Crock Pot BBQ Pork Back Ribs

Pork ribs are a favorite meal, but sometimes cooking them exactly right can be a challenge. If you have ever tried your best to cook pork ribs but still failed, then you really should take a look at this yummy slow cooker pork rib recipe.

While your pork ribs are slowly cooking along, you will have plenty of time to cook up some side dishes to go along with the ribs. Two of my favorites with BBQ is basic potato salad or Cole slaw. Both will go great with your pork ribs dinner.

Ingredients

2.5 to 3 lb. pork back ribs
3 T. my all purpose seasoning (recipe below)
your favorite BBQ sauce

All Purpose Seasoning: (Can be found in all 3 cookbooks)

2 T. smoked paprika
1 T. brown sugar
1 T. salt
1 T. adobo (found in the spanish section of the grocery store)
1 tsp. black pepper

Instructions

For the all purpose seasoning: Mix together and store in an airtight container.

For the ribs: Cut the ribs in half and rub them all over with the all purpose seasoning. Place them in a ziploc bag and put in the fridge overnight.

When ready to cook, place the ribs on their sides in the crock pot with the meaty side facing the outer part of the crock pot (I used a 4 quart crock pot for mine). Pour in any juice left in the ziploc bag.

Pour 3/4 C. of BBQ sauce over the top of the ribs. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours, spooning the sauce over the ribs every so often as they cook.

When you are ready to serve them, cover a baking sheet with tinfoil, turn the broiler on high and carefully remove the ribs to the baking sheet. Brush with a little more BBQ sauce and pop under the broiler to 2-3 minutes to add more color to the ribs.

This is really optional, I do not always do it unless we have company coming for supper.

Slow Cooker Chicken Stew and Dumplings

Your complete dinner in one pot! This meal has been a family favorite for years, it appeals to the meat and potato lovers and is also quite low fat.

It is quick and easy to assemble in the morning and can be left to cook all day in your slow cooker. Add the dumpling batter to the pot ½ hour before dinner.

Serves 6.

Stew: 

3-4 medium potatoes, cut into small chunks
3-4 stalks of celery, sliced
2 cups of whole baby carrots
1 ½ cups frozen peas
1 ½ lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks
1 can low fat cream of chicken soup
1 can low fat cream of celery soup
½ cup low fat milk
½ cup water
1-2 tsp poultry seasoning (according to taste)
½ tsp fresh ground pepper

Dumplings: 

1 ½ cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
3 ½ tsp baking powder
2 tsp parsley
1 egg, beaten
3 tbsp melted butter or margarine
2/3-1 cup milk

Directions: 

Put potatoes, celery, carrots and chicken into the slow cooker.

Mix soups, seasonings, milk and water together and pour over vegetables and chicken.

Cook on low for 7-8 hours or until chicken is cooked and vegetables are tender. (You can cook on high for 4-5 hours but results are better on low).

Add peas during the last ½ hour of cooking.

To make the dumpling batter: mix flour, salt, baking powder & parsley together; add egg, melted butter and milk to dry ingredients. Use enough milk to make a soft dough.

Turn heat on slow cooker to high and drop 6 spoonfuls of the batter on top of stew.

Cover and cook for approx. 30 minutes or until dumplings are well done. (The dumplings will expand to touch each other during the cooking, so separate them with a knife about half way through to make sure the dough on the sides gets cooked as well).

Hint: Check the stew before you add the dumpling batter to make sure there is plenty of liquid. You can add a can of chicken broth or water if necessary to make sure you have lots of gravy once the dumplings are cooked. Enjoy!

Grandma's Apple Pie

My children and I have a lot of fun making homemade apple pie.

Over time, we have been blessed to learn how to make a tasty apple pie. We have also learned, through the process of trying, what equipment and techniques to use in order to cut down the pie making time.

I remember making homemade pies with my mom and grandma. Thanks to their love and guidance, I learned how to make good quality pie crust and how to make a good apple pie filling.

I am so pleased and grateful to be able to teach my children their recipes as well.

What You'll Need

1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup water
8 Granny Smith apples - peeled, cored and sliced

How to Make It

Melt butter in a sauce pan. Stir in flour to form a paste. Add white sugar, brown sugar and water; bring to a boil. Reduce temperature, and simmer 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, place the bottom crust in your pan. Fill with apples, mounded slightly.

Cover with a lattice work crust. Gently pour the sugar and butter liquid over the crust. Pour slowly so that it does not run off.

Bake 15 minutes at 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), and continue baking for 35 to 45 minutes.

Smothered Cabbage

Here is a Pork go-together, smothered cabbage. I remember not being able to stand the smell of cooking cabbage when I was a kid and now it's like perfume! Smothered cabbage is usually a side dish to pork chops or a roast and is a New Year's Day must!

It's really simple to prepare.

Ingredients

1 Med. head of cabbage chopped large and rinsed
1/2 med onion
1/2 cup fresh green onions
1 handful of parsley
2" x 2" piece of salt meat
1 link fresh homemade sausage or andouille
bacon grease
1 tsp creole seasoning
pinch of allspice
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Cube the salt meat and boil for about 5 minutes. Save the liquid.

Cut the homemade sausage in 3/4 slices.

In a pot with some bacon grease begin to brown the onions. When the onions have wilted throw in the salt meat and sausage. Stir occasionally until every thing is partially browned.

While preparing the base chop and rinse the cabbage. Taste the water from the salt meat. If it's not bitter pour about 1/2 a cup in the meat and deglaze the pot.

Start putting the cabbage in until the pot is about 3/4 full, stir around, lower the fire and cover. Within about 15 minutes the cabbage in the pot will be wilted enough to add more fresh cabbage. Continue to do this until it's all in the pot.

Watch so the liquid doesn't cook all the way out. You need to keep at least 1/4" of liquid in it until it's almost done.

Once all the cabbage is wilted throw in the remainder of the seasonings and stir well.

Here is where you make a judgment call. Do want the cabbage done "just cooked", or, do you want to smother it to smithereens? I like it both ways. Taking your choice continue to cook it to the point you want.

I've seen people throw in a little butter after the liquid has evaporated and continue to cook it for a few minutes. Enjoy...

Chocolate Ooey Gooey Cake

Chocolate cake is truly a favorite desert for birthdays and special events.

Although the finished cakes may look beautiful and taste delicious, that does not mean that they have to be difficult to make.

If you follow this recipe, it is simple to make this delicious Ooey Gooey chocolate cake for the whole family to enjoy.

Ingredients

8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, melted, Plus 8 more tablespoons (1 stick) butter, melted, Plus additional butter, for greasing pan
1 (18.25-ounce) package chocolate cake mix
1 egg, plus 2 eggs
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
3 to 4 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 (16-ounce) box powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Heat oven to 350 degrees (325 convection) and prepare and 9-inch round cake pan.

Combine the cake mix, 1 egg, and 1 stick melted butter, and stir until well blended. Pat the mixture into prepared cake pan and set aside.

In a stand mixer on medium speed, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the remaining 2 eggs, and the cocoa powder. Lower the speed of the mixer and add the powdered sugar. Mix until everything is well combined.

Slowly add the remaining 1 stick of melted butter and vanilla and continue to beat the mixture until smooth.

Pour filling over cake mixture in pan.

Bake for 40 to 50 minutes.

Be careful not to overcook the cake; the center should still be a little gooey when finished baking. Let cake partially cool on a wire rack before cutting into pieces.


Source : iambaker.net

Old-Fashioned Banana Pudding

When it comes to old fashioned comfort foods that your mother and father or grandparents may have loved to make and eat, banana pudding may have been high on their lists of great tasting desserts.

Making and old fashioned pudding may sound difficult, but it really is not. You can make this dessert by following the directions and make your own homemade pudding in hardly any time at all.

Long ago, this is one of the recipes that many people may have used to make a homemade pudding.

However, when instant jello pudding came on the market, many households began substituting it for the homemade cooked vanilla pudding. Having the instant pudding mixes made life a bit easier for those who did all the cooking and baking all those years ago.

You can still use it today if you like rather than actually making the pudding from scratch.

However, by following these directions you will find it satisfying to make your own pudding for this delicious old fashioned banana pudding to serve to your family and friends.

Instant pudding can offer a great flavor but when you are ready for some down home cooking, making your own pudding recipes can add that little nostalgic touch that just about anyone will love to enjoy today.

Old Fashioned Banana Pudding From Scratch 

 Ingredients 

1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 dash salt
2 1/2 cups milk
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
2 egg yolks
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups sliced ripe bananas
45 vanilla wafers
4 egg whites
1/4 cup sugar

Directions 

Mix flour and salt in a large sauce pan. Add milks and egg yolks to pan slowly, stirring constantly over medium heat, until mixture thickens, about 7-8 minutes, then remove from heat. Stir in vanilla.

Layer enough banana slices to cover the bottom of a 2 quart casserole dish. Cover the bananas with 1/3 of the pudding mixture, and layer with 1/3 of the vanilla wafers.  

Repeat layering, starting with bananas, then using pudding, then vanilla wafers.   Do the layering a third time as usual, except do not cover the pudding with wafers; place the wafers around the edges of the casserole, tucked into the pudding.

Beat the egg whites at high speed with a mixer until they foam. Add the sugar gradually, and keep beating until stiff peaks form.  Spread this over the top of the pudding, forming a seal to the edges.  

Bake pudding at 325F for 25 minutes or until the meringue becomes light golden.   Allow to cool 30 minutes before serving.  

Refrigerate unused portions.

Country Fried Chicken

Spicy fried chicken is a wonderful treat on so many levels. First of all, fried chicken is always comforting and delicious, no matter whether it is pan fried, deep fried or even oven fried.
It is a fact of life that fried chicken is one of the most popular meals of all time and that applies in almost every country, not just the United States.

There are so many recipes for fried chicken and so many ways to make it. Some people like to use a very basic batter recipe or simply dip their chicken in seasoned flour and fry it.

Chicken has a soft flavor which goes well with this type of coating. It also suits stronger flavors or spicy coatings. If you want to spice things up, why not use cayenne pepper and chili powder in the flour for a piquant kick?

This is a basic Country Fried Chicken recipe. Give it a go and then branch out!

Preheat oven to 300 degrees, this will be used later for keeping your chicken warm until serving.

In a separate bowl mix the flour, pepper, salt, garlic powder, paprika, seasoning salt and thyme. Mix the flour mixture together until well blended and then separate into two bowls. Make sure each bowl is large enough to dip your chicken breasts into.

Take each chicken breast and cut it in half, if you are using four breasts this will give you eight pieces. Take each piece one at a time and place it into a Ziploc bag. Hit the chicken piece with a mallet or a heavy sauce pan until it is flattened to 1/2 inch thick.

Preheat oil in a skillet or pan to 360 degrees. While the oil is heating take each flattened piece of chicken and dip it into the flour mixture in the first bowl, then dredge through the buttermilk (or milk and lemon juice) mixture and lastly through the flour mixture in the second bowl. 
Once each piece is covered please allow 5 minutes before you begin cooking in the heated oil.

Place only two pieces of chicken in the skillet at once to avoid over-crowding and decreasing the temperature of your oil. Cook three minutes on each side of chicken for a total of six minutes.

Once the chicken is cooked place on a wire rack above a cookie sheet in your preheated oven to keep warm until serving time.

Serve with mashed potatoes with your gravy and a veggie!