Mea Culpa to Readers and Country Bob!

I have no idea how it got to be May and over a month since my last post. It is not like I stopped either cooking or eating, but the stimulus money and glut of proposal deadlines has taken up every free moment (and there weren't that many to begin with!) of my non-working time.

I will try to catch you up, and make a real effort to be a better citizen of the blogosphere despite my other commitments. So, here is a brief summary of what has been going on in my culinary (and otherwise) life:

• We had a wonderful St.Patrick's Day complete with lots of family,lots of corned beef, and of course, the delicious corned beef hash the next day (my favorite part!)
• For the past several months I have been preparing to officially become a Catholic. That journey culminated at the Easter Vigil when I celebrated the sacraments of initiation. My entire family was there except for my son Gavin, making it really special (it would have been perfect if he had been there too!). It was really an amazing experience, complete with a celebratory reception and champagne punch. The team at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel helped to make this process meaningful, providing opportunity for fellowship, introspection, and celebration.
  
• I have been cooking a lot with just quick and easy in mind since I am in the middle of grant season, particularly with the stimulus funds out there. But I do have some good pictures on my camera and recipes up my sleeve due some other friends and family and their culinary inspiration. And I promise not to be away so long again...
• One of things I love about being a foodblogger is getting products to try and blog about, but I have to admit that sometimes life overwhelms me and I am a little slower than I should be and such is the case with Country Bob's who sent me two bottles of their all-purpose sauce to try and blog about. While the sauce tasted great, it took me awhile to figure out how best to use it.I was in the mindset of a steak sauce, and for me a good steak really doesn't need any steak sauce.But recently, I had some beef short ribs and I though maybe Country Bob's would be great for cooking those ribs in. The result...ribs with meat falling off the bone,perfectly seasoned in a way that highlighted the flavor of the meat, not the sauce. My success led to numerous other uses of Country Bob's as an ingredient. I have used it in ground beef when I made burgers, and it was terrific. So even if you are not a steak sauce fan like me, you can find a place for Country Bob's in your pantry (at least as long as it lasts!)

Fall off the Bone Country Bob's Short Ribs

3 lbs bone in or boneless beef short ribs
1 bottle or can of any kind of beer
1 large onion cut in large dice
1 tsp salt
1 beef boullion cube
ground black pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce

I shook my ribs with a little sprinkle of unflavored meat tenderizer. I then heated the oil in a heavy pan and browned the onions.I then added the ribs in batches, making sure each side was browned (otherwise you have ribs that are a kind of blah brown rather than a dark mahogany color).Once all the ribs were browned I added them back to the pot and added the rest of the ingredients. Then I simmered the ribs covered, checking the fluid level for about 2 and 1/2 hours. I wish I had a picture of these, but they went so fast, if I had set up a picture I would've missed my chance to actually eat one!! This would also be a great way to cook a chuck roast in the crockpot.