There are few things more patriotic than country style ribs and chicken cooked slow and low over charcoal and hickory wood chips on the 4th of July.  I had a very relaxing Fourth this year with the hubs and our friend Andrew.   There was plenty of food and drink and later a movie.  We had plans to be outside or to take a walk to the parade but the weather was unbearable.  I spent about 30 minutes gardening in the morning and was completely drenched in sweat.  Very thankful for our a/c unit!

I started soaking the wood chips in some water and got the charcoals going around noon…

Drain the chips and after your coals get fairly white, toss them on top.  The smoke starts billowing out and it is time to put on the meat!

I marinated the meat with a dry rib rub in the morning.  It is preferable to do it the night before but a few hours is fine.

To accompany the meat I made a fruit salad.  Summer=watermelon!

And creamy broccoli cole slaw…

And for dessert- Red, White and Blue cupcakes- red velvet cake, cream cheese frosting and blueberries on top!

I discovered that my cat has an affinity for frosting.  He kept inching closer and closer to this cupcake and finally made a go for it while I was adjusting the settings on my camera.

I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July!

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