let’s face it, i’m wicked bad at writing new posts for this thing. somehow, an unemployed girl from CT doesn’t have the time to update a blog. between running errands, weight watchers meetings, and busting my ass at the gym… somehow I can’t find the time to update a blog! LOL…. pathetic.
anywho. in my time away from this thing, Michael Jackson died. my dad told my mom over the phone who then told me. i was out shopping at Evergreen Walk in South Windsor with my mom (i needed to look for new clothes… again. i shrank down to a size 10 now!!!!). i was sitting on a bench and had just finished some ice cream from Cold Stone Creamery. and that’s when i got the news. i didn’t believe it, so i dug out my iPhone and googled it. i went nuts looking for a trusted source and finally found an article on CNN.com that confirmed it. i didn’t believe it until i got home and saw the non-stop coverage. but even then i didn’t believe it. i grew up with Michael Jackson, he couldn’t be dead!
The next day, i went on iTunes and i purchased the Thriller album and Michael Jackson Number Ones and a few other singles like “Leave Me Alone” from the Bad album (kind of a weird name for an album IMHO), “Remember the Time” from Dangerous, “You Rock My World” from Invincible, and “They Don’t Care About Us” from History: Past, Present & Future. I loaded them all into my iPhone and i’ve been listening to them nonstop. I’ve found that the song “Thriller” is a great workout song… same goes for “Bad,” “Smooth Criminal,” and “Billy Jean.” not sure about “Remember the Time,” “You Rock my World,” or “They Don’t Care About Us” as I haven’t listened to them at the gym yet. They all make great driving music though! It still hasn’t truly set in that one of my childhood heroes (Madonna was my other hero) has died and is now gone. I never imagined a world without Michael Jackson, for me, there’s always been a Michael Jackson and it almost felt that because of that, there always will be a Michael Jackson.
Michael, you will be missed and i hope you know that you have always been loved and always will be loved despite your idiosyncrasies & strange behavior. Your music and dancing were just beyond genius, and i have always been a fan of your early social work. Thank you for the memories! May you rest in peace.
I know I’m late in the game in blogging about Michael’s death…. but as i said before, it’s taken quite a while for me to process it.
On to happier things!
Today is American Independence Day. I’m not sure if we’re going to see the fireworks over in the neighboring city (they’re getting blasé), but my aunt did come over and we made some amazing food and ate our late lunch feast outside on the back porch. We finally figured out the secret to fall-off-the-bone tender pork ribs and made some Weight Watchers® friendly creamed spinach! My aunt brought over a fruit tart that she picked up at the supermarket & my dad grilled up a few tomatoes. We filled up and it was an absolutely wonderful feast!
If your curious, here’s how I made the pork and the spinach.
Perfect oven-baked pork spareribs
note: this will take you 2 days to prep and 3 hours to cook! do this when you have time!!!
5lbs of pork spareribs (this fed 4 and we had leftovers!)
1 bottle Stonewall Kitchen Roasted Tomato Grille Sauce or the sauce of your choice. UPDATE: i’ve also made this using Bone Suckin’ Sauce which is a Carolina-style BBQ sauce (read: sour not sweet). i now prefer it with the Bone Suckin’ Sauce.
1 gallon sized zipper seal storage/freezer bag
1 large bowl
1 roasting pan
a hell of a lot of aluminum foil
and quite a bit of free time or something else to do.
1) Rinse pork and cut into smaller sections so it’ll all fit in the zipper bag.
2) shake the sauce and dump 1/4 of the bottle into bag. add the pork one segment at a time and massage the sauce into the meat before adding more sauce then meat. make sure to finish the bottle.
3) remove as much of the air from the bag and make sure to seal the bag as tightly as possible.
4) massage the sauce into the meat and make sure to move the sauce around the bag to completely cover the ribs.
5) fold the top of the bag under the meat and place the package in a large bowl and place in fridge.
6) after 5-6 hours, flip the bag over making sure that the top of the bag is still folded under the meat. leave to marinate overnight.
7) when ready to cook, preheat the oven to 300ºF (149ºC). while the oven heats up, wrap up the meat VERY tightly in aluminum foil. no gaps, no tears, no holes. double wrap it if you have to! you don’t want any steam escaping and make sure to add all the marinade into the packets. place the packets in the pan and cover the lot with even more foil.
8) cook at 300ºF (149ºC) for 3 hours. DO NOT OPEN THE PACKETS! DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN! YOU WANT TO KEEP THE STEAM IN if you don’t your final product will be DRY
9) once done, turn off oven and leave in there to steam. do not open the packets.
10) when ready to serve, pull meat out from the oven and place in a serving dish (we used a Pyrex baking pan) and dump all the drippings and marinade on top.
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Weight Watchers® friendly creamed spinach
note: this one’s quick, so you can do this last minute
1, 10oz bag of spinach leaves.
2 wedges of Laughing Cow light cheese Original Swiss
2 wedges of Laughing Cow light cheese Garlic & Herbs
Cooking Spray (like Pam)
Onion Powder, to taste
Garlic Powder, to taste
Salt & pepper, to taste
1) spray a large frying pan with Pam and warmup on high heat.
2) while pan heats up, wash and dry the spinach (i don’t trust the “triple washed” statement on the package)
3) turn heat down to medium-high and add spinach to the pan. cover with lid and let steam for 5 minutes.
4) remove lid and add all 4 wedges of cheese, Onion & Garlic powders, salt and pepper.
5) once cheese is melted, remove from heat and serve immediately.
serves 4 people and should be about 1pt per person. it tastes just like creamed spinach and will not kill your diet. i think it’s 4, 1/2 cup servings, but i’ve never measured.
Have a happy 4th of July! and Michael Jackson… wherever you are I hope you are happy 
