bbq ribs -slow cooker

So, here are the ribs that went with the mac 'n cheese in the previous post.  I didn't change much - other than I used twice as much meat and a bit more sauce.  They turned out fine.  I still prefer David's ribs.  And for a different BBQ sauce I love the Cherry cola bbq sauce ribs.   The plum sauce in the bbq sauce was fine for me, but I like Sweet Baby Ray's bbq sauce a lot by itself.  For me the plum sauce didn't really make it any better, just different. - DH wasn't a fan of the plum flavor and dipped his in regular bbq sauce.

Ingredients

• 4 lbs boneless country-style pork ribs (mine had a couple of bones - original only called for 2 lbs - I had a family pack that was 4 lbs something)
• 1 can (6 oz.) pineapple juice
• 1 heaping teaspoon minced garlic (2 cloves)
• 1 cup bbq sauce
• 1/2 cup plum jam

Directions

1. In a large skillet coated with cooking spray, brown ribs on all sides.  (I did 2 batches.)  Move to 5 qt. slow cooker.  Top with pineapple juice, onion and garlic.  Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours.
2. Remove ribs;  discard cooking juices and onion.  Return ribs to the slow cooker.  Combine bbq sauce and jam;  pour over ribs.  Cover and cook on high for 30 minutes.  

Microwave mac 'n' cheese

So today's meal was some bbq ribs in the slow cooker Thanks to my taste of home magazine.  It had this mac 'n cheese recipe listed for "on the side."  I have yet to try a microwave mac 'n cheese so how could I resist trying this one.  It was Awesome!  Glad we tried it.  I am posting it first because I did make some changes and I don't want to forget what I did.  I loved that this cooked while the ribs heated in their bbq sauce.  Worked out perfect.

Ingredients

• 2 cups elbow macaroni (I used a Barilla - I love their pasta and their elbows have a cute little twist.)
• 2 cups hot water
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 Tablespoon dehydrated onions
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 1/4 cup milk (I used fat free)
• 1/3 cup flour
• 6 oz. 2 % velveeta
• 2 oz. sharp cheddar

Directions

1. In a medium large microwave safe dish (I used a pyrex bowl) combine macaroni, water, butter, onion, salt, pepper and mustard.  (I just stuck the cube of butter in the middle without doing anything to it - seemed to work fine.)  Cover and microwave on high for 3 minutes (I only covered it with the little cover I use to cover a plate when reheating - it fit right on top of my bowl - not tightly or anything, but again, seemed to work fine.)
2. Stir.  Cover and cook at 50% power for 3 minutes.  
3. Meanwhile, combine flour and milk.  Gradually stir milk mixture into macaroni mixture.  Add cheeses.  
4. Cover and cook 3 minutes, stir, cover and cook 3 minutes.

Rigatoni with roasted sweet potatoes

This is another recipe I found in my Taste of home simple and delicious magazine.  I did make some changes to make it serve my family.  It was rather good for a vegetarian meal.  Great flavor.  Everyone also seemed to like it.
I liked how this meal cooked up.  I cooked the noodles, made the sauce and toasted the walnuts while the veggies baked in the oven then it all came together quickly after that.  I loved the flavor of the roasted veggies too.

Ingredients

• 3 medium large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1 large onion, halved and sliced
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1 heaping Tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• heaping 1/2 teaspoon sage
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 3 cups uncooked rigatoni (I think I actually used penne)
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 cup cooking sherry (original was white wine or chicken broth)
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
• shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Place sweet potatoes and onion in an ungreased 15 X 10 inch baking sheet.  Combine garlic, oil, salt, sage and pepper;  drizzle over veggies and toss to coat.
2. Bake uncovered at 400 for 20-25 minutes or until potatoes are tender, stirring occasionally.
3. Meanwhile, cook rigatoni according to package directions.  In a small saucepan, combine butter, cream and wine.  Bing to a gentle boil;  cook for 10 to 12 minutes or until slightly thickened.
4. Drain rigatoni; return to pan.  Add cream sauce, veggies and walnuts;  toss to coat.  Sprinkle with cheese.

Greek Tilapia

This recipe c omes to you courtesy of Taste of home's healthy cooking magazine.  It was actually second place prize winner of fish dishes in this month's magazine.  (from Sally Burrell of Idaho Falls, Idaho)  I actually changed it a tiny bit, and totally left off the last 3 ingredients and it was still wonderful.  Kind of a messy sauce, but everyone seemed to like it.  This is how I made it (with notes about the original if you would prefer to try that.)

Ingredients

• 6 tilapia fillets (4 oz. each)
• 4 teaspoons butter
• 1 egg
• 1 cup crumbled tomato and basil feta 
• 1/3 cup fat free milk
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (original was 1/4 - I even worried with 1/8 because it stuck to the egg, but it was fine- I really didn't notice it.)
• 2 roma tomatoes chopped (or 1 large)
• 1/4 cup chopped olives
• 1/4 cup slivered almonds (original was pine nuts - would be nice, but I didn't find them at the grocery store.)

Directions

1. Brown the fish in butter in batches.  Transfer to a large baking sheet.
2. In a small bowl, combine egg, cheese, milk and cayenne.  Spoon over fish (this was super -soupy and drained everywhere, but just cooked up like extra egg which no one seemed to mind - it did make a huge mess of the cookie sheet, so I would suggest covering the cookie sheet with foil to make for easy clean-up.)   Sprinkle fish with tomato, olives and nuts.  Bake uncovered at 425 for 10-15 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.  (I think I left mine in 12 minutes or so and it was perfect.)

(The original combined a bit of parsley, lemon juice and pepper and drizzled it over the cooked fish, but I didn't bother.  It tasted fine as it was, and that was just one more thing to make. 

Chicken and Pear bundles

This recipe is from my Taste of home simple and delicious magazine.    It was delicious.  I loved the combination of flavors.  I'd never even tried smoked mozzarella before and it was wonderful.  Definitely worth picking up again.    I'm writing it as I made it.  I did not change much - just made more bundles.
These were a bit juicy on the bottom and the bread ended up a tad more moist than I like, but that would be my only criticism.  Not sure if you could change that by the type of bread or what - they are going to be juicy with the pear and cheese, but that is what makes them tasty.  Just wish it didn't make the bread as soggy.

Ingredients

• 1.5 lbs chicken breast (I had 3 rather large ones which I cut in half to make 6 pieces.)
• salt and pepper
• 2 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed
• 6 slices smoked mozzarella cheese (or more :)
• 2 large bosc pears, thinly sliced
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 cup raspberry preserves
• 1 teaspoon cider vinegar

 Directions

1. Flatten chicken breasts evenly.  (I didn't pound them or anything, I just flattened them out, and cut them in half to make even sized pieces.)  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
2. On a lightly floured surface, roll pastry sheet into a 14" square.  Cut into 4 squares.  Place chicken breast in the center of each square;  top each with a slice of cheese and a couple of pear slices.
3. Lightly brush pastry edges with egg.  OK, the directions say to bring opposite corners together and pinch to seal, but mine didn't exactly reach over all of that stuff especially if it was a strange shaped chicken breast.  I just started at one end and brought up a piece at a time in a circle - Ended up a bit like a spiral in the middle on the bottom.  I had no problem with any not having enough dough, and I had brushed the entire edge with the egg, so I had no problem with them sticking together.
4. Place seam side down on a greased baking sheet;  brush with egg.  Bake at 400 for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and a meat thermometer reads 160.  
5. Combine preserves and vinegar in a microwave safe bowl.  Microwave uncovered on high for 20-25 seconds or until melted.  Serve with bundles.

toasted nutella and raspberry sandwich

So, I saw this posted on two peas and their pod just yesterday.  I thought it looked delicious and planned to put it on my want to try it menu.  Then I stopped by the Walmart Neighborhood market to pick up buns yesterday because it just wasn't working to make them with all my in and out dropping kids one place or another between tutoring, basketball and wrestling last night.  Anyway, Walmart happened to have Nutella sitting there in the middle of the bread display.  I knew I had picked up raspberry jam for tonight's recipe (sadly I'm out of home made at the moment) so I grabbed the nutella and buns and whipped these up for breakfast.  It even helped me use up the loaf of bread that had been out of the freezer for 2 days and not touched.
  I had every intention of making them like French toast to put my own spin on it, and I may try that another day, but today after my morning run, (during which the temp dropped 20 degrees - crazy!!)   I didn't have time to make the batter and cook them up.  It was easier just to grill it up.  I figured I'd make it as french toast for everyone else later, but DH wanted to eat his in the car and thought it sounded less messy grilled and the younger 2 ended up eating in the car as well because I let them sleep until the last minute before leaving for preschool.  One day I do want to try them as french toast, but they were delicious as grilled sandwiches as well - even though I burned the second set trying to get laundry done while cooking.  Multitasking ruins more of my meals....
So, check out two peas and their pod's site.  Super cute pictures - she cut hers in a heart shape, and certainly used more nutella than I did.  I just spread a thin layer, and used wheat bread.  Still tasty, and easy as well.  Definitely a keeper.

Ingredients

• Bread
• Nutella
• Raspberry Jam
• butter, or butter spread, or butter spray (for grilling)

Directions

1. Spread Nutella and Jam on the bread to make a sandwich.  Butter (or spray ...) outsides of Sandwich and grill over medium heat until nicely toasted.

Sweet and Sour pork

I picked this recipe mostly because I like the typical dish or at least what I think of as Sweet and Sour pork.  This was different than that - typically I think that dish has pineapple, this did not.  I did however like that you made your own sauce.  That was different for me.  I was actually interested to see how it turned out as I was mixing the balsamic vinegar, soy sauce and ketchup.
It is another recipe from my food network magazine, but I definitely liked this one more than the chicken Parmesan.
You can find the original recipe here.  I'm going to end up typing this out because I made a few to many changes.   - mostly just up-sizing for my family, and cutting out some of the oil.

Ingredients

• 1.25-1.5 lb pork tenderloin, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 3 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup sugar, plus a pinch
• 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3-4 carrots, thinly sliced
• 3 scallions, sliced
• 4 cups snow peas, cut in half

Directions

1. Toss the pork with 1/2 tablespoon vinegar and a pinch of salt in a bowl. Mix the remaining 2 tablespoons vinegar, the soy sauce, cornstarch, ketchup, 3 tablespoons sugar, 1/3 cup water and 1/2 teaspoon salt in another bowl.
2. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large skillet or wok over high heat. Add the pork and slowly stir until it turns mostly opaque, about 2 minutes. Remove the pork with a slotted spoon and transfer to a plate. Discard the oil and wipe out the skillet.
3. Heat the remaining 1 teaspoon  oil in the skillet, then stir-fry the garlic with a pinch each of salt and sugar, 15 seconds. Add the carrots and scallions and stir-fry until crisp-tender, 2 minutes. (Add a little water if the garlic starts to stick to the skillet. I had not trouble, but my pot is new and the non-stick is great.) Add the pork, snow peas and soy sauce mixture; stir until the pork is cooked through and the sauce is thickened, about 3 minutes.