Pork Ribs

I have written about Beef Ribs, so now I need to write about Pork Ribs. After seasoning my pork ribs, I slow cooked them in the oven. These were supper simple and very yummy.

Barbecued Pork Ribs

Pork Ribs
Salt
Pepper
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Celery Seed
Barbecue Sauce

Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Sprinkle Salt, Pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and celery seed onto the meaty side of the rib. Place ribs on the rack of a roasting pan. Bake, uncovered, in the oven for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Remove from oven. (At this point if you are not ready to serve immediately, cover them tightly in foil and they will remain hot for about an hour.)

Turn oven temperature up to Broil. Brush barbecue sauce generously over ribs. Return ribs, uncovered to oven. Let cook until sauce begins to bubble and caramelize, about 5 minutes. Serve immediately.

Note: You can either cut your ribs into serving size prior to cooking or cut them after cooking.

Pea Salad Redux

Like I said in my original Pea Salad Recipe, I love Pea Salad. And I finally found another variation that was worth making. So here is a new recipe.

Bacon Ranch Pea Salad

1 16oz bag frozen peas, thawed
4 green onions, chopped
1/2 cup ranch dressing
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
4 slices cooked bacon, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Combine all ingredients and mix well. Chill until ready to serve, or serve immediately.

I used low fat ranch dressing and 2% cheese–it was really good. My husband didn’t like it though. He decided that he doesn’t like meat in his pea salad.

Additional Diet Smoothie Recipes

After writing yesterday’s post, I got an AllRecipes.com newsletter that had a link to some great Splenda (a brand of artificial sweetener) drink recipes. In it are some great smoothie ideas and other frozen drink ideas. I can’t wait to try several of them out, like:

Refreshing Summer Slushie

• Lemonade Cubes:
• 8 cups cold water
• 1 cup SPLENDA® No Calorie Sweetener, Granular
• 1 (0.13 ounce) package *KOOL-AID® Lemonade Flavor Unsweetened Soft Drink Mix
• Super Cool Summer Slushie:
• 1 1/2 cups cold water
• 1/2 cup SPLENDA® No Calorie Sweetener, Granular
• 1 (0.13 ounce) package KOOL-AID® your favorite flavor Unsweetened Soft Drink Mix
• 1 1/2 cups prepared Lemonade Cubes

1. Make Lemonade Cubes: COMBINE water, SPLENDA® Granular, and KOOL-AID® Soft Drink Mix in a pitcher, stirring until Splenda® Granular dissolves. Pour mixture into ice trays; freeze until solid, 4 hours or overnight. Store cubes in a zip-top plastic bag in the freezer. Use leftover cubes in ice tea, lemonade, or fruit juice.
2. Make Super Cool Summer Slushie: PROCESS water, SPLENDA ® Granular, Kool Aid®, and Lemonade Cubes in a blender until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides. Serve immediately.

Diet Smoothie

I modified my Fruit Smoothie recipe from the other day to lower the calories. The following recipe makes 2 large servings and each serving is about 50 calories (depends on what type of fruit you use). I made mine with diet Lemonade (Crystal Light brand) and it was great.
Diet Fruit Smoothie

4 Packets Sugar-free sweetner (like Splenda or Equal)
1/2 cup Strawberries, quartered with the stems and hulls removed*
1 medium peach, skinned and pitted*
1/2 cup lemon juice
ice 6-12 pieces
1/2 cup sugar-free lemonade or diet Sprite
In a blender, combine the sweetner, fruit, and lemon juice. Blend thoroughly. With the blender on, add ice a piece or two at a time. Add as much or as little ice as you desire (I like mine to be about the consistency of a Slurpee). Add lemonade or soda and blend until it is combined with the other ingredients. If your smoothie is thick, you may need to use a spoon to stir in the lemonade or soda.

Smoothie: Nondairy

Most smoothies contain some dairy–milk or yogurt usually. But I found a great smoothie with no dairy products. This is a great summer treat. It is almost like a sorbet that you drink.

Summer Smoothie

1/2 cup Sugar
1/2 cup Strawberries, quartered with the stems and hulls removed*
1 medium peach, skinned and pitted*
1/2 cup lemon juice
ice 6-12 pieces
1/2 cup Sprite or other lemon/lime soda
In a blender, combine the sugar, fruit, and lemon juice. Blend thoroughly (this may take a few minutes because you will want to dissolve the sugar). With the blender on, add ice a piece or two at a time. Add as much or as little ice as you desire (I like mine to be about the consistency of a Slurpee). Add Sprite and blend until it is combined with the other ingredients. If your smoothie is thick, you may need to use a spoon to stir in the Sprite.

Serve with a straw and enjoy!

*If you use frozen fruit, thaw it first. Or, if you use it frozen, do not use as much ice (you may not need any ice at all). You could also substitute other fruit (but not banana–it reacts poorly with Sprite). Just make sure that you add a total of 1 cup of fruit.

I am going to try making this with Splenda instead of Sugar. I will let you know how it works!