating.

Give it all a good toss and stir in the pot, and then cover it with water, broth or stock. Vegetable stock can be used for more flavor.

Let it simmer in the crock pot or on the stove for a good 8-12 hours or until the beans are fork tender.**


And then eat the hell out of it.



Here I added a 1/2 chicken breast on the side for a little extra protein, but its great with corn bread, biscuits, crackers, or whatever you may fancy.


*By all means add or remove any of the above items, this is just what my dad uses. I've even used the left over ham bone from the Christmas Ham instead of the bacon, but if you do it that way, make sure you fish out the bones before you eat it.

**If you prefer your soups a little heartier, half way through the cooking process, remove a bit of the broth and put it into a bowl. Into this broth whisk in some flour, or corn starch and kinda make like a roux, which is just a fancy french word for thickener. Make sure it's smooth and free of lumps and then put it back into the pot. The flour or corn starch will cook and make the soup less brothy and more stewy.