Grilled Baby Back Ribs with Whiskey BBQ Sauce

Low and slow in the oven is the way to start these ribs off right.  Slather on your own homemade sauce to complete them on the grill for the finishing touch.

Grilled Baby Back Ribs with Whiskey BBQ Sauce

1 slab of baby back pork ribs
salt and pepper

Sauce...makes about 1-1/2 cups
2 Tablespoons canola oil
1/2 cup shredded onion
1-1/2 cups water
6 ounce can tomato paste
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
2-1/2 Tablespoons honey
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1-1/4 teaspoon liquid smoke
1 Tablespoon molasses
2-3 teaspoons Jim Beam Whiskey
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4-1/2 teaspoon red cayenne pepper

Hash Brown Casserole

Hash Brown Casserole

8 eggs
3/4 cup milk (can sub rice milk for DF version)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
few dashes cayenne pepper
24 oz frozen shredded hashbrowns, thawed
1 to 1-1/2 cups shredded Mexi blend or cheddar cheeese (or leave out for DF version)
1/3 cup diced onion
1/3 cup diced green pepper
(or any veggie combination you like...mushrooms, zucchini, squash, etc)
1 pound pork and bacon sausage (or any other combination of meat you like, bacon, ham, regular sausage)

Cook meat and veggies til done.  Drain as needed.

 In large bowl, combine eggs, milk, salt, pepper, and cayenne.

 Add potatoes, cheese, meat, and veggies.  Combine.

 Pour into greased 8" x 11" pan. 

Bake at 350 degrees, uncovered, for 45 minutes or knife inserted  near center comes out clean.

Serve drizzled with ketchup.

Zuppa Toscana (Tuscan Soup - Sausage & Potatoes)

Zuppa Toscana

5-1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream or milk
2-3 medium russet potatoes
2-4 cups chopped kale
1-1/4 pounds mild or spicy Italian brats (usually pkg'd this way with 5 brats)
Pinch cayenne pepper
Paremesan Cheese

Combine broth and cream or milk in Dutch Oven over medium heat. Peel and chop potatoes into even pieces. Add to soup.
Chop your kale, making sure to remove the leave part from the tough vein first.

I grew my own flowering kale this year. It's so pretty!
Add to soup.
Remove casing from bratwurts and cook. Drain. Add to soup.
Simmer for up to 1/2 hour or until potatoes are tender. Serve with shredded Parmesan cheese

Sausage Gravy

Sausage Gravy

1 pound ground pork (or you can get ground sausage and skip the seasonings)
2 teaspoons rubbed sage
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons water

1/4 cup flour (or 1/3 cup oat flour for a GF version)
2 cups milk

Cook pork with sage, black pepper, cayenne, salt and water.  Drain some of the fat off. Add the flour, stir to incorporate and cook for about 1 minute. Add milk slowly so not to cause lumps.  Cook until thickened. Serve over biscuits, homemade or whopped*.



* Whopped means the kind from the store. After you peel off the paper from the package you then 'whop' it on the counter to break the seal.


Also great over a Breakfast Slam

and used in the Chuckwagon Breakast

Roasted Pork Loin

Roasted Pork Loin

2 pounds boneless pork loin
rub (see recipe below)
sliced Provolone
buns
creamy coleslaw (optional)


Pork Rub :
1/2 t cayenne
1/2 t cumin
1-1/3 T granulated onion powder
1-1/3 T granulated garlic powder
1 T Nature's Seasoning
3/4 t white pepper
1 t salt


Mix rub ingredients together. Shake (never touch with porky fingers) on pork loin and... gently massage in. Sprinkling a little more as needed. It's quite flavorable you don't need a ton. This amount of rub will do 3-4 loins.Couple different options for the next step. You can sear it on a grill, in an oiled pan, or not at all. I discovered that the last option was still tasty after I forgot to do it once. Place on a rack in a pan and place in 350 degree oven. Cook approximately 1 hour and 5 minutes until meat thermometer poked in the thickest region reaches 155 degrees. Remove from oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes. With sharp knife slice pork very thin.
Serve on a bun with provolone between the meat so it melts and coleslaw on the side or on the sandwich as a condiment. I love to eat this meat cold, straight from the fridge!

Reunion Breakfast Casserole

This casserole is called 'reunion' as it is served nearly every time at my husband's family reunion.

Reunion Breakfast Casserole

8 - 10 slices bread, cubed (I used to use store bought Italian bread - now I use my own homemade)
1 pound more or less of a mixture of cooked meats you like (we use bacon, sausage, and ham)
6 eggs
3 cups milk
1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese
1/2 - 1 teaspoon salt (keep in mind the meats already have salt in them)
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 cup shreddd Italian blend cheese


Put bread in bottom of 9" x 13" baking dish. Mix milk and eggs, add meat and Mexican cheeses, salt and dry mustard.
Pour over bread.

Careful to pour the meats evenly over the bread. Press bread down to get it wet.

Bake covered for 45 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with Italian cheeses and bake 15 -20 minutes more until it is set and there is no liquid. (I have also poked it with a knife and tilted the dish to let the liquids run to the hot sides to cook.)

It will look puffy like a souffle and 'fall' as it sits. Let sit for 10 minutes. Serve.

Saltimbocca

Saltimbocca

1 oz Parmesan Cheese (shaker stuff is ok but we prefer the shredded cheese)

3 Tablespoons flour

dried parsley (I don't measure, I just shake in for color)

olive oil

thin sliced pork, turkey, or chicken (I'd say about 1/4")

proscuitto

3/4- 1 cup chicken broth

Mix flour, parmesan, and dried parsley.

This is the proscuitto, very thin and easy to tear into the right shape for your meat. Edible just like this since it's not raw, more like a thin ham but will crisp up like bacon.

Lay the proscuitto on the meat and coat with flour mixture.

Add olive oil to the pan and place meat in the pan, try not to crowd so they brown and not steam. Cook on each side until golden. 3-5 mins total since meat is thin.

You can cook this two ways. You can cook the meat in batches and do the sauce at the end or do 1 batch and sauce, then the second, third (however many you need) and do sauce for each as you go. I prefer to do sauce for each batch as I go. If you use a non stick pan there will not be as many bits in it as a stainless steel but I prefer the clean up from a nonstick, much easier!

To make the 'sauce' add a little bit of the chicken broth ... and let it simmer a little. It will combine with the flour on the meat and thicken. It's not a heavy sauce, just for some added moisture.

Tastes great served with this garlic cream sauce.

Pineapple Ham Loaf Patties

Making these into patties instead of loaves cuts down the baking time and everyone gets their own slice of pineapple! You can make them ahead and freeze (see directions at the end.)

Pineapple Ham Loaf Patties

2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
3/4 cup bread crumbs*
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 pound fully cooked ham, ground**
1 pound ground pork**
1 can pineapple slices
brown sugar or honey


In a bowl, combine eggs, milk, Worcestershire sauce, bread crumbs, mustard, salt, and pepper. Add ham and pork; mix well but do not mash while mixing.
Form into 9 equal hamburger-like patties and place a pineapple ring on top of each one. Place on cookie sheet that has sides.

Drizzle with honey or sprinkle with brown sugar.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until meat is cooked through.

For ham balls, chop up pineapple and mix in with meat. Form balls. Drizzle with honey or sprinkle with brown sugar and bake until done.

TO FREEZE....Make patties or ball and freeze on wax lined cookie sheet. After they are frozen transfer to bags. To cook, thaw and top with pineapple (for the patties) and the brown sugar or honey and bake as directed.

* To make GLUTEN-free use QUINOA flakes

**Ham loaf meat mixture can be substituted for the ham and pork.

Tostadas

This makes quite a bit and is great if you are serving a crowd.  If you have leftovers they can be thrown in the freezer and reheated for another time. 

Tostadas 

1-1/2 pounds boneless beef round steak -You can also use Pork Butt or Goat Roast. *
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup lime juice
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 jalapeño, seeded and finely chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 tablespoon chili powder (or a combination of cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper)
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
12 packaged tostada or hard taco shells
Refried beans (see recipe)
Cooked Onions and Peppers (see note below)
Shredded iceberg lettuce
Shredded Mexican-blend cheese or Chihuahua Cheese
Salsa
Guacamole
Sour Cream




Sprinkle steak with salt and pepper. Place 3 tablespoons of the lime juice, the garlic, jalapeño, onion, chili powder, cumin and cayenne in a slow cooker. Place meat on top and cook on HIGH for 6 hours or LOW for 8 hours.

Remove beef to a cutting board and when cool enough to handle, shred with fingers or using two forks. Place shredded beef in a large bowl. Strain remaining liquid in slow cooker over a bowl or measuring cup, discarding solids. Add strained liquid and remaining 1 tablespoon lime juice to beef in bowl and stir to combine. Cover; keep warm.

For onions and peppers, cook in a little bit of oil with the same seasoning as your beef. I let them caramelize a little then add water a little bit at a time until they are soft. That is the way we prefer them. If you like them crunchy then don't cook them as long. We like to add red pepper, not only for color but for a little added sweetness.

Warm tostada shells in the oven. 200 degrees for about 5 minutes. Spread beans, then layer the rest of the toppings on top.

*If you double your meat and crock ingredients you will have some to freeze for later!  Also good with BBQ sauce added to it for BBQ pork sandwiches. 

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