Monday's BBQ Pork Spareribs

Making spareribs to grill tomorrow?  If so, they should be marinating today, like right now!  It's not too late to do this, so snap to it!!

by Bobby Flay

6-8 pork spareribs
2 tbsps. paprika
2 tbsps. chili powder
2 tbsps. gr. coriander
2 tbsps. garlic powder
1 tbsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. celery seeds
2 tsps. salt
1 tsp. black pepper

In a medium bowl, combine all the ingredients

Sprinkle it on the ribs and rub it in

making sure to cover every bit of each sparerib with the dry rub

Cover with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator overnight.  Remove from the refrigerator an hour before and bring to room temperature before you grill it.

To be continued. . . . . .

The following day, "Grilling Day"

Cook low and slow by heating the grill to 225-250, and grilling the meat for 4 hours total, with the lid closed

   One hour into the grilling, turn each sparerib over.  Two hours into the grilling, remove the spareribs.  Wrap each one individually with foil

and return to grill and continue grilling for another two hours

 At the end of cooking time, r emove from heat, keep the foil on for about 10 minutes.  Unwrap, you can add some heated up BBQ sauce at this point or . . . . 

or eat plain, in it's own juices and spices

I prefer the latter, fall off the bone delicious!!

I hope you enjoyed your weekend, savoring every moment!

Oatmeal Smoothie

by Lucinda Scala Quinn

1 cup ice cubes
1 cup frozen fruit
 1/2 cup dry oatmeal
1 ripe banana
1 tbsp. honey
3/4 cup coconut water
1/2 cup plain greek yogurt

Start with putting in the ice first into a blender or food processor

frozen fruit, I used strawberries

dry oatmeal

banana

honey

coconut water (mine had pulp in it)

I started mixing it and then realized . . . . 

I almost forgot to add the yogurt!!  Add it in and mix well, it will probably take about a full minute or a little over until all the ingredients are well blended

Pour into your favorite mug, sit back and enjoy!

I happened onto this recipe by accident today.  I was looking for a certain flower on the Martha Stewart website and instead saw Lucinda Scala Quinn making this yummy smoothie for breakfast.  Oatmeal is filling and keeps you going for a couple of hours in the morning, so why not put it in a smoothie??  I made it for our after dinner treat and my meat and potatoes man thoroughly enjoyed it as much as I did.  It's thick, rich and oh so satisfying and I can't wait to have another one but I'll have to wait until the morning. Have a great evening and remember to savor every moment.

 

Spaghetti with Meatballs by Betty Crocker

I was in the mood to make some meatballs with spaghetti.  I looked through several cookbooks and then wondered how did Mrs. Cleaver, Beaver's mom, make spaghetti?  My mother-in-law now in her upper  80's was a wife, mom of two back in the late 40's-early 50's so she would definitely know.

I pulled out her old "Betty Crocker's (BC) Picture Cook Book" (published by McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc. and General Mills Inc.) pictured above.   It's in fairly good condition even though the binding is held together with clear packaging tape.  Looking closer into this cookbook, I realized it also has a wealth of knowledge with tons of kitchen tips.  As I featured Mary Ellen's (from the Waltons) Cookbook about a year ago, I will every now and then feature some recipes from BC's cookbook, I will also include some of her nifty kitchen tips.

Here is the first recipe I will be featuring, "Spaghetti with Meat Balls", exactly what I was looking for.  I will do my very best to stay true to the recipes.  Click on the image for a closeup view of the recipe if you need to.

 In a medium bowl, combine well the meats, bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, parsley, garlic, milk, eggs, salt and pepper.

Shape into 1 1/2" balls

In the hot fat - yes, she does ask for "fat" -  add the onions and then enough meatballs where not to crowd them in the pot.  Repeat the process until all the meatballs are cooked.

Remove all the meatballs from the pot and set aside.

On medium heat, add the flour to the oil in the pot and whisk, be careful not to burn it.

Add the tomatoes, parsley and green pepper (in this case I only had red and yellow peppers).  Stir well.

Add the sugar. . . . (Sugar??...really??? - well, ok), salt & pepper and bay leaves.  Combine well.

Return the meatballs to the pot, stir in gently being careful not to break apart the meatballs.

Simmer on low for 1hr. 20 min. stirring gently, occasionally.  Start on the spaghetti pasta  (according to package directions) about an hour into the simmering.

Serve over a hot bed of cooked spaghetti.

What a thrill that this recipe came out so amazing.  As simple as it is, nothing fancy, do you think the "fat" had anything to do with it's savory, grandma style , oh so awesome deliciousness?  I do admit that I was very apprehensive when I read that the recipe was asking for fat.  I did end up using it but figure that since it's the weekend, I will "splurge" in my fat intake and promise not to pick too many other recipes asking for fat in the near future.  Staying true to the original recipe will prove to be very interesting and hopefully not a gain in weight but appreciation to the way they cooked back in Donna Reed's days.

Ever get a recipe from your great Aunt Gertrude with strange measurements asking for a can size of No. 2 or No. 10???  What do those mean???  Well, now you know.  Thanks BC!!

Hope you're having a great weekend and remember to savor every moment :)

Cajun Chicken Pasta Revised

2 large chicken breasts, bone in (or 3 medium ones)
3 tsps. Cajun spice, more for taste
1 l6. oz box of Fettucini
2 tbsps. butter, room temperature
2 tbsps. olive oil
1 whole green bell pepper, seeded and sliced
1 whole red bell pepper, seeded and sliced
1/2 large red or yellow onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 Roma tomatoes, diced
2 cups low sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup of white wine
1 cup heavy cream
Cayenne pepper to taste
Kosher Salt and Freshly ground Pepper to taste
Chopped fresh Parsley to taste

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

 

Take the two chicken breasts and rub 1 tbsp. butter all over them, including underneath the skin, as far as you  can get without tearing into it.  Sprinkle generously with the Cajun spice, salt and pepper.  Drizzle with olive oil.  Place them in a large heavy ovenproof skillet and roast them for 1 hour, 20 minutes, uncovered.  When done take them out of the pan (reserve the pan juices) and place them on a dish and keep them covered.  I was hoping to keep them hidden from my hubby but he couldn't stay away, I had to finally chase him away. I couldn't blame him though, this is the best way to cook chicken in any recipe.  The meat was SOOOOO savory, juicy and literally, FINGER LINKIN' GOOD!!!  After the chicken has cooled off a bit, cut it into bite size pieces.  Set aside (and hide from hungry hubbies), keep covered.

Start cooking the whole box of pasta according package directions.  In the meantime, add another tbsp. of butter until it melts.  Then add the bell peppers, onion, and garlic to the pan juices and cook on medium heat. Stir for 3-5 minutes.

Add the tomatoes, stir in for another minute.  Remove the vegetables from the pan and set aside.

To the same pan, add the broth, white wine and the heavy cream and blend well.

Return the vegetables to the pan and gently blend in and simmer over medium heat.

 Keep stirring for about 5 minutes as the liquid thickens.  By this time the pasta should be ready.

Add the chicken and gently stir in

Carefully add the pasta and blend well

until it looks like this.

Place in favorite platter bowl, sprinkle with fresh Parsley and serve immediately.

I couldn't wait to use my new platter that I bought on sale at Macy's and what a perfect recipe to go with it, they blend in well together.

This recipe is adapted from the Pioneer Woman, and I have featured it before but this time I roasted the chicken instead of using boneless breast, cut into pieces and fried in a pan.  Roasting the chicken makes this recipe come out SOO much better if that's even possible.  We love this recipe and I have shared it with others who have shared it with others and so it ends up being a well known dish in our circle of friends - thanks to Ree Drummond, Pioneer Woman!  Have a great weekend and remember to savor every moment!