crock pot wednesday. but on thursday.

Well, this week has come and gone and I have barely sat down.

It always seems that way once I get home from being out of town.

After three blissful weeks of vacation (the highlights of which I will begin to share this weekend), I came home to a rude awakening.

And that was, the fact that I really didn't want to be here.

Don't get me wrong, I love being home. In my house. Back to my routine.

But. I loved being with my husband more. Even if it meant being away from most of my possessions, away from my city, and out of my routine.

And getting back to my routine has been extra hard. There were several small obligations about which I had forgotten completely just prior to leaving for Ohio, and I have spent this week playing catch-up, and am still not completely caught up. Not to mention the fact that I have been really tired but at the same time haven't been able to get much sleep. That keyed-up feeling again. For what I don't even know!

What does all of this have to do with crock pots and food?

Well, yesterday was a bit of an anomaly. Due to some schedule changes the previous day, Wednesday did not feel like Wednesday. Couple that with the fact that I was feeling under the weather, mentally trying to retrieve all of the tasks that I was supposed to do that never got done, and having to be out of the house earlier than usual due to a staff party at school, and Crock Pot Wednesday just didn't happen. It was just as well; I had to lead worship that night and justdid make it there on time, so I would not have even had time to eat. We just had takeout for dinner.

But alas, my crock pot meal was patiently waiting in the wings (read: refrigerator and cabinet), hoping that I would not forget it today. And I did not.

I made barbecued country-style pork ribs.

Here were my ingredients. (Hurried iPhone snapshot alert!)

And of course, the pork. The picture of which I couldn't get to upload to save my life, so I guess I won't.
Boo.

I put the meat in the pot, seasoned liberally with the black pepper, cumin, and seasoned salt, then added a few splashes of the liquid smoke, one and a half cups of water, and more than half of the bottle of barbecue sauce. And cooked it on high for four hours.

We ate the ribs with a simple salad, and they were tasty. I did not add more barbecue sauce to them on my plate, because it turned out they didn't really need it. They were tender and juicy and saucy and meaty and I am SO glad I added the cumin. It was such a lovely surprising aftertaste.

I love cumin.

I just had to say that.

All I bought at the store for this meal was the pork and the barbecue sauce. And the salad. Everything else I already had on hand, so what I spent for what I actually put in the pot was:

ribs -- $5.99
barbecue sauce -- $2.50
TOTAL -- $8.49

And now, to continue recovering from the week and catching up on tasks, and to decide what will be on the menu next week.