Super Simple Sugar Glazed Pork Ribs

I have a 9 year old son that dearly loves ribs.  He has begged for them repeatedly in the last few weeks, ignoring my protestations that it's too darn cold to grill them outside.  Not to mention that it's dark at 4:30 p.m.  He went grocery shopping with me on Saturday night, a really exciting kid date to be sure, and steered me toward the ribs when we got to the meat section.  OK, OK, I can take a hint.  He likes bone in, but I don't, so I exercised my mom-veto powers and went for the boneless country style pork ribs. 

One of my chief complaints about meat in general is that it can easily wind up tough and chewy.  I put my trusty crock pot to use for this recipe, and finished it off with the broiler and wound up with perfect ribs.  They didn't fall apart like I was afraid, but were tender, moist, and had a nicely caramelized glaze on the outside.  I neglected to take a picture before my ravenous kids dug in, and after very enthusiastic reviews, I hurried and snapped this one of the lone ranger still left on the pan.  It wasn't even the best looking one of the bunch, but it's better than no picture at all.  My 3 year old ate two whole ribs herself, and every person at the table enthusiastically cleaned their plates.  I served it with a side of gouda and garlic infused mashed potatoes and buttery sweet corn.  It's definitely staying on the favorites list.

Super Simple Sugar Glazed Pork Ribs

2 pounds boneless country style pork ribs
1 cup barbecue sauce of your choice (we like Jack Daniel's Honey Smokehouse)
1/4 cup brown sugar

Place your ribs in an appropriately sized crock pot (I used my standard round that I'm guessing is 2-3 quarts).  Pour the sauce over them and toss to coat evenly.  Cook on high for 4 hours.  Line a baking pan with foil and use tongs to pull the ribs out of the crock pot and space them evenly on the baking sheet.  Sprinkle brown sugar generously over each rib and heat under the broiler for 3-4 minutes, until the sugar is bubbly and golden.  Use tongs to flip the ribs over and sprinkle the newly exposed bottom with more brown sugar.  Broil again for 3-4 minutes.  Serve promptly with additional barbecue sauce.  (This will serve 4-6 people, depending on how big appetites are.)

Garlic n' Gouda Spuds
6 large redskin potatoes, peeled if desired, and diced into 1/2" chunks
water
1 T. salt
~~~
4 T. butter
1/2 cup shredded gouda cheese, preferably aged gouda for more flavor
1/2 t. freshly ground pepper
1 t. garlic powder (not garlic salt!)

Boil the potatoes in enough water to cover them completely with the salt added to the cook water until they are fork tender.  Drain the water, add the butter, and mash until fluffy.  Mash in the cheese, pepper and garlic powder last, and serve immediately.