Marinated Beef Short Ribs

Ok, so the pictures didn't turn out that good, but it tasted a lot better than it looks! Beef in a simple marinade bake in the oven.

The Details:

1/4 cup vinegar

1/4 cup barbecue sauce

1 cup water

3 Tablespoons brown sugar

1/1 teaspoon garlic

salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients. Place 4 to 6 beef short ribs in pan. Pour marinade over meat and cover. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to overnight, turning meat over at least once. Bake in marinade at 350 degrees until desired temperature is reached, 30 to 45 minutes.

This piece was cooked to medium, 145 degrees. If you don't have enough time to let it sit in the marinade for too long, go ahead and pop in the the oven right away. It still tastes good that way too.

Happy Cooking!

Baked Parmesan Chicken

Baked chicken with a Parmesan cheese breading.

The Details:

4 to 6 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1 egg
milk

Combine bread crumbs, cheese, and seasoning. Beat egg and add a splash of milk. Dip chicken breasts in egg, and then in bread crumb mixture in coat. Place chicken in 13x9 inch pan and bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 45 minutes until chicken is done.

I cut my chicken breasts in half before coating them because I had extra people over and wanted to be able to give some to everyone. I personally don't like the Italian seasoning, and will probably just use some garlic and parsley next time, but everyone else loved it. Of course, they also said it reminded them of sausage, so go figure. 

Happy Cooking!

Fried Chicken Tenders

Ok, these are very similar to the chicken tenders I made here, but with some differences. I deep fried them instead on pay-frying, and used straight flour instead of bread crumbs.

The Details:

6 to 8 chicken tenders

2 eggs

milk

1 cup flour

salt and pepper to taste

Heat deep fryer to 350 degrees. Beat eggs in bowl. Whisk in a splash or two of milk. Place four and salt and pepper in plastic bag. Coat chicken in flour, dunk in egg, and then coat in flour again. Fry in hot oil until chicken reaches 180 degrees, approximately 7 to 8 minutes. Drain on paper towels.

The deep fryer really does make a lot of difference here. It just makes it so much more crispy and juicy.

Happy Cooking!

Fried Garlic Pork Tenderloin

If you like garlic, you'll love this recipe. The pork is coated in a garlic mixture and then fried.

The Details:

Heat 1/2 inch of oil in skillet. Mix together 1/4 cup garlic, 1 teaspoon parsley, and salt and pepper to taste. Rub well into 2 pork tenderloin chops. Fry until done, about 7 minutes on each side, or to 170 degrees internal temperature. Drain on paper towels.

Quick and easy. You can vary the amount of garlic used to taste.

Happy Cooking!

Mike's Burgers

So, one of my posts featured Mike's Beef Tips, and they were called that because I tailored them to my husband's liking. Mike himself actually is the one who makes these burgers. Well, he at least mixes them up. And might put the on the grill. I usually end up flipping them and taking them off. But I'll still give my hubby the credit. *big smile*

The Details:

1 lb ground hamburger meat

1/4 to 1/2 cup Dale's sauce

2 Tablespoons garlic powder

2 Tablespoon creole seasoning

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

Place meat in bowl. Add Dale's sauce and seasonings. Mix well. Form 4 to 6 patties. Grill over medium heat, cooking each side approximately 7 minutes.

How much Dale's sauce you use depends on how strong you want the taste. And all the measurements are just estimates, because nothing ever actually gets measured. A lot of our recipes seem to be that way.

Happy Cooking!

Beef, Mac, and Cheese Casserole

I like to call this my 'Cheater's Lasagna.' What? I'm all about convenience! Don't judge me!!

Anyway, it's basically the same thing, but with elbow noodles and not so many different cheeses.

The Details:

2 cups elbow noodles, cooked

1 lb ground beef

1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1 (16 oz) can tomato sauce

Seasonings to taste

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Brown ground beef in large skillet. Add cheddar cheese, 1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese, tomato sauce, and seasonings to beef. Simmer for 15 minutes. Combine with elbow noodles and spread into 9'x13' pan. Sprinkle remaining mozzarella cheese on top. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 15 minutes.

For my seasonings, I used garlic, parsley, and oregano, but you can use whatever you prefer.

And another really nice thing about this recipe is you can refrigerate or freeze it and simply warm it back up in the oven. Make it ahead of time or save the leftovers for later!

Happy Cooking!

Barbecued Country Style Ribblets

Ok, so 'ribblets' might not be a real word, but it sounds good! I think it describes these small, barbecued, pieces of pork ribs quite well. And makes them sound cute.

The Details:

Cut county style pork rib meat off the bone and into bite sized pieces. Place folded aluminum foil or aluminum pan on hot grill. Place meat on foil and coat in favorite barbecue sauce. Turn meat after a few minutes, and coat with barbecue sauce again. Continue turning, using basting/pastry brush to reapply barbecue sauce each time, until cooked through.

Quick and easy. Could be served as the main dish, or as an appetizer. The day I made these I was needing something more to serve with the rest of the food I was cooking, but needed something smaller than the ribs. So I cut the meat up and threw it on the grill!

Happy Cooking!

Hickory Smoked Turkey

So, this year we decided to smoke our Thanksgiving turkey. There's several ways to do this, but I'm just going to explain how we did it this year. And any mistakes we made. Not that we made any. I would never make any mistake.

. . .

Quit laughing.

The Details:

Soak hickory chips in water for a few hours before cooking. Fill smoker pan with charcoal and saturate with lighter fluid. Wait a few minutes to let the lighter fluid soak in and then light. While that is burning down, remove all giblets from thawed turkey and rinse with cold water. Season with salt, pepper, garlic, and seasoning salt, rubbing into skin and into body cavity. When charcoal has burned down, add some of the hickory chips to the coals. Combine 1/2 cup barbecue sauce and 1/2 cup Dale's sauce with enough water to fill water pan and place in smoker. Place turkey on rack. Close lid. Remember to check the water level often and add more water when needed. Add more coals and hickory chips as needed to keep the smoker at its ideal temperature according to its manufacture's instructions. Turkey is done when it reaches an internal temperature of 180 degrees, about 8 to 12 hours.

We have this smoker, is case you were wondering. The mistake I mention? We weren't able to keep the smoker at its ideal temperature the whole time, and as a result had to stick the turkey in the oven the last hour to get it done in time. I think it would have gone better if we had a charcoal starter to start the charcoal before adding to the smoker while cooking. Or at least removing the turkey halfway through and restarting the coals. But either way it tasted great and we will be doing it again. Might try injecting the bird with some marinade next time. And keeping it hot enough, of course.

Happy Cooking!

Breaded Chicken Tenders

These are simply chicken tenders rolled in bread crumbs and fried.  Not too hard, but very tasty.

The Details:

Place 1 cup flour in bowl Beat 2 eggs in separate bowl. Mix together 1 cup bread crumbs, salt and pepper to taste and place in separate bowl. Coat each chicken tender in flour, dip in egg, and coat in bread crumbs. Place chicken on heated oil in skillet and fry tenders approximately 7 minutes on each side. Drain on paper towels.

You can also cook these in a deep fryer, just reduce total cooking time to about 7 minutes. You can also add garlic or your own choice of seasoning to bread crumbs. I like to make my own bread crumbs by taking day old bread, or toasting a few slices, and throwing them in the blender for a few seconds to get nice small crumbs.

Happy Cooking!

Venison Steak, Take One

Tried a new recipe for my deer steaks. It's similar to my beef tip recipe, but I used venison steak and changed the mix of ingredients a bit. The barbecue sauce gives the gravy a much different taste, but I rather like it.

The Details:

Brown venison steaks in large skillet. Add 1 cup water, 1/2 cup of your favorite barbecue sauce, 1/4 cup vinigar, garlic, salt, and pepper to taste. Simmer over medium heat for approximately 30 minutes. For gravy, mix 2 tablespoons flour into 1/2 cup of cold water. Add to skillet. Simmer 15 more minutes. Serve.

As you can see, I served mine with mashed potatoes. You can also marinate the steaks to tenderize and add flavor.

Happy Cooking!

Spaghetti

Yes, you could just cook the noodles and throw in some browned beef and store-bought sauce, but why? Ok, so that's basically all I did with the exception of making my own sauce. But whatever.

The Details:

1 lb spaghetti noodles

1 lb ground beef

1-12 oz can tomato sauce

1-6 oz can tomato paste

1 cup water

garlic

parsley

basil

salt

Cook noodles. Brown brown beef in skillet. Add remaining ingredients. Simmer 15 minutes. Add to noodles.

Pretty simple. You can use less meat if you don't want so much, but we're a meat family. And you could add whatever spices you want, or just use an Italian blend.

I'm also going to be sharing my French bread recipe later this week, which goes great with this.

Happy Cooking!

Grilled Country Style Ribs

Don't you just hate it when you can smell someone down the street barbecuing? Only one thing to do - fire up the grill and give 'em a taste of their own cooking!

The Details:

Marinade

1 cup water

1/2 cup Dale's sauce

1/2 cup barbecue sauce

1/4 cup vinegar

Lawry's seasoned salt to taste

powder garlic to taste

pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients for marinade together. Place country style pork ribs in marinade. Place in refrigerator overnight or at least one hour. Remove and place on grill set to medium-low. Slather on barbecue sauce. Cook until done, turning occasionally and adding more barbecue sauce.

Your mouth watering yet?

Now is it? I know mine is.

If you use a meat thermometer, pork is done at 160 degrees. You can always use your own choice of marinade. Mine changes depending on what I'm in the mood for. Sometimes I might add more garlic, or leave out the seasoned salt, or even add a tablespoonful of brown sugar or honey if I want a sweet sauce that night. Experiment and see what you like!

Happy Cooking!

Chicken Fried Steak

I love to use this recipe for venison steak, but it's just as good with beef. All you need in some cube steak, egg, milk, flour, and some oil to fry it in!

The Details:

Heat 1/4 inch of oil in pan. Whisk together 2 eggs and a splash of milk. Place one to two cups of flour in a bowl. Season flour with salt and pepper. Coat steaks in flour, then dip in egg mix, and then dip in flour once again. Fry in oil, turning once midway through. Cooking time will vary depending on the size and thickness of your meat.

You can add additional seasonings to the flour, to the meat, or you can also marinate the meat.

Happy Cooking!!

Homemade Pizza

Love pizza but don't want to pay to have it delivered? Don't want frozen pizza either? Then make your own! It's not all that hard and you can make it the way you like it. You can buy pre-made crust and sauce, but today I'm going to include some recipes to make your own.

The Details:

Pizza Sauce

1 (25 ounce) can tomato sauce

1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste

1/3 c. oil

2 tsp. oregano

1 Tbsp. garlic

2 tsp. basil

salt and pepper to taste

Stir together tomato sauce, tomato paste, and oil in sauce pan over medium heat. Add rest of ingredients and simmer for 10 minutes.

You can vary the amount of spices to your own taste, or add different ones. If you don't want to cook the sauce, it also works fine to just mix the ingredients together and use. Any sauce you don't use can be refrigerated or frozen to use at a later time.

Pizza Crust

2 1/4 tsp. yeast (1 packet)

1/2 tsp. sugar

1 1/2 c. warm water

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

3 1/3 c. flour

1 tsp. salt

cornmeal

Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water until foamy. Combine oil, flour, and salt. Add yeast mixture. Knead until smooth, about 8 minutes. Placed in greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover, and let rise until doubled. Punch down and let sit for one minute. Divide in half and form two crusts. Grease pan and sprinkle with cornmeal. Place crust on pan and let rise for 15 to 10 minutes. Top with sauce and favorite toppings. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes, or until cheese starts to brown.

To form crusts, you can either form dough into a ball and roll out to desired size, or try to toss it! If you don't have a pizza pan, you can simply form the dough to fit a cookie sheet and use it that way. I also like to sprinkle garlic salt with parsley on the outer crust. I use about 1 cup sauce and about 2 cups mozzarella cheese for my toppings. The pictured pizza has Canadian bacon cut into quarters.

If you don't need to cook two pizzas, you can put the remaining dough in a freezer bag and freeze. To use, place in the refrigerator overnight to thaw, then form and cook pizza.

You can also use the crust to make personal sized pizzas. Divide the recipe in 8 to 10 sections, depending on how big you want the individual pizzas. Let every family member make their own pizza, or even set out sauce and toppings at a birthday party or sleepover and let all the kids make their own. If making personal sized pizzas, remember they probably won't take as long to cook

Happy Cooking!

Garlic Butter Chicken

Chicken breasts cooked in a garlicky, buttery, coating? Yes, please!

The Details:

4 boneless skinless chicken breast

Flour

2 eggs

milk

1 sleeve crushed Ritz crackers

salt and pepper

powdered garlic

1/4 c. melted butter

Parsley

Preheat over to 350 degrees. Mix a pinch of salt, a dash of pepper, and about a tablespoon (more or less to taste) of powdered garlic in with crushed Ritz crackers. Whisk together eggs and a splash of milk. Coat each chicken breast in flour, dunk in egg mixture, and then coat with crushed crackers. Place in pan. Pour melted butter over and around chicken. Sprinkle with parsley. Back for 45 minutes, or until done(180 degree internal temperature).

The best way I've found to crush the crackers is to dump them into a gallon sized storage bag, seal, and smash with a rolling pin. They seem to coat the chicken better when there is smaller crumbs. You can also mix the melted butter with the remaining cracker crumbs and sprinkle that over the chicken instead of just pouring the butter over the chicken.  Bone-in chicken breast or chicken tenders can also be used, you will just need to adjust the cooking time.

Happy Cooking!

Mike's Beef Tips

 I call them that because I catered them to my husband's taste. and they now seem to be his favorite dish. I love it because it's simple to make and you can change the flavor to whatever you like at the moment.

The Details:
I started by browning a pound and a half of stew meat in a large skillet. Next I added 2 cups of water and about 1 cup of Dale's sauce, 1/4 cup vinegar, a few tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, Lawrey's seasoning salt, pepper, and parsley. I let that simmer on medium low for 30 minutes. I then stir 3 heaping spoonfuls of flour in 1/2 cup of cold water and pour that in the skillet. Let that simmer for 15 more minutes minutes. While that's finishing up, I cooked up about 1 1/2 cups of minute rice. Serve it with the gravy and you're ready to go!

Obviously you could use sirloin tips, and real rice, but the stew meat's a lot cheaper and minute rice is easier.   And you can add whatever you want, or leave out stuff. A simple yet versatile dish.

Happy Cooking!