49 Down, 1 To Go!

I am a military brat. For those unfamiliar, a military brat is the child of a member of the military and often connotes having moved multiple times as a kid. The term brat is used all around the world and originally stood for “British Regiment Attached Traveller”, another way to show we just tagged along.

As a result of being a military brat (I so wanted to reduce it to just brat but know that I’d invite confirmation from the Ranting Brother), I’ve lived in a number of different places and have travelled quite a bit in the United States. A a kid, we kept a paper map with the outline of all 50 states in the US. When we had been in a state, we could color it solid.

Our rules were:

• You had to actually be in the state.
• Driving through (so never actually touching land) was acceptable.
• Being exclusively in the airport (changing planes) did not count.

Based on that criteria:

1. I have been to 49 of the 50 states. I am only missing Oregon.
2. I have lived in 5 of them.
3. I’ve spent the night in 39 (all but Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina)

It has become a badge of pride to have seen so much of the country and Oregon is in my sights!

Soulfully Good Pork Spareribs With Pineapple and Ginger

This dish is so good I’d follow it anywhere!

Many of the ingredients help you make a form of teriyaki sauce.

In the slow cooker.

As the recipe title states, these were soulfully good!

Soulfully Good Pork Spareribs With Pineapple and Ginger

Ingredients:

1 (20 ounce) can pineapple chunks in juice, drained and 1/2 cup juice reserved
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup ketchup
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons dry sherry
3 tablespoons light brown sugar or 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 lbs pork spareribs (also could use country-style ribs) or 4 lbs baby back ribs, cut into serving pieces of 3 to 4 ribs each (also could use country-style ribs)

Directions:

1. In a large deep bowl, combiner the reserved pineapple juice, soy sauce, and the next 6 ingredients; add the ribs.

2. Cover and marinate overnight in the refrigerator.

3. Grease the slow cooker with oil and add the ribs and marinade.

4. If you have a round cooker, stack the ribs, alternating them with the reserved pineapple chunks.

5. If you have an oval cooker, put the ribs in the crock and scatter the pineapple around the ribs.

6. Cover and cook on LOW for 8-9 hours or until tender and the meat starts to separate from the bone.

7. Serve immediately.

Source: http://www.food.com/recipe/soulfully-good-pork-spareribs-with-pineapple-and-ginger-161192