Braised Short Ribs in Tomato BBQ Sauce (re-run)

I did a couple re-runs this week for Halloween ideas and said I was done with re-runs for now, but then I saw this recipe I posted 5/16 that was delish and now I want to make it again (I'm hoping you do too - or at least want to read about it again hahah!). 

I don't usually eat ribs (too messy and too much work!) but I saw a recipe that looked good so I thought I'd try to make them for company coming to Sunday Supper - ran it past Dave and he vetoed pork spareribs (too messy and too much work haha) but requested beef short ribs. Um ok, well then I had to find a recipe that looked good for those since I've never made them before! I found this recipe in a cookbook "American Bistro" and decided to give it a try - like how I experiment on guests haha? 

geez I have a lot on my plate! short ribs,
smashed potatoes, roasted carrots, broccoli
slaw, and a roll. Yum...I'm still full.

So...this is a delicious and pretty easy recipe that everyone loved. I served them with smashed red potatoes and broccoli cole slaw (2 other recipes I've never tried before and turned out SO good - I lucked out that the whole menu turned out so good! I'll post those recipes on another day).

I followed the recipe with a couple tweaks: I increased the meat to 6.35 pounds (to serve 8), only used one onion so Dave wouldn't freak out, added more carrots and 1/2 cup more of the tomatoes, bbq sauce, and beef stock. Forgot to garnish with parsley and it totally didn't matter.

One thing I will do in the future is to cook the ribs and sauce ahead of time and let it cool so I can remove some of the fat, short ribs are a pretty fatty cut of beef. I tried to skim off what I could before serving, it would have been much easier to do when it was cool and the fat rises to the top and hardens. Otherwise this is a great, flavorful recipe.

braise the ribs in a large nonstick skillet, then transfer to a dutch oven. then in the skillet saute the veggies.

after sautéing the veggies and adding the other sauce ingredients pour over the ribs in the dutch oven.

finished ribs in the sauce.

Ingredients:

• 5 pounds lean beef short ribs, cut into 3 to 4" pieces
• salt and pepper
• 3 T. vegetable oil
• 2 onions, thickly sliced into rings
• 4 carrots, peeled and sliced into 1/2" thick slices
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup crushed tomatoes
• 1 cup bottled barbecue sauce
• 1 cup beef stock
• 1 t. Dijon mustard
• 2 T. finely chopped parsley, for garnish

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, season the ribs with salt and pepper. 
2. Preheat the oven to 325'. In a 12" nonstick skillet, heat 2 T. vegetable oil over medium-high heat. In batches, brown the ribs on all sides, using kitchen tongs to turn and brown them evenly, for 7 to 10 minutes. Remove the ribs with a slotted spoon, drain briefly on paper towels, and then place in a large, ovenproof Dutch oven or other heavy pot. 
3. In the same skillet, add the remaining 1 T. oil, increase the heat to medium-high, and brown the onions for 7 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently and watching carefully so that they brown but do not burn. Add the carrot and saute for another 2 to 3 minutes, or until softened. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add the tomatoes, bbq sauce, beef stock, and mustard and stir well. Increase the heat to high and simmer for 1 minute to mix the flavors. Pour the tomato sauce mixture over the short ribs and mix to combine.
4. Cover and bake the ribs for about 3 hours, or until the meat is very tender, turning the ribs every 45 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with the parsley. Serve immediately.

Can be prepared up to 3 days ahead, covered, and refrigerated. Reheat gently on the stove top.

Serves 6

from the American Bistro cookbook

Brown Rice Mushroom Risotto

I love risotto. Like love love it. If you don't like rice don't automatically think you won't like risotto because after wine, stock, butter, and cheese have slowly been stirred in it becomes something so not like plain old rice. It's thick, creamy, so flavorful, and the options for add-ins are endless. Having said that tho - if you've never made risotto I'm going to warn you that it isn't usually quick and hands-free...traditionally you stand at the stove and stir in about 1/4 cup of stock until it's incorporated, then another 1/4 cup of stock until it's incorporated, then repeat a whole bunch of times until a few cups of stock (or broth) have been absorbed. It's quite the labor of love and I don't have the time or patience to make it often. Until I saw this recipe for "easy" brown rice risotto; after reading the directions I thought if this works then we can have risotto waaaaay more often - and since it's made with brown rice it's a bit healthier which doesn't hurt!

You can find the original recipe here, I changed it just a bit and am giving you how I did it:

Ingredients:

• 3 T. olive oil, divided (that means you don't use it all at once)
• 1 small yellow onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon garlic, minced 
• 4 cups chicken stock or broth, divided
• 1 cup water
• 1 1/2 cups brown arborio or short-grain brown rice (note: don't use long grain)
• 16 oz. sliced Cremini (baby portobello) mushrooms
• 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 3 T. unsalted butter, cut in small cubes
• coarse salt
• coarse ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375' with a rack in the middle of the oven.
2. Heat 1 T. olive oil in a medium Dutch oven over medium heat, add onions, garlic, and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent and browned.
3. Add 3 cups chicken stock or broth and 1 cup water, cover and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Remove from heat and stir in the rice. Cover the pot and bake until rice is tender and cooked through, about 65-70 minutes. Don't worry if it looks dry when you take the lid off, once you add the other ingredients it'll all work out. 
4. Meanwhile, while the rice is baking, prepare the mushrooms. Warm 2 T. olive oil in a large skillet, add the clean sliced mushrooms to the pot with a dash of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are darker in color and have soaked up most of their own juices, about 13 minutes. Add the frozen peas and let the veggies hang out until the rice is done.
5. Once the rice is tender, remove the pot from the oven. Pour in the remaining cup of broth, the parmesan, wine, butter, salt and pepper to taste. Stir vigorously for 2 to 3 minutes, until the rice is thick and creamy. Stir in the mushroom and pea mixture, and any remaining juices. Season to taste with salt and pepper. If the mushrooms and peas have cooled off before you add them to the rice, pop the pot back onto the stove top and heat over medium until everything is hot again. 
6. Divide into portions, add additional parmesan if desired. 

after 65 minutes the rice is cooked and removed from the oven, the
mushrooms and peas are cooked and standing by...

add the butter, remaining broth, parmesan, wine, salt and pepper...

add the veggies and stir to combine.

This would be a great meatless Monday meal if you use vegetable broth or water instead of chicken!

3.30.18: dye Easter eggs using shaving cream



3.30.17: blueberry crumb cake

Happy moment ~ the few minutes you're awake before the 5 year old wakes up :)

Tuna Noodle Casserole

I know, I know - tuna casserole is super common and normal and probably everyone's mom made this growing up (we ate it a lot!) and chances are you already know how to make it, but I made it for dinner and got a "that was the best tuna noodle casserole ever" from Dave so I thought I'd share how I did it. He isn't a casserole fan, but it was cold and rainy and neither of us wanted to go to the grocery store and I had the ingredients on hand...so casserole it was.

                         

I did a couple different things this time, versus the regular ol' way I would normally do it - and I will make it this way from now on! Cuz "best ever" demands the changes haha! One, I added a panko crumb mixed with melted butter topping on about 15 minutes before we were eating; two, I only had one can of cream of mushroom soup and it seemed dry so I made a little cream sauce from scratch to add moisture; and three, I sautéed some fresh mushrooms in a little butter and added them to the casserole.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 box cellentani pasta (or whatever shape you want, it was good with curly noodles), boiled according to package directions - I had about 4 big cups of pasta once cooked
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1/2 can milk
• 1 cup frozen peas (I add these to the hot pasta and water a couple minutes before draining the pasta)
• 1/2 cup shredded cheese (I don't actually measure, just a couple handfulls)
• 1 can tuna, drained and flaked
• 1/2 cup fresh mushroom slices
• 1 Tablespoon butter

• 1 Tablespoon butter
• 1 Tablespoon flour
• 1/4 cup milk or cream, additional water as needed for consistency
• 1/4 cup shredded cheese

• 1 cup coarse panko crumbs
• 1-2 tablespoons melted butter
• 1/4 cup parmesan

Directions:

1. Saute the mushrooms in a little butter until browned.
2. In a small saucepan, melt 1 T. butter and stir in 1 T. flour until it's all incorporated. Keep stirring the flour for a minute or two to get rid of some of the flour taste. Slowly whisk in the milk or cream, stirring continuously until it thickens. If it's too thick add a little water to get it to the right consistency. Add 1/4 cup shredded cheese until melted. Season with salt and pepper. 
3. Stir together cooked pasta, soup, milk, peas, mushrooms, 1/2 cup cheese, tuna, and the extra cream sauce, pour into casserole dish. 
4. Bake at 350' for at least 30 minutes until heated thru. Note: I like to make this earlier in the day and put it in the fridge to set up and meld the flavors before baking it. If you do that and the casserole is cold, it needs longer to bake - I did 45 minutes. 
5. About 15 minutes before you are ready to eat the casserole, stir together the panko crumbs, parmesan, and enough melted butter to coat the crumb mixture, and sprinkle it overtop of the casserole. Turn up the oven temp. to 400' for about 15 minutes. 

Spaghetti Squash Shrimp Scampi

Found this recipe at cookinglight.com and followed it to a T - other than I took the tails off before sautéing them, the recipe just says peeled and deveined but their picture has tails on...I don't like dealing with pulling off the tails when they are mixed in with sauce. Very easy recipe with not very many ingredients, what's not to like? Saute shrimp in half olive oil half butter, season, add spinach until it's wilted, then toss with cooked spaghetti squash strands. Yum.

Ingredients:

1 (2.5-lb.) spaghetti squash

Cooking spray

1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

3 garlic cloves, minced

8 ounces large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined

5 ounces fresh baby spinach

3/8 teaspoon kosher salt

Step 1

Preheat oven to 375°F. Trim off squash ends. Cut remaining squash into 1 1/2-inch rings; scoop out and discard seeds and membranes. Arrange rings on a foil-lined baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Coat rings with cooking spray. Bake at 375°F for 45 minutes or until just tender. Cool slightly. Cut through each ring and open slightly to reach strands; carefully scrape out spaghetti-like squash strands.

Step 2

Heat butter and oil in a medium skillet over medium-high. Add pepper and garlic; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add shrimp; sauté 2 minutes or until almost done. Add spinach, tossing until spinach wilts. Add squash strands; sprinkle with salt. Toss gently to combine.

Click here for the source.

Halibut Stack

This sounds a little strange but it's delicious! Promise! I'm not a huge fish lover but this is one of the ways I love to eat it - probably because the grilled fish is sitting on top of mashed potatoes... potatoes make everything right ;)

Super simple: a big spoonful of steamed spinach, topped with a spoonful (or two...or three...!) of mashed potatoes, topped with a piece of grilled halibut seasoned with salt and pepper. Drizzle with balsamic reduction (you know how to make reduction? Put some balsamic in a small saucepan and let it cook until it's reduced by at least half - until it gets nice and thick like syrup. I drizzle my salads all the time with balsamic reduction, it's so good and tangy!).

Taco Pie

True story - I flew home last month for a very short visit and my sis was nice enough to invite me over for dinner since I didn't have any food in the house. Thoughtful, right? I asked if she needed anything since I have to drive by the grocery store on my way to her house... and she basically said she needed everything for dinner and had to work late so wouldn't be home in time to make it - you can see where this is going right? Inser eye roll.  I stopped and bought all the ingredients, and then made dinner at her house... so much for my one chance of having her make me dinner!! LOL ;)

I kept it simple and made Taco Pie. Usually we make this in a round dish so it's like a pie but I wasn't sure how many people were eating it so I doubled the ingredients and made it in a 13x9 dish.

You can totally adjust this to your liking - I browned 2 pounds of ground beef (if you buy leaner meat you won't have so much grease to drain off, I usually get the lowest fat one) and a chopped onion together in a frying pan until the meat was cooked thru (I don't like big chunks of ground meat so I really break it up while it's cooking).

In a bowl combine 2 cans of refried beans with a can of fire roasted diced tomatoes with chilies (or just regular diced tomatoes) and a small can of chopped jalapeños. You can add a little chili powder or taco seasoning if you want. Mix in the cooked burger and onion mixture.

Spread a little of the meat mixture in the bottom of the dish. Top with flour tortillas, it's ok to overlap them. Spread 1/3 of the meat mixture over the tortillas and sprinkle with a handful of shredded cheese. Add another layer of tortillas and repeat twice ending with cheese on the very top. Bake for 30 minutes at 350' until hot and cheese is melted. I like to serve with shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, and sour cream but you do whatever you like!

You're welcome sissy :)

Polenta Parmesan with Spinach and White Beans

I love white beans baked with spaghetti sauce (click here for that recipe), this recipe combines those flavors with polenta and spinach to make a delicious dish that could be either a side dish or a stand alone meat-free dinner option.

Ingredients:

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 tube polenta
• 1 (15 oz.) can white beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 large handfuls baby spinach leaves
• 2 1/2 cups tomato sauce, divided
• 1 cup shredded cheese

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 400'. Slice polenta in about 1" thick slices, you want to get about 7 slices. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add olive oil and polenta slices. Cook polenta until crisp, about 5 minutes on each side.
2. In a medium sized oven safe pan mix together white beans, 1 1/2 cups tomato sauce and spinach. Top with polenta slices and then top each one with a spoonful of tomato sauce and some shredded cheese. 
3. Bake until heated through and cheese is melted, about 20 minutes. 

click here for the original recipe