Slow-cooker bbq ribs

I'm not sure how to label this recipe. Basically this is  a recipe pork ribs that you pre-cook in the slow-cooker and then finish off on the BBQ or in the oven. You can skip that step but we like that nice char-grilled taste.

This is a great meal to share with friends. Pork spare ribs used to be a frugal option but now they're a bit trendy so they've gone from $7-8 a kg to a standard $14kg. (I guess they are the pork equivalent of the lamb shank). I tend to watch the sales and buy them then for about $10kg. While they taste great you do need quite a few because there's lots of bones.

As part of a BBQ when entertaining you can add other things that are cheaper to bulk it out (burgers, sausages etc). The way I look at it is ribs at somewhere like Hogs Breath or The Hard Rock Cafe are around $30 a person and we all ate for about $20 plus sides so that's still a good deal.

Slow-cooker BBQ ribs

Ribs (I had about 500g pp)
1 bottle generic BBQ sauce
1 cup brown sugar

1. Put frozen ribs and bottle of sauce and 1/2 cup brown in slow-cooker. I did 3.5 hours on high but 8 hours on slow works too.

2. Remove ribs and pour sauce into saucepan/skillet, add 1/2 cup of brown sugar. Whisk to combine and reduce by half.

3. Then put ribs on the BBQ and cook basting with sauce till browned.

4. Serve with sides. we like corn, baked potatoes and beans with ours. Other times we have cornbread and coleslaw.

Enjoy!

Taco Meat

Today my lovely husband is out in a fishing competition. Apparently they are to target Flathead today. It is a competition organised in support of Prostate Cancer so he gets to fish and help someone. That's all good. Lucky for him it's a nice Autumn day out there.

None of that of course guarantees that he will be bringing home any fish. We hope so of course. Also he is fishing with a mate who has a family. Will there be enough fish for seven? Will they be all coming here for dinner? Will we be going to their place? None of these things really bother the fishermen.

So I am going to make a lovely trip to the nearby Organic Markets with my daughter shortly and then I will come home and make taco meat and throw it in the slow cooker. If needed I can make tacos for seven. If not I can freeze it.

So what are some great ways to use taco meat:


Obviously tacos.

Burritos

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Photos</a>

• Mexican Lasagna (layer taco meat inbetween tortillas and top with cheese)
• Mexican crepes 
• Taco salad
• Taco cupcakes
• Nachos
• Mexican Mac and cheese - mix taco meat through macaroni cheese
• Mexican baked potato - topped with taco meat, cheese and sour cream
• Tamale Pie

Tamale Pie

What other ways can you think of to use taco meat?

 

We didn't go on a picnic!

It was just the most beautiful day in Sydney today. Magic. We could have gone on a picnic but instead we cycled over the Sydney Harbour Bridge for lunch at Circular Quay.

We ended up at Cruise Bar at the Overseas Passenger Terminal largely because I was separated from the bike riders and spotted a waterfront table in the shade that the bikes could park beside.
http://www.cruisebar.com.au/

Cruise Bar photos

We just had bar food fish and chips for my daughter which were delish, a burger for my husband and I had the grilled fish of the day which was a lovely piece of ocean trout. You can't beat the location and for bar food the prices are good. They also have share plates which I think would be lovely with out of town guests on a sunny afternoon.

We came home to the smell of lamb in the slow-cooker.

I love my slow cooker. I don't use it a whole lot really, maybe every ten days or so but for days like this I find it perfect. The whole set it and forget it nature of the beast is perfect for busy people.

So far I haven't made too many things that I would describe as 'gourmet' in the slow-cooker but for good family friendly meals it is hard to beat.

Some of my slow cooker favourites include:
- meatballs in sauce (A great way to serve them and keep them hot for a group)
- American-style pulled pork (recipe to follow)
- a whole roasted chicken - super simple and a quick way to do a roast
- beef "pot-roast" which is a great way to take a cheap/lesser cut of beef and make it tender
- corned beef or silver side - I must confess I am not a huge fan of this but my family loves it and I like the leftover sandwich meat we get for the week ahead.
- simple curries
- chicken stock
- soups