I was watching one of my favorite new Food Network shows, Five Ingredient Fix, the other night and Claire made Red Wine Braised Short Ribs. The dish looked AMAZING and seemed really simple. I can't believe I've never BRAISED anything before! I guess I always thought that you had to use one of those fancy (and expensive!) Le Creuset pots (which I totally intend to put on our Wedding Registry BTW!) but after some research I found that any non-stick heavy pot will work! I decided that Friday night would be a good "first time braising night" so I went and bought a good slab of pork ribs. After browsing through an endless number of Braised Ribs recipes, I finally put together my own. It was a total success! In fact, Greg loved it SO much that I decided to create another "braised meal" Sunday night. This time I bought some beef back ribs and added onions and mushrooms. I also experimented with different flavors by adding some cumin and curry to the mix. SO good! Both nights, I served the meat over a very simple polenta, which soaked up some of the sauce and was a wonderful pairing to the tender meat!
Ingredients: (2 servings)
2 lbs pork ribs
1 Tbsp salt
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp crushed garlic
2 bottles dark ale (I used Sierra Nevada)
1/2 c red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp maple syrup
1 c BBQ sauce
Prep:
1. Cut ribs into individual pieces and sprinkle each liberally with salt.
2. In a large Dutch oven, cook the garlic and oil on medium-high. When the garlic begins to sizzle, add the ribs and brown each side (2-3 minutes per side). When the ribs finish browning, transfer them to a plate.
3. Add 1/2 cup of the ale to deglaze the pot. Add back the ribs and pour enough of the remaining ale to cover the ribs. Add the vinegar, syrup and sugar and stir well. Bring the pot up to a simmer, reduce the heat to low, and cook for an hour.
Ingredients: (2 servings)
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 lb beef back ribs, cut into 4 pieces
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp black pepper
2 c beef broth
1 c dry red wine
1 large onion, diced (2 cups)
1/2 c slice mushrooms
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp curry powder
Prep:
1. Season short ribs with salt and pepper. Heat oil in s Dutch oven over high heat. When oil is hot and sizzling, brown the meat about 5 minutes each side. Remove to a plate.
2. Add onions and cook until browned, about 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
3. Return beef to the pot along with mushrooms, broth, herbs and wine. Allow mixture to come to a boil; reduce heat, simmer over very low heat until meat is fork tender and nearly falling off the bone, about 1 hour.
Easy Creamy Polenta Recipe
Ingredients: (4 servings)
2 c water
Salt to taste
1/2 c yellow cornmeal
2 Tbsp butter
1/2 c sour cream
1/4 c Parmesan cheese, grated
Prep:
1. Heat water lightly seasoned with salt to a boil over high heat, about 5 minutes. Quickly whisk in the cornmeal until fully incorporated.
2. Lower the heat to a low simmer, add the butter and allow the cornmeal to cook, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes.
3. Finish by stirring in the sour cream and Parmesan.
I love the combination of the sweet white chocolate with tart raspberries in this bread. It totally reminds me of summer! This butter-less bread is definitely a healthy treat with the whole wheat flour and very little oil. Don't you just love it when you can feel GOOD about eating bread?
Ingredients:
1 c all purpose flour
1 c whole wheat flour
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 c sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 Tbsp vegetable oil
3/4 c milk
1-1/2 c raspberries, fresh or frozen
1/2 c white chocolate chips
1/2 c chopped pecan
Prep:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder and salt. In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, egg, vanilla and vegetable oil until smooth. Stir in 1/2 of flour mixture and all of the milk. Stir in the rest of the flour mixture until just combined. Stir in the raspberries, chocolate chips and pecan.
3. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour, or until a tester comes out clean when inserted into the center of the loaf. Turn loaf out onto a wire rack and cool completely before slicing.
Salmon Cakes are a great way to use up canned salmon, which can sometimes taste a bit too fish, especially if they're in water. The last time I made some, I saved a couple for my mom and she loved them. So this time I thought I'd make some Asian-style Salmon Cakes just for her. I pretty much used every "Asian" ingredient I had and they came out really good! The ginger paste I used was from Gourmet Garden, which comes in a tube and lasts forever! The trick is to refrigerate the patties for at least 30 minutes so they don't fall apart as your cook them. I kept mine in the fridge overnight and they stayed together even when I flipped them.
Ingredients: (4 patties)
2 cans (5-6 oz each) salmon, drained & flaked
2 tsp ginger paste
2 Tbsp chopped green onion
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp Teriyaki sauce
1/2 c crushed saltine crackers
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
Prep:
1. In a medium bowl, mix together the salmon, ginger, green onions, lemon juice, soy sauce and Teriyaki sauce using a rubber spatula. Stir in the crackers and eggs and mix to combine.
2. Dividing the salmon mixture evenly; form into 4 1-inch thick patties. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or overnight before cooking.
3. In a large, heavy skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the salmon patties and cook until golden brown on one side, about 3 minutes. Flip and cook until opaque throughout and golden brown on the other side, about 3 minutes longer.
Cheesecake Bars! For some reason I had cheeesecake on my mind so when I saw this recipe for Cheesecake Bars on one of my favorite blogs, Cookie Madness, I knew I had to make them! I love the fact that she saved some of the crust mixture for the topping cuz it gave these bars such a nice crunch. The cheesecake layer was so creamy and not too sweet, just the way I like it! I cut mine into 16 squares and they're the perfect bite-size treat!
I made these Savory Corn Muffins from Dorie Greenspan's Baking: From My Home to Yours over a year ago and wanted to try them again. This time I decided to put my own spin on it by adding some chopped ham to the mix and topping them with some shredded cheese for extra goodness! This is definitely a meal in a muffin!
Ingredients: (12 muffins)
1 c all-purpose flour
1 c yellow cornmeal
3 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 c buttermilk
1 stick (8 Tbsp) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 large egg yolk
1/2 c corn kernels
1/2 c chopped ham
1/4 c shredded cheese
Prep:
1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease or line 12 muffin cups.
2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, salt, baking soda and black pepper.
3. In a large glass measuring cup, whisk the buttermilk, melted butter and egg yolk together until well blended. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients. Gently stir to blend. Stir in corn and ham. Batter will be lumpy.
4. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups. Top with cheese. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the tops are golden and a thin knife inserted into the center comes out clean.
I've been looking forward to the left-over meatballs from Saturday so spaghetti and meatballs were on the menu tonight. You can't go wrong with this meal and it took no time at all! Now I just wish we had more meatballs!
I LOVE LOVE LOVE Goldfish Crackers so when I saw this new Garden Cheedar flavor, I grabbed a bag right away. Besides being made from whole grains, these yummy crackers even count toward your veggie servings! Ok so an entire serving of Goldfish only counts as 1/3 of a veggie serving, but it's better than nothing. I'll definitely be buying more of these AND feeling better about eating them!
