Barbecue Country-Style Ribs

The madness begins.

Cheer season officially started today. School officially starts next Tuesday. My summer has come to an end. I have stopped setting cooking goals for this blog, because they never work out. My schedule changes on a daily....more like hourly, basis. I go grocery shopping and buy what's easy...which usually comes in a box or a bag from the freezer. It depresses me most of the time. 

When it comes to ribs, I prefer them on the bone. I've only made ribs in the crock pot before, never in the oven. The country-style pork ribs were a decent price, so I grabbed them and figured I was going to make them in the crock pot. Then I came across a recipe I had saved forever ago and decided the oven was the way to go.

I still prefer the crock pot, but these were good too. I really liked the homemade barbecue sauce recipe. I left out the allspice, because I still haven't bought any. I realize I can make my own, and probably will, but I didn't feel like it today.

Barbecue Country-Style Ribs
from About.com Southern Food

2 to 3 pounds boneless country-style pork ribs
pepper
dash garlic powder
1 tablespoon Cajun or Creole Seasoning Blend ( I used a sweet & smoky rub)

For the barbecue sauce:
1 cup ketchup
4 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
dash salt
dash black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 325.
2. Line a roasting pan with foil. Wash the ribs and pat dry.
3. Sprinkle pepper and garlic powder  on the ribs. Rubs the ribs with the Cajun seasoning.
4. Cover the pan with foil and bake for 1 and a half hours.
5. Mix the ingredient for the barbecue sauce together. Spoon over ribs coating evenly.
6. Bake, uncovered, for an additional 15-20 minutes.

Spicy Roasted Zucchini

Have you ever read a recipe and read something as 'tablespoon' when it actually says 'teaspoon'. Yeah...I thought 2 tablespoons of salt was a bit much in this recipe.....

I figured I'd cut it down to 1 tablespoon in the first place, but it should have only been 2 teaspoons of kosher salt....

Don't make my same mistake...

Spicy Roasted Zucchini
from Overtime Cook 

1 medium zucchini, cut into wedges
3 tbsp. olive oil
2 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. turmeric
1/2 tsp. paprika
pinch of cayenne pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. Mix the spices into the oil.
3. Toss the zucchini with oil and spice mix to coat.
4. Place on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper.
5. Bake for 30-40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes or so.

Zucchini Bread

Tomorrow is National Zucchini Day. I'm gonna consider it Zucchini Week though, because I got two zucchinis from my aunt today and one of them is enormous. I have TONS of zucchini recipes. I wish I could make them all, but I just don't have the time...or the zucchini.

When I was leaving my aunts from picking up my produce supply (a summer squash and two cucumbers too!), my uncle asked me to send her a recipe for zucchini bread if I had one. I knew I had a pretty simple one saved somewhere, so I sent her the recipe. Then, as I reread the recipe for the fourth time, I realized that I had all of the ingredients...and the motivation. The one ingredient I didn't have that the original recipe called for was all spice, but all spice is essentially cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. The recipe already called for each of those, so I just added in a heaping amount of each spice that the recipe called for.

Let me tell you, this bread smells phenomenal while it's baking! I don't think I've ever made bread before. I'm pretty sure I must have in 7th grade home ec, but not in my adult life. I have a fear (or moreso lack of skills) to work with dough. I fail with pizza dough and whenever I see a bread recipe I just kind of shy away from it...same thing with homemade pie crusts. I need to take a baking class.

The bread is delicious! I've only eaten a small piece off the end, but the cinnamon and spices are strong enough without the use of the all spice. It's also nice and moist from the zucchini.

Zucchini Bread
adapted from Kitchen Runway

2 cups grated zucchini (could be about 3 small to medium zucchinis)
2 cups flour, sifted
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp all spice (I didn't use any)
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350. Oil a 10-inch loaf pan.Wipe up any excess oil and flour the pan.
2. In a medium bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients.
3. In a large bowl (or in the bowl of a stand mixer), whisk together the oil, eggs and vanilla. Gradually add in the dry ingredients, mixing with a wooden spoon (or on the "stir" setting on an electric mixer). If mixing by hand, it may be tough, don't worry!
4. Add in the grated zucchini. The moisture from the zucchini will make the mixture easier to stir.
5. Mix until combined and pour into prepared loaf pan.
6. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
7. Let the loaf stand for 10 minutes, then move to a wire rack to cool.

Cheesy Corn Dip

I was supposed to make this recipe last week, but didn't get the chance to. I was pretty pumped to make it tonight. Who doesn't love corn, bacon, cheese and butter?

Let me tell you...this recipe does not come out the way you think it should. It's supposed to be a cheesy corn casserole side dish thing. It came out as cheese and corn covered by a layer, and I mean a thick layer, of melted butter. I had already reduced the amount of butter, but if I was going to try and make the intended recipe, which I won't attempt again, I would nix the butter altogether. It ended up as some sort of buttery, cheesy chowder or soup or bisque or something. It does end up as a pretty decent dip however if you add in more Velveeta cheese after it bakes.

Cheesy Corn Dip
originally from someone who thinks eating an inch of melted butter is okay....

1 can sweet corn
1 can creamed corn
2 cups Velveeta cheese, cubed, and divided
2 tbsp (or none!) butter, cubed
5 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Cook bacon.
3. In a square casserole dish, mix together the corn, creamed corn and 1 cup cubed cheese (and butter if using). Bake for 25 minutes. Stir, then bake for another 20 minutes.
4. Remove from oven and mix in the remaining cup of cubed cheese until melted.
5. Sprinkle the crumbled bacon on top and serve with tortilla chips.

Raspberry Cream Cheese Pie

Did you know its National Raspberry Cream Pie Day?

You probably didn't, because who would know that.

I would.

I didn't want to make a whole entire traditional raspberry cream pie. A lot of my baked goods don't get fully eaten around here, only when I bring them to places. Dan wouldn't eat this and I certainly don't need a whole pie. I've also been wanting to make a cheesecake lately, so when I saw this recipe, it was a mix of the two, a cheesecake and a raspberry cream pie. And, only a few ingredients.

I modified the recipe a bit to make mini pies. They're easier to take with me for lunch at work, and for some reason, I feel like it's smaller and healthier than a slice of a big pie. That's my logic and it works for me.

I used 6 mini graham cracker crusts for this recipe, and I could've filled 8-10. I have a little tub of leftover pie filling in the fridge....

Note: There are many ways you can add the raspberries to this. I originally was just going to fold them in whole at the end. Then at the last minute, I decided I wanted some pink coloring, so I smashed about 10 raspberries and folded that in too. For more raspberry flavor, you could beat them into the mix before you fold in the whipped cream. You could also add a couple drops of raspberry extract.

Raspberry Cream Cheese Pie
from Foodess

1 premade pie crust or 8 mini premade pie crusts, or your own recipe for pie crust
1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries, thawed and drained
1 block (8 oz) cream cheese, room temp
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp lemon juice
1 cup heavy whipping cream
Extra raspberries and cool whip for serving

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until light and fluffy.
2. Add in the vanilla, sugar and lemon juice.
3. In a separate bowl, beat the heavy cream until soft peaks form. Fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture lightly until combined. Fold in the raspberries.

4. Spoon into the pie crust(s). Refrigerate for at least 4 hours to overnight. Serve with cool whip and fresh raspberries.

Ready for the fridge

One for lunch just with cool whip

Beef & Broccoli

I had to go to the store today to buy toilet paper, which I'm sure you wanted to know. I hadn't planned on buying anything but TP, but then I got thinking about the blog, and how I slack off a lot, so I remembered a recipe I saw and decided I was going to make my own version of it. I tried to remember the ingredients as best I could, and when I got home, I found out I had remembered them correctly. I forget things on my list, nevermind something I browsed over once....

I also realized we didn't have anything for dinner other than chicken patties and boxed mac & cheese. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I love boxed mac & cheese, but I've eaten entirely too much pasta lately. I passed the meat section and saw the packages of stir-fry beef and grabbed one. Beef and broccoli it was.

I also realized (well I actually didn't JUST realize this, it's been known for a while), that I need to start shopping on a budget. Shaws is entirely too expensive and a quick shopping trip is never a cheap one. You should be able to buy about 10 items and not wince when the price comes up.

Luckily all I needed was the beef and broccoli for dinner, I had everything else. The other items were for the recipe I'm making tonight (to be posted tomorrow!), and some mangoes...because mangoes were on sale and are delicious.

Whenever I cook stir-fry beef, it always comes out too tough, no matter what heat it's at or how long I cook it. I don't get it. I can stir fry chicken or pork like a champion....ugh beef, why do you mess with me?

Beef & Broccoli
from Can You Stay for Dinner 

1 lb. beef for stir frying
1 lb. broccoli florets
3 tsp. sesame oil
2 cloves garlic minced
1 tsp cornstarch dissolved into 1 tbsp water

For the beef marinade:
2 tsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. Chinese rice wine or dry sherry (I had sherry)
1/2 tsp. cornstarch
1/8 tsp. fresh ground black pepper

For the sauce:
3 tbsp. oyster sauce
1 tsp. rice wine or sherry
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tbsp. brown sugar

1. If you're making rice or noodles to serve this over, start them now. I made jasmine rice.
2. Blanch your broccoli florets. Bring water to boil in a large saucepan. Boil the broccoli for 2 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain well and rinse under cold water. Rinsing under cold water stops the cooking process and keeps them crisp-tender so they won't mush up.
3. While the water is boiling, mix together the ingredient for the beef marinade. Add the beef and stir to coat. Let sit for 10 minutes.
4. Heat the wok or a large skillet to medium-high heat. Add a couple drops of water, if they sizzle immediately and disappear the wok is ready. Add the sesame oil and swirl to coat pan.
5. Add the beef and spread out to a single layer. Let cook for one minute untouched. Flip the beef over and add the minced garlic. Let cook for another 30 second to a minute or until not longer pink.
6. Add sauce and add broccoli. Stir and bring to a boil for 30 seconds.
7. Add the cornstarch dissolved in water. Stir for another 30 seconds and let boil. Stir until sauce thickens a bit.
8. Serve over rice or noodles.

Ooooh sizzling beef!

Sloppy Joe Bake

The original name for this dish was Sloppy Joe Squares. I almost made it into a pie, but then kept it in a casserole dish, therefore, I was going to call it a Sloppy Joe Casserole. BUT, it was totally encased in a crust, so I kept calling it a Sloppy Joe Thing. Dan then named it Sloppy Joe Roll, then Sloppyrole (as in sloppy joe casserole). We have yet to pick a name we really like, so for now, it's a Sloppy Joe Bake.

Sloppy Joes have never really appealed to me. As a child, I never ate burgers, sandwiches, or tomato sauce. I had my first spaghetti with sauce when I was 12, my first burger when I was 17, and the first sandwich I ever liked (other than PB & Fluff) was the Bacon Turkey Bravo sandwich at Panera Bread when I was 19.

I basically lived off of fruits, veggies, pasta and seafood as a kid...very little meat. How I lived without it I don't know....

When you eat almost anything under the sun and enjoy making creative dishes, it's not always easy to live with a meat and potatoes guy. I'm glad I could add this dish to a list of dinner recipes that we can both enjoy that doesn't consist of steak tips, rice and corn.

Sloppy Joe Bake
from Betty Crocker (long lost relative??)

1 lb. lean ground beef
2 canisters Big & Buttery crescent rolls
1 can sloppy joe sauce
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Brown the ground beef in a skillet and drain. Add the sloppy joe sauce and bring to a slight boil for a couple of minutes.
3. Unroll a canister of crescent rolls and seal the edges together. Press into an ungreased 9x13 baking dish, pressing into the bottom and halfway up the sides. I had to tear off the end of the rolls and use pieces elsewhere to make it fit just right.
4. Pour the meat mixture over the rolls and top with shredded cheese.
5. Open the remaining crescent rolls and seal the edges. I took off two of the triangles and it fit just right on top of the meat and cheese. Try and seal up the top and bottom edges together as best you can.
6. Bake for 30-35 minutes until the dough is golden and cooked through.