Ribs for Dinner

I can't seem to make a multi-dish meal without having something go wrong! This time I even made a list on the refrigerator of when I was supposed to be doing what with which food item. I actually had exact times (like I was supposed to cut the ribs at 5:00)!

I started out making some mozzarella sticks (I'll put up the recipes at the end). They cooked just fine, but by the end, the olive oil in the pan was smoking..a lot. So I decided to cool it down. The second I reached for the faucet knob to cool down the bubbling hot oil, I thought to myself that I shouldn't do it. A second after I turned on the water, I had hot oil burns on my arm and I jumped across the kitchen. (Something Wrong #1)

When Mark got home, I had the ribs on the stove, completely covered with water, like they were supposed to be. I covered the pot and walked away to watch Mark playing Mario Kart (yes, we're kind of hooked). I checked on it a couple times to see if it was boiling (of course, I know, a watched pot never boils, but maybe a checked-upon one does faster), and it was just starting to bubble a little. While I meant to go back and check on it again in a minute, Mark's race was really exciting. I didn't make it back to the kitchen until I heard the water boiling out through the steam vent thing on the top of the pot and ALL OVER MY STOVE!!! The only consolation I had was that it's a flat top, so NONE of that water went underneath the drip pans. I did manage to turn down the burner, and it subsided pretty quickly. (Something Wrong #2)

Here's the finished ribs--YUM!!

(Very easy recipe from Kraft Food and Family Mag.--Cut ribs into two rib sections. Put in big pot and cover completely with water. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer fro 20 minutes. Drain. Grill over medium heat for about 10 minutes, turning and brushing with BBQ sauce.)

I got Zack to help shuck the corn (before he went out with Tim). That's one of my many memories from our many trips to Erie--shucking corn on the cob on the back steps of Aunt Mary's house for HUGE family dinners. I put the corn on the cob in cold water (like I was supposed to), but when it went on the grill, neither Mark nor I knew how to make the grill medium heat. So the corn stayed on the grill for 15 minutes, and barely cooked at all. Oh well, $1.50 wasted. (Something Wrong #3)

Mark and I make a good dinner team!!

Oh, and I forgot to put the rolls in the oven at all! (Something Wrong #4)

Despite all of my best efforts to ruin our dinner, it really did turn out pretty good, especially the potatoes (which I didn't mess up at all).

Here's the potatoes--very yummy!!(Cube 2lbs. of red potatoes. Mix together 1/2 cup ranch dressing, 1/2 shredded cheese (I used cheddar, the recipe said Italian blend), and 1/4 cup bacon pieces. Toss the potatoes in the dressing mixture until coated. Put in lightly greased baking dish and bake at 350 for 40 minutes.)

Xander just played with chalk and bugs!