The is going to be a lot barbecuing this holiday weekend for many of us.  If you are still deciding what to serve your friends and families, and are sick of the go-to hamburger and hot dog option, you may want to give pork ribs a try.

Ribs are a great option for serving at your next barbecue, and they are actually quite easy to prepare.

{Barbecue Ribs}

I prefer to use baby back ribs or spare ribs.  When I make ribs, I like to slow cook them in the oven first so they will remain moist and tender.  I use my oven, since I don’t have a smoker.

Next, I like to use a nice rub for the meat.  Here is my favorite recipe for a meat rub.  I coat the front and back.  (You can also coat the meat, and wrap them in plastic wrap, and leave in your fridge overnight for the spices to really penetrate into the meat)

I preheat my oven to 225 degrees, then I spread out tin foil and place the ribs onto the tin foil and wrap them up tight.  Place them on a cookie sheet in case it leeks, and slow cook them for about 4-5 hours.

Then, I remove them from the oven and foil and place on the barbecue on medium to medium low and baste with my favorite bbq sauce* (sweet baby rays)  and finish them off on the grill for just a few minutes per side, or until they have some nice grill marks.   (* You can add the barbecue sauce before you put them in the oven, then baste with more sauce on the grill, whatever you prefer)

Be sure to let the ribs rest at least 10 minutes before slicing the ribs.  This will keep the juices from running out right away, and keep them more moist.

Hopefully this will result in some nice tender ribs.

You can also wrap them back in foil, and place in the oven at 180 degrees until your guest arrive for a nice make ahead option.

Enjoy!!

{homemade popsicles}
adapted from this recipe

2 1/2 cups of fresh or frozen fruit of your choice, chopped
1 1/2 cups yogurt, plain or vanilla
1/2 cup milk {I used rice milk}
1-2 tablespoons agave nectar

place all the ingredients in a blender and blend well until smooth.

pour mixture into popsicle molds and freeze in freezer for a few hours or until solid.

* To do multicolored pops.  You can half the recipe with another color fruit.  Place the mixture in 1/2 or 1/3 of the way full into the popsicle mold.  Freeze for about a half hour, then place the next layer, and so on.  To get the white middle layer, pictured above, I just added 1-2 tsp of agave nectar to plain yogurt and used it as a layer.  The pink layer is strawberries, and the purple layer is blueberries.

*If you do not have popsicle molds, I just used 3oz sized dixie paper cups and wooden popsicle sticks.
A nice tip to get the sticks to stay up is to place a layer of plastic wrap over your filled cups, then poke a hole through with the stick into the cup and fruit mixture.  this will help the sticks from falling over.  When your popsicles are fully frozen, and ready to eat, just hold them under hot running water, and they should slide out of the mold just fine!

Good Luck!