Ribs and Potatoes Redone...again.

If you love to cook, you know yourself that you are always looking for new recipes, ways of redoing recipes, even redoing your own recipes. Good cooks have not just a passion for food, but imagination and creativity in the kitchen; we're not settlers, we're doers.

From previous posts, I've already established that I enjoy grilling and smoking meats, but in winter time, that's rarely an option. Instead, I work on ways of obtaining a good barbequed item using the oven or a crock pot....yes, I said crock pot. Barbeque does not always refer to charred meat; it's a technique, not a standard.

Lets talk about boneless ribs and your question is, "How can ribs be boneless?" Boneless pork ribs are essentially a pork loin that has been cut into sections to imitate the shape and look of actual pork spare ribs. This type of boneless rib is commonly known as "Country Style Boneless Pork Ribs". They are meatier and leaner than the typical slab of pork spare ribs. For those who like the knife and fork method of eating ribs, they're the perfect choice of cut; that is unless you enjoy sucking sauce off the actual bones.

I have posted a similar recipe for crock pot boneless ribs called Sweet and Sour Pork Ribs using an Asian style sauce to cook them in. Today's recipe will be using a typical barbeque sauce, and you can use homemade sauce or bottled. Now when I make my homemade sauce, I do make enough to be able to freeze some for future use. However, when I decide to do something spontaneously and want to cut corners, heck yeah, I cheat and use a good bottled brand such as Sweet Baby Ray's, Jack Daniels or KC Masterpiece. These brands provide a thick sauce, loaded with flavor and hold up in long time cooking, such as with a crock pot.

Crock Pot Boneless Pork Ribs

Ingredients:

3 lbs boneless (country style) pork ribs
2 Tbsp flour
1 large onion, chopped
1(14.5 oz)can diced tomatoes
1 Tbsp minced garlic
2 1/2 cups barbeque sauce

Preparation:

Set a 6 quart crock pot on low; layer the ribs inside and sprinkle the flour over them. (The ribs will exude liquid during the cooking process; the flour will help keep the sauce thick.)

Layer the onions, tomatoes and garlic over the ribs; pour the sauce over and make sure to cover evenly. Cover and let cook for 10 hours.

Makes 6-8 servings.

Now a great side dish for these ribs is Funeral Potatoes. Hubby and I don't like the typical corn flakes topping, so I changed my recipe a little and put a good layer of shredded cheddar cheese on top, besides within the casserole itself. I also add chopped, partially cooked bacon for that smoky flavor. Everything is better with bacon, right?

What is really great with this side dish is that you can refrigerate it for 8 hours, let it come up to room temperature for a half hour; let it bake for 1 and 1/2 hours and it will be ready at the same time as the ribs. When the barbeque sauce mixes with the oozing cheese and sauce of the potatoes, your mouth will be in orgasmic delight!

Enjoy the pleasure!

Mary Cokenour

Rotisserie Chicken from Your Oven.

We've seen the oval shaped containers in the supermarkets, better yet, we've smelled the contents and started to drool. Rotisserie chicken is placed on a spit and rotated in a special oven, so the dripping fat can basically baste and moisturize the chicken. Besides selling the chicken as whole or in pieces, many places will shred the meat, mix it with mayonnaise and sell it as chicken salad at a high price per pound. Is it worth it? Not always; there might not be enough seasoning, or too much; same goes for the mayonnaise; and the extra benefits of veggies is iffy.

Besides the local supermarket, a rotisserie chicken can be done on the home barbeque. Just purchase the rotating spit, set it up, plug it in; yes you'll need an electrical source, and start cooking. Not everyone wants to do this though, but there's another alternative...your own oven.

While the recipe I'm going to post focuses on boneless, skinless chicken breasts, bone in chicken can also be used, but you just have to up the cooking time to 55-60 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 165F. Coating the chicken with mayonnaise and covering with foil ensures that the chicken will stay moist inside as well as outside. Yes, light mayonnaise can be used if you're watching the fat content. For the veggies, I use diced onion and celery, but a little shredded carrot or diced bell peppers work too.

So if you're in the mood for rotisserie chicken, don't stress out over where to buy it, or on setting up your barbeque; just make it in the oven and enjoy an easily done meal.

Rotisserie Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves; trimmed of fat
3 Tbsp mayonnaise

Seasoning Mix

2 Tbsp paprika
1 Tbsp onion powder
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp crushed dry thyme
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp fine sea salt
1 ½ Tbsp brown sugar
pinch of ground cayenne pepper

Salad Mix

¼ cup diced red onion
¼ cup diced celery
¼ cup mayonnaise

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400F; line a roasting pan with aluminum foil and place rack on top of foil.

Mix together seasonings and spread out on large plate. Using a pastry brush, lightly coat both sides of the chicken breasts with the 3 tablespoons of mayonnaise; lightly press both sides of chicken onto seasoning mix. Place chicken on rack; cover pan with aluminum foil. Bake for 30 - 35 minutes, or until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165F.

Let chicken cool before cutting into one inch pieces. Place in large bowl; add onion, celery and mayonnaise; mix completely. Serve on rolls, breads, inside pita pockets, rolled in tortillas or as the center piece of a green salad.

Makes 6 servings.

Mary Cokenour

Runner Up Turkey Recipe is still a Winner.

Back in February 2011 I posted my recipe for Four Cheese Chicken Pasta Bake which is a decadent blend of cheeses baked with penne pasta and chicken. Later on in the year, Taste of Home magazine was running a recipe contest featuring leftover turkey. Since my recipe featured poultry already, changing from chicken to turkey wasn't a big step. I submitted my recipe with the change and under the name "Four Cheese Turkey Pasta Bake".

While it did not win, it is being featured as a Runner Up recipe in Taste of Home's November 2011 issue; their photo is on page 71 while the recipe is on page 72. This recipe is a good example of comfort food and is versatile as it can feature not just poultry, but beef or seafood as well.

Taste of Home only made a couple of minor adjustments, but primarily kept my recipe as I submitted it. It's not available for viewing online yet, so I'm posting the recipe as I wrote it and with my photo.










Four Cheese Turkey Pasta Bake
(Runner Up Recipe, Taste of Home November 2011 issue, page 72.)

Ingredients:

4 Tbsp butter

1 small onion diced

1 Tbsp minced garlic

1 (10 ¾ oz) can cream of mushroom soup

1 (4 oz) can or jar sliced mushrooms cut mushrooms in half

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese

½ cup each of shredded parmesan mozzarella and Swiss cheese

1 cup each heavy whipping cream and warmed milk

¼ tsp each ground black pepper and nutmeg

2 cups cooked turkey breast ( ½” cubes)

½ lb cooked penne ziti or small rigatoni

½ cup Italian seasoned dried bread crumbs

3 Tbsp melted butter

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a 2 qt casserole dish with nonstick spray.

In a small skillet, on medium heat, sauté onion in butter till softened; add garlic and cook for 5 minutes more.

In a large bowl, mix together thoroughly the soup, mushrooms, all cheeses, cream, milk, black pepper, nutmeg, turkey, pasta and the onion-garlic mix. Spread evenly into the casserole dish.

In a small bowl, mix together bread crumbs and butter completely; spread over the mixture in casserole dish.

Bake for 30 minutes, covered with aluminum foil. Uncover and bake for additional 15 minutes, or until topping is golden brown. 

Makes 8 servings.

Mary Cokenour

Thinking outside the box.

As I’ve posted previously, I don’t like the idea of labeling, boxing and filing away…people that is. The same goes for ideas and techniques; just because something is done the same way all the time, doesn’t mean change is impossible. Think outside the box; the possibilities could be endless.

Take, for example, changing your hair color; products are a lot safer now than they used to be. Instead of harsh, stinky ammonia; now you have the choice of not using it. Sure, the coloring doesn’t last as long, but your hair will last on your head a lot longer. Natural ingredients are being added to help keep the hair healthy; and colors are no longer a standard black, brown, red or blonde…there are shades to please anyone. So who says you have to keep what you were born with, and not change it…it’s your hair, isn’t it?

So, let’s get to cooking, and thinking outside the box. Fettuccine Alfredo is a classic Italian pasta dish made with primarily three ingredients: fettuccine, butter and Parmesan cheese. As the cheese melts, it combines with the butter and makes a thicker sauce which coats the pasta. Simple and easy; purists don’t like to mess with the original.

I’m far from being a purist, so let’s expand on the recipe; add cream to make it richer, chicken or shrimp for an added protein; how about peas or broccoli…you now have a complete meal of dairy, starch, protein and vegetable. We won’t talk about the fat, just keep it between us, ok?
When I go out of the box, I go all out, so here’s my expanded recipe on an original idea, and it’s awesomely good!!! Never said I was humble.

Four Cheese Chicken Pasta Bake

Ingredients:

4 Tbsp butter
1 small onion, diced
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 (10 ¾ oz) can cream of mushroom soup
1 (4 oz) can or jar sliced mushrooms, cut mushrooms in half
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese
½ cup each of shredded parmesan, mozzarella and Swiss cheese
1 cup each heavy whipping cream and warmed milk
¼ tsp each ground black pepper and nutmeg
2 cups cooked chicken breast ( ½” cubes)
½ lb cooked penne, ziti or small rigatoni
½ cup Italian seasoned dried bread crumbs
3 Tbsp melted butter

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a 2 qt casserole dish with nonstick spray.
In a small skillet, on medium heat, sauté onion in butter till softened; add garlic and cook for 5 minutes more.

In a large bowl, mix together thoroughly the soup, mushrooms, all cheeses, cream, milk, black pepper, nutmeg, chicken, pasta and the onion-garlic mix. Spread evenly into the casserole dish.

In a small bowl, mix together bread crumbs and butter completely; spread over the mixture in casserole dish.

Bake for 30 minutes, covered with aluminum foil. Uncover and bake for additional 15 minutes, or until topping is golden brown.

Makes 8 servings.

Mary Cokenour
February 7, 2011