Crockpot Dr. Pepper Ribs

My fiance, Logan, absolutely loves ribs. Pork, beef doesn't matter...ribs are one of his favorite restaurant foods and yesterday, I made them a new staple in our home. It was my first time making ribs. Kind of terrifying because I was under a lot of pressure 😄. I searched the internet for months for the perfect recipe. I ended up taking elements from a few different ones and putting my own spin on it too. They turned out great!! Even my parents approved and my mom's approval is always nice because I hope to emulate her in my cooking. She is a fantastic cook after years of working in restaurants and cooking for her family at home 💛.

So without further adieu. My Crockpot Dr. Pepper Ribs

Ingredients:
One package of pork spare ribs (mine made about 3 racks)
4 tsp minced onion
3 tsp paprika
salt and pepper based on preference
About 2 cups Dr. Pepper
Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce for dipping and glaze

Instructions:
Your going to start prep the evening before you start cooking. Look at your crockpot and decide where you are going to make cuts into your ribs to fit them into the pot. Then get out a sheet pan and lay out the ribs, make your cuts and then season and rub the minced onion, paprika, salt and pepper into both sides of the ribs, patting it into the meat. Put plastic wrap over the sheet pan and ribs and then into the refrigerator overnight. The ribs will take between 7 and 8 hours to cook. In mid-morning, based on the time you'd like them to be done, put the ribs into the crockpot on low and pour in the Dr. Pepper until it is almost full to the top. If some of the meat peaks out the top of the soda, that is fine.

The meat is done once you can poke it a bit and it wants to fall off the bone. That is the key. Fall off the bone meat. Once that stage is reached, use tongs to pull it out and return it to the baking sheet to glaze in the oven. Use silicone brush to glaze with the Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce, or a sauce your family likes, or homemade. Be generous! Really slather it on. Then put into oven for about 15 to 20 minutes on broil (abt. 500 degrees if oven asks for temp). About half way through broiling, slightly pull out rack and layer on more BBQ sauce. Be careful not to burn it. Pay attention for the shine of the glaze and just a little darkening of it. Remove from oven and let meat rest for about 10 minutes. For sides, we had mashed potatoes and green beans and my Plum Tart. Yum!!

Plum Tart

I made this plum tart to go along with my Crockpot Dr. Pepper Ribs. I got the idea after watching Lidia's kitchen only I had to adapt it to my own cooking style. Here is my adaptation of Plum Tart.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds of plums, pitted and cut into sixths
2 tablespoons lemon juice
4 tablespoons sugar, divided
2 tablespoons of jam (I used strawberry)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut into 16 pieces
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (or more to taste)
Store bought pie crust (don't judge, they are almost as good as homemade)

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375 F.

In large bowl, toss the plums with the lemon juice, 3 tablespoons of the sugar, and the jam. Arrange the plums on their sides in circles in the crust (make it pretty 😊 ). Put the butter pieces throughout the plums. Sprinkle cinnamon on top of the plums.

Begin baking on the bottom rack for about 30 minutes and the crust is golden brown. Cover crust with tin foil and then bake for an additional 20-30 minutes or until the plums are soft and juices are bubbling. Cool slightly before serving with whipped topping or ice cream!

An Open Letter to My Mother

An Open Letter to My Mother

Dear Mom,

First of all, I do not tell you nearly enough, but I love you. Life has taught me that great moms are few and far between. That is why I am grateful to have such a fantastic mom as you are. We have always had a great relationship that only gets better; one of openness, honesty, and love. You are truly a blessing to me and I don’t know where I would be if I lost you.

To me, you are many things and you wear many hats. To name but a few; my mother, my friend, my strength, my coach, my blood, my teacher, my guide, my helper, my shelter, my savior, my chauffer, my idol, my masseuse, my chef, and most of all…..MY MAMA BIRD ;)! You are an amazing woman and always looking out for me!

You taught me how to be brave, follow my dreams, listen to my heart, and reach for the stars. You gave me the tools I needed to create the person I am today. I owe half of my characteristics to you such as code of ethics, self discipline, work ethic, honesty, your beauty (I hope :D) and loyalty among many others.

I would never have gotten this far in life and done so many wonderful things with my time without you.

I love you more than I can say..

Waterfalling in the U.P. - Silver River, Hungarian, Power House, Middle Falls, Ogemaw, and Canyon Falls

The next leg of our adventure covers a lot of falls and a lot of ground. We went from the Mountain Lodge, back through Houghton-Hancock, and South towards L'Anse then on to Munising where we stayed for the night. I used google and apple maps and we stopped at every falls we could along the way. In fact, we stopped at so many placed that it put us quite behind schedule. The first, Silver River Falls, has a very pretty stone bridge.

Silver River Falls

Hungarian Falls

Interesting native plant :)

Power House Falls

This one is particularly cool because it is right around an abandoned power house. It is a really pretty falls too.

Middle Falls

We had a fun experience at this falls. There was a guy fishing here when we walked up the trail and Logan immediately picked up a conversation with the guy, who was also very nice. We watched him catch a few fish while we were there, he was cool.

Trail to the falls runs alongside power plant

Logan's "jungle gym"

Ogemaw Falls

Canyon Falls and Gorge