Baby Back Ribs

I woke up this morning to a blanket of snow of on the ground. The view from our bedroom window portrayed that the roads must be covered in snow and dangerous. I was proven wrong when I looked out the kitchen window to see that our lane was clear. I scrambled and got ready for work. No day off for me.

I decided to tackle making baby back ribs for dinner and found out that they are very easy to make. Yipee... bring on summer.

 Saute shallots and add brown sugar to caramelize. Add remaining ingredients and you have a delicious BBQ sauce. Baste ribs with sauce and bake until tender, then throw on the grill for 10 minutes.

Baby Back Ribs

1 rack of baby back ribs (about 2.5 lbs.)

BBQ Sauce

1 Tbsp. butter

1 shallot, sliced

1/4 cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 brandy

1/2 cup A1 thick steak sauce (regular would work fine)

2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp. stone ground mustard

1/4 tsp. salt

2 pinches of red pepper flakes

In a skillet melt butter, add shallots and saute until soft. Add brown sugar and cook until slightly caramelized. Add brandy and stir until combined. Add steak sauce, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, salt and pepper flakes.

Cut ribs into two sections. Baste with 1/2 cup of BBQ sauce. Place in a 9" x 13" baking dish, meat side down. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 for 1 hr and 15 minutes or until fork tender. Turn grill on medium heat and baste ribs with remaining sauce. Grill until crispy and heat through- around 10 minutes. Watch closely, with the thick sauce they will easily burn. If you have sauce left over warm and serve with ribs.

Enjoy,

Hope

Ladies Retreat

I just got home from a ladies retreat... one retreat I will never forget. We had a wonderful time of Bible study and building relationships. I will never forget it because it was a great getaway- but mostly will remember a house full of women with no electricity or running water. Merilyn, our avid camper, wasn't worried a bit. She started to melt snow and boil it for drinking water. Some walked to the lake for water and filled buckets to flush toilets. Thankfully, there was a gas fireplace and gas stove top. I tailored the food to cooking it on top of the stove and at night we had jugs of water lit up by a candle for light. 

I took lots of photos the first day when all was well with electricity, but after the power went out I wasn't real worried about capturing the event. Here are some photos I managed to take...

 Sweet fellowship.

 Abundant food.

 A cooking show by Michelle and Sheila. Thanks ladies.

There were babies to be loved. 

LOVE Gavin's peek-a-boo skills.

More fun.

The storm came and...

... we survived!

Blessings,

Hope

A Luncheon

Last Tuesday I was invited to my Aunt's house for a luncheon to celebrate Lynette's birthday (happy) and to get together before Charity moved to Indiana (sad).

My sister stayed in Virginia for a year and now has moved to, Indiana, were her husband was formally from. I will cherish the year she lived here forever. After she was away in Bolivia for 8 years it was so much fun to have her next door. But I must, I must move on and not be sad- think positive, Hope, think positive. 

Here are some photos from the luncheon... as you can see it was quite lovely and tasty, too.

 Delectable dainties.

Aunties, Nieces and a few boys mixed in.

Sweet little cousins.

The best photo out of 40, yes, I counted.

Children never cease to amaze me, if I were a pink elephant maybe they

would look at me long enough for a good picture. I guess I'm not.

Now, I'm off to a ladies retreat for 2 days.

I get to be the cook and I am super excited.

Blessings,

Hope

Cornmeal Crusted Chicken Tenders

Chicken tenders were on sale at the local grocery store this week- so I whipped up some pan fried chicken tenders. Instead of dredging them in just flour I tossed in a little cornmeal and loved the crunch and flavor it added.

I like different sauces so I created a trio of dipping sauces- stone ground honey mustard, southwest and honey BBQ. 

Cornmeal Crusted Chicken Tenders

12-14 chicken tenders

4 Tbsp. butter

1 cup flour

1/3 cup cornmeal

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

salt and pepper

Combine flour and cornmeal on a plate. In another bowl whisk together egg and milk. Coat chicken tenders in egg mixture, then dredge in flour mixture.

Coat again in egg mixture and then the flour mixture. This creates a nice 

thick layer of crunch. Melt butter in skillet and add chicken tenders.

Sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper. Fry until golden brown.

Serve with dipping sauces of your choice.

I used my honey BBQ wing recipe for the BBQ sauce.

Stone ground mustard and honey for the honey mustard

and for the southwest I mixed together Mayo, a little

ketchup, a squirt of lemon juice, and a

sprinkle of garlic powder and paprika. 

Enjoy,

Hope

Herb Crusted Rack of Pork

Have you ever stood in the meat aisle at a grocery store and thought a cut of meat looked fun but overwhelming? How do I season it? How do I cook it? Will it be tough?

Yes, I have.

I took the plunge this Valentines and bought a rack of pork. It turned out lovely thanks to my new, digital meat thermometer. 

 It's real simple. Coat with herbs and roast until the temperature reaches 145.

Let pork rest for 5 minutes so the juices can slowly go back into the meat.

Go here for the recipe.

I roasted the pork on 450 for 15 minutes to brown the outside and then

turned it back to 350 until the temperature read 145.

Have you cooked a rack of pork before?

A rack of pork is bone-in, fresh pork loin.

Blessings,

Hope

Valentines Day Ideas

If any of you are like me... after several years of trying to beat the crowds in restaurants on Valentines evening, I grew weary of it. Don't get me wrong- I love to eat out, but standing in line, elbow to elbow for an hour just isn't worth it. Neither is it romantic.

Those of you wanting to stay home and and enjoy a peaceful dinner for two- here are some dinner ideas.

1. Creamy Italian Chicken 2. Grilled London Broil 3. Cajun Grilled Shrimp

4. Chicken Marsala 5. Shrimp Alfredo 6. Marvelous Mac & Cheese

7. Parmesan and Chive Potatoes 8. Rosemary Roasted Veggies

9. Delectable Green Beans 10. Chocolate Chip Cookie Sandwiches

11. Mini Cheesecakes 12. Chocolate Dipped Strawberries 

13. Triple Chocolate Tiramisu 14. White Chocolate Blondie 

15. Strawberry Meringue Cake

Happy Valentines to all,

Hope

The Best Grilled Cheese Sandwich Ever

I am having a relaxing day off- just puttering around doing the 'put off' jobs like cleaning out the fridge and freezer.

After my puttering I grew hungry... and remembered a glorious, grilled cheese sandwich I once had at my friend Amy's house. A grilled cheese with her homemade bread, bacon and avocado. I had all those components except her homemade bread. Honey wheat from the freezer took it's place.

Fry some nice, thick bacon in a skillet. Pour the grease from the skillet and leave a touch for frying your grilled cheese. Spread bread with a thin layer of mayo, top with cheese and bacon. I used Cheddar and Havarti cheese. Turn your skillet on low. If you fry your sandwich too fast the cheese will not melt. I covered the skillet until the cheese looked melted. Then turn up the heat to get that nice grilled flavor. Remove from skillet and open your sandwich. Lay half of a sliced avocado and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Lay top back on and slice diagonal.

Duke is not allowed in the house and he knows it- technically he is not the whole way in the house. Crazy dog.

Bursting with flavor. This grilled cheese beats all.

Now I must get back to work.

How do you like your grilled cheese sandwich?

Blessings,

Hope