Ribs on the Grill

It's pouring outside now. I mean, really really pouring...the kind of rain you hear over your loud music playing and your dad nailing in hard wood flooring in the room next to yours. The kind of rain that gives you an excuse to sit in your bed in the middle of the afternoon and write a blog entry about yummy food.

This is a perfect summer meal...baby back ribs on the grill, a salad, and seasoned french fries.
I don't do the grilling- my dad is a master griller-but I did prepare the sauce and marinate the ribs. These do take some time, but the flavor is wonderful.

Ingredients-

• 4-1/2 teaspoons paprika
• 4 teaspoons salt
• 1-1/2 teaspoons pepper
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon rubbed sage
• 6 pounds pork baby back ribs (I made 3 racks, and we had plenty)

SAUCE:

• 1-1/2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries, thawed
• 1-1/2 cups packed dark brown sugar
• 1 cup cider vinegar
• 1 small sweet onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup ketchup

How-To:

• In a bowl, combine all the spices. Set aside 4 teaspoons for sauce. The original recipe called for fennel seeds and caraway seeds to be ground up with the other spices. I didn't have fennel seeds, and I am not a fan of caraway, so I left those out. But you can add them in here, if you wish. Just grind it up until the seeds are crushed.
• Rub remaining spice mixture over ribs. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
• Wrap ribs in a large piece of heavy-duty foil (about 28 in. x 18 in.); seal tightly. Prepare grill for indirect heat, using a drip pan. Place ribs over drip pan and grill, covered, over indirect medium heat for about 2 hours or until tender.
• In a small saucepan, combine the cranberries, brown sugar, vinegar, onion and reserved spice mixture. Cook over medium heat until berries pop, about 15 minutes; cool slightly. Transfer to a blender; add ketchup. Cover and process until smooth. Set aside 1 cup sauce for serving.
• Moisten a paper towel with cooking oil; using long-handled tongs, lightly coat the grill rack. Or, we just sprayed the grill with PAM Grilling spray. Carefully remove ribs from foil. Place over direct heat; baste with some of the sauce. Grill, covered, over medium heat for 30 minutes or until browned, turning and basting occasionally. Serve with reserved sauce.

The french fries were awesome and so easy:
Buy a bag of frozen french fries and sprinkle them with 2 tablespoons of ranch dressing seasoning packet. Bake for about 15 minutes at 425 on a cookie sheet. Then, combine the rest of the ranch dressing seasoning packet with 1/2 cup of ketchup and 1/2 cup of mayo. Serve as a dip for the fries. SO EASY AND DELICIOUS!!!



I hope you are enjoying grilling foods this summer. It really is a great way to cook.
Also, while you are on the blog take time to vote in the poll on the side of the page.
Next post will feature the easiest homemade strawberry mango sorbet with no special equipment needed (except a food processor). :) Happy cooking!

Stuffed Shells

I don't know what it is about a baked pasta dish...the cheese, the noodles, the meaty sauce...it is just always yummy. Here is the recipe for the easy stuffed shells I made that I referenced in the post a few days ago. My family really enjoyed them and even the leftovers were eaten quickly. I served this with Caesar Salad and garlic breadsticks.


A few tips-
1. I browned the ground beef with the onion ahead of time (even a day ahead) so prep is really fast!
2. You can get prepared pesto off the deli line-on the olive bar at Wegman's-or in jars near the spaghetti sauce. Or, if you have basil in your garden, make you own! It is delicious in this dish.
3. I used part skim Ricotta and part skim Italian cheese to lighten the dish. I also used spaghetti sauce that was "flavored with meat."
4. You can make this entire dish the day before and put it in the fridge. Then just take it out of the fridge 30 minutes before baking.
5. You will probably have extra shells. I didn't really know what to do with them- so Corey was eating them plain off of the counter. If you want, make extra of the cheese mixture so you can fill the extra shells!

Ingredients:Easy Beef-Stuffed Shells Rec

• 20 uncooked jumbo pasta shells
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 carton (15 ounces) ricotta cheese, part skim
  
• 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Italian cheese blend, divided
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup prepared pesto
• 1 egg
• 1 jar (26 ounces) spaghetti sauce, divided

How-To:

• Cook pasta shells according to package directions to al dente; drain and rinse in cold water. In a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. In a large bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, 1-1/2 cups Italian cheese blend, Parmesan cheese, pesto, egg and half of the beef mixture.
• Spread 3/4 cup spaghetti sauce into a greased 13-in x 9-in. baking dish. Spoon cheese mixture into pasta shells; place in baking dish. Combine remaining beef mixture and spaghetti sauce; pour over shells. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.
  
• Cover and bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Uncover; bake 5-10 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.

The Other White Meat...

As Emeril would say: PORK FAT RULES! Well, so does this pork loin. The glaze on this roast is delicious and everyone had seconds at the table! YUM!

• Pork loin- either 2 (1 lb) loins OR a 2 lb. roast cut in half
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 cup apricot preserves
• 3 tablespoons chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme- lovin using those garden herbs!
  

How-To:

I used a 2.5 lb. pork loin roast and cut it in half to cook up faster.

• Place pork on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Combine the oil, salt and pepper; rub over pork.
• Bake at 450° for 15 minutes. In a small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients; brush it over pork. Bake 15 minutes longer or until a meat thermometer reads 160°, basting occasionally with pan juices. Since my roast was bigger, it took about 15 minutes beyond the original 30 minutes. Just keep testing it until the thermometer reads 160 degrees.
  
• Let stand for 5 minutes before slicing to let the juices redistribute.

Serve with: I served this with fresh steamed broccoli and rice pilaf (box mix brand Far East)...it was a delicious meal!! Garnished with fresh thyme.
Oh, and the pan juices from the roast are awesome over the meat.

Chicken & Veggies

I tried to use up veggies we had on hand and the raw chicken breasts we had in the fridge before they went bad. Here is the result:

Ingredients--

• 4 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1-2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/4-inch strips (I used 3 large skinless chicken breasts)
  
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1-1/2 cups fresh cauliflowerets
• 1-1/2 cups fresh broccoli florets
• 2 medium carrots, sliced
• 1 red or green sweet pepper, sliced up
  
• 1 small onion, halved and sliced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

How-to:

• Combine the cornstarch, broth and soy sauce until smooth; set aside.
• In a large nonstick skillet or wok, stir-fry chicken in 1 tablespoon oil until no longer pink. Remove and keep warm.

• Stir-fry the cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, red pepper and onion in remaining 1 tablespoon oil until crisp-tender. Add the garlic, salt, pepper and pepper flakes; cook 1 minute longer.

• Stir cornstarch mixture and add to the pan. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Add chicken back into the pan. DONE! :) I served this over brown instant rice. It was very healthy and a great way to get your servings of veggies for the day.