Lisa's BBQ sauce

I never have to worry about making sauces or gravy's of any kind, she is amazing with sauces and can turn whatever I cook into a masterpiece...enjoy!

1 Tablespoon of olive oil

1/2 Teaspoon:

        Granulated garlic

        Onion Powder

        Pepper

1 Tablespoon of:

       Chili powder

       Cumin

       Paprika (smoked paprika if you have some)

 1/4 Teaspoon of crushed red chili flakes      

In a small sauce pan cook these ingredients on medium heat 4-5 minutes

Add:

1 cup Ketchup

1/2 cup Diet Coke

1/2 cup water

2 Tablespoons cider vinegar

3 Tablespoons brown sugar

1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce

1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard

Let simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

  

Fall off the bone ribs

For a long time now I have been wanting to have those ribs like I get at that Outback restaurant, they just fall right off the bone the minute you pick them up, they are not too smoky and really rely on the quality of the BBQ sauce to make them good. I did these in my Crock pot, and think I will do that from now on. You have to try these!! Thanks to my Rachel Ray magazine for some inspiration.

2 Racks of baby back pork ribs
1 White onion, rough chop
1 Red Bell Pepper
2 Sprigs of Rosemary
2 Cloves of garlic, chopped
2 Tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce ( I used the Tabasco kind for a little extra kick)
1 Box of beef stock
Salt, to taste

First you have to let the rack of ribs set out for a good 20 minutes to take the chill off of them, this will make it easier to take the membrane off the back of them, also known as the silver skin, this is a must. If you don't do this your ribs will not fall off the bone!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-RL_f8qdJE (YouTube help if you need it). After this is done rub salt on the pork and let them rest for another 15-20 minutes. In the biggest crock pot you have add all the ingredients in and put the ribs on top of all the aromatics, I cut my ribs in 3 sections as to fit better. I put them on the highest setting for 4 hours and then put them on a rack in the oven for the last hour to dry out a little bit. Your oven should be around 250 degrees Fahrenheit. While the ribs are in the oven make the BBQ sauce. Lisa is my sauce maker so I had her give me the recipe she used for the ribs last night. I will post that in a separate post.

The best baby back ribs you will ever have...

Have to come back tomorrow for more information....but this is the first time I tried this and this is how I have wanted them to come out since I have started cooking ribs, fall off the bone de-lish-ous!! I will include the best BBQ sauce recipe that Lisa has made :)

Farewell Fajitas

I went to my sisters last night to cook dinner for her and her husband, he is gonna be gone for a bit and wanted to send him off with a home cooked meal. The request was Fajitas, the trade off is being able to cook in my sisters new home in North Tacoma...My sister and I like dark meat of chicken, Wes and Lisa like white meat, I did a combination of both, but if you want you can do one or the other. You can omit the spicy ingredients or add more depending on how spicy you want the fajitas to be.

3 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken (white or dark meat)
1 yellow, red, orange bell pepper (green omitted due to Lisa's aversion to them), julienne
1 Jalapeno pepper, julienne
1 Yellow onion, julienne
3 Limes
3 Tomatoes, chopped
1 Bunch of Cilantro (fresh is best in this case)
1 Tablespoon of each of these:
      Roasted Cumin
      Paprika
     Chili Powder
     Crushed Red Peppers
     Oregano
2 Teaspoons of Cayenne Pepper
2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
2 Gloves of garlic, minced
Salt to taste

Add the chicken to a bowl, add olive oil and all the spices in this bowl including the garlic and a good dash of salt, mix the chicken around with your hands making sure each piece is coated thoroughly with spices and oil. Let marinate in the refrigerator for 1 hour. While your waiting chop vegetables, try to make them close to the same size to promote even cooking. Pull chicken out of fridge and let sit for a half hour or so, using a large skillet on medium high heat, let the pan get hot and then put the chicken in to brown on each side, don't over crowd the pan or you will end up steaming the chicken instead of browning. You want to cook them for about 10 minutes on each side. Let them sit and cool for about 10 minutes then slice them in long strips fit for a flour/corn tortilla. Using the pan you cooked the chicken in, saute vegetables till tender, not so much, about 8-10 minutes, squeezing lime into the pan as they cook. Use cilantro to garnish and have both lime and cilantro for the fajitas for people to put in their fajita, serve and enjoy!!

Healthy Meatloaf

No picture, but I made this on Saturday, the beef was not missed, and with the proper seasoning anything has great flavor, this was a cross between something I had at my sisters this week and my creation. Although my sister tried to kill me with uncooked turkey (hehehehe) she really didn't but I swear she was trying to kill me , I forgave her and made my Turkachick Meatloaf..

1 pound ground turkey
1 pound ground chicken
3 tablespoons ketchup
2 tablespoons Worcestershire
2 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoons crushed red pepper
1 teaspoon white pepper
1tablespoon of chopped garlic
1 tablespoon fresh Rosemary, minced (don't deviate from fresh, there is a big difference with Rosemary)
2 slices of day old bread, chopped
1 egg

Don't complicate this, this is meatloaf... mix all these ingredients together in a large bowl until well incorporated. Not too much, but enough to get things working together. Let the mixture hang out in the fridge for about an hour, put in a bread pan. Put in the oven for an hour at 350 degrees Fahrenheit....let rest for 20 minutes..serve with smashed potatoes and green beans....gravy optional :)

CAMERA!!

I have a new camera and will be starting back with the blog as of this weekend....I have made some great stuff this week and want to include these, they will not have pictures but if anyone makes them and takes a picture that would be great...if not I can make them in the coming weeks and post a picture with it. Its good to be back and sorry I have not posted in awhile :)

PORK is done!!

After smoking the pork but for 5 hours, I have finished it off in my oven, I cooked it the rest of the way at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for 2 hours. I waited till it hit 173 degrees internal temp and lowered the heat to 200 degrees Fahrenheit. This is usually a big piece of meat and will need to rest after cooking. After it hits 180 degrees internal temperature, take it out to rest for at least 25-30 minutes. After it cools pull on the meat with two forks, it should shred and look like roast beef. you can add your favorite BBQ sauce or make your own. I happen to live with an original sauce maker and leave that up to Lisa to make. I will post the recipe she uses tonight.

So the process begins....

Today we are smoking our pork butt, we actually found one this time with the shoulder bones attached, this will give the meat plenty of flavor with the added bones. This morning I woke up at 6am to take it out of the fridge to bring it to room temp. I soaked my wood chips in water, this allows them to not burn right away when you put them on the charcoal, for this piece of meat I have chosen apple chips and hickory. You can smoke on either type of grill, charcoal is best, but with gas you can make a smoker box out of aluminum foil and set it in the corner of the gas grill. We will be cooking the pork on indirect heat, this means off to the side of the main heat source, with charcoal just pile them in the corner, with gas use one burner. You want a steady heat of 220 degrees Fahrenheit. 

HAIL Caesar!!!

This recipe is a cross between my other favorite food network star and my sister.... Caesar salad dressing, my sister by far is better at this then I will ever be, but i took the eggs out and added Ann's idea of using Dijon mustard, we like this for the garlic, this is not a date sort of dressing, so no kissing after this!!!

1 cup grated Parmigiana , plus a block for shaving

1 lemons, juiced

4 garlic cloves,crushed

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon of anchovy paste

Extra-virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste