My Epic Crockpot Adventure

In my opinion, one of the greatest marvels of modern day is the Slow Cooker. Its powers never cease to amaze and awe me. You throw a bunch of things in, set the dial, forget about it, and hours later you have a delicious meal. It's like having a personal chef who's busy all day making dinner for you and filling the kitchen with glorious aromas. Now if only that "chef" could pour me a glass of wine and look like Curtis Stone too.

Our crockpot was sent to us as a wedding shower gift from Luke's aunt and cousins and when I unwrapped it my squeals of delight rivaled those of a small child surprised with a trip to Disney World (how seriously cute are those YouTube videos? this is my favorite ever.)

 

I was so excited to use it for the first time, but the endless crockpot recipe possibilities quickly and unreasonably overwhelmed me. My obsession with pinning crockpot recipes was noticed by my friends, generating some pretty humorous Facebook comments as well....

 

 

 

A million pins later, this epic crockpot drama came to its riveting conclusion and I finally decided on the recipe. (I'm in currently talks with Martin Scorese to direct the film version of this story...)

 

I decided to make Spicy Country Ribs, which was a great choice for my crockpot's maiden voyage.

I doubled the recipe because my crockpot is huge.  And because I'm the daughter of an Italian, former Army cook so I've learned that you should always cook 3x the amount of food your guests could ever realistically eat.

 

 

 

 

The ribs cooked on low heat for 6 hours in a sweet, slightly spicy sauce. The sauce was simple to throw together and incorporated ingredients I already had on hand - ketchup, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, and dried spices. The recipe also prompted a few finishing touches out of the crockpot -  thickening the sauce on the stove and broiling the ribs until browned- which led to perfection.

 

I served the ribs with biscuits and coleslaw, exactly as pictured in the recipe, which was an exquisite, simple combination. I followed the recipe on the back of the packaged Dole coleslaw salad which was delicious and a twist on the traditional coleslaw I've never been a particular fan of.

 

Pineapple Coleslaw

 Ingredients

• 1 pkg. (14 oz.) DOLE Classic Coleslaw
• Creamy Pineapple Dressing (recipe below)
• 1 large green onion, chopped
• Golden raisins (about 1/2 cup)

 Dressing

• Whisk together 1 can (8 oz.) DOLE Crushed Pineapple, drained, 1/2 cup light mayonnaise, 1/3 cup chopped toasted walnuts, 2 tablespoons sugar, 2 tablespoons cider vinegar and 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper.
• Makes about 1 cup.

 Directions

• Combine coleslaw, green apple, and golden raisins in large bowl.
• Toss with Creamy Pineapple Dressing, to taste.
• Refrigerate to chill slightly before serving.