Pork Ribs Cooked In an Oven- My First Ever

As a long time BBQer, I’ve never cooked pork ribs anywhere but in a smoker but since I don’t have a functioning smoker and using the grill, which has a smoke box, in too cumbersome while walking with a cane, the oven was the only choice.  I also didn’t have any rib rub so I made up a batch of Mike Mills Magic Dust using half of this recipe  and using smoked paprika to replace the smoke from the cooker.

Magic Dust

Ingredients:

½ cup paprika (Larry used smoked paprika)

¼ cup kosher salt

¼ cup sugar

2 Tbsps. mustard powder

¼ cup chili powder

¼ cup ground cumin

2 Tbsps. ground black pepper

¼ cup granulated garlic

2 Tbsps. Cayenne (Larry omitted)

Directions:

Mix all ingredients and store in tightly covered container. To make it hotter, increase mustard powder and black pepper to ½ cup each.

To prep the ribs, I just removed the membrane from the back and gave them a generous coating of Magic Dust.

I set the oven on full convection at a temperature of 235F and cooked them uncovered for three hours then covered with foil for 2 hours and finally cranked up the temp for the last ½ hour to get them done.  I gave the tops a coat on Sweet Baby Rays BBQ Sauce and served them sided with slaw and doctored pork and beans.

I thought the flavor was good but the convection oven dried out the tops a little, but they were not bad for a first try.

Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them and the blue words are links.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

2/23/20 event date

Hip Update - 16th Day

I went to see the surgeons PA on 2/18 and she said everything looked good and I go back for a final visit in six weeks.  Here is a chronology of events so far:

2/3 – Total left hip replacement

2/4 – Go home from hospital

2/6 – Go to first therapy session at CORA Therapy in Alcoa, TN (20 mile drive)

2/8 – Take final narcotic drug for pain, I’ve experienced very little pain

2/9 – First short drive of the car, with Bev

2/10 – Drive self to therapy, with Bev along

Continue one-hour therapy sessions three times/week plus exercise at home

2/18 – Follow-up appointment with surgeon’s PA

2/19 – Moved from the walker to a cane at therapy because I can now fully weight my new hip – a major milestone.

Now it’s just a matter of continuing to strengthen the new hip as it heals and increase its flexibility.  I’m really pleased with how it’s going so far and the therapist seems to think I’m a little ahead of schedule – which is good.  I’ll keep the chronology going and provide another update when warranted.  My goal is to be good as new for our next RV trip in mid-April.

I can say that if you have a hip needing replacement, don’t put it off as it is much less painful and easier to recover from than a knee.  Just find yourself a good surgeon, make sure they use the anterior procedure, and plan on about 6 weeks of semi-downtime.

Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them and the blue words are links.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

2/19/20 event date

Lemon Thyme Pork Chops

For this weeks Thursday meal for our friends, we chose Lemon Thyme Pork Chops using a recipe from 12 Tomatoes and hoping the recipients like lemony dishes as much as we do.  I doubled the chops and sauce ingredient amounts to get the recipe below and you can click on the link and go to 12 Tomatoes to get the original recipe and see more great shots like this one.

Murgh Makhana - Butter Chicken

Now that I have a new hip and even though still using a walker, I had to get out of my chair and do something plus I was ready to get back to my around-the-world meals - none since before Christmas and the pre-surgery crash diet started.  For this next one,  I selected India and it seems there are many traditional Indian dishes so I picked Butter Chicken using the recipe from Café Delights and after ordering what is likely a lifetime supply of Garam Masala and dried fenugreek leaves from Amazon over a month ago, I was pretty well set to go.  

Please check out Karina’s blog for some good pics of her process and her dish like this one.

Broccoli Frittata

When the recent big storm and cold front moved through our area, we managed to pick up about an inch of wet snow that stuck to everything making for a nice winter shot to contrast with the inside amaryllis' that are still blooming - they have put on a real show over the past month with the right one having six blooms.

Mediterranean Style Salmon

I had retrieved a piece of salmon from the freezer to have for super but other dishes got in the way and since I was headed for a Monday date with the orthopedic surgeon I was running out of meals.  So in keeping with my belief in eating breakfast food for any meal and any food for breakfast, I decided to have the salmon for breakfast on Superbowl Sunday.  I had already decided on using the recipe for Mediterranean Style Salmon from Chef Dennis on his "Ask Chef Dennis" blog, mostly due to the tapenade.  I changed both the ingredients and the instructions a little – please check Dennis’ site for the original recipe and good pics like this one.

Stuffed Round Roast - Hip Update

My hip surgery came off without a hitch on Monday and the doctor advised that it was in very bad shape.  Here is the amazing part - I had total replacement of a major joint and less than 24 hours after leaving the recovery room, I was home sitting in my easy chair.  What a difference the newer anterior procedure makes.

And now for the roast. While perusing the meat counter at the local Food City recently, Bev spied this Italian Beef Eye Round Roast and decided we had to give it a try.  It is a pounded thin eye of round that has been stuffed with ham, pepperoni, spinach, and cheese then coated wit Parmesan.

Hip Replacement Surgery

The ladies amaryllis' are still showing off.

Well tomorrow (Feb 3) is the big day as I will hopefully wake up in the afternoon with a new left hip and soon be pain free after 14 months with it.

Getting to the required weight wasn't as hard as expected but I had a challenge in the later days when my body went into survival mode due to my low calorie intake.  Since Bev had been suggesting a fast is always good for my body, I ended up doing a five day fast coupled with an exercise routine every three hours to speed up my metabolism.  Before the survival mode, I was losing a pound/day then it dropped to a half pound/day with none on some days, but during the fast, I lost five pounds and since I drink lots of liquid all day long, I’m confident it was not fluid loss.

 

So far it’s a 60 pound loss and now that I know I can do it, I’m motivated to lose more this coming year, but at a little slower rate.

So I’ll be gone for a couple of days and be back online when I get home, which is usually the day after the surgery - in the meantime, I have a couple of posts teed-up to go.

Wende and family came down Saturday to see me off and Eliza enjoyed a ride on horsey dad.

Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them and the blue words are links.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry