Incredibly Delish - Baby Back Ribs like Applebee's

I've always been hesistant to try cooking ribs at home..... Can't tell you why, the thought just intimated me. Found this recipe - it's quite easy and the best thing is listening to everyone's "Hmm, Hmm Good!" Even my husband (who is not a rib fan) has requested them over and over.

I make extra sauce and freeze it for the next time......


Baby Back Ribs like Applebee's®

Boiled, brushed with sauce, then broiled,these ribs are tender and full of zesty flavor.

Serves: 2-4 Prep. Time: 1:15

3 lbs. pork baby back ribs - cut in 2-4 sections
1 cup ketchup
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
3 Tbls. dark brown sugar
3 Tbls. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. liquid smoke (see Notes below)
1/2 tsp. salt

-Place ribs in a large pot and fill pot with enough water to cover ribs.
-Bring water to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 1 hour, or until ribs are fork tender.
-While ribs are boiling, combine remaining ingredients in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil.
-Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, stirring often, for 30 minutes, or until slightly thickened.
-Place boiled ribs, meat side down, on a broiler pan.
-Brush with half the sauce mixture and broil 4"-5" from heat for 6-7 minutes.
-Turn ribs over, brush with remaining sauce, and broil additional 6-7 minutes, or until edges are slightly charred.

Notes: Liquid Smoke is a natural flavoring used to add a smoky flavor to foods. The product is produced by burning hardwood chips and condensing the smoke into a liquid form. It is readily available in the U.S. in the spice or condiment aisle of a grocery store. There is no substitute for this ingredient; if you don't have it, simply omit it.


Comments about recipe -

My family has never had better tasting ribs than these. We love this recipe!! I will never make ribs any other way.

These ribs were possibly the best we have ever had.

These ribs were awesome! We rated them a 5 out of 5 napkin recipe!

Wow! Incredible recipe! Meat was falling-off-the-bone tender, and sauce was wonderful! Had husband and 3 picky kids begging for more. I'll definitely be making again soon!

Credit - Robbie's Recipes - http://recipes.robbiehaf.com/

Farfalle with Salmon, Mint, and Peas

JT & I experimented tonight with this little number, another from my favorite Martha cookbook. We didn't have lemons on hand, so we used lemon juice from concentrate. Oh, and farfalle is fancy name for bow-tie pasta, I assume? Very fancy.

Ingredients
Serves 6
1 pound farfalle, or other short pasta
1 1/2 pounds skinless salmon fillet
Coarse salt and ground pepper
Juice and finely grated zest of 2 lemons
1 package (10 ounces) frozen peas, defrosted
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint, plus more for serving

Directions
Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, according to package instructions. Drain, reserving 1 cup pasta water; return pasta to pot.
Meanwhile, season salmon with salt and pepper, and place in a medium skillet. Add 1/4 cup water and lemon juice and zest. Bring to a boil over medium heat, cover, and let steam for 10 minutes.

Add peas, and continue to steam, covered, until peas are tender and salmon is opaque throughout, 2 to 3 minutes more.

Slide entire contents of skillet onto pasta; add butter and mint. Season with salt and pepper. Toss carefully to combine, gently breaking salmon into large flakes. Add reserved pasta water as necessary to smooth sauce. Serve immediately, sprinkled with additional mint, if desired.

Nutritional Facts:

563 calories per serving

Pork Teriyaki

approx. 25 minutes - start to finish

1 lb pork tenderloin, cubed

1 /2 lb green beans

Mr. Yoshida's Original Gourmet Sweet & Savory Sauce

2 cups prepared sticky rice (I use the Botan Calrose brand -- white bag with red flower)

Saute the cubed tenderloin in a hot pan with olive oil. Sprinkle tenderloin with garlic salt (Lawry's Garlic salt is my fav) and pepper, turning cubes to cook on all sides. When pork is fully cooked and starts to caramelize, add about a cup of the Yoshida's sauce. Allow pork and sauce to come back to a boil (add more sauce if you think you need it) and then let simmer for about 5 minutes, so that the meat soaks in the sauce a little bit. Add green beans and cook approx. 5 minutes until beans are done. Serve over sticky rice ... or whatever rice you prefer.

This was tonight's dinner, and as always, we loved it! We're all about the Yoshida's over here ... I swear, it could make a shoe taste good! Oh, and kids love it too!

***I'm not sure where all you can find Yoshida's sauce, but I buy mine in the 1/2 gallon size at Sam's Club and it lasts all year.

Fall-Time Comfort Food

This is on of my two FAVORITE fall meals. This one is awesome and super-easy (except for the rolls, those take time). My second favorite meal is roasted Squash Soup. That will be posted as soon as I can dig up the recipe!

Homemade Tomato Soup
3 medium cans diced tomatoes
1 can chicken broth (14 oz)
1 T. butter
2 T. sugar
1/4 c. diced onion
1/2 t. allspice
1/2 t. cinnamon
pinch of baking soda

Simmer covered for one hour, and then before serving, add one pint of heavy cream and then heat through (about 5 minutes).

I LOVE to top this soup off with some grated cheese and sour cream! So delish!

Pumkin Dinner Rolls
INGREDIENTS
2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup melted butter
1 cup canned pumpkin
7 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter, softened (optional)
DIRECTIONS
1.Dissolve yeast in warm water and stir in sugar, salt, 1/2 cup butter, pumpkin and eggs. Add 3 cups of the flour and beat well. Stir in enough additional flour to make dough easy to handle. Knead on lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic. Place in greased bowl, covered, and allow to double in size.
2. Punch down, and divide into 4 parts, rolling each into a 12-inch circle. Spread with 1/4 cup butter if desired. Cut into 8 wedges. Roll up each wedge beginning at wide edge. Place on greased sheet and allow to rise.
3. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 15-20 minutes.

Corn Soup

I got this recipe (and picture) from my cousin Jessica. I often cook recipe's handed down from Jessica & Matt, and they are always a hit! When JT & I made this one, I couldn't wait to eat the left overs for lunch the next day. This is the perfect dish for Autumn weather.

Corn Soup
Billy Devine

5 ears fresh corn, uncooked
kernels cut from cob
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 med onion (6oz), diced
4 ¼ C Water
Salt & Pepper

Melt the butter and add onion and ¼ C Water. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the remaining water and the corncobs, bring to boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Add kernels and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove the corncobs and puree the soup in a blender in batches, allowing the blender to run a full 3 minutes for each batch. Press the puree through a coarse sieve, one that catches the fibers and skins but will permit the starchy juice to pass through into another pot. Season with ½ tsp salt and 1/8 tsp black pepper or to taste. Gently reheat the soup and divide among heated bowls. Leave a few of the whole kernels of corn to add at the end.

Nutritional Facts:

per serving: 163 calories.

serves about 4

To add a little somethin', garnish with garlic butter, and have warm Italian bread on the side.

BBQ Baby Back Ribs

This is not my picture ... my ribs fall off the bone, lol.

1 rack pork baby back ribs
1 18 oz. bottle Bull's-Eye ORIGINAL bbq sauce
Foil

Cooking spray

Lay a sheet of foil (about 1 foot longer than the rack), shiny side up on the counter. Spray entire sheet with cooking spray. Squirt some bbq sauce on foil. Place rack of ribs on top of sauce, bone side down. Squirt a good 1 - 1 1/2 cups of sauce on top of the ribs and spread with a spoon until evenly coated. Lay out another sheet of foil, the same length as the first. Again, spray the entire sheet with cooking spray on the shiny side. Flip the foil upside down and place it on top of the ribs. Fold all the sides of the foil together, tightly around the ribs. (think foil dinner-style) Place the ribs (foil and all) on a cookie sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 3 1/2 hours. Foil should not stick when you take them out (because you sprayed it REALLY good with cooking spray). Unwrap the ribs, smear with more bbq sauce and grill for 5-10 minutes ... just until the little charred areas show up on the meat. ***Grilling these is easier said than done .... they are fall off the bone good!

***I've made my own sauce before and didn't like it .... Bull's-Eye ORIGINAL is the ONLY way to go! And trust me (I've made these no less that a dozen times) no one knows it came from a bottle! lol.

***This will feed 2 people, unless your husband is a pig, no pun intended.

Sauteed Chicken in Mustard Cream Sauce

This recipe will probably be remembered as the first real "meal" I cooked in our married life. Mind you, it was after we had been married for over two months! Opps, sorry JT. Somehow I never did a lot of cooking growing up, and frankly, I don't know what I ate in college because I don't remember cooking anything. But with a kitchen decked out in wonderful wedding gifts of pink kitchen tools, I couldn't help myself. I have the baking bug. My kitchen bible is Martha Stewart's "Everyday Food" recipe book, and the binding often seems to open up to this page ...

Sauteed Chicken in Mustard Cream Sauce

Serves 4

Prep time: 20 minutes

Total time: 20 minutes

Ingredients
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, (6 ounces each)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup dry white wine, or chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon dried tarragon, (or 1 tablespoon chopped fresh)

Directions
Sprinkle chicken breasts with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken; saute until cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes, turning once. Transfer to a plate; keep warm.

Pour wine (or chicken broth) into hot skillet; cook, stirring, until reduced by half, about 1 minute. Whisk in cream, mustard, and tarragon. Cook, whisking, until thickened, about 2 minutes.

Pour any accumulated chicken juices into sauce. Right before serving, drizzle cream sauce over chicken.

Nutritional Facts:
Per serving
359 Calories
19.9 Grams of fat
40 Grams protein
1.2 Grams Carbohydrates
0.3 Gram Fiber


This dish is delicious served with asparagus and red potatoes on the side. Enjoy!

Church Family Salsa

This recipe is according to Gary's mom, Jane Church ... and I LOVE all her side notes ... and I agree with all of them.

14 cups peeled, pureed tomatoes
7 whole fresh jalapenos (or 3 1/2 oz. can diced) *note: the seeds in the fresh jalapeno make it hot...the more seeds, the hotter.*
3 large chopped onions
1 1/2 cups vinegar
3 Tbs. plain salt
2 Tbs. sugar
1 Tbs. garlic powder
3 Tbs. red chilies *(these are way hot...I use about 2 tsp.)*
1/2 tsp. marjoram
2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. oregano
1/4 cup parsley flakes
green peppers

Cook uncovered 20 - 45 minutes. (Optional ..add 1/2 cup cornstarch to thicken.*I never do)*Process 20 minutes for pints and 30 minutes for quarts.

One Minute Microwave Fudge

1lb Powdered Sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1/4 tsp Salt
1/4 lb margarine (1 stick) (not melted & doesn't need to be softened)
1/4 cup milk
1 tbsp Vanilla (or 1 tsp mint)

*~*Optional Ingredients*~*
2 tbsp Peanut Butter
1/2 cup Mini-marshmallows
1/2 cup Chopped Nuts

Combine powdered sugar, cocoa, salt, margarine, milk & vanilla (plus peanut butter if desired) in a microwave safe bowl, but DON'T STIR. Cook 1 minute on HIGH in microwave, then remove and add marshmallows & nuts (if desired). Mix well. Pour into wax paper-lined or buttered 8x8-inch pan or pie plate. Refrigerate for 20 minutes or freeze for 10 minutes. Cut & serve. Makes 1+ lb of candy.

I personally have not tried it with the peanut butter, let me know if you try it. Also I've tried putting the fudge into little tart dishes & couldn't get it out. Held the tin in hot water but then the fudge was deformed... not worth it :( I did use the nuts & marshmallows & all I can say is don't make it till you have someone else to help you eat it! Actually... a lot of someone else's!!!

Grandma Hafen's Banana Nut Bread

1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 ripe bananas, crushed
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (or pecans ... or almonds)
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Combine all ingredients until uniform. Pour into 2 small OILED loaf tins. I like to sprinkle white sugar on top so that it gets a crispy layer when it bakes. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. ***Also great without the nuts.

Categories

Oh yeah ... and I forgot to tell you about categories. In Blogger, they are called labels. You can add them at the bottom of every post. Label your dish in one of these categories, or make up your own :).

Main Dish
Side Dish
Appetizer
Vegetable
Soup
Bread
Dessert
Drink
Candy
Salad

etc. etc. etc.

At the top right of this recipe blog is the list of categories so that you can find what you are looking for quickly and easily, without hunting through the archives. Also, you can add more than one label, just divide each by a comma. I've added labels to the other dishes. For example, Erin's Taco Soup is a soup, but it could also serve as a main dish. You know?

One more thing .... if you are awesome enough to try the recipes, leave a comment with your thoughts .... everyone LOVES hearing how great their recipes are, lol.

OH!!! and this is a big "OH" ... if you have small children, PLEASE feel free to share any foods/tips for your picky little eaters. We can put all of those in a "baby" category. It doesn't have to be a recipe .... it can be as simple as "I tried soggy Life Cereal and my kid loved it ... I recommend it!" , lol. Sometimes, I just get so busy that my creativity goes out the window and I can't think of a thing to feed Ryan.

Thank you to everyone who has come ... hopefully we get dozens more!!! The more the merrier!!

Oreo Truffles

I got this recipe from my friend Jessica.

1 package Oreo cookies (mint would be a fun one to try)
8 oz package cream cheese, softenend
1 + package of chocolate chips (milk or dark chocolate)

Crush the whole Oreos finely in a food processor. Mix in cream cheese a little at a time. Start off with half and then keep adding until consistency is cohesive and even. I've made the mistake before of adding too much cream cheese and it totally ruins the truffles, so beware. Roll into 1 inch balls and place on wax or parchment paper lined cookie sheets. Cool in fridge for 1 hour. Microwave chocolate chips in microwave safe bowl according to package instructions (I do 30 second intervals on 50% power until easy to work with). Dip balls in chocolate, using a fork to remove helps get rid of excess chocolate. Since it's more difficult to dip as the balls get warmer, I pull groups of 4-5 from the fridge at a time. Place back on wax paper and refrigerate 1 hour.

If you're feeling extra "Martha" you can melt white chocolate and use a fork to drizzle over freshly dipped truffles.

A great party pleaser (and impresser!)

Taco Soup

So, if you're a Mormon, you've probably already eaten this or seen this recipe, but since I already had a picture of it, I thought I would post it. I got this from my Mom. I think this would be a great food storage meal because it's basically all canned items and you can whip it up pretty easily. (That's garlic bread on the side and shredded cheese on top, in case it looks odd to you).

Serves 10-12

2 lbs ground beef
1 onion chopped
1 tsp garlic
3 cans chopped tomatoes
1 can chili with beans
2 cans corn (I think the vacuum packed kind has the best texture)
2 cans kidney beans (please drain AND rinse these, otherwise it's yucky!)
8 oz can tomato sauce
2 packages taco seasoning
1 tsp salt
Pepper to taste


Brown beef, add onions & garlic & cook until onions are translucent. Add canned ingredients undrained. Simmer on low 1-2 hours.

Serve with cheese, sour cream, tortilla chips, fritos, chopped tomatoes, or guacamole.

My husband is a very picky eater, and even he likes this recipe (as long as we cut back on the onions and chop them very finely).

Enjoy!

Shrimp-less Jamabalaya

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
1/2 pound jalapeno sausage, diced
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 medium onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 orange bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons Cajun or Creole seasoning
1 teaspoon hot sauce
2 cups cooked rice

In a slow cooker, combine chicken, sausage, tomatoes, onion, peppers, and chicken broth. Stir in oregano, Cajun seasoning, and hot sauce. Cover, and cook on LOW for 7 hours or on HIGH for 3 hours. Spoon mixture over cooked rice ... do NOT add the rice to the crock pot.

**Disclaimer, this is most likely a little too spicy for kiddos. For a milder version, use andouille sausage instead of jalapeno.

Welcome Recipes!!

Hi everyone!

I realized today that I rarely cook and I need to change my ways!! If you have some good recipes to share, or if you come across some good ones, post them here. And if you actually cook the recipe .... take a picture and make the rest of us want to make it!!

Also, if you happen to have friends (lol) ... and they happen to have good recipes, just send me their email addresses and I'll invite them. The more people we have participating, the better the outcome! We can NEVER have too many recipes ... especially when they're FREE!

Love you all!!

Janette

peanut@gfsi.net