Memphis’ Rendezvous serves up a great dry rib. Folks from Alabama will argue that Dreamland is the best. I prefer Rendezvous to Dreamland. I especially like eating at Rendezvous restaurant because they give you get a complimentary bowl of Red Beans and Rice and no matter how much you beg they will not give you the recipe.

My ribs are far from award-winning, but my husband and son love them and that’s all that really matters to me. Cooking ribs can be an involved process, but I’ve learned a few things that make them a bit more mom-friendly You’ll want to allow about 2 1/2 to 3 hours for cooking and resting and about 30 minutes for prepping.

Here’s my recipe and why Moms may prefer it:

I prefer St. Louis ribs. They cost more – much more – but you get what you pay for, right? Baby backs are my second choice. The spare ribs are just too … eh.

Rub your ribs. You can do store bought brand according to your taste, or make your own. Mine is fab, if I do say so myself. I’m one of those palm-measurers, but I think this is how my rub would measure out:

• 4Tablespoons Smoked Paprika
• 3 Tablespoons Dark Brown Sugar
• 2 Tablespoons Chili Powder
• 2 Tablespoons Ground Cumin
• 2 Tablespoons Kosher Salt
• 1 Tablespoon Dried Oregano
• 1 Tablespoon Black Pepper
• 1 Tablespoon White Pepper
• ½ Tablespoon Chipotle Chili Pepper

We like a lot of spice, so we use a whole recipe of rub per slab, but that’s a bit much for the average person. Once you have your slab perfectly slathered, wrap the ribs in aluminum foil. If you’re not ready to cook, store them in the fridge. Take them out and let them rest on the counter for about 30 minutes to an hour before you’re ready to start cooking.

Meantime, preheat the grill. Some fanatics will argue that one should use a charcoal grill and maybe add chunks of hickory or mesquite. But if you’re chasing around a kid or four then you have little time to nurse a fire. So I use gas. You’ll want to turn on all burners and let the grill heat to about medium, or 350, if you have a temperature gauge. When the grill is ready, turn off the burners on one side. (The temperature will drop during the cooking process so don’t be alarmed.)

Keep the ribs sealed tight in the foil. This is another piece of mom-friendly advice. You can sit by the grill and baste the ribs in a mixture of melted butter, vinegar and lemon juice every 30 minutes or so (which is how my FIL made his fabulous ribs), or you can wrap them in foil and allow them to baste themselves, which is what I do.

Place the rib-foil packs on the side of the grill with the burners turned off, and close the lid. Let the ribs cook in this indirect heat for an hour, opening the lid only if you have to.

After an hour, take the ribs out of the foil packet and place them directly on the “off” side of the grill. Let them cook another hour or so. You know they’re ready when the meat is tender and starts to pull away from the bone. (It may start to pull away before you take the ribs out of the foil.) That charring is from the brown sugar so don’t freak.

When they’re done, place the ribs in a casserole dish or baking sheet. Completely cover with heavy-duty foil and let rest for at least 30 minutes. You can also put them in a 200-degree oven until you’re ready to serve them.

If you want to glisten them with barbecue sauce, then do so no. Place them on the grill and paint with sauce. Or, just serve the sauce on the side. We’re a sans-sauce family now, though. And it’s somewhat easier on the child-cleanup side.

Enjoy!

Photos, JWJourney

Post from: Blisstree

How to BBQ Mom-Friendly Ribs

Well I’ve got a doozy for you!

Fabric.com is having a big online sale today only, with 30 – 65% off all sorts of goodies like craft and quilting cottons – even pricey upholstery material!

You don’t need any coupons, but the sale does end tonight at midnight – so hurry if you want to snag some fabric    They also have free shipping on any order over $35 – and you don’t need a coupon for it either.

image: Fabric.com

Post from: Blisstree

Memorial Day Fabric Sale

Congress created this National Moment of Remembrance, and says that “The time 3 p.m. was chosen because it is the time when most Americans are enjoying their freedoms on the national holiday.” Observances of this holiday will happen all over the country, at parades, baseball games, and in private homes.

Image: Cherie Burbach

Post from: Blisstree

Stop at 3 Today and Honor Memorial Day

When I was a youngster, veterans’ service to our country was well recognized and not criticized as we appreciated being free.  I lived during the years of World War II and knew about black-outs, bomb scares, rationing, scarcity of food, aluminum drives and everyone working together to support the military.

Image: sxc.hu

Then Memorial Day (often called Decoration Day, when we decorated the graves of the fallen military or those who had served and died later) was a time to recognize their sacrifices.

We hung the large flag from our front porch. I still have photos of our family standing in front of it with my uncle who has served in an even earlier war, World War I.

Crafters today often make items with patriotic colors and themes.  My daughter has a number of these she places around the house.  What do you make for patriotic celebrations and family gatherings?

Post from: Blisstree

Memorial Day Celebration & Patriotic Crafts

Each year in America a staggering 800,000 children are reported missing – more than 2,000 children each day. Some are taken by family members; others by strangers. Some are exploited for sexual purposes; some are murdered or held for ransom. Some are never found. 

Etan Patz

In 1983, in an effort to reduce those horrifying statistics, President Ronald Reagan proclaimed May 25th as National Missing Children’s Day. A year later, Congress established the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), a n onprofit organization dealing with the issues of missing and sexually exploited children. Since then, NCMEC has played a role in the recovery of more than 138,500 children. Today, more children come home safely than ever before.

According to an analysis conducted by NCMEC, in 88 percent of attempted abduction cases the child escaped his would-be abductor through his own actions – yelling, kicking, pulling away, running away or attracting attention.

This Memorial Day weekend, in recognition of National Mission Children’s Day, take 25 minutes and teach your child NCMEC’s tips for staying safe:

At Home
1. Teach your children their full names, address, and home telephone number. Make sure they know your full name.
2. Make sure your children know how to reach you at work or on your cell phone.
3. Teach your children how and when to use 911 and make sure your children have a trusted adult to call if they’re scared or have an emergency.
4. Instruct children to keep the door locked and not to open the door to talk to anyone when they are home alone. Set rules with your children about having visitors over when you’re not home and how to answer the telephone.
5. Choose babysitters with care. Obtain references from family, friends, and neighbors. Once you have chosen the caregiver, drop in unexpectedly to see how your children are doing. Ask children how the experience with the caregiver was and listen carefully to their responses.

On the Net
6. Learn about the Internet. The more you know about how the Web works, the better prepared you will be to teach your children about potential risks. Visit www.NetSmartz.org for more information about Internet safety.
7. Place the family computer in a common area, rather than a child’s bedroom. Also, monitor their time spent online and the Web sites they’ve visited and establish rules for Internet use.
8. Know what other access your child may have to the Internet at school, libraries, or friends’ homes.
9. Use privacy settings on social networking sites to limit contact with unknown users and make sure screen names don’t reveal too much about your children.
10. Encourage your children to tell you if anything they encounter online makes them feel sad, scared, or confused.
11. Caution children not to post revealing information or inappropriate photos of themselves or their friends online.

Going to and from School
12. Walk the route to and from school with your children, pointing out landmarks and safe places to go if they’re being followed or need help. If your children ride a bus, visit the bus stop with them to make sure they know which bus to take.
13. Remind kids to take a friend whenever they walk or bike to school. Remind them to stay with a group if they’re waiting at the bus stop.
14. Caution children never to accept a ride from anyone unless you have told them it is OK to do so in each instance.

Out and About
15. Take your children on a walking tour of the neighborhood and tell them whose homes they may visit without you.
16. Remind your children it’s OK to say NO to anything that makes them feel scared, uncomfortable, or confused and teach your children to tell you if anything or anyone makes them feel this way.
17. Teach your children to ask permission before leaving home.
18. Remind your children not to walk or play alone outside.
19. Teach your children to never approach a vehicle, occupied or not, unless they know the owner and are accompanied by a parent, guardian, or other trusted adult.
20. Practice “what if” situations and ask your children how they would respond. “What if you fell off your bike and you needed help? Who would you ask?”
21. Teach your children to check in with you if there is a change of plans.
22. During family outings, establish a central, easy-to-locate spot to meet for check-ins or should you get separated.
23. Teach your children how to locate help at theme parks, sports stadiums, shopping malls, and other public places. Also, identify those people who they can ask for help, such as uniformed law enforcement, security guards and store clerks with nametags.
24. Help your children learn to recognize and avoid potential risks, so that they can deal with them if they happen.
25. Teach your children that if anyone tries to grab them, they should make a scene and make every effort to get away by kicking, screaming, and resisting.

Video & screenshot, YouTube, CaptainRock

Post from: Blisstree

25 Tips to Keep Your Child Safe

My family and I had the most fabulous Memorial Day weekend away. I am so grateful that it’s difficult for me to find the words to express it.

I met a woman at my Emmaus Walk retreat a month or two ago. Cindy’s a lovely lady transitioning into her own. Ah, change and transition is sometimes difficult and painful right? Anyway, she needed some help with some writing resources. She’s a gifted writer and now has the time to invest in her writing career now that her children are grown. Of course, I was more than willing to help her for the pleasure of being helpful. There is a pleasure in helping others and I am usually game to help wherever I can.

She invited my family to stay in her bed and breakfast over Memorial Day weekend, something she too would have done anyway. Just for the pleasure of being generous and blessing my little family with a little R&R away from home. She’s generous and thoughtful like that. That’s my kind of people.

We sat on the three-layer deck overlooking the fountain shooting out of the pond at sunset. Just looking at my baby, daughter and husband – my precious little family – blissfully eating a 7-layer Mexican dip, I felt very deliriously happy.

We’ve been asking God for abundance. It would have costs $450 to spend the weekend here,” I explained to my husband. “If God had given us $450 in cash we NEVER would have done this with it. We would have felt irresponsible taking a vacation when we need air conditioning in our new mini-van. But, God is providing us time away from the monotony of our daily life. We need time together as a family to have fun with each other. He also knows how to make sure we get it, by not giving us the cash, but giving us a kind friend with an empty B&B.

God is so clever!

Thank You Cindy!  

Post from: Blisstree

God is Clever

Thank goodness I don’t have any fallen soldiers to remember.

I have lots of veterans though.

My dad recently retired after 30 years in the Air Force and Utah Air National Guard. (Yeah, I’m a total military brat.)

My sister-in-law served 5 years in the Army and is still, knock-on-wood, subject to recall. (End the war quickly, she just had a baby!)

My grandfather served in World War II.

Thanks so all of our soldiers. Hope your weekend has been fabulous.

Post from: Blisstree

Happy Memorial Day