Crock Pot Ribs

I think my crock pot is replacing my Kitchenaid as my favorite kitchen appliance. Sorry Kitchenaid. Hopefully I'll have more time for you soon. I'm figuring out that meat is really easy to cook and I actually enjoy it. I still don't think I'll eat it though.


Ingredients:
3 pounds ribs (I actually don't know what kind I used. The butcher just told me they're the best)
1 teaspoon steak seasoning
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 cup barbecue sauce
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup Teriyaki sauce 
1/4 cup soy sauce 
1/4 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon minced garlic


1. Mix the steak seasoning, garlic salt, black pepper, and chili powder in a small bowl. Rub the ribs with mixture and place in the bottom of your crock pot. 


2. In another bowl, mix the barbecue sauce, Worcestershire sauce, Teriyaki sauce, soy sauce, orange juice, and minced garlic. Pour mixture over the ribs and cook on low for 8 hours, or high for 5-6 hours. Serve with mashed potatoes.

Cake Bites

I know these are everywhere now but my mom has been making them for years. They're a perfect little bite-sized treat. Everyone loves them. 

Ingredients:

1 box any flavor cake mix

1 jar any flavor frosting

Whatever ingredients the cake mix calls for (usually eggs, vegetable oil, and water)

Chocolate chips or chocolate candy melts

Sprinkles (optional)

1. Bake the cake as directed on the box. Let cool. 


2. Once the cake has cooled completely, crumble it all up in a bowl. 

3. Add the whole jar of frosting. Mix well. 

4. Roll the cake mixture into little bite sized balls and place on a cookie sheet. Put them in the freezer. Meanwhile, melt the chocolate. If you have a double boiler, use that. If you're like me, use 2 different sized pans. Fill the larger pan with about 2 inches of water. Bring to a boil and put the smaller pan (with the chocolate) on top of it. Stir constantly to keep from burning. 

5. Take the cake out of the freezer. Dip them one by one into the chocolate. I put them on a fork so the extra chocolate will just drip back into the pan. You can also put them on toothpicks or sucker sticks so they're more like cake pops. Decorate them with sprinkles, or candy, or you can pipe more chocolate on them. There's a million options. Be creative!

Vegetarian Lasagna

This recipe sort of comes from Betty Crocker. Only sort of because I never measure and it's never really the same. My measurements are guesses but it doesn't really need to be exact. I'm pretty proud of this particular one because of the little crunchy bits on the edges. 

Ingredients:
1 package Morning Star Farms Meal Starters Grillers Recipe Crumbles 
1 medium onion, chopped
3 or 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
3 tablespoons parsley
1 tablespoon basil
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon sugar
1 can tomato sauce
1 can diced tomatoes
8 lasagna noodles (I prefer the ones you don't have to cook ahead of time)
1 15 oz. container ricotta cheese
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon oregano 
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese


1. In a large skillet, cook Crumbles, onion, and garlic over medium heat until onion is soft but not browned. 


2. Stir in the basil, Italian seasoning, tomatoes, and tomato sauce. Heat to boiling, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for about 45 minutes, or until sauce has thickened. 


3. Heat oven to 350. If you're using the kind of noodles you have to cook first, cook now according to package directions. 


4. In a small bowl, mix the ricotta, half the Parmesan, and the oregano. 


5. In an ungreased 12 X 9ish glass pan, spread half the tomato mixture. Top with 4 noodles. Spread half of the ricotta mixture on top of the noodles. Sprinkle with half the mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers, ending with mozzarella. Sprinkle the remaining Parmesan on top. Cover and bake 30 minutes. Uncover and bake another 15 minutes.  

Frozen Burritos

Remember black bean salsa? And the best pot roast? Just wrap those up in a tortilla with some cheese and rice and you have a delicious burrito. You can put whatever you want in them. They're perfect to pack for lunches. 

When I assemble, I like to keep everything in a nice line going down the middle of the tortilla so it's easier to wrap. 

I learned how to fold burritos from my good friend Adam Heinrichsen. Here's what you do. First, fold in the sides that are at the ends of your line. 

Hold those ends down and fold one of the remaining sides over.

Wrap it up tightly and tuck it under as you go.

Keep wrapping it until it's a burrito!

Place all your burritos in a single layer on a lightly greased baking sheet. Put them in the freezer until they are completely frozen. I'm not really sure how long it takes. I left mine in for about 3 hours to be on the safe side. Once they're frozen, take them out and wrap them individually in foil or plastic wrap. I made half of them vegetarian. If you make any different flavors, be sure to label them. Put them back in the freezer and when you want to eat one, unwrap it and heat it in the microwave at 70% power for about a minute and a half. 

Better-Than-My-Mom's Pot Roast

Sorry, mom. I heard it from a very unbiased source. He happens to also be my husband. I tried really hard to get a good photo but no matter what I did, it looked like a piece of poop. 


My husband went back to work this week. We work pretty much opposite schedules now and he doesn't want to cook. I'm trying a whole bunch of new things that can be made ahead of time. This worked out perfectly because I just left in it the crock pot when I went to work and it was ready for him when he got home. And he loved it. And it was my first pot roast. Just sayin...


Here's where I found it. 

Ingredients:

1 (2 to 3 pound) blade cut chuck roast
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons cumin
Vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
5 to 6 cloves garlic, smashed
1 cup tomato juice
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1 cup cocktail olives, drained and broken

Coat a heavy skillet with olive oil and heat over high heat for 2 minutes. Meanwhile, rub both sides of meat with the salt and cumin. When the pan is very hot, brown the roast on all sides and remove.

Add just a little more vegetable oil to the pan then add the onion and garlic. Stir constantly until onion is softened, being careful not to brown the garlic. Add the tomato juice, vinegar and olives. Bring to a boil and reduce the liquid by half.

Add half of the tomato juice mixture to the bottom of a crockpot. Add the roast, and then top with the remaining mixture. Turn crockpot to high for one hour. Then reduce heat to low and cook for another 4 to 6 hours.

Here's the part my husband had to do. This was easy enough even for him. 

Remove the meat from the crockpot, cover and let rest for at least 1/2 hour.

Drain all of the liquid from the crockpot and put in a blender or food processor. Puree.

Slice meat thinly, or pull apart with a fork. Serve with sauce over egg noodles or rice.


Since we only have one meat-eater in our house, I cut up what he didn't eat and put it in burritos.