Some of my Favorite Recipes

There was a call for recipes on a few blogs my wife reads, so I posted some there for her. These are they, for those that read this one instead:

Here's two of my fav BBQ sauces I've put together:


Vinegar Based Sauce

1 ½ Cups Cider Vinegar
1 cup ketchup
½ cup of brown sugar
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. crushed red pepper
¼ teaspoon of liquid smoke
1 tsp of Cajun
1 bay leaf

mix in a container thoroughly and let sit overnight to fuse the flavors together. Shake/mix before serving.

Coke BBQ Sauce

¼ cup of coca cola
6 oz of tomato paste
1/4 cup of ketchup
2 cups water
¾ cup brown sugar – packed
¼ cup of lemon juice
1 Tbsp pineapple juice
¼ cup cider vinegar
1 Tbsp onion powder
2 tsp of minced garlic
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp cajun spice
1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp salt
1 tsp coarse ground black pepper
¼ tsp liquid smoke or bacon drippings


Bring to boil, then simmer 1 hours, allow to cool.

Great BBQ Pork Rib Recipe

What can you do with these? Try this recipe for a good 'ol Southern Style rib recipe, blended with a few deep south influences.

1 x rack of Baby Back pork Ribs

Turn the rack over an peel off the backstrap (the white film that cover the back).

Make a wet rub w/ 1Tbsp of minced garlic, a few dashes of liquid smoke, 1-2 Tbsp of the Coke sauce (or vinegar sauce, this recipe uses both but you can just use vinegar).

Rub in coarse ground black pepper and a dash or two of salt, the above wet rub, then wrap up in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil, let sit overnight in the fridge.

Get your smoker going, about 225 degrees and a good hickory smoke is perfect. Unwrap and add the ribs, cook about 3-3.5 hours, and baste with the vinegar sauce at about 2 hours. I recommend hickory, but you can also use Mesquite. For a little added flavor put in some applewood smoke pellets, and in a water pan, pour half a can of your favorite beer, 1 cup apple juice, and about 2-3 cups water, replenish as necessary.

Remove ribs and wrap up inside aluminum foil with a light covering of vinegar sauce, and return to the smoker. This is the key step to really lock in the flavor and the juices. In about two hours your ribs should be really done. You can check by looking at the ribs in the aluminum foil, if they are starting to pull back from the bone , you are golden.

Wrap them back up, if you unwrapped, and let sit for about 15-20 minutes, unwrap and serve. You can pull the meat from the bone or serve it lip smacking good.

Should work well with beef ribs as well.



Ah yes, and then here is another favorite for Spinach and Artichoke dip:

1/4 cup olive oil
2 Tbsp of canned spinach, drained.
12 oz of light sour cream
2 cans of Artichoke Hearts, Drained
2 cans of green chili
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1-2 tsp of salt
2 tsp of black pepper
1 package of shredded Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients together, but leave out spinach and 1/2 of the package of cheese. Blend all ingredients (with a blender or a food processor) until smooth. You can add a touch of water if you want. Now I just go ahead and add in the spinach now, because its easier, but it comes out looking like baby food and people tend to avoid the dip until someone tries it... others wait until its poured into an oven safe dish and then stir in some of the canned spinach to make it look at little more appealing.

Cover the rest of the dish with the remaining cheese. Cook covered for 25 minutes, then uncovered for 10-15 more. This gives the top a nice light brown color without scorching the cheese.

Less healthy, but tasty options:

1- Use two packs of shredded Parmesan cheese
2- Add a bit more salt to taste
3- Use melted butter instead of olive oil, or a little of both.
4- Use full fat sour cream