Crockpot BBQ Ribs

If you have time to marinate the ribs ahead of time, put in plastic zip lock and marinate with 1/2-3/4 of the bottle of bbq sauce overnight or a few hours before putting in the crockpot. I didn’t get a chance to do that for this first attempt.

Ingredients:
- 1 rack pork baby back ribs
- 1 bottle store-bought bbq sauce

Directions:
1. Cut the rack in half so it fits in the slow cooker/crockpot. Stack them in the pot meat side up.
2. Rub 1/2 - 3/4 of the bottle of bbq sauce on both sides of the ribs.
3. Set the slow cooker on LOW for 6-8 hrs, or on HIGH for 4-6 hrs.
4. Serve with remaining bbq sauce, or smother on ribs at the end.

Parmesan Fish Sticks

Sun and I were watching the FoodNetwork and saw Giada make these fish sticks. They looked so easy to make and they’re baked, so we decided to try to make it. It turned out great! The original recipe said to bake for 15-20 minutes but it dried out the salmon, so at 10 minutes it turned out perfect.

Ingredients
1 (18-ounce) center-cut salmon fillet, about 9 by 4 inches, skinned
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 egg whites
1 cup grated Parmesan
1 cup seasoned bread crumbs
Olive oil, for drizzling

Dipping Sauce
1/3 cup reduced fat mayonnaise
1/3 cup lowfat plain yogurt
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley or chives (or dried if that’s all you have)

For the Fish Sticks: Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Rinse the salmon fillet and pat dry with paper towels. Cut the fish in half to make 2 fillets each about 4 by 4 1/2-inches in size. Starting on the longest edge, slice the fillets into 1/2-inch pieces. Lay the widest pieces, from the center, cut side down, and slice in half lengthways so all the pieces are equally about 1/2 by 1/2 by 4 1/2-inches in size.

Place the flour in a medium bowl and season with the salt and pepper. Place the egg whites in another bowl and beat until frothy, about 30 seconds. Combine the Parmesan and bread crumbs in a third bowl.

Coat the salmon pieces in the seasoned flour and pat to remove any excess flour. Dip the floured salmon in the egg whites and then into the Parmesan mixture, gently pressing the mixture into the fish. Place the breaded salmon pieces on a liberally oiled baking sheet. Drizzle lightly with the olive oil. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes until golden brown.

For the Dipping Sauce:

Mix the mayonnaise, yogurt, Dijon mustard, and parsley (or chives, if using) in a small dipping bowl.

Arrange the fish sticks on a serving platter and serve with the dipping sauce.

Cook’s Note: The fish sticks can also be dipped in ketchup, marinara sauce, pesto, ranch dressing or vinaigrette.

Vietnamese BBQ Marinade

This is Sun’s mom’s famous marinade used best when BBQ’d. NOTE: for 20lbs of meat, use 3/4 cup of fish sauce, for 16lbs of meat, use 1/4-1/2 cup fish sauce.

We normally pick up a package of boneless, skinless chicken breast and a package of beef tri-tip steak at Costco. Usually ends up being about 16-20lbs of meat.

Ingredients:
20 lbs. Meat (Beef tri-tip or chicken thighs skinless & boneless)
¾ cup Fish sauce
5 cloves Garlic, minced
2 tbsp Garlic powder
1 cup Teriyaki sauce
2 tbsp Sesame seeds
1 tbsp Pepper
2 tbsp Brown sugar
1 bunch Green onions, chopped
1 cup Oil

Thai Beef Salad (Part II)

I saw Ellie Krieger on the Food Network make this Thai Beef Salad, so I gave it a try. The marinade is really good! I think I like it better then the Thai Beef Salad recipe I posted up a while ago (which is a lemongrass and soy sauce marinade). In this recipe, I also like how you reserve some of the marinade for the dressing.

* I didn’t have ginger or red curry paste/chili garlic sauce. It was fine without it *

Ingredients:
1 pound top-round London broil or flank steak, about 1 to 1 1/2-inches thick
3 tablespoons lime juice, divided
3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
3 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 1/2 teaspoons minced ginger (optional)
1 1/4 teaspoons red curry paste or chili-garlic sauce (optional)
1/2 head red-leaf lettuce, torn (about 6 cups)
3 shallots, thinly sliced (about 1/2 cup), divided, for garnish
1/2 cup cilantro leaves, rinsed and dried
1 cup basil leaves, sliced into ribbon

Directions:
1. Rinse and pat the meat dry. Place in a sealable plastic bag or small glass dish. In a medium bowl combine 1 tablespoon of the lime juice, soy sauce, canola oil, brown sugar, garlic, ginger and red curry paste. Pour half the mixture into the bag with the meat. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons lime juice to the bag. Seal tightly, and marinate meat in refrigerator at least 4 hours or overnight, turning occasionally. Reserve the rest of the mixture refrigerated, to dress the salad.

2. Spray grill or grill pan with cooking spray and preheat. Grill steak until medium-rare, about 5 minutes per side, depending on desired doneness. Let rest until room temperature then slice thinly against the grain.

3. Combine lettuce, sliced shallot, cilantro, basil and beef in a salad bowl, reserving a few shallots for garnish. Add the reserved dressing and toss to coat. Divide salad among 4 plates and garnish with reserved sliced shallots.

Ketchup Spaghetti

My mom makes Ketchup Macaroni, which is macarni pasta, ground beef, onions, ketchup and sugar. I don’t usually have ground beef handy, so when I crave this, I just do a more simple version. Some may think it’s weird, but you’d be surprise how many recipes there are out there for ketchup spaghetti (or ketchup + any type of pasta).

I had a strong craving for this today — and I happened to have some leftover spaghetti so I decided to whip this up real quick. Took me just a minute to make.

Ingredients:
- Spaghetti (or any type/shape of pasta)
- Ketchup
- Sugar

Directions:
1. Cook pasta, al dante. Rinse and drain. Return pasta to stove top over medium-high heat.
2. Add ketchup (enough to coat the amount of pasta you have, add a little at a time to make sure you don’t drown the pasta).
3. Sprinkle a spoonful of sugar to taste (add more if you like it sweeter, or less if you prefer more of the ketchup tangy/saltiness). Once spaghetti is heated through, enjoy!

Pasta Puttanesca

I got this recipe from the Food Network. I wanted this dish to be meatier since Sun doesn’t like veggie dishes, so I added chicken sausage since I can’t eat regular sausage (nitrates + pregnant woman = bad idea). Add whatever ingredients you want — next time I’m trying shrimp. I also couldn’t find arugula so I substituted it with baby spinach, which turned out perfect! I omitted the parsley and capers because I don’t care for it. Oh, and if you can find Barilla Plus spaghetti, I suggested getting that over whole-wheat pasta. It tastes just like regular pasta and it has all the nutritious stuff.

Ingredients:
8 ounces whole-wheat thin spaghetti, vermicelli or angel hair
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup pitted chopped Spanish or Greek olives
1 teaspoon anchovy paste
1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves or 1 teaspoon dried
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes, preferably “no salt added”
3/4 cup chopped fresh arugula (or baby spinach)
3-4 sausage links (optional)
1/3 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley (optional)
2 tablespoons capers (optional)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan (optional)

Directions:
1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add pasta (half a box is good for 4 people) and cook al dente. Drain and rinse in cold water, then set aside.

2. While the pasta is cooking, heat the oil in a large skillet over a medium flame. If you are using sausage, pan fry to cook through, then set aside. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the parsley, olives, capers, anchovy paste, oregano and crushed red pepper to the skillet, and saute for 2 minutes more.

3. Add the tomatoes and simmer for about 5 minutes. Add cooked sausage and spaghetti. Stir in the arugula and simmer for 1 minute more, until the greens wilt slightly. Top with grated cheese.

Steak Tacos

After Sara’s Steak & Fish Taco BBQ party last summer, I’ve been wanting to start making the steak taco’s at home. This recipe is from the FoodNetwork and I’ve use it many times. It’s an easy marinade for flank or skirt steak.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup soy sauce
4 scallions, washed and cut in 1/2
2 large cloves garlic
1/4 cup lime juice
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar or Mexican brown sugar
2 pounds skirt or flank steak

Directions:
1. In a blender, put in oil, soy sauce, scallions, garlic, lime juice, red pepper, cumin, and sugar and puree. In a large heavy duty, zip top bag, put pieces of skirt steak and pour in marinade. Seal bag, removing as much air as possible. Allow steak to marinate for 1 hour in refrigerator.
*You don’t need a blender, just toss the ingredients in a bag and let it marinate*

2. Preheat oven to BROIL, place rack about 4″ from the top. Put steak on a foil-lined pan.

3. Cook for about 5minutes on each side, until medium-rare inside. Let steak rest for 5 minutes. Then slice into thin pieces (against the grain).

Serve with soft corn tortillas, guacamole, pico de gallo or salsa, sour cream, cheese, hot sauce — whatever your heart desires!

Chicken with Tomatoes and Mushrooms

Also known as Chicken cacciatore. This recipe was found on MarthaStewart.com found here. This was really easy to make and Sun liked it (who really does not like tomatoes). I used a can of “Italian-style” stewed tomatoes (it has garlic, basil, and oregano) and it made the dish really tasty.

Serves: 2-4

Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, about 1 1/2 pounds
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound mushrooms, trimmed and quartered
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 can (14.5 ounces) stewed tomatoes
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

Directions:
1. Season chicken with salt and pepper. In a large (5-quart) saucepan with a tight-fitting lid, heat oil over medium-high heat; swirl to coat bottom of pan. Cook chicken, turning when it easily releases from the pan, until golden, 4 to 6 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

2. Add mushrooms; cover, and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, tomatoes, and oregano. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook, covered, until tomatoes have broken down, 10 to 15 minutes.

3. Return chicken and any accumulated juices to pan; cover, and cook until chicken is opaque throughout, 4 to 6 minutes. Turn chicken to coat with sauce, and serve.

Baked Macaroni & Cheese

I got this recipe from CampbellsKitchen.com and it was really easy to make. I love mac-n-cheese that’s really creamy/saucy. Sun and I LOVE the mac-n-cheese at Boston Market, and this dish reminded us of it. I’m also a fan of mac-n-cheese straight from the box (Kraft!). I prefer the runny, artificial cheese vs thick/rich/oily fancy melted cheese.

Ingredients:
1 can (10 3/4 oz.) Campbell’s® Condensed Cheddar Cheese Soup
1/2 can soup milk
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cups hot cooked corkscrew-shaped pasta OR medium shell-shaped pasta
1 tablespoon dry bread crumbs
2 teaspoons butter OR margarine, melted

Directions:
1. Mix soup, milk, black pepper and pasta in 1-qt. baking dish.
2. Mix bread crumbs and butter and sprinkle over pasta mixture.
3. Bake at 400°F. for 20 min. or until hot.

One Dish Chicken & Rice Bake

I got this recipe from CampbellsKitchen.com. It reminds me of my mom’s tuna casserole, but with chicken. This recipe is word-for-word off their site, so I won’t change it. BUT, I will add some suggestions on how to make the chicken a bit tastier (it was a little bland in this recipe but it really was quick and easy to make).

Ingredients:
1 can (10 3/4 oz.) Campbell’s® Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 cup water *
3/4 cup uncooked regular long-grain white rice
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

Directions:
*If you have time, sprinkle salt, pepper, and garlic powder on the chicken, then brown on both sides before you add it to the baking dish (only 2 minutes on each side on high heat, don’t cook it through)*

1. Mix soup, water, rice, paprika and black pepper in 2-qt. shallow baking dish. Top with chicken. Season with additional paprika and pepper. Cover (if you have the lid for the baking dish/casserole, use it! It cooks the chicken faster).

2. Bake at 375°F. 45 min. or until done.

*For creamier rice, increase water to 1 1/3 cups.