Tony Roma's World Famous Ribs

I always let our children and grandchildren choose their favorite meal for their birthday dinner. Last year, our seven-year-old grandson requested rooster. I asked him if he'd ever eaten rooster and he said, "No, but I'd sure like to try some!!" So, I cooked "rooster". Tomorrow, I'm making BBQ ribs for our grandson who is turning 13. This recipe is supposed to be Tony Roma's world famous ribs. I don't know about that, but they sure are delicious!!!

Buy 4 pounds of baby back pork ribs and cut them into serving sizes (4-6 ribs each). Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Coat the front and back of each section with barbecue sauce and wrap tightly in foil. Place in oven, seam side up and bake for 2 1/2 hours. Remove from foil, place on hot grill and brush with additional sauce. Grill each side 2 to4 minutes. Serve hot with additional sauce.

Tony Roma's Blue Ridge Smokie Sauce:
1 cup ketchup
1 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1 1/2 tsp liquid smoke
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder

Combine in medium sauce pan, whisk until smooth and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes, or until sauce has thickened.
(From http://www.topsecretrecipes.com/)

Soapbox

You'll have to pardon me while I get on my soapbox. This is something I feel strongly about and most people think I'm nuts!! Which is probably true. Anyway, one thing I truly believe is that compassionate service begins at home. Whenever I was in the hospital having a new baby or having surgery or for whatever reason and the wonderful women at church asked me if they could help by bringing in meals, I would thank them, but I would respectfully decline the offer. I've been advised that I deny others the blessing of serving me, but I also believe that by doing so, I deny my family the blessing of serving each other!! And, after all, if these delicious meals are delivered to our door, my family will never learn to appreciate me at all. I want them to SUFFER!!! I also want them to learn that you love those whom you serve!! and serving each other in a time of need is definitely a way to learn that lesson. I mean if a boy can earn a cooking merit badge, he can cook a meal or two for the family. I must admit at this point that I have a husband who will step up to the plate and do whatever it takes to keep the home running when mom is out of the picture. For this I have been truly blessed!! Yes, I have turned down meals, but, I have never nor will I ever turn down cookies!!!

Stratagems

Table Monster: Another stratagem I used at our home was the Table Monster. The Table Monster sat on our dinner table every night and was awarded to the family member with the worst table manners. The awardee had to do the dishes. This worked really well for all of us except one...my husband....who won the Table Monster every meal. To this day, he gets up and does the dishes as a matter of habit. :)

The Smiley Store: This one works especially well with the youngsters. I made a bunch of "smilies"....construction paper circles with smiley faces.
Anytime I caught one of the children doing something nice or something without being asked, he or she would receive a "smiley". Once a month, I would open my "Smiley Store" where they could use their "Smilies" to "buy" inexpensive toys or treats.

Mom's Savings & Loan: As the children grew, I opened "Mom's Savings & Loan"....I even printed my own "cheques". I would post jobs that I needed to have done and how much I was willing to "pay" for that particular job. These jobs were outside of their normal chores, i.e., washing windows. When they had finished a job, I would write them a check from Mom's Savings & Loan. Then, whenever they needed money, I would cash their "checks". BTW, our kids never received an allowance. Instead, they were given food, clothing, and a place to live.

And, alas, when they turned twelve, they received their very own hamper, along with instructions on how to use the washing machine. Their clothes no longer appeared in the laundry still clean and folded. Their clothes were worn more than 5 minutes and they no longer cleaned their rooms by picking up everything and throwing it down the laundry shute. I no longer spent my life in the laundry room. We did have one problem, our youngest son would rather ride his bike to WalMart and buy new underwear than do his laundry. When he was married, I made him a quilt out of all his old boxer shorts. It turned out pretty cute if I do say so myself!!

The Agenda

The bishop’s wife’s main responsibility is to keep things running smoothly at home. Most of the responsibility is yours because when dad arrives home, he wants peace, tranquility, a hot meal, and angelic children. In addition to his church responsibilities, my husband's full-time job required him to travel all the time. Too many times, when he would return home, one of our children would say, “Mom! Dad said I can’t do this, that or the other…”. It’s like who is this guy and who does he think he is???? Kids need dad's attention, discipline, and love, so I started “The Agenda”. I posted a blank piece of paper on the fridge and titled it “The Agenda”. Every time one of the kids would complain, tattle, whine, or demand justice for whatever reason, I would tell them to put their name on “The Agenda”. They couldn’t write their complaint, just their name, so that when we held family council once a week, they could register their complaint. Nine times out of ten, they wouldn't remember what it was they had to complain about and I would just sit and smile.

Cinnamon Rolls

In blender mix:
2 1/2 cups warm water
2 pkg yeast
1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 stick melted butter
3 tsp salt

Add to 7 cups flour in mixer.
Beat well with dough hook, let rise to top of bowl.
Dump out onto well floured counter, divide in half.
Roll one half into rectangle, spread with 1/4 stick melted butter, 1/2 cup sugar, and sprinkle well with cinnamon. Fold in ends and roll, pinching the end. Cut into 12 slices and lay in greased 9x13 pan. Repeat with second half of dough. Let rise to top of pan. Bake 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Frost while hot with buttercream frosting.

Buttercream frosting:
1 stick butter
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt
4-5 cups confectioners sugar

Good grief!!!

Have you ever had a really embarassing moment? One of mine happened when our ten-year-old daughter told her friend that we didn't have anything to eat. It was Sunday night and there wasn't a cookie, chip, or piece of junk food left in the house. We had ingredients, but anything else was long gone. Her friend went home and not long after that our doorbell rang. When I answered the door, there was no one there, but on the porch was a loaf of bread, a dozen eggs, and a gallon of milk. Good grief!!!

My Best Friend

Sometimes I swear I have the best husband in the universe. He just went to the pharmacy to pick up my antibiotic and came back with a dozen roses as well. It reminded me of a time many years ago when we had just moved to a different state. One morning after all the boxes were unpacked and things all put away, I burst into tears. My bewildered husband asked what in the world was wrong. "I don't have any friends," I wailed. I continued having my pity party throughout the morning, when suddenly I heard the doorbell ring. When I opened the door, a delivery man was standing there with a beautiful bouquet of flowers. The children were excited, wondering who had sent them. I read the card and all it said was, "From your BEST FRIEND!!!"...."Who is my best friend?" I asked. "DADDY!!" they all shouted, and you know what? They were right!!

Sunday Dinner

One of my favorite childhood memories was Sunday dinner at grandma's house. We would all sit around her huge, round mahogany table and enjoy a meal fit for a king....homemade rolls, fresh vegetables from the garden, delicious desserts....just thinking about it makes my mouth water. I've tried to carry on that tradition at our house. For instance, today is Sunday and we'll have eight adults and eleven grandchildren here for dinner. My rolls are semi-homemade thanks to Rhodes frozen dough, the vegetables won't be fresh from the garden, and dessert will be Girl Scout cookies, but I hope my grandchildren will feel the same unconditional love and acceptance that I felt at my grandmother's house. That's how memories are made.

Sunday Coke Roast:
One 3-4 pound beef roast
One envelope Lipton's Onion Soup Mix
One 12-oz can Coca-Cola
Cook in crockpot on high from Sunday morning til dinner time. (6-7 hrs)

I Love Lucy

I didn't watch a color TV until I was ten years old when I watched "The Wizard of OZ" at a friend's house. At our home, we had three channels in black and white. I remember watching the Kennedy/Nixon debate because it was being broadcast on all three channels. I didn't realize I was watching history in the making. Standards back then were laughable compared to what we see today. I mean, Ricky and Lucy had twin beds on their TV show and she was the first pregnant woman to appear on the airwaves. When I compare the television options of my youth, it pales to what we have today with hundreds of channels providing hundreds of options. It's amazing to sit and watch the Olympics take place right in our own family room. While there is some redeeming value to the television programming we watch, there is way too much garbage pouring into our homes. When our children were teenagers, I finally put a sign on top of the TV that said, "Is there anything virtuous, lovely, of good report or praiseworthy?" to remind them to avoid being desensitized to the downward spiral of decency on the screen. Television can provide us with a live satellite broadcast from Salt Lake City, but it can also drag us into programming that will drive away the spirit and turn us into a robotic audience. We have to glean out the best, turn off the trash and be very careful who we invite into our homes.

The Letter

The first time my husband was bishop (lay minister) in our church, he had a very large congregation and he was determined to personally meet the needs of every member. After a while, we started to feel neglected so I decided to bring our feelings to his attention. I wrote the letter.

Dear Bishop:
There is a family in your congregation who needs your help.
Their address is (our address).
Sincerely,
(My name)

I stamped the envelope and put it in the mail. It got his attention and he realized we needed his attention as much, if not more, than anyone else. He started to learn the art of delegation and we didn't feel as neglected after that. I never had to write another letter.