BBQ Ribs

If I don't make goals for myself, nothing happens. As an example, I made a New Year's resolution two years ago to cook at home more often.  At the time I was depending on drive-thru's and takeout for dinner every night, and I was tired of spending all the extra money (you all know how cheap I am by now, so that was a huge motivator for me!) Flashforward to today, and it's now a common practice for us to have dinner at home 3-4 nights out of the week. We're saving money, relaxing more at home, and enjoying the thrill of making new dishes that we'd otherwise get at a restaurant. Progress!

So it only makes sense that I make another culinary goal for myself.  This year, I want to be less dependent on recipes and exact measurements.  (Yeah, I know... it's a cheater goal because I already hate measuring... but hear me out.) It takes a confident cook to just put a bunch of ingredients together and create a meal-- and I'm not there yet. 

But, if I am to grow as a cook, I need to learn to trust my instincts.  If I want to make something, but cannot seem to find "the perfect recipe" for it, I should be able to come up with something on my own.

And today, I did!


Ingredients:

ribs (I had some frozen, and I didn't bother to thaw them)

2 cans of beer (I used Miller Lite this time)

1 onion, quartered

garlic salt (Enough shakes to coat the top of the ribs/liquid)

pepper (Enough shakes to coat the top of the ribs/liquid)

brown sugar (I just placed a handful of brown sugar on top of the
ribs, then spread around to create a thin layer).

BBQ sauce (Montgomery Inn, anyone?)

Directions:

Pour beer into CrockPot.

Place onion in beer, then top with the ribs.

Add seasonings, then pack brown sugar atop the ribs.

Cook on Low for at least 8 hours.

After cooking in the CrockPot, transfer ribs to a broiler pan.  Baste ribs with BBQ sauce.  Broil for 5-10 minutes. 

Verdict: Keeper, with revision  

I loved how tender the meat became from cooking in the CrockPot. Next time, I think I'll broil the ribs for a little longer to carmelize the BBQ sauce.  Also, I may try a different beer, just to see how it affects the overall taste.     

CrockPot Pulled Pork

While reading this recipe, I had a hard time believing that it would be any good.  Growing up, I was always taught "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is."  Well, this recipe meets all the qualifications to fall under the "too good to be true" category. 

• It has 3 ingredients.
• It is low maintenace.
• It makes a lot of food, cheaply.
• The Mr. and I both like this meal.

I was hopeful that this recipe was as tasty as it was simple, because if it was, this could easily become another staple in our house!

Soure:  allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

3 lbs. pork shoulder

1 can diet root beer

Your favorite BBQ sauce (I used Sweet Baby Ray's)

Directions:

1.  Place pork shoulder in the CrockPot.

2.  Pour root beer over the meat.

3.  Cook on Low for 8 hours or High for 4. 

4.  During the last hour, use a baster to remove most of the juices.  Remove the bone, and place the meat in a separate container and shred  it with two forks.  Also, remove any excess fat from the meat.  Add desired amount of BBQ sauce, stir, and place back in the CrockPot to cook for approximately another hour.

Verdict:

This is a KEEPER!  It sounded too good to be true, but it wasn't! The trick, I think, is using the pork shoulder cut of meat... there was enough fat within it to not only give it great flavor, but it made it very easy to pull apart after it had cooked. The only thing I may try differently is using regular root beer instead of diet root beer, but that's because I can't ever leave a recipe alone :)

Baked Pork Chops with Mushroom 'n Onion Sauce

Almost all of us have a few go-to recipes.  You know the kind-- the ones you can recite pretty much off the top of your head. 

Well, this one is mine.  It has very few ingredients, very little prep, and a very big payoff in the taste department.  I have made this one several times now, and each time we love it.  This is a perfect example of how cooking doesn't have to be fancy or time-consuming to be good! 


Source:  An unclaimed recipe I found through searching online.  If it's yours, let me know and I will gladly give you the credit.

Ingredients:

4-6 pork chops

1/4 tsp. seasoned salt

1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

1 onion, chopped

8 oz. package of fresh, sliced mushrooms

2 cans of Cream of Mushroom soup

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2.  Rinse pork chops and pat dry.  Arrange in a 9"x13" baking dish.  Season chops with salt and pepper.

3.  In a large bowl, combine the soup, mushrooms, and chopped onion.  Spoon the mixture over the chops. 

4.  Bake for 45-60 minutes, or till done. 

Verdict:  It's a regular in our household :) 

Pan-Grilled Pork Chops with Grilled Pineapple Salsa

Today, I had several "firsts."  

1.  I cooked something using the fresh juice of a lime.

2.  I minced a jalapeno (but I sorta-kinda cheated, but you don't care that much)

3.  I pan-fried fruit. 

But before I expound upon these firsts, let me celebrate a very real victory I had today.  To others, it's probably not a big deal, but for me, it's worth mentioning. 

Clutter is my nemesis. It's so bad, I think it's genetic.  It's not like I'm a hoarder, or even a pack-ract for that matter; for me, it's an issue of setting up a workable system that streamlines the shutff that enters my house and my life.  Once I have a system in place, I'm good.  Developing said system is what catches me off guard. 

For example, I have a system for my mail.  The Mr. thinks it's a slightly organized representation of paper chaos, but the fact remains that my bills are now paid on time, and all our social invitations are available at my fingertips. 

It looks like this:

Bills and invitations come in, I open them, see that my last payment posted to the account, shred the old statement, and store the new bill/statement in the correct date-slot. And on, and on, and on...

So anyway, the point is, I have a system in place for my mail.  As a result, I have an easier time conquering the clutter-demons brought by the mailman.  However, when the mailman started bringing magazines, I had an organizational hiccup.  With the best of intentions, I saved each magazine, hoping to someday try the yummy recipes published on those pages.  But before long, I was suddenly forming piles of magazines-- on the coffee table, on the kitchen counter, in the computer room-- if you're clutter-prone like me, you know that piles are dangerous.  Noticing these tell-tale signs, I knew I needed to act fast and get the magazines under control.

After heeding the advice of my more organizationally-inclined friends, I implemented this system for magazines:

1.  New issue comes in the mail.

2.  As I browse, I dog-ear the pages with recipes I want to try someday.  This issue stays out on the coffee table for all to enjoy.

3.  Next issue comes in the mail-- I take the last issue and tear out all the recipes I marked.  These go in a "To Try" file that I now have in my kitchen.  (I have a real Recipe Box, but I like to save that for my "tried and true" recipes).  The old issue then gets recycled, and the newest issue takes its place on the coffee table.

4.  And the cycle continues! Taa-Daah!!

Once I try a recipe from the "To Try" file, I've committed myself to one of two things:  I'll either make a card for it and put it in my Recipe Box, or I will throw it away. 



So what was the big victory?



Tonight, I pulled a recipe from the "to Try" file:  I proved to myself that I didn't need to hang on to the whole magazine, and I knew exactly where to find the recipe I tore out last month.  If you're a natural-born clutter-killer, you're not impressed.  It's okay though, because there are probably a few others out there that need these basic stream-lining tips spelled out for them-- just like I needed it.

And now for the recipe...

Source:  Cooking Light (April, 2010)

Ingredients:

4 pork chops

1 T, and 2 tsp. fresh lime juice, divided

4 slices of pineapple (1/2" thick)

1  medium red onion, cut into 1/2" think slices

1 T minced jalapeno-- Since I already had a jar of sliced jalapenos, I just scooped a tablespoon of these onto my cutting board, then diced them up.  There, confession over.

Salt and Pepper

Directions:

1.  Combine pork and 1 T. of lime juice; let stand for 10 minutes.

2.  Heat grill pan over medium-high heat.  (I do not own a grill pan-- just 2 skillets. Since I wanted a little bit of a sear to the food, I opted for the stainless steel skillet.)

3.  Coat pan with cooking spray.  (Don't use cooking spray on stainless-- I used a little bit of olive oil). Add pineapple and onion; cook on each side for 4 minutes, or till onion is tender.

4. Coarsely chop pineapple and onion; combine in a medium bowl with remaining 2 tsp. of lime juice, jalapeno, and 1/8 tsp. of salt. 

5.  Sprinkle pork chops with 1/2 tsp. of salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper (I used less than this... don't like to over-season meat).

6.  Heat grill pan over medium-high heat (Again, I only have the skillet.) Add pork, and cook on each side for 4 minutes, or till done.

Verdict: I liked it, but too adventurous for The Mr.

He loves pineapple, but wasn't crazy about the fact that it was hot.  Like pineapple on pizza, it just didn't feel right to him.  I must agree, the texture of the pineapple took a couple of bites to overcome.  If I had had a grill pan available, that may have altered the texture of the fruit for the better.  Nonetheless, the flavors were great together, but I don't know that I'll be making this again for the two of us. 

CrockPot Pork Chops and Veggies

It's cold.

I know, I know! I'm a sissy.  But seriously, when the temperatures get to 35 degrees and lower, all I want to do is eat hot, gravy-covered, stick-to-your-ribs kind of meals.

Like this one. 

Ingredients:

4-6 pork chops (I used 4 boneless chops)

4-5 potatoes (but I only had 3)

1 onion, sliced

3-4 carrots, peeled and sliced

2-3 celery stalks

1 can of either cream of mushroom or cream of celery soup (I used cream of celery because it needed to be used up!)

Salt and Pepper to taste. 

Directions:

Grease the slow cooker.

Add onion, potatoes, carrots, celery, pork chops, salt and pepper, and soup (in that order). 

Cook on LOW for 6-8 hours. (It smelled "ready" by 6 hours, but we ate it closer to 8 hours because The Mr. was sleeping off a cold)

Verdict: Keeper, but needs revision

This was definitely not my finest first-time try with a recipe.  But I will try it again sometime, because it has potential.  Here is what I may do for the future:

1.  Add another can of soup to the mix.

2.  Season the chops themselves before putting them in the slow cooker.  The meat was good, just kind of bland.  Also, I may consider putting the onions on top of the pork next time, so the meat can absorb some of the flavor.

3.  This version cooked for too long-- next time, I'll eat it closer to 6 hours than 8.