Slow Cooked Key West Ribs

A couple of weeks ago, I confessed to a couple of my friends that I just haven't been in the mood to cook much or try new recipes for a few weeks.  One of my friends encouraged me to dust off my slow cooker and get back to some basic recipes.  Well, that's just what I did and it was a breath of fresh air for me.

Last week I made a slow cooker lasagna for the first time--amazing!  My sister-in-law, Sara, would be proud.  We had a group coming over for dinner last week and I made slow cooked pulled pork.  Last night, I decided to pull a recipe out of one of those little magazines at the front of the grocery store that caught my eye a couple of years ago.  So glad I picked that up!  The Key West Ribs sounded so delicious and I decided to go for it--I'm really glad I did.  It took about 15 minutes to prepare; I'm all about time-savers!

 Scott and I both really enjoyed this dish and all of the flavor that came with it!

One thing I love about making meat in the slow cooker is that it comes out extra juicy and tender.  So much so that the nice looking rib fell apart as I was pulling it out to put on the plate. 

To accompany the dish I made coconut brown rice, and prepared plantains and black beans.  Last night was the first time I've ever tried to do anything with plantains--aside from just eating them.  I love to eat them, but I guess I've always been a little intimidated to cook them.  While looking up recipes, I learned a few things.  One thing I learned is that I was craving the taste of an overripe plantain (sweet), but I picked up an unripe plantain (starchy like a potato).  Because the one I had was unripe, I lightly fried the plantain slices and seasoned them with garlic salt.  They turned out to be pretty tasty. 

Really, it wasn't until I pulled the pictures up on my computer today that I realized we had nothing green on our plates last night.  As Scott will attest, that rarely happens! 

Key West Ribs Recipe:

Ingredients

• 2.5lb country-style pork loin ribs
• 1 small onion, finely chopped (1/4 cup)
• 1/4 cup barbecue sauce
• 1 teaspoon grated orange peel
• 1 teaspoon grated lime peel
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 2 tablespoons lime juice

 Directions

1. Spray 3.5-4-quart slow cooker with cooking spray.  Place ribs in slow cooker. 
2. In small bowl mix remaining ingredients.  Pour over ribs.
3. Cover; cook on Low heat setting 7-9 hours.  Spoon sauce over ribs when serving

Recipe Courtesy of Casseroles & Slow Cooker Pillsbury Magazine