Mouth watering ribs

I've always done my ribs in the crock pot but today I felt like trying something new. My husband ate this and declared them perfect. So much so that he said he could have eaten just ribs for dinner and didn't even need the rice, corn, mushrooms or garlic bread. Here is tonight's recipe.

Rub
3 Tsp McCormick Pork rub
1 Tsp red paper flake
1 Tsp rib seasoning (mine had some nutmeg, cayenne and other good things)
1 Tsp garlic powder
1 Tsp pepper
2 Tsp brown sugar
2 Tsp adobo powder (I use Goya)

4 Tbsp lemon juice
4 Tbsp soy sauce

Preheat oven to 300. Place ribs on large cookie sheet. Combine rub and dust half of ribs with rub. Pour half of lemon juice and soy sauce over ribs. Cover with foil and bake 2.5 hours. Flip ribs (I needed two sets of tongs) and season with remaining rub and pour remaining sauce over. Cook another 2 hours. Remove foil, flip and cook for 20 minutes on low or warm to allow ribs to get a crispy top. Cut up and serve. The inside should be juicy and soft with a delicious crunchy outside!

A CONTEST & A GIVEAWAY

I'm looking for some new recipes. So I want to hear yours. Here is what I want. I want one chicken and one rib recipe. They need to be your recipes not something from a book or magazine. Try to keep it under 10 ingredients so it can be posted here. I will cook the winning two recipes and post the recipe and pics on here. Then I will announce the winners and mail them a little something something.

Lets see. My husband loves spice. Not so spicy your lips tingle but spicy enough that he sweats!
However, unspicy recipes are good also because then my kid can eat em.


Rules:

Chicken
Must utilize chicken thighs, bone in or out.
Pouring ketchup on chicken and baking it IS NOT A RECIPE!
No beans or cous cous as my husband will NOT eat it.
Bonus points if there is a vegetarian alternative.

Pork
I am using pork spare ribs
Crockpots, grills and ovens are all up for grabs so give it your best shot
No sesame oil, husband hates it
Pouring soda and or ketchup over ribs IS NOT A RECIPE!

So have at it. I will send you some home made goodies when you win (along with a little something else). You have until the 31st to enter. Sunday or Monday of next week I will make the recipe and Wednesday I will post and announce the winner.

GOOD LUCK!

Wedge salad

1 head iceburg lettuce washed
2 roma tomatoes chopped
1/2 red onion thin sliced
3/4 cup crumbled bacon
3 hard boiled eggs sliced
1 cup ranch dressing (or blue cheese)
salt
pepper

Cut off bottom of salad and cute it into quarters. Place 1/4 on each plate and top with 1/4 of each of the above toppings. I made my husbands with bacon and mine with eggs and the rest of the people got both. Something about cutting my own piece of the wedge is just rad to me and damn, BACON AND RANCH, yeah your husband will definitely ask you for sex before dinner is done!

Crash Hot Potatoes

This was my final recipe from Pioneer Woman. I think my husband wants to buy her diamonds just to thank her for all the great food she taught me to make. Tonight I made CRASH! HOT POTATOES. They were fucking awesome. The only problem I see with this recipe is that if you have any extra potatoes after boiling them IT IS IMPOSSIBLE not to stand there and dump salt on them, eat them and then be full by dinner time!

The recipe her way was:
New potatoes
Kosher salt
Pepper
Rosemary
Olive oil

Shannons recipe is new potatoes
Kosher salt
Pepper
Rosemary
Olive oil
BUTTER
and fresh chopped chives

Preheat oven to 450. Boil potatoes until fork tender. Cover sheet pan with olive oil. Place potatoes about 3 inches apart on pan. Take potato masher and gently press down. I found it worked better to hold a fork over the top of the masher to prevent the potatoes from coming out the top and breaking apart. After that I topped each potato with about 1 tsp of unsalted butter. Then I seasoned to taste with salt and pepper and used about a tsp of finely chopped rosemary. Bake for 20-25 minutes until potatoes begin to brown. Serve with chopped chives THEN DIE OF CRUNCHY GOODNESS!

Roasted Beef Tenderloin

This is another one from Pioneer Woman. Her recipe was Lawrys season salt, Lemon Pepper, and pepper corns. I didn't have the lemon pepper so I created my own recipe. Mine is as follows.

1- 5 pound beef tenderloin
2- Tbsp Lawry's Season Salt
1- Tbsp house seasoning (I actually used a poultry seasoning with garlic, onion, pepper etc)
1- Tsp McCromicks Grill Seasoning Spicy
2- Tsp fresh cracked pepper
1- stick of butter cut into tbsp pieces
3- Tbsp olive oil

Preheat oven to 475. Combine dry seasonings in bowl. Heat skillet over medium high heat. Add oil and 1/4 stick of butter until butter starts to brown. Season beef on both sides. Make sure you rub it all in and use the entire amount. Place beef in skillet for about two minutes per side until it starts to brown. Remove beef from skillet and place it on a roasting pan. Top with remaining slices of butter. Using an oven safe thermometer place it into the center most fatty portion of the beef. Place it in the oven and cook until about 136. This will make your meet medium rare in the middle and medium well to well on the ends. That is what makes this such a great family meal, the ability to offer meat with a variety of doneness. I allowed the beef to rest about ten minutes and then cut into it. The beef was so tender I hardly had to try to cut it. My husband didn't do much talking but as you can see from the picture below he LOVED IT.

Creamy herbed potatoes

Earlier in the week I discovered Pioneer Woman Cooks. While browsing her archives I had about 15 photo related orgasms. Finally I decided to try out some of her stuff. I made 3 of her things and this is the first.

Creamy herbed potatoes. They killed me y'all. They were so good and the only problem I could see was the fact that she didn't put a warning about how you shouldn't eat it all while it is cooking or you won't have dinner.

I followed her recipe almost exact except I added one clove of shredded garlic. If I had it all to do again I would probably lower the amount of sage I put in because I think I actually did about 2 tsp instead of 1 tsp.

Pioneer Woman's recipe is as follows

PW’s Creamy Herbed Potatoes

4 to 5 russet potatoes
1 stick (1/4 pound) butter
1 medium onion, finely diced
8 ounces cream cheese
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 cup whole milk (half & half works, too)
1 teaspoon finely chopped rosemary
1 teaspoon finely chopped parsley
1 teaspoon finely chopped chives
1/2 teaspoon finely chopped sage

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Slice potatoes very thinly.
Add butter to a large skillet over medium low heat, When melted, add diced onion. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add cream cheese to the pan and stir to melt.
Pour in cream and milk, stirring to combine.
Season with plenty of salt and pepper, then add chopped herbs.
Place potatoes in a buttered baking dish. Pour contents of skillet over the top.
Top with Parmesan cheese and bake for 45 minutes, or until bubby and…bubby. Allow potatoes to sit 15 minutes before serving.

I PERSONALLY LIKED IT WITH THE ONE CLOVE OF GARLIC! I used a mandolin to cut the potatoes, which she also does. I think you could do this with a knife but it would be harder. You can get a cheap functional mandolin for about $30.00 at Williams Sonoma or even Walmart.

When food goes wrong

Remember class when grilling chicken with the skin on it is important to keep it on low, be attentive and TURN IT OFTEN.
If not the fat will catch on fire and your chicken will go down the shitter
Last week I tried out this recipe. I added boneless skinless chicken and the whole thing was awful. The "broth" was bland and boring and greasy. The potatoes were flavorless and the whole thing sucked!

Pork Fried Rice

INGREDIENTS
3 tablespoons oil
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 tablespoon sesame oil
1/2 pound cooked pork, chopped
1 1/2 cup frozen peas and carrots, thawed
4 cups cold cooked rice
4 green onions, chopped
1/4 cup soy sauce, plus 1/2 tablespoon

DIRECTIONS
1. Mix egg with ½ tablespoon soy sauce and ½ tablespoon of sesame oil.
2. Add 1/2 tablespoon oil to wok and add egg mixture. Cook egg then remove from wok and chop into small pieces.
3. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in wok. Add meat, peas and carrots, stir-fry for 2 minutes.
4. Add rice and green onions tossing to mix well. Stir-fry for 3 minutes.
5. Add remaining soy sauce and chopped egg to rice mixture and fold in. Stir-fry for 1 minute more.
6. Serve with additional soy sauce, if desired.

Chicken Chow Mein

INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 pound chicken breast, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into matchstick size pieces
4 green onions, chopped

1 cup bean sprouts

1 cup carrot matchsticks

1/2 pound boy choy, chopped
2 teaspoons fresh ginger root, minced or grated
4 cloves garlic, minced

12 ounces chow mein/soba noodles, cooked and drained
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil

DIRECTIONS
1. Heat wok over high heat. When pan is very hot, add vegetable oil and chicken and cook until no longer pink.

2. Add the bell pepper, green onion, bean sprouts, carrots and bok choy. Stir fry for 1 minute then add the ginger and garlic, and cook 2 minutes.

3. Add the cooked noodles. Then add the soy sauce and sesame oil and toss the ingredients to coat noodles evenly with sauce.

Spicy Pork Burritos

INGREDIENTS
2-3 pounds pork, cut in chunks
5 garlic cloves, minced
½ onion, chopped
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
½ teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon corn starch
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 ½ cups Verde salsa
½ cup salsa
pepper jack cheese, shredded
flour tortillas

DIRECTIONS
1. In a large skillet, add vegetable oil, onion, and garlic. Saute on medium high heat until onions are translucent. Add pork. Season with salt, pepper, and cumin and cook until the pork is no longer pink, about 10 minutes. Drain any excess fat.
2. Stir in both salsas and corn starch. Cook on low heat about 10 minutes.
3. On a cookie sheet, place meat mixture and cheese in the center of a flour tortilla. Reserve the extra sauce from the meat mixture. Fold in ends of the tortilla and then sides forming a burrito. Broil in oven for 2-3 minutes until the tortilla turns light brown. Top burritos with extra sauce and cheese and place back in oven for another minute to let the cheese melt.
4. Serve topped with sour cream or guacamole.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cups vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin
1/2 cups water
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup mini chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease muffin pan or use paper liners.
2. Mix sugar, oil, eggs. Add pumpkin and water. In separate bowl mix together the baking flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices and salt. Add wet mixture and stir in chocolate chips.
3. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes.

NOTE: This made a tray of full sized muffins and a tray of mini muffins.

Kicked Up Stuffed Red Bell Peppers

INGREDIENTS

6 red bell peppers

1 1/4 pounds ground turkey

2 cups left over Spanish rice

1 can diced tomatoes

1 small can El Pato Mexican tomato sauce

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon Mexican oregano

pepper jack cheese, shredded

water

DIRECTIONS

1. On medium high heat cook turkey in a large skillet. Add a splash of water and season with garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, and oregano. Cook thoroughly until no longer pink, about 10 minutes. Drain excess fat.

2. Stir in Spanish rice and diced tomatoes until thoroughly combined.

3. Cut off tops of bell peppers and clean out the inner membranes.

4. Arrange the peppers cut side up in a baking dish. Fill each pepper with rice meat mixture. Pour El Pato tomato sauce over the top of each bell pepper and sprinkle with pepper jack cheese.

5. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes, until the peppers are tender.

Chicken and summer vegetable tostadas

The original recipe can be found here on Cooking Light. I made a few small changes such as adding ground coriander seed and tomatoes. I also made an alternate version with white beans for myself.

1.5 teaspoon ground coriander seed

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon cumin

5 chicken tenders or boneless skinless thighs

3 ears fresh white corn shucked and kernels cut off into bowl

1/2 zucchini fine diced

1 small onion fine diced

6 oz green salsa

1/4 cup cilantro chopped

1 cup monteray jack cheese shredded

2 small tomatoes diced

3 tbsp olive oil

4 flour tortillas

cooking spray (I used olive oil kind)

Combine coriander, salt, pepper and cumin in bowl. Season both sides of chicken with half of mix. Heat oil in skillet over medium low heat. Cook chicken on both sides until brown. Remove chicken and shred with two forks. Reduce heat to low and add chicken salsa to pan. Coat and cook for 2 minutes. Place tortillas on cookie sheet and spray with cooking spray. Place under broiler on low until tortillas brown and get crispy. Add corn, zucchini and onion to chicken toss to combine. Add remaining seasoning, toss to coat and turn off heat. Once tortillas have crisped remove from broiler and add 1/4 chicken mixture to each one. Top with 1/4 cheese and place back under broiler until cheese melts. Top with tomatoes and cilantro. Cut into quarters to serve.

As a vegetarian alternative I heated the white beans until they began to brown. I followed the same steps above and it turned out great. My husband hates beans, but if he didn't I think this recipe would kick ass with the chicken and beans combined!

Bean version.

Chicken mushrooms ranch burritos

This was one of those meals where I knew I had chicken for dinner and that was about it. I went through about 14 things to make in my head and decided to just open the cabinet and go. This is what I came up with.

5 boneless skinless chicken thighs (or 3 breasts)
2.5 tbsp ranch powder (see below)
.5 tbsp garlic powder
1 tsp pepper
2 cups mushrooms
.5 cup yellow onion diced
olive oil for pan
3 cups shredded Monteray Jack Cheese (Pepperjack would be fun too)
3 flour tortillas
6 tbsp mayonnaise (I KNOW I KNOW BUT....)
1 cup good ranch dressing

Preheat oven to 350. Season chicken with ranch, garlic powder and pepper. Place the chicken in a skillet over medium heat. Brown on both sides and add mushrooms and onions. Increase heat to medium high and cook until mushrooms and onions are soft and chicken is done. Remove chicken from pan and slice into bite size pieces. Place tortillas flat and divide 2/3 cheese between the three tortillas. Divide your chicken mushroom mixture between the three tortillas and top with mayonnaise. Fold in both ends and wrap. Place seam side down on baking sheet. Bake until tortilla begins to brown. Top with remaining cheese and bake until bubbly and melted. If you want to get fancy you can drizzle the ranch over the top. I just put it in bowls for everyone to tip in. Husband loved this meal.

I know your thinking mayo in a wrap that is heated BUT DUDE YOU NEED TO TRY IT. You can leave it out if you're a wimp though!

Last month someone bitched because I said that I use ranch powder "like" Hidden Valley. I don't actually use Hidden Valley because I hate it. I use this stuff:

I got it at a craft fair one year and fell in love. The recipe for ranch dressing has ruined me for life and no ranch will ever compare to this stuff. You make it with buttermilk and oh my fuck. You can mix it with sour cream for the craziest low fat dip EVER IN THE WORLD, or you can put that on potatoes and just die from goodness. So. When I refer to ranch dressing this is what I'm talking about. If you are interested in having a mouth orgasm, tasting the best home made ranch ever or knocking your potato socks off you can order this here:

Or online here