Taste of summer in the winter

We all think of summer barbeque's when we think of ribs. I just think of the fact that my husband is cooking so I don't have to that day! That really wasn't the case because everyone also happened to want twice baked potatoes that day also! So I have a little recipe that I follow when making these. I store that recipe in my head so it comes out different every time. My inspiration recipes a few years ago was from kraftfoods.com I think. Here's a little teaser picture since most of you weren't there for the mostly, 'indoor bar-b-q'!

Ribs:

John is still working on perfecting ribs. We have tried many techniques. The one he used this day was a new one that a local bar-b-q restaurant owner shared with him. It is instead of boiling the ribs, just slow roast them on a low temp in the oven. (or a large smoker). We have a small smoker, but went with the oven on this cool winter day. He set the oven to 210 sliced open the package of ribs........beep,beep,beep,beep,beep,beep,beep,..... got a call for the fire department. He then looked at me and asked me to put the ribs in the fridge. And left. Note, I didn't leave the house and discovered about an hour and a half later that the oven was on. It was only 210 so I didn't freak out. New rule: if you get a call for fire dept. turn off the appliances you are using at that time. Just for safety precautions!

Any who, so he got back 2 hours later. They ended up sitting near the fire on standby because another station got there first, and got the garage fire put out in a jiffy. So, he dry rubbed the ribs and wrapped them in tin foil and threw them in the oven. (another new rule, must put a shallow pan under the ribs to catch the juices-better for the person who has to clean out the oven!) I went ahead and threw in the potatoes wrapped in tin foil. about 4-5 hours later he says they are almost done.

I should have just cooked the taters in the micro because it took forever for them to cook and I prefer them extra tender in the middle, and they weren't so much. So he took his ribs and sauced them up and threw them on a low flame on the grill.

Twice baked potatoes:

all potato 'meat'

about a stick of butter

about 1/2 cup of sour cream

about 3/4 of a cup of heavy whipping cream or just milk

salt and pepper

about 1/2 cup or so of bacon crumbles

1. Bake about 4-5 bakers in the oven (I didn't need that many but needed to use up the potatoes, so we had leftovers
2. When potatoes are done, slice open and scoop out inside of the potato, trying to leave skin in tact
3. in large mixing bowl mix with a hand mixer all the ingredients, adding the cheese near the end
4. lay empty skins in a deep baking dish, forming a bowl of sorts with each skin
5. spoon mixture into skins
6. top with a little more cheese
7. bake for about 20 minutes at about 350. Watch for bubbling mixture.
8. Remove and let cool.

That's totally a throw together recipe for me. I don't think I will use the heavy whipping cream next time. I was just trying to use it up. Also, the potatoes, were a little chunky, so I will just bake them in the micro as appose to in the oven at 210 for forever!