Do you like Ribs?

If you like ribs, you'll love this recipe.  It is so good!

Dry Rub
8 Tbsp brown sugar                    1/2 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
3 Tbsp kosher salt                      1/2 tsp thyme
1 Tbsp chili powder                     1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp ground black pepper        1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

This dry rub mix will probably season 3 - 4 batches of ribs.  Store it in an airtight container for future use.  I like to use boneless country style ribs, but I've used spare ribs and baby back ribs too.  Select the ribs you plan to cook.  Sprinkle with Lawry's Seasoning Salt.

Place a 4 quart stock pot over medium high heat.  Add 2 Tbsp vegetable oil.  Once the oil is hot, place the rib racks in the hot oil to sear both sides.  Once all sides are seared, place all racks back in the pot and add two 12 oz cans of Dr. Pepper and 1/4 cup vinegar.  Cover and cook over medium heat for at least one hour.

Remove from the stock pot and place in a baking dish or crock pot.  Cover both sides of ribs with honey (be generous).  Once covered with honey, sprinkle with dry rub mix on both sides and then cover with honey again.  Cover and place in refrigerator overnight.  At least two hours before ready to serve, remove from the refrigerator and cover with two bottles of your favorite barbecue sauce.  Place in the oven at 285 degrees or place in crock pot on low heat for two hours or more.

The secret to these ribs is cooking them low and slow.  They will be very tender/fall off the bone. And very well seasoned.

Crispy Ranch Chicken

This is a good recipe if you're having guests for dinner.  Most people like chicken and there is simply nothing not-to-like about this recipe.

2 cups crushed corn flakes
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 envelope (1 oz) ranch salad dressing mix
2 egg whites (beaten)
8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 6 oz each)
4 Tbsp butter

Preheat oven to 350°.  Spray a large baking sheet with cooking spray.  Combine the corn flakes, Parmesan cheese and ranch dressing mix in a large bowl.

Place beaten egg whites in a medium bowl.  Dip each chicken breast in the egg whites and then in the cereal mixture to coat evenly.  Arrange the coated chicken on the baking sheet.

Melt butter and drizzle over the chicken.  Bake until crust is golden brown and juices run clear when chicken is pierced with a knife (about 30 - 40 minutes).

Serve this with fresh roasted carrots, a salad, and buttered noodles for a complete dinner.

A Quick Tip - Bacon

Our family loves bacon.  We usually include bacon with breakfast at least one day of the weekend.  I like to use bacon in lots of other recipes, but there isn't always time to defrost and then fry a few pieces to use in a recipe that calls for bacon bits for week night dinners.  It doesn't take that much extra time to fry more bacon.

I always fry two pounds of bacon when I make it for breakfast.  We usually eat a little bit more than one pound. That leaves me with a fair amount of leftover bacon which I put into a Ziploc Freezer bag and put it in the freezer.  When I have a recipe that calls for bacon during the week I simply take what I need from the freezer.  It's a great time saver and it tastes so much better than the packaged bacon bits (real or otherwise).  It's so much cheaper too!

Roasted Tri-Potatoes

Potatoes are comfort food in my book.  And this recipe ranks right up there.  It's the perfect combination of three types of potatoes and spices and makes a great side dish with beef, pork or chicken.

3 sweet potatoes                                 1/3 cup olive oil
4 Yukon Gold potatoes                         1 garlic clove
4 Red potatoes                                    1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp dried tarragon                             1/8 tsp pepper

If you don't care for tarragon, you may substitute 1 tsp of dried thyme or rosemary.

Preheat oven to 425°.  Peel and cube the sweet potatoes.  Scrub the Yukon and Red potatoes and cut them into cubes.  Place the cubes in a 9 x 13" roasting pan.

Combine the olive oil with the minced garlic clove, tarragon, salt and pepper.  Pour the mixture over the potatoes and stir.  Roast potatoes in the oven for about one hour until browned and crisp.

So simple, but so good!

Pray For My Friend Lydia

Lydia had a stroke over the weekend.  Her second in the last year.  Unfortunately, I don't know any of the details right now.  She is still in ICU and no non-family visitors are allowed.  She's had a really rough time the last many months, but has shown remarkable courage and remained positive through circumstances that would be too much for many of us to endure.

Lydia is a genuinely good person who cares for people.  She is a good friend and a person who, unlike most of us, has no vices - she doesn't drink, smoke, or indulge in other unhealthy habits.  At the age of 48, I would guess she might be all of a size 4, so weight is certainly not an issue.

Please add Lydia to your prayer list.  I believe prayer makes a difference, and Lydia can certainly use the thoughts and prayers of many!

Get well my friend.

For All You Chocoholics - This Cake's For You!

Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake

1 chocolate cake mix        8 oz sour cream

3/4 cup oil                       1 small box chocolate instant pudding

3/4 cup water                  1 (12 oz) bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

4 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl.  Using your mixer, mix at low speed for one minute or until ingredients are mixed.  Beat at medium speed for one minute until fluffy.

Pour into bundt pan sprayed with cooking spray.  Pour cake mixture into pan and spread evenly.  Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.  (I like to check it at 45 minutes)  Cake is done when you see cracks in the top and the cake feels firm to the touch.  Remove from oven and allow to cool (about one hour).  Invert onto plate and dust with powdered sugar.

Oh, this is soooo good!

Call Me Lazy!

I couldn't believe it when I sat down at the computer tonight.  I haven't posted anything since last Monday!  That's terrible.  I'll get back to the normal routine this week.  We've been busy dismantling Christmas.  At our house, that's a job.  There are lights and decorations in every room of the house, upstairs and down.  Right now, the kitchen and dining room are full of storage tubs that have been packed and re-labeled.  Now, they just need to be carried to the basement or shed.  We still have the miles of lights and garland to remove from the ceilings of  the kitchen, dining room, and bedrooms.  That, in itself, will take several more hours.

Every year I ask myself, "Is it really all worth it?"  Yes, it is.  Just seeing the wide eyes of every child that walks into our house at Christmas time once the lights are plugged in makes it more than worth it.  It really is an experience to see "PaPa's lights".  Just last week, we had a now 20-year old young man stop by unannounced.  He grew up in the neighborhood and spent lots of time at our house as a youngster.  He said he always loved coming to our house to see the tree and lights when he was young.  Eddie and I were both very touched!  You never know who is affected by the things you choose to do.

Honey Lemon Chicken

Oh, this is a good one if you need a quick and easy dinner.  It's pretty enough for company if they show up unexpectedly.

2 lbs chicken breasts
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup lemon juice (fresh) - save the lemon to slice for garnish
1 tsp dried Rosemary
2 cloves of garlic (minced)
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.  Arrange chicken in one layer on in 13 x 9" pan and season with salt and pepper (I like to use McCormick's Worcestershire Pepper).

Whisk the lemon juice, hone, Rosemary, and garlic in a bowl.  Pour over chicken.  Arrange lemon slices on top of chicken and bake for 30 minutes or until done.

That's all there is to it, and it's so good.  Your guests will be so impressed!

What to do with the Leftovers???

We had lots of chicken, beef, and veggies left over.  And . . . with temps only in the 20s, that spelled soup to me.  I made a big pot of Chicken & Gnocchi Soup (the recipe was posted on the blog on October 29th) with the left over chicken.

The beef was coated in flour and then placed in a frying pan with vegetable oil heated over medium high heat.  Once browned, the beef was placed in a crock pot with four cups of beef stock (made from the beef and veggie scraps from prep night).  Add the leftover potatoes, carrots, celery, mushrooms, and one onion.  I diced one medium tomato and then put the lid on the crock pot.  I put the lid on and let it cook for 6 hours.  It made a great pot of beef stew.  It definitely warms you up inside.

I really haven't had to cook all weekend.

2010 - Hard to Believe

After all the prepping Emma and I did on Wednesday night, we had a wonderful fondue meal New Year's Eve.  We had one pot of chicken stock and one pot of beef stock with two garlic cloves and a bay leaf added to each.  We let these come to a boil and used them to cook our cut up potatoes, carrots, button mushrooms, and broccoli, as well as our chicken, teriyaki marinated beef, and shrimp.  Mmmm Good!

We made a cheese fondue of (2) 8 oz bags of Vermont Cheddar Cheese, 1/4 cup flour, a 12 oz can of Bud Light. 1/2 stick of butter, 1/4 cup of milk, 1/2 tsp ground mustard, 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, and 1/2 tsp salt.  Mix all of the ingredients together and let melt over medium low heat.  Stir frequently.  We added 1/3 cup of bacon bits - yummy!  We used the cheese for dipping bread, broccoli and cauliflower.

Emma melted chocolate for dessert.  We sliced strawberries, bananas, apples, and marshmallows to dip in the chocolate.  What a finish!

Needless to say, nobody went home hungry.

Happy New Year!  I hope it's a year filled with blessings for all.