Slow Cooker Beef Back Ribs

Hi guys! This recipe I am about to share with you is one of my favorites! It's SO easy and SO tasty. I am much a fan of things that fall of the bone and are ultra tender. Who likes dry, tough meat anyway? I wouldn't even call these "fork tender" either. A fork would be much too sharp for these babies! That is how supple and moist these ribs are.

I found this recipe from a friend, Dianne (thanks Dianne!), who shared something similiar from the Better Homes and Garden's website- Chili-Orange Short Ribs. However I couldn't for the life of me find Short Ribs at the market! I went to 3 different grocery stores!! Anyway, I ended up buying "Beef Back Ribs" for a nice price of $10. It would definitely be enough for my parents and I. I also ditched the dried chile de arbol pepper, and used just a pinch of red chili pepper flakes.

As I was preparing everything for the slow cooker, I realized I had forgotten to buy orange juice!! Long story short, these don't need orange juice, though you very well could add it, and either way, it'll be amazing.

Enjoy!!

What you need:
serves 3
Difficulty level- easy

2.5-3 lbs Bone-in Beef Back Ribs or Short Ribs
5 cloves of garlic
a finger of ginger
1-2 small Maui onions or sweet onions
1 orange or tangerine
1/2 lb cremini mushrooms
2 star anise
garlic salt
pepper
1/8 tsp chili pepper flakes
2 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 cup dry Sherry wine
1/3 cup shoyu or soy sauce
1/3 cup water
1.5 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp ponzu sauce

Instructions:

1. Rough chop 5 cloves of garlic and one 1-inch finger of garlic. Add to slow cooker.
2. Cut onions in half and slice into half moons. Add to slow cooker.
3. Peel your tangerine or orange. Add the slices to the cooker while squeezing out the juice with your hands. Keep the peel and add it into the mix too.
4. Wash and dry your cremini mushrooms and slice into preferred thickness. I kept mine pretty thick so that it didn't wither away during the long cooking process. Add to the slow cooker.
5. Get your meat out and season well with garlic salt and pepper on all sides. Heat up your pan to high and add oil.
6. Gently lay the meat in the pan to brown. There should be a lot of sizzling goin' on!

7. While the ribs are browning, make your sauce. The sauce consists of 2 star anise, 1/8 tsp chili pepper flakes, 2 tbsp brown sugar, 1/2 cup dry Sherry wine, 1/3 cup shoyu, 1/3 water and 1.5 tsp lemon juice. Whisk to combine and set aside.
8. Once the ribs have that nice golden brown color, take the pan off the heat and transfer the ribs to the slow cooker. It should sit atop the garlic, ginger, onions and mushrooms!

9. Pour the sauce allllllll over those ribs!

10. The last secret ingredient is 2 tsp of Ponzu! Drizzle on top and place the slow cooker lid on top.
11. Set the slow cooker on low for 12 hours and don't, I repeat, don't open it until the time is up!
12. Take the lid off, and skim the oil from the sauce. Enjoy your delicious ribs that will fall of the bone. Trust me, no knife needed!

Just comes right off the bone!!

Gingery and Moist Zucchini Bread with Poppy Seed and Lemon Crunch Glaze

 I adapted this Zucchini bread from a Food 52 recipe, and this is why the name is so long! The author chose to take a little bit of something from 3 different recipes she liked- the olive oil ingredient from a cake recipe, poppy seeds from another, and the lemon crunch glaze from the last recipe. Here you get all the goodies wrapped in one big package!

This recipe takes a big amount of time and effort, though it is fairly easy to make. The biggest headache is grating a whole zucchini and making sure you squeeze as much liquid and juice from it as you can.

It was a long-er process than normal quick bread, but I found the end product a real treat! And you can say it's basically healthy right??

Alright here's the recipe:

What you need:
serves 4-6
Difficulty level- medium

For the bread:
1 zucchini (about 1 lb)
1/4 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
2 tbsp poppy seed
2 tbsp chopped candied ginger
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
zest of 1 lemon
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3/4 cup coconut oil
coconut oil spray

For the lemon crunch glaze:
1/3 cup turbinado sugar or raw sugar
1-2 tsp milk
juice of half a lemon
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. With a cheese grater, grate one whole zucchini. Place the grated zucchini in a small bowl with 1/4 cup sugar. Mix.

3. Place zucchini in a colander and squeeze all the juice out of the zucchini as you can. Set aside.

4. In a medium bowl, sift the flour, and then add the salt, ground ginger, baking powder, baking soda, ground nutmeg, poppy seeds, and the chopped candied ginger. Combine all ingredients to make the dry ingredients.

5. In a large bowl, add your eggs, vanilla extract, lemon zest, olive oil and coconut oil. Whisk to combine. These are your wet ingredients.

6. Add your dry ingredients into your wet ingredients slowly. Combine, but don't over mix or the batter will be dry and dense.

7. Now, grab your grated zucchini and add a small amount to the batter at a time. While you're adding it, make sure to squeeze any excess liquid out of the zucchini. Mix zucchini into batter.

You should have a fair amount of zucchini liquid that was squeezed out. I was shocked at how much there was!

8. Spray your loaf pan with coconut oil spray or Pam, and then pour the batter in.

9. Place in oven for 40-45 mins or until a toothpick inserted into the bread comes out clean.

10. In the meantime, make your glaze. Mix your turbinado sugar, milk, lemon juice and confectioners' sugar together. That's it!
11. Once the 40-45 mins is up and your bread is done, set it on the counter to cool.
12. When bread has cooled, generously drizzle lemon crunch glaze ALL over........then enjoy!

See all the yummy ingredients inside? Zucchini, candied ginger, poppy seeds, and then that luscious glaze on top...delicious!!