Sweet and Sour Pork Spare Ribs
I've never really made much Asian food on my own before, so I was intrigued to check out this recipe for sweet and sour pork spare ribs. Since, as I just mentioned, I don't make much Asian food, however, I substituted a few ingredients to make the recipe a little more friendly for the standard kitchen -- white wine vinegar instead of rice wine, balsamic vinegar instead of Chinese black vinegar. I didn't notice anything particularly lacking from the dish, and thought the sauce had nice balance. In fact, this sauce could be used for any meat -- chicken or beef would go just as well with this sour/sweet combination, and might be even easier to cook. The spare ribs were delightful, though, and I would make them again in a heartbeat.
Lamb Meatballs with Pita and Hummus
I don't generally think of meatballs as anything more than an add-in for pasta or as part of a meatball sub, but when I stumbled across a recipe for lamb meatballs on Serious Eats that idea got flipped upside down. For some reason, making the meatballs out of lamb just makes them seem like a standalone entree. Combine them with pita, hummus, and a little bit of Greek yogurt, and you're in business.
Muddy Buddies
Some people call this delicious snack "Puppy Chow," and I can't say that I blame them. The finished product looks a bit like the kibbles you'd pour into your dogs bowl. But these, unlike those dog biscuits, are delicious for real live, human people. That's right. You should feed these little buddies to your Homo sapiens friends. They're easy, tasty, and a perfect snack for long trips.