Dinner with Guests

I wanted to post this earlier in the week, but this has been a really crazy week both at work and at home, so I haven't had time. It was a really great week though and I can't wait to fully update you!

My mom & stepdad were visiting with us last weekend, and whenever mom is here she's an amazing help in the kitchen. I just love cooking alongside of her - it's some of the best bonding time we have because the men are nowhere nearby, LOL!

Here was our menu for the weekend. Sadly I only thought to take pics of Sunday's, but enjoy:

Friday night: 
Ham steaks [bought a package of 4 of them from the meat section]
Pasta sides - chicken flavored
Steamed mixed veggies {green beans, peas, carrots, and corn mix}

Saturday night:
Ground turkey tacos with whole wheat/low carb tortillas
Cuties
Carrot sticks

Sunday night:
Tasty BBQ ribs

Modified from the Busy Woman's Cookbook:

2 1/2 to 3 pounds spareribs [we used 3 1/2 pounds since we had 4 people]

1 onion, sliced

1 (16 oz) bottle BBQ sauce [we used 1 1/2 bottles of Bull's Eye since that's our favorite]

Sprinkle ribs with salt [and additional BBQ seasonings/rub if you want, but watch the amount of salt]. Place ribs in broiler pan for 15 minutes to brown [recommend turning them over part way through or for an additional 15 minutes on the other side]. Put sliced onion in bottom of crock pot [I like to sprinkle some of the BBQ sauce over the onion directly]. Slice ribs into serving pieces [watching out for those wicked tough bones...and hence, your fingers ahem...] and put in crock pot [I like to layer them so they are stacked in different directions and are easier to pull out when done]. Pour in BBQ sauce [I pour some over it halfway through the layering just to insure BBQ sauce awesomeness]. Cover and cook on low 8-10 hours [or high 4-5 hours]. I've done it both ways, and while it's really good both ways, this time the low for 10 hours with more ribs worked out perfectly! 

Potatoes al la experiment

I took a couple of recipes, including this one for garlic mashed potatoes, and tweaked them. I had no idea if this would turn out well, but given what I've learned on the Food Network and from my awesome sister-in-law Becca and her love of red potatoes, I hoped for the best. And thankfully, they turned out delicious!

3/4 bag of 3 lb red potatoes

1 T butter

1 t garlic powder

1 t onion powder

1/2 t salt

1/2 t pepper

small handful of rosemary

Cut potatoes in half and place at bottom of large pan. Pour water over potatoes, just enough to cover them. Boil potatoes and keep boiling for a few minutes. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes [at this point the potatoes are mushy enough that you could almost make them mashed, and are easy to eat with a fork but for a tougher consistency stop simmering at 10 minutes]. Drain potatoes. Lightly brown butter on low in same pan [so it's already warm], add other spices and stir as you go. Add potatoes back in and stir gently until well mixed. Serve warm. 

Salad {put together by my mom who always makes the most beautiful salads - it's her fav food!}

Romaine lettuce

Carrots

Tomatoes

Green peppers

It was a really great weekend of fun and bonding, with great food, shopping, movie watching, and game playing! I'm so glad we had a good time with them. Coming up next, a full update on the week.


Happy cooking! :)