Easy Barbecued Ribs

Ingredients:

1 1/2 T. sweet paprika

1 T. light brown sugar, lightly packed

1/8 t. cayenne pepper

salt and pepper to taste

2 lbs pork baby back ribs, leave the membranes on the ribs to help hold them together *

1 c. barbecue sauce **

vegetable oil spray

*I used 3 lbs

** I used Hickory and Brown Sugar

Recipe:

1. In a small bowl, mix together paprika, brown sugar, cayenne, salt, and pepper. Rub this mixture all over both sides of your ribs well.

2. Arrange ribs in the slow cooker by standing them up against the wall of the stoneware pot, thicker side down and meaty side against the pot.

3. Pour barbecue sauce over the ribs, cover and cook for 6-8 hours on low.

4. Once the initial slow cooking is done, very carefully (as they as tender) remove the ribs to a baking pan which you have lined with foil and put a rack on, bone side up. Set to the side.

5. Skim any fat that has rise to the top and strain all of the remaining juices from the slow cooker through a mesh strainer into a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and allow to simmer and reduce by about a third, approximately 15 minutes.

6. Put your oven's broiler on to heat up and make sure that there is an oven rack about 10 inches below the broiler element. When the broiler is preheated, brush the ribs with sauce and broil for 3-4 minutes.

7. Take them out and very carefully flip them over, brush with sauce and broil again, meat side up, for approximately 9 minutes, taking them out once or twice to baste with more sauce.

8. Serve any remaining sauce on the side with the ribs.

Rating: 4.25 of 5

...and that's without all of the basting. I'm recovering from the flu, so I really didn't have the energy at the end of the day to finish this dish off. But, with that being said, LaDon really liked the ribs. I ate them, but couldn't take a thing. The meat was really tender which I liked about this recipe. I hate getting shreds of meat stuck in my teeth. So, if you're looking for a really easy rib recipe, then just putting them in the crockpot works out pretty well!

Source: MMM...is for Mommy!, Easy Barbecued Ribs

Girl Scout Thin Mint Cookies

Ingredients:

Wafer:

1 15.25-oz package fudge cake mix *

2 1/2 T. shortening, melted

1/2 c. cake flour, measured then sifted

1 egg

2 1/2 T. water

nonstick cooking spray, for cookie sheet

Chocolate coating:

3 10-oz bags semi-sweet chocolate chips

5/8 t. peppermint extract

5 T. shortening

*I used Betty Crocker's Chocolate Fudge cake mix. Thought about the triple chocolate fudge though.

Recipe:

1. Combine the cookie ingredients in a large bowl, adding the water a little bit at a time until the dough forms.*

2. Cover and chill for 2 hours.

3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

4. On a lightly floured surface, roll out a portion of the dough to just under 1/16 of an inch thick.

5. To cut, use a lid from a spice container with a 1 1/2-inch diameter. **

6. Arrange the cut dough rounds on a cookie sheet that is sprayed with a light coating of non-stick spray. ***

7. Bake for 10 minutes.

8. Remove the wafers from the oven and cool completely.

9. To make the coating, combine chocolate chips with peppermint extract and shortening in a large microwave-safe glass or ceramic bowl. ****

10. Heat on 50% power for 2 minutes, stir gently, then heat for an additional minute. Stir once again, and if chocolate is not a smooth consistency, continue to zap in microwave in 30-second intervals until smooth.

11. Use a fork to dip each wafer in the chocolate, tap the fork on the edge of the bowl so that the excess chocolate runs off and then place the cookies side by side on a wax paper lined baking sheet.

12. Refrigerate until firm.

*You'll be tempted to add more water, but don't! The dough will be a dry and clumpy dough when everything has been mixed through. Form into a ball before covering and chilling.

** Really, it doesn't matter how small or big the diameter is. The 1 1/2-inch diameter is to replicate the Girl Scout look. If you go with the 1 1/2-inch, then you will come out with about 90 cookies. My cookies had about 2-2.5-inch diameter and I came out with about 45ish (and some of them were definitely thicker than 1/16-inch).

*** I just lay down parchment paper instead of using the cooking spray.

**** I have a terribly hard time getting my chocolate to the right consistency in the microwave, so I just do it on the stove top. If you don't have a double boiler, no fret, just make sure you watch the chocolate and don't burn or overheat it. I melt the shortening first, add the peppermint extract, and then stir handfuls of chips at a time until everything is melted and smooth.

Rating: 5 of 5

Seriously, how bad can a thin mint be? This recipe pretty much nails the Girl Scout cookie. That's a great thing and a bad thing....if you know what I mean. Don't let dipping the cookies scare you. It's not that hard. This is, really, a pretty easy recipe. And, hey!, it's a cookie that I made and didn't burn! Success!

Source: Food.com, Girl Scout Thin Mints

Skinny Baked Mozzarella Sticks

Ingredients:

12 sticks part-skim, reduced sodium mozzarella sting cheese (Sargento) *

1 large egg, beaten

2 T. flour

5 T. Italian seasoned breadcrumbs

5 T. panko crumbs (confused? just a fancy word for Japanese bread crumbs.) **

2 t. Parmesan cheese

1 T. dried parsley

olive oil cooking spray ***

* I just used the cheese sticks I had in the fridge.

** Didn't have any on hand, so I didn't include them.

*** Just used the cooking spray I had on hand

Recipe:

1. Cut cheese in half to give you 24 pieces. Place cheese in the freezer until cheese is frozen.

2. In small bowl, whisk the egg. Place the flour on another small dish. In separate bowl, combine bread crumbs, panko, Parmesan cheese, and dried parsley.

3. Dip the frozen sticks in flour, shaking off excess, then into the egg, then coast with the crumbs. Repeat this process with the remaining cheese placing them on a try with wax paper.

4. Place cheese back into the freezer until ready to bake (this is a must or they will melt before the crumbs get golden.)

5. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and lightly spray with oil.

6. Place frozen cheese sticks on baking sheet. Spray the stops of the mozzarella sticks with a little more oil and bake in the bottom third of your oven until crisp, about 4-5 minutes.

7. Turn and bake an additional 4-5 minutes watching them closely so they don't melt.

Rating: 3.75 of 5

Well, our mozzarella sticks completely melted out. I should have taken them out at 5 minutes rather than sticking them in for the second 4-5 minutes. They were already pretty melted when I turned them. That went wrong, and I think my parsley is a little old. I kept tasting dirt. Gross. So, the melted cheese part was good, but new parsley and less cooking would make these really good.

Source: skinnytaste.com, Skinny Baked Mozzarella Sticks

Rosemary and Lemon Chicken

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts, in bone without skin *

14 asparagus spears **

1 lemon, cut into 5 rinds

2 4-inch Rosemary springs

2 T. olive oil

3 T. butter

1/2 c. chicken or vegetable stock

salt and pepper

* I never had chicken in bone, so I just used 3 medium sized boneless, skinless chicken breasts

** I didn't have any asparagus on hand, so we just went without (SO sad. I love asparagus!)

Recipe: (it's kind of unclear so I added what I think should be done)

1. In a small pan, melt the butter in the boil with the rosemary and lemon. *

2. Over low heat, cook the seasoned chicken breasts for about 50 minutes (until done), covered. **

3. Turn a few times, to cook well on both sides.

4. You may need to add a few pours of stock, only if necessary, to create a bit of a sauce for the chicken to cook in. ***

5. After the chicken is cooked, remove from the pan onto a plate and cover with foil. Let it rest.

6. Cook the asparagus in the leftover sauce.

7. Serve.

* I poured the olive oil into a pie plate and added salt and pepper to it. I then rolled the chicken in it until it was completely covered in the oil, salt, and pepper.

** I added the chicken stock to the rosemary and lemons and stirred that all together. Then I added the chicken. I brought the whole things to a boil and then turned it down and let it simmer until the chicken was cooked through, about 25-30 minutes.

*** I took the chicken, rosemary, and lemons out, and then added about a 1/2 c. milk and 1 T. flour to the stock left in the pan until it boiled for a few minutes to make a thicker and slightly more creamy sauce to put on the chicken. If I had the asparagus, I would have done this after I had cooked the asparagus.

Rating: 3 of 5

This one is okay. Not great. I think it would be a lot better if you just juiced the lemon instead of slicing it into rinds. The rind-y taste was too strong for my liking. The sauce turned out great and was really good over rice. Easy recipe, short ingredients list, and almost so delicious. Next time.

Source: shopcookmake.blogspot.com, Rosemary and Lemon Chicken

Slow Cooker Cilantro Lime Chicken

I'm pretty much failing at taking pictures. I just get so excited to taste the food that I forget to snap one!

Ingredients:

4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, defrosted *

1 24-oz. jar medium or milk salsa

juice of one lime

1/4 c. cilantro, chopped**

1 package taco seasoning

2 jalapeno peppers, finely chopped (optional)

*which, of course, I just threw in frozen

** we love cilantro so I put in about 1/2 c.

Recipe:

1. In a slow cooker, mix together salsa, lime, cilantro, taco seasoning, peppers.

2. Add chicken and coat with salsa mixture.

3. Cook on low heat for 6 hours.

4. Serve as a whole breast, or shred and serve in tacos.

Rating: 3.5 of 5

This is a pretty average dish. It's not bad, but it didn't blow our socks off like I thought it might. We ate it shredded in tortillas. If you eat it with fresh cilantro, then it begins to rise to the "knock your socks off" levels. It was super easy though. So, you can't really taste the lime or the cilantro, and the taco seasoning taste is low too. Basically, you could really taste the salsa. I think next time I would double the lime and cilantro.

Source: PipandEbby.com, Slow Cooker Cilantro Lime Chicken

Baked Doughnuts

Ingredients:

1 1/3 c. warm milk, 95-105 degrees

2 t. instant yeast ** If you only have active dry yeast on hand, proof it with 1/3 c. warm milk and sugar. Once foamy, add remaining milk and continue on with the recipe.**

2 T. butter *

2/3 c. granulated sugar

2 large eggs

5 c. all-purpose flour

a pinch or two of nutmeg, freshly grated**

1 t. salt

(For the cinnamon-sugar topping listed in the original recipe: 1/2 c. butter, 1 1/2 c. granulated sugar, 1 T cinnamon.)

* I melted the butter in the microwave with the remaining cup of milk.

** I just used nutmeg from a jar

Recipe:

1. Place the warm milk in the bowl of an electric mixer. Stir in the yeast and sugar.

2. Add the butter. Mix the eggs, flour, nutmeg, and salt.

3. Beat the dough with the dough hook attachment (or with a wooden spoon and eventually your hands) for 2-3 minutes at medium speed. Adjust the dough texture by adding flour a few tablespoons at a time or more milk.

4. The dough should pull away from the sides of the bowl and be very soft and smooth but still slightly sticky -- don't overflour! Knead the dough for a few minutes (again, by mixer or by hand) and then transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl.

5. Cover the bowl and let the dough rise for about an hour or until it has doubled in size (the exact time will depend on the temperature of your kitchen).

6. Punch down the dough and roll it out to about 1/2-inch thickness on a lightly floured counter.

7. Using a doughnut cutter or a 2-3 inch circle cookie cutter, cut out circles in the dough. Carefully transfer the circles to a parchment or silpat-lined baking sheet and stamp out the smaller inner circles using a smaller cutter. Be sure to make the holes large enough that, as the doughnuts rise again and bake, they don't fill in the doughnut hole with the puffiness of the dough.

8. Here's where you can do two different things: bake the same day, or put in the refrigerator overnight for the next morning. If cooking the same day, let the doughnuts rise for about another 45 minutes, until they are puffed and nearly doubled. If saving for the next morning, then cover the tray with lightly greased plastic wrap and place in the fridge. The doughnuts will rise throughout the night. In the morning, remove from the refrigerator and put them on the counter about an hour before baking.

9. Bake in a 375 degree oven until the bottoms are just golden, 8-10 minutes. Start checking the doughnuts around minute 8. They should still be place on top, not golden and browned, and just barely cooked through.

10. Remove the doughnuts from the oven and let cool for 1-2 minutes. (For the cinnamon-sugar topping: Dip each one in the melted butter and toss or sprinkle with the cinnamon and sugar.)

11. Serve immediately.

Rating: 2 of 5

This recipe makes a great sweet roll recipe. Doughnuts, though......not my favorite. Won't be making this one for doughnuts again. But, add some orange extract and zest to the dough and then cover with orange glaze when they're done cooking and they would be awesome!

Source: Mel's Kitchen Cafe, Baked Doughnuts