Elina and Robyn Make...A BBQ Feast!

Sad news folk.

My cooking partner that lived in walking distance has moved!

No longer is it so easy to make something tasty on a whim together.

And then blog about it's tastiness for all of you to read.

We hope to keep the Elina and Robyn posts coming, but we will just have to see.

We had one last cooking hurrah together and decided to make it a BBQ feast!

So take a look below at all the delicious foods we made.

My contribution was...

Pulled Pork!

The Goods:

Pork Loin

Onions

Jalapenos

Sea Salt

Black Pepper

Paprika

Onion Powder

Slice the onion and jalapenos.

Cut the pork loin in half and season with spices on both sides.

Place onions on the bottom of the slow cooker,

then the pork on top and finally the jalapeno slices.

Set it to low and cook at least 7 hours.

In addition to the Pulled Pork, I made a Veggie Tray with Greek Yogurt Ranch Dip

and our friend Robin brought Cheese, Italian Meat, Crackers and Olives.

Elina made Bacon/Herb infused BBQ Sauce, Cole Slaw and we all helped make Sweet Potato Fries.

Slider Rolls and The Pulled Pork.

Yum!!!

A plate of deliciousness.

Elina and Robyn Make...RIBS!

If you follow my blog, I'm betting that you already know how much I love to cook and bake! I love the process, but I think I love the outcome of the tasty food even more. And recently, I've discovered that cooking and baking with one of your best friends is a whole lot of fun!!!

In the last year or so, I've made quite a few delicious things with my neighbor Elina, who also happens to be one of my best friends. I love cooking with her and I think we make a pretty good team! I've blogged about a few things we've made in the past, but after some thought I decided to start a new section called "Elina and Robyn Make...".

So without saying much more, I hope you enjoy reading about what we make and take a look at the first post of this awesome new section:

Elina and Robyn Make...RIBS!!!

While we were trying to decided exactly how we wanted the ribs to taste, we looked up many different recipes. We didn't use one specific recipe, or even two, but instead we used multiple recipes as inspiration to come up with our own homemade rib rub and homemade BBQ sauce!

The Goods:

2 Racks of Baby Back Ribs

Cayenne Pepper

White Pepper

Brown Sugar

Salt

Cumin

Garlic Powder

Onion Powder

Smoked Paprika

Chili Powder

Ground Nutmeg

Cut each rack or ribs in half.

Measure out the spices for the rub mixture.

Try some measurements similar to  this, or research a few like we did!

And combine them well. 

Generously rub the mixture...

o!n both side of the ribs

And wrap each half rack in foil. 

Line the wrapped ribs up on a cookie/baking sheet to catch any drippings. 

Put the ribs in the oven that has been preheated to 250 Degrees.

Cook them for 2 hours to start.

While the ribs are in the oven, it's time to start on the sauce!

The Sauce Goods:

Apple Cider Vinegar

Vegetable Oil

Cumin

Honey

Brown Sugar

Chili Powder

Worcestershire Sauce

Frank's Red Hot Sauce

Ketchup

Diced Onion

Minced Garlic

Mince the garlic and dice the onion.

Combine all the sauce ingredients in a saucepan and let simmer for 30 minutes. 

Strain the onions and garlic from the sauce...

so it looks smooth and delicious!

After the ribs have cooked for2 hours,  it's time to add the sauce!

Unwrap the ribs from the foil...

Lay them out on a foil lined cookie/baking sheet...

And brush the sauce on both sides!

Return them to the oven and cook 30 more minutes.

Add sauce to both sides ONE MORE TIME and return to the oven.

After 30 more minutes in the oven, they should be falling off the bone and ready to devour!

Yup - READY for eating!!!

And serve with something equally as delicious!

We enjoyed our ribs with homemade french fries, grilled apricot/goat cheese salad and corn bread.

YUMMMM!

Sunday Night Dinner: Take 27

Last night, I made a VERY tasty pulled pork for my parents. I always tell them about the things I'm making, so I figured it was only right to make them something delicious while they were staying with me! 

I decided to make them pulled pork. I'd never made this exact pulled pork (another post I'll blog about in the not too distant future), but I have made a different version that was cooked IN barbecue sauce before. The version I made for my parents was very moist with the right amount of spice. The spice came from a rub I made and put on to sit for almost 24 hours. I then cooked it with 2 homegrown jalapenos sliced up and put in the crock pot with the sliced onions and pork loin. 

The pork loin I got was WAY too much food for just three of us, but I knew that going in and planned to use the leftovers for something else amazing!

That something else came tonight when I made a Pork and Green Chile Burrito!!! 

It sounded great and was even better than I'd expected! I will, without a doubt, be making these again! The pulled pork, the burritos, everything!!! 

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter Everyone!

“Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. 

He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. 

Mark 16:6

Wishing you all a wonderful Easter, Passover, Spring, whatever you were celebrating. I had a wonderful day and I hope you all did too whether it was with family, friends or both!

When I'm not home with family, I still like to have a nice Easter dinner even if it's just for myself and one or two others. 

I started the night with some delicious homemade deviled eggs. I love them and they really couldn't be easier to make!

Hard Boiled Eggs

Decorated for Easter DUH!!!

Plus a lil mayo, mustard and some relish.

Cut eggs in half.

Take out yolk, mix with mayo, mustard and relish.

 Portion back into egg whites and sprinkle with Paprika. 

I didn't do the usual Easter Ham this year - instead I roasted a Pork Tenderloin, but I decided to brine it first since my Brined Turkey Breast was so amazing last Fall.  

For sides I went with Scalloped Potatoes and Roasted Asparagus. I'd seen numerous recipes for scalloped potatoes, so I finally decided I HAD to make them. And asparagus is so tasty - especially this time of year, so I couldn't think of a better vegetable to serve.

Dinner was AMAZING and I'm really looking forward to having leftovers of it for lunch tomorrow. Mmm Mmm Mmmm!