Easy Sunday Afternoon in-the-oven Ribs

I was a bit wary when SO suggested ribs for Sunday. She has all the good ideas in the family, but our track record for ribs lately hasn't been stellar.  Well we had a few disastrous mishaps in any case.  Oh well, let's try again. At our local grocery I got 2 large racks of side ribs for around $20, not too bad. We actually had the slow cooker out when she suggested doing them in the oven before leaving for the day to traipse around to the musem and the movies with SSO and his "date". A girl. Not a date he insists, but a "birthday present" since he missed her birthday party the week before. How does a 7 year old even know what a date is anyway? Anyhoo. So oven it will be.  Let's just wing it, how bad could it be?

Easy Ribs in the oven

Well you know, it actually turned out awesome! I had trouble removing them from the roaster because they were falling apart like crazy. I decided to try and do them with as little work as possible, partly because I wanted to see if they'd turn out ok that way, and partly because it was supposed to be my do-nothing-because-it's-Father's-Day day. Nevermind that Father's Day was last Sunday. Things get delayed for camping, is all.  So instead of cutting up onions, mixing up fancy spices and bbq sauces, basting every 20 minutes like some recipes would have you do, it was a stick in big roasting pan with a bottle of bbq sauce and cook for 5 hours. Not much else. I ended up mixing the bbq sauce with a bit of water, some ketchup, some Sriracha hot sauce and the rest of another bottle of bbq sauce I had in the fridge. A little fresh vegetable medley of whatever I had in the fridge, plus some 10 minute rice, and that's it. Sometimes the whole KISS principle actually works, and I'm not refering to Rock and Rolling all night...

Next time: Not much different, actually. Maybe I'd try making a fully home-made bbq sauce.

Me: 8/10
SO: 9/10
SSO: 5/10

Chicken with Cabbage and Hot Sauce

Summer is so busy, there hasn't been a lot of time for cooking. Between weekends away camping or at someone's cottage, and ball games, and festivals, and friends or family visiting, it seems like we haven't cooked anything for a long time. Truth is we probably cook just as much, but just no time for anything elaborate or new.

This dish isn't really elaborate or new either, but the smell and taste drove me to write about it. SO did it all on the fly, and it was great. I think without the hot sauce(s) it would been an everyday sort of thing but man that Sriracha (Rooster) sauce is awesome. They not only have their own FB page, but I also found a comic tribute page on The Oatmeal (a little NSFW).

Chicken and Cabbage Stirfry

So this is your basic stirfry, but there are a few things that make it super easy. Skinless boneless chicken thighs are cheaper and delicious, and a bag of pre-washed coleslaw (basically shredded cabbage and carrot) makes it happen in no time flat. Throw in some onion, any other random vegetable (green beans in our case), hot sauce, and half a can of coconut milk, and Bob's your Uncle.

Next Time: would try different veggies; more hot sauce

Me: 8/10
SO: 6/10
SSO: n/a (would not have eaten it as-is with the hot sauce)

Orange Raisin Banana Bread

I make banana bread a lot. I'm not sure what it is about bananas, we are always buying them and they just sit there on the counter until they are starting to go black. I mean, we eat one or two, but there is very often 3 or 4 left. Which happens to be just the right amount to make banana bread.

Orange Raisin Banana Bread, hot from the oven,
already melting the slab of butter I spread on.

I suppose one reason I like to make it, apart from using up food that is about to go bad, is that it is just so darn tasty and versatile. Reasonably healthy, easy to eat for breakfast, maybe throw a piece in the lunch bag.  The thing is, my usual recipe is, while pretty good, actually not very exciting. This one however, is just great. SO doesn't like the traditional nuts you usually see in banana bread, so I thought I'd try the raisins...turns out to be a good substitute. It is the orange zest though that really turns out to be the secret trick. The cup of sugar sounds like a lot, but you can of course substitute the usual honey or apple sauce. My regular recipe has tons of oil, this one is only a few tablespoons, so there's a bonus. Next time I may try chocolate chips instead of raisins. Ho boy.

Next Time: maybe chocolate chips instead of raisins, just for fun

Me: 10/10
SO: 9/10
SSO: 7/10