Let the peace and quiet begin...

School started today!! WOO HOO! Although it was quite a surprise as we arrived to find that our kids were no long enrolled at the school! Yes, I was in shock! But why?, I asked. "Well because you've moved to Sudbury", was the answer. "No we haven't", I replied, "and I certainly didn't authorize you unregistering my children!". "Well somebody did", replied the secretary.

Well they've now been re-enrolled and are in the classes they had wanted to be. Grade 1 with Mrs. Pearson for Emily and Grade 4 with Mrs. Elliot-Cummings for Ben. I'm sure I'll hear all about it this afternoon when they get home.

So I left off saying what we'd have for dinner on Saturday? Well for the life of me, I can't remember. I am thinking we had sandwiches as Jason was at work.

Sunday was the Ribfest/street party here. I made cupcakes..."hamburgers" and "Corn-on-the-cob" *haha* Everyone loved them and I ended up giving out lots of cards :D

That night I made my first "from scratch" ribs on the BBQ. I'd done them in the slow cooker before, but never on the BBQ. I did a memphis style rib. A dry rub first of paprika, cayenne, salt & pepper. I BBQ'd them on low (only 1 burner lit with ribs on opposite side of BBQ) for 45 mins. While that was happening, I made the BBQ sauce on the stove. After the 45 mins I started basting the ribs with the sauce and did so a couple times an hour for about 4 hours total. Now I have to say, the ribs were FANTASTIC! The flavour went all the way through...the rub was spicy and the sauce was sweet and tangy. I was so pleased and almost wish I'd entered them in the rib contest. But it was nice to have just something for Jay and I (which we ate when he got home from work that night).

Find the recipe below (which I didn't follow exactly as usual).

Monday we were out for dinner at Karen's house. We had chicken on skewers with a spicy peanut sauce, various salads (including the best salad EVERY...Karens broccoli & mushroom one - which I MUST get the recipe for!) and fresh peach cobbler with whipped cream for dessert. All VERY delish. I brought the appetizer...a pizza style hot dip. It went within 10 minutes and everyone loved it. Am going to make it again this week for Jay and I one night as Jay didn't get any and he would really like it. I'm including the recipe for that below too (again, I made some changes - getting much more confident at that as my culinary skills improve!).

Tonight I'm thinking we'll have a creamy salmon pasta...new recipe I found. Will let you know how it goes!

Memphis Ribs

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 4 hours, 00 minutes

Ingredients:

• 3 pounds pork spareribs
• For Rub:
• 4 teaspoons paprika
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoons cayenne
• For Sauce:
• 2 cups ketchup
• 2 cups chopped onion
• 1 cup red wine vinegar
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup yellow mustard
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 teaspoon Louisiana hot sauce

Preparation:

Prepare ribs by removing the membrane from the underside of the ribs. Trim off any loose fat or meat. Prepare smoker or grill. You will want to hold a temperature around 225 degrees F. for 4 to 6 hours so plan accordingly. Season ribs with Memphis rub and place on grill or in smoker. While ribs are cooking, prepare barbecue sauce. Blend together everything except the ketchup. Pour into a saucepan and add the ketchup. Simmer over low heat for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside. Cook ribs until the internal temperature of the meat reaches about 145 degrees F. Brush with barbecue sauce. After about 10 minutes turn the ribs over and brush with sauce continually during cooking process.