Several people wanted the recipes for the food I virtually served at Friday Night’s VGNO…so here you go! And yes, my crock pot is currently cooking up BBQ ribs for our dinner later… 😉
Easy Crock Pot BBQ Ribs
Every time I make BBQ Ribs, I make them in the Slow Cooker. Why? Because they always turn out so good! Never dried out, fall-off-the-bone tender. Can’t ask for better! And it’s so very easy…I usually get a rack of baby back’s or short ribs or some such type of rib that happen to be on sale. This year I got pork baby back ribs to cook for today’s Memorial Day dinner. I have a Hamilton Beach ‘Stay or Go’ 6 quart slow cooker that I love – it’s oblong in shape, so it fits things like roasts and ribs so much easier.
INGREDIENTS
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1-2 Racks |
Baby Back or Spare Ribs |
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1-2 Bottles |
BBQ Sauce (your favorite) |
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Ground Cinnamon (optional) |
DIRECTIONS
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1. |
If your ribs have the membrane on the back, you can remove this first (sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t, depending on how much of a hurry I am to get the crock pot put together…your guests will thank you if you remove the membrane, it makes it easier to eat without it…I don’t remove it if we don’t have company coming over.). |
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2. |
Cut the ribs if necessary to fit in your crock pot – I usually cut them into 2-rib sections, just to make sure the BBQ sauce absorbs into all the ribs better. |
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3. |
Rinse the ribs and pat dry, placing them into your crock pot (hint: coat the inside of your slow cooker with a layer of cooking spray (I use Olive Oil spray) it makes for much easier clean up later!). |
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4. |
Dust your ribs with ground cinnamon (optional – this is something my great grandmother used to do all the time, so I have always done this…adds a little extra ‘something’ to the finished ribs). |
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5. |
Cook on low for 6-8+ hours (the timing all depends on how ‘hot’ your crock pot cooks. Mine usually gets done in about 6 hours, and if we’re not ready to eat at that time, I’ll turn it to ‘warm’ for the duration). |
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6. |
Remove and serve. See? Easy! 🙂 |
The Best (boiled) Corn on the Cob
INGREDIENTS
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8 cups |
water |
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2 cups |
milk |
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1 tablespoon |
sugar |
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6 ears |
fresh corn, shucked and silk removed |
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butter (to taste) |
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salt (to taste) |
DIRECTIONS
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1. |
Place the water, milk, and sugar in a large, heavy pot and bring to a rolling boil over high heat. |
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2. |
Add the corn, reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook until tender, about 5 to 8 minutes. |
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3. |
Remove the pot from the heat and let stand until needed. |
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4. |
Drain and serve hot with butter and salt to taste. |
Why add milk and sugar? According to my Swedish great-grandmother, when you add milk to the liquid in which you cook corn on the cob, it keeps the kernels from becoming bitter – the sugar also brings out the corn’s natural sweetness. Princess Nagger tends to avoid vegetables at all costs – but she loves corn on the cob and will eat 2 or 3 ears in one sitting, so it apparently does the trick! 😉 Note: Do not add salt to the boiling water – it tends to counteract the benefit of putting milk in the water. Simply add salt to taste when you’re ready to eat.
If I’m cooking fresh ears of corn on the grill, I usually leave them in their natural state, but I do pull back the husks and add butter so it permeates thoroughly while grilling. The other option is to shuck them and remove the silk, wash and pat dry, then slather them with butter and wrap them in foil to add to the grill.
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Steak & Mushroom Kebabs with Wasabi Ginger Dressing
INGREDIENTS
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3 pounds |
sirloin steak cut into 2 inch cubes |
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1/4 cup |
dry sherry |
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1/2 cup |
soy sauce |
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2 tablespoons |
toasted sesame oil |
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3 tablespoons |
rice wine vinegar |
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1/2 teaspoon |
wasabi paste |
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3 tablespoons |
peeled and finely chopped fresh ginger |
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24 |
large shiitake mushrooms, stems removed |
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2 |
large red peppers, seeded and cut into 1 inch squares |
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8 |
large metal skewers |
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Salt and pepper |
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DIRECTIONS
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1. |
Combine the sherry, soy, sesame oil, rice vinegar, wasabi paste and ginger in a bowl. Reserve 13 of the marinade for basting during cooking later. Add the sirloin cubes to the 23 remaining marinade and allow to marinate for 1-2 hours, refrigerated. |
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2. |
Drain the beef of excess marinade. Thread the sirloin cubes unto the skewers, alternating with a mushroom and a red pepper square, 2-3 pieces of beef, mushrooms, pepper per skewer. |
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3. |
Pre-heat an outdoor grill to medium heat by building a charcoal fire to one side or setting the gas burners to medium, pre-heating for 15-20 minutes. |
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4. |
Season the kebabs with salt and pepper. Place the kebabs on the hot grill, be aware of flame ups do to the dripping marinade. Carefully baste the kebabs with the reserved marinade. |
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5. |
Cook for 2-3 minutes per side, turning until all 4 sides of the beef cubes are thoroughly cooked. |
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6. |
Remove and serve. |
Honey Teriyaki Chickenwith Ripe Pineapple Spears and Black and White Rice Balls
INGREDIENTS
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2 cups |
water |
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1 tablespoon |
butter |
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1 teaspoon |
salt, eyeball it |
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1 rounded cup |
white rice |
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2 tablespoons |
black sesame seeds, toasted white sesame seeds may be substituted |
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4 |
boneless, skinless chicken breasts |
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4 |
boneless, skinless chicken thighs |
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Vegetable oil, for drizzling |
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Salt and pepper |
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1 cup |
chicken broth or water |
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1-inch |
ginger root, peeled and chopped |
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1/4 cup |
honey |
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1/2 cup |
teriyaki sauce |
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1 tablespoon |
toasted sesame oil |
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4 |
scallions, thinly sliced |
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1 |
ripe pineapple |
DIRECTIONS
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Preheat a grill pan or large griddle over medium high heat. |
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Bring water to a boil in a small covered pot. Add butter, salt and rice to the pot. Return the water to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and replace cover. Simmer 18 minutes and remove rice from heat. Take the lid off the pot to cool rice a bit. Scoop rice into balls with an ice cream scoop and your hands. Dampen hands with water to work with rice if it is very sticky. Set rice balls on a plate and sprinkle with black sesame seeds. |
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While your rice is cooking, lightly coat chicken with oil, salt and pepper. Place chicken on hot grill and cook 6 minutes on the first side. |
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While chicken is cooking, bring chicken broth and ginger to a boil. Stir in honey. When honey has dissolved into broth, add teriyaki sauce and sesame oil and reduce heat to simmer. |
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Turn chicken and coat liberally with honey teriyaki sauce using a basting brush. Cook chicken 4 minutes, turn again and baste liberally again with sauce, then cook 2 minutes longer. Remove chicken to a plate. Garnish chicken with sliced scallions. |
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While chicken cooks on the second side, peel and cut a ripe pineapple into 8 spears. Cut off top and bottom of pineapple. Set pineapple upright and trim away skin in strips from top to bottom. Halve pineapple lengthwise and quarter each 1/2, lengthwise. The core is edible, but may be trimmed if you wish. Pineapple can be very acidic. Spears set in cold water for just 1 minute will keep the fruit from stinging your lips when it is eaten. Serve with chicken and rice balls |
Tomato & Basil Pasta Salad
Prep: 25 minutes
Chill: 4 hours
INGREDIENTS
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8 ounces |
dried pasta (such as rotini, cavatelli, or penne) |
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6 ounces |
fresh green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces or 1 cup frozen cut green beans |
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3 |
medium tomatoes, cut into thin wedges (about 1 pound) |
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1 cup |
desired-flavor bottled vinaigrette salad dressing |
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3/4 cup |
finely shredded Parmesan cheese (3 ounces) |
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1/2 cup |
sliced pitted kalamata olives or ripe olives |
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1/2 cup |
finely shredded fresh basil |
| Shaved Parmesan cheese (optional) | |
DIRECTIONS
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Step 1. |
Cook pasta according to package directions, adding green beans the last 5 minutes of cooking; drain. Rinse with cold water; drain again. |
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Step 2. |
In a very large bowl toss together the pasta mixture, tomatoes, salad dressing, finely shredded cheese, olives, and basil. Cover and chill for 4 to 24 hours. Toss gently before serving. |
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Top with shaved Parmesan, if desired. |
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Makes 12 side-dish servings.
Nutrition facts per serving: 170 calories, 8 g total fat (2 g saturated fat), 4 mg cholesterol, 384 mg sodium, 19 g carbohydrates, 2 g dietary fiber, 5 g protein.
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And I found this through Martha of The Daily Grind:
How weird, I’m literally cooking ribs in the crockpot right now!!!
That pasta salad sounds good!
Alright!!!
Now I know what to contribute to the neighbors potluck today.
You've saved the day Stacy. Thanks :->
I didn’t know ribs could be done in the crock pot. Sounds delish.
Thanks for the rib recipe that was my favorite. Those look so yummy! TFS and playing along today.
Happy Memorial Day!
oh yummy! I love the looks of that chicken recipe.
Good gravy…you’ve out done the rest of us. Guess the party’s at your house 🙂
All the recipes look excellent! I will try the ribs this week!!
I have been looking for an easy rib recipe. The teriyaki kabobs also look fabulous!!!
I am bookmarking this post!!
I love how nicely you laid out the recipes. I’m going to try the pasta salad..
That pasta salad looks fantastic!
ok now I am hungry, very hungry!
OK.. so now you are making me,” the non cook, I don’t cook anymore.. “person want to cook!
Happy M Day!
Jan
Great recipes here! Thanks for sharing.
That corn looks great.
Thank you so much for your great site. I have left an award for you on my blog. http://beccasbackyard.blogspot.com
These recipes look heavenly. Especially the ribs and the Teriyaki Chicken! Is it bad that I wish I had a plate of these in front of me, and it’s only 6:00 a.m.?
For some reason, that pasta salad is really calling to me. That’s funny since it’s probably one of the healthier options in this post but yum.