Grilled Slow Cooker Ribs

Ok, this is for you meat eaters, or rather for your husbands. I have never really been a fan of eating tons of red meat, but these are soooo tender , flavorful, and delicious (and take very little preparation time). Even if you've never loved ribs before, I encourage ya'll to try this. It is delightful!!!

3 1/2 pounds pork loin back ribs
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 tablespoons liquid smoke
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 medium onion, sliced
1/2 cup cola
1 1/2 cups barbecue sauce

1. Spray inside of 4- to 5-quart slow cooker with cooking spray.
2. Remove inner skin from ribs. Mix brown sugar, salt, pepper, liquid smoke and garlic; rub mixture into ribs. Cut ribs into 4-inch pieces. Layers ribs and onion in slow cooker. Pour cola over ribs.
3. Cover and cook on low heat setting 8 to 9 hours or until tender. Remove ribs from slow cooker. Drain and discard liquid.

4. Heat coals or gas grill. Place ribs on grill. Brush with barbecue sauce. Cover and grill 4 to 6 inches from medium heat 15 minutes.

or another option for step 4:
4. Pour barbecue sauce into shallow bowl. Dip ribs into sauce. Place ribs in slow cooker. Pour any remaining sauce over ribs. Cover and cook on low heat setting 1 hour.

Dinner Rolls

3 1/2 to 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour or bread flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter or stick margarine, softened
1 tsp. salt
1 package regular or quick active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp.)
1/2 cup very warm water
1/2 cup very warm milk
1 large egg
Butter or stick margarine, melted, if desired.

Mix 2 cups of the flour, the sugar, 1/4 cup butter, salt and yeast in large bowl. Add warm water, warm milk and egg. Beat with electric mixer on low speed 1 minute, scraping bowl frequently. Beat on medium speed 1 minute, scraping bowl frequently. Stir in enough remaining flour to make dough easy to handle. Turn out dough onto lightly floured surface and knead for 5 minutes or until dough is smooth and springy. Place dough in large greased bowl, cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise in warm plae for 1 hour or until double. Push fist into dough to deflate. Shape dough as desired into rolls and let rise again for another 30 minutes or until double. Bake at 375 degrees for 12-15 minutes.

Do ahead option: once the rolls are shaped, cover with aluminum foil and refrigerate 4-24 hours. Remove from fridge before baking and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place for 2 hours or until double. Bake as directed.

Terri's Favorite Wheat Bread

I found this one online about a year ago on www.waltonfeed.com and it quickly became my favorite wheat bread.

3 T. yeast and 1 t. sugar dissolved in 1 cup water

In a large bowl mix:
3/4 cup honey
3/4 cup oil
2 T. salt
3 3/4 cups hot water
5 T. lemon juice or vinegar (this softens the gluten and makes the bread softer)
6 cups whole wheat flour

Add disolved yeast to bread mixture and mix for 7-10 minutes to get the gluten working. Add gradually 6 more cups of wheat flour (You might not need all 6 cups-be careful not to add too much flour, just enough to get past the sticky point). Knead for 5 minutes or if kneading by hand 10 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes. Divide and shape into 3 loaves. Place in greased bread pans. Rise until doubled in size. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes.

English Muffin Bread

This is a yummy and easy quick bread that Sylvia always makes.

2 pkgs. yeast (2 Tbsp.)
6 cups flour
1 Tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. salt
2 cups milk (powdered if you want)
1/4 tsp. baking soda
3/4 cups water

Combine flour, yeast, sugar, salt and soda. Use hot water for powdered milk and use hot water. Mix all together. Pout into 2 loaf pans that have been greased and floured. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes.

Asparagus-Fennel Pasta Salad

This is one of my personal new favorites. It is a warm salad (that has been a necessity for me all winter long) and quite healthy. Definitely worth branching out and giving it a try! (The picture was from online so it doesn't look quite the same... course, it never does look like the pictures, does it?)

45 min | 25 min prep | SERVES 14

1	lb fresh asparagus, trimmed and cut into 3/4 inch pieces
2	medium onions, halved and thinly sliced
1	small fennel bulb, sliced
2	tablespoons olive oil
8	ounces uncooked penne pasta
4	medium tomatoes, seeded and diced
12	pitted Greek olives, sliced
1	cup minced fresh parsley
Vinaigrette
1/4	cup olive oil
1/4	cup lemon juice
2	garlic cloves, minced
1/2	teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2	teaspoon salt
1/4	teaspoon pepper
1	cup crumbled feta cheese

1. Place asparagus, onions and fennel in a 15 x 10 x 1 inch baking pan. Drizzle with oil; toss to coat. Bake at 400 for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned and crisp-tender, stirring occasionally.
2. Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and place in a large serving bowl. Add the tomatoes, olives, parsley and roasted vegetables. In a small bowl, whisk the oil, lemon juice, garlic, mustard, salt and pepper until blended. Drizzle over salad and toss to coat. Sprinkle with feta cheese.

Click here for Nutrition Facts

Ok, so I'll be honest. We didn't do it quite like that. First of all, what are fennel bulbs? We skipped that and just put garlic (so much flavor, it was delicious). And to save time I didn't use any dressing viniagarette or other and it was perfectly moist and flavorful without it. Tim just used Italian dressing. But we added the fetta to the salad. SUPER TASTY!!!

My New Favorite!!!

ok - I HAVE to share this with ya'all because I think that this woman could be my kindred spirit if I ever met her (at least in a lot of ways). She views food the same way I do and her cooking blog is therapeutic for me to read (although I think I've actually gained weight reading her recipes). So - here it is, a little bit of country goodness. I have only tried a few of her recipes, but trust her 100% in the food arena. As a side-note if you have some free time to surf, check out her "confessions" page too - so interesting! Oh, how I would love to live on a ranch with my own cowboy and herd of hoodlums :)

http://thepioneerwomancooks.com