KOREAN STYLE RIBS

            Check out the short video here - (copy and paste into address bar)

http://www.buzzfeed.com/emilyhorng/these-korean-style-ribs-are-everything-you-need-in-life#.lhpmZL0py

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp. rice vinegar
• 2 Tbsp. sesame oil
• 2 Tbsp. red pepper powder
• 8 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 Tbsp. grated ginger
• 1 cup onions
• 3 lbs baby back ribs
• 1/4 cup honey
• Sesame seeds for garnish
• Chopped scallions for garnish

Directions:

Combine marinade ingredients in a bowl. Pour marinade over ribs and let them marinate for at least four hours.

After marinating, place ribs on baking dish. Reserve the marinade for later. Bake ribs at 325°F/160°C for two and a half to three hours.

Pour the leftover marinade into a saucepan, add the honey, and bring to a boil to form a glaze. Set aside.

After two and half to three hours, remove the ribs from the oven. Pour the glaze over the ribs and broil for 5 to 10 minutes.

Cut up the ribs, sprinkle sesame seeds over, and garnish with scallions.

thanks to Buzzfeed.com

Butternut Squash and Spinach Lasagna

RECIPE from Julia's Albums.com

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups butternut squash puree (about half of squash)
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup milk (or more, if needed)
• 1/4 + 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 cup cooked spinach (8 oz uncooked)
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• pepper, to taste
• 10 oz lasagna noodles, cooked 
• 1 and 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese (or more)
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (on top)
• Italian seasoning
• Paprika
• Basil
• 
  

    DIRECTIONS:

   

1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
Butternut Squash Filling:
2. For this filling, you will need to have pre-cooked butternut squash puree. Using food processor, combine 2 cups of butternut squash puree with Ricotta cheese, milk, salt and nutmeg. Add more milk if needed (to make the butternut squash filling very creamy). Mix very well, taste and add more salt, if needed.
Spinach Filling:
3. Combine spinach, Ricotta cheese, mozzarella, garlic, salt and pepper. Mix, taste, and add more salt and pepper, if needed.
Cooking lasagna noodles:
4. Bring a very large pot of water to boil, and cook lasagna noodles according to package instructions. Rinse in cold water, drain. Using knife, trim noodles to fit your baking dish (if necessary).
Lasagna assembly:
5. Prepare a baking dish - I used a casserole dish 11 inches x 8.5 inches x 3 inches deep. Grease the lasagna dish lightly with olive oil spray. Spread 1/3 of butternut squash filling on the bottom of the dish. Sprinkle lightly with mozzarella cheese. Top with cooked lasagna noodles without overlapping (I used 3 noodles).
6. Spread half of spinach filling over the noodles. Top lightly with Mozzarella cheese. Top with cooked noodles.
7. Spread another layer (1/3) of butternut squash mixture, then sprinkle lightly with Mozzarella cheese. Top with cooked noodles.
8. Spread the remaining half of spinach filling over the noodles. Top lightly with Mozzarella cheese. Top with the final layer of cooked noodles.
9. Spread a generous amount of butternut squash filling (the remaining 1/3) over this final layer of noodles, sprinkle with grated Parmesan and remaining mozzarella cheese (about 1/2 cup of mozzarella). Generously sprinkle the cheese with Italian seasoning, paprika, basil.
10. Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 30 min. Remove foil and bake additional 10 minutes.

ONE PAN SALMON and VEGGIE DINNER

INGREDIENTS:

Aluminum foil
Nonstick vegetable oil cooking spray
2 pounds New potatoes (small red and yellow potatoes)
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons lemon juice
4 cloves minced garlic
2 tablespoons fresh thyme
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons chopped ginger
2 salmon fillets
1 bunch of asparagus, about 1 pound

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C.

Cover a sheet pan with aluminum foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Spread out your potatoes on the pan and drizzle with 1 Tbsp. olive oil and 1 Tbsp. lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle 1 clove minced garlic and 1/2 Tbsp. thyme over the potatoes. Bake for 15 minutes, flip, then bake for another 10 minutes.

In the meantime, create your salmon glaze. Combine 2 Tbsp. lemon juice, 2 Tbsp. honey, 2 Tbsp. lemon juice, 2 tsp ginger, 2 cloves minced garlic, and 1 Tbsp. thyme. Set aside.

Take the potatoes out of the oven and push them to the top or side of your pan. (Don’t cramp them — Make sure to still space them out a bit.) Place your salmon fillets on the pan. Season both sides with salt and pepper and brush on the glaze onto both sides. Place your asparagus on the pan and top with 1 Tbsp. olive oil, 1 Tbsp. lemon juice, salt and pepper, 1 clove minced garlic, and 1/2 Tbsp. thyme. Bake for 8-10 minutes. (The salmon should flake easily with a fork when it’s ready.)

HONEY DIJON CHICKEN

OVEN - 400 degrees

INGREDIENTS:

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
3 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
½ tsp Kosher salt plus more to taste
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper, to taste

16 ounces baby red potatoes, halved
4 boneless,skinless chicken breasts,5-6 oz each, pounded to even thickness if necessary so that they cook evenly
20 ounces broccoli florets

DIRECTIONS:

1. Whisk together 1 Tbsp of the olive oil with the honey, Dijon, garlic, oregano, basil, salt, and pepper.

2. Reserve half of the sauce for later, then marinate the chicken in the rest of the sauce for an hour.

3. Preheat the oven to 400F.

4. Toss the potatoes with the second Tbsp of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Place them on a foil-lined half sheet pan and lay the chicken breasts on top. Add the broccoli to the pan, then drizzle the reserved sauce over top.

5. Bake 35 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the potatoes are tender.
*If you prefer your broccoli to still have some crispness to it, don’t add the broccoli to the pan until 15 minutes into the cooking time.

FROM: - www.tiphero.com

FLO'S LINGUINI AND CLAM SAUCE

Tasty easy recipe from Flo.

"I add a pound of frozen clam meat to really up the clam flavor and only use clam juice. Adjust the red pepper flakes to your taste for heat."

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound linguini

Salt

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, 4 turns of the pan

6 fillets flat anchovies, chopped

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves

1/2 to 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 cup dry white wine, 2 turns of pan

1 (15-ounce) can whole baby clams, with their juice

Handful flat-leaf parsley, chopped

DIRECTIONS:

Bring a large pot of water to a BOIL. ADD salt and the linguini and cook to an

extra chewy al dente, 7 minutes or so. 

The linguini will continue to cook in sauce, later.

To a large skillet heated over medium heat, ADD oil, anchovies, garlic, thyme

and red pepper flakes. 

COOK TOGETHER until anchovies melt into oil and break up completely. 

ADD wine to the pan and give the pan a shake. 

ADD clams and their juice (see Flo's note)

Drain pasta and add it to the clam sauce. 

Toss and coat the pasta in sauce with clams until the pasta absorbs the flavor 

and juices, 2 to 3 minutes. 

Remove from heat and season with salt, add parsley and serve.

Recipe courtesy of Rachael Ray/foodnetwork

AUNT GENEE'S POLISH PORK/STEAK and SAUERKRAUT BAKE

OVEN 350 degrees

INGREDIENTS/DIRECTIONS:

POUR WHITE wine on pork chops or steak
PAN FRY the chops or steak in Crisco
OIL a roasting pan
PUT a layer of sauerkraut - chops/steak - then layer of Apple Rings, Onion Ring -
REPEAT - kraut, chops/steak - apple & onion rings
SPRINKLE caraway seeds on top
ADD 1/2 cup o' water
BAKE at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

ONE PAN BALSAMIC CHICKEN and VEGGIES

INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp Italian salad dressing
 3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 Tbsp honey 1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (more or less to taste)
1 1/4 lbs chicken breast tenderloins
2 Tbsp olive oil Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 lb fresh asparagus, trimmed of tough ends, chopped into 2-inch pieces (look for thinner stalks. Green beans are another good option)
1 1/2 cups matchstick carrots
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved


DIRECTIONS:
1) In a mixing bowl whisk together salad dressing, balsamic vinegar, honey and red pepper flakes, set aside.
2) Heat olive oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper to taste, then place chicken evenly in skillet. Cook about 6 - 7 minutes, rotating once halfway through cooking, until chicken has cooked through (meanwhile, chop asparagus and tomatoes).
3) Add half the dressing mixture to skillet and rotate chicken to evenly coat. Transfer chicken to a large plate or a serving platter while leaving sauce in skillet.
4) Add asparagus and carrots to skillet, season with salt and pepper to taste and cook, stirring frequently, until crisp tender, about 4 minutes. Transfer veggies to plate or platter with chicken.
5) Add remaining dressing mixture to skillet and cook, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 1 minute. Add tomatoes to chicken and veggies and drizzle dressing mixture in pan over top (or return chicken and veggies to pan and toss to coat).

COUSIN MARGARET'S CHICKEN LASAGNA PRIMAVERA

OVEN - 350 degrees

INGREDIENTS:
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs
3 T olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 large onion, diced
3/4 lb mushrooms, sliced
1/2 C butter or margarine
4 C shredded zucchini
3 C shredded carrot
1/2 C all-purpose flour
2 C chicken broth
3/4 C milk
2 tsp Tabasco Sauce (I used 3 and it was good - not over-spicy!)
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
2 C ricotta cheese
8 oz feta cheese, crumbled
9 pre-cooked lasagna noodles
2 C shredded Monterey Jack cheese

DIRECTIONS:
CUT chicken into thin strips/chunks. 
HEAT 1 TBSP oil in large skillet over medium heat. ADD chicken w/half of salt; cook until browned and tender, stirring frequently. Remove to bowl.
Over medium heat, heat remaining oil in same skillet and SAUTE onion and mushrooms; add to chicken.
HEAT 2 T butter in same skillet over medium heat; add zucchini. Cook 3-5 mins until tender and liquid has evaporated, stirring frequently. Remove to bowl. REPEAT procedure w/carrots and remove to another bowl.
MELT remaining butter. 
STIR in flour and cook 2 mins. 
Gradually INCORPORATE (whisk) chicken broth and milk, stirring until mixture thickens. 
ADD Tabasco sauce, nutmeg (and remaining salt - I didn't, since Tabasco is salty)

Preheat oven to 350. 

In a medium bowl, STIR together ricotta and feta cheeses.
In a large baking dish, spread 1/4 of sauce, top w/3 noodles. 
COVER noodles completely w/ 1/2 of zucchini, 1/2 of carrots, 1/2 of feta cheese mixture, 1/2 of chicken mixture and 1/3 of Jack cheese. 
REPEAT for a 2nd layer.
Make final layer w/remaining noodles, sauce, and Jack cheese. 
COVER dish w/foil and bake 30 minutes. 
Remove foil and bake 10 mins. 
Let cool slightly (about 10 mins). 
8 servings.

MARGARET and her dogs in Colorado

CHICKEN LETTUCE WRAPS

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil 
  1 pound ground chicken (or other meat/fish)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 onion, diced
• 1/4 cup Hoisin sauce
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
• 1 teaspoon Sriracha, or more, to taste
• 1 (8-ounce) can whole water chestnuts, drained and diced
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 head butter lettuce
• (feel free to add other veggies - steamed peas, broccoli, snow peas, etc.)

DIRECTIONS:

• HEAT olive oil in a saucepan over medium high heat. Add ground chicken and cook until browned, about 3-5 minutes, making sure to crumble the chicken as it cooks; drain excess fat.
• STIR in garlic, onion, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, ginger and Sriracha until onions have become translucent, about 1-2 minutes. 
• STIR in chestnuts and green onions until tender, about 1-2 minutes; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
• To serve, spoon several tablespoons of the chicken mixture into the center of a lettuce leaf, taco-style...
• ADD Hoisin Sauce  to wrap for flavor 

GRAMMIE'S PORK CHOPS with APPLES and ONIONS

INGREDIENTS:

* 4 - 8oz. bone-in center cut pork chops (about an inch thick)

* 1/4 tsp. salt

* 1/2 tp. freshly ground black pepper

* 1 tsp. canola oil

* Cooking spray

* Chopped/minced onion (about 1 3/4 cups)

* 2 cups water (unless using fresh apples)

* 1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

* 1 tsp. cinnamon

* 1/2 tsp. ground cloves, same amount of ground ginger

* 1 (5 oz) package of dried apple rings (or fresh apples)

Grammie didn't have a slow-cooker, but her recipe was very similar to this one and you can set it and forget it!

DIRECTIONS:

1. Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add pork to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until browned. 

2. Transfer pork to a 5-quart electric slow cooker coated with cooking spray, reserving drippings in pan. Reduce heat to medium. Add onion to drippings in pan; sauté 3 minutes or until tender. 

3. Stir in 2 cups water, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Stir in brown sugar and next 3 ingredients (through ginger). Remove pan from heat.

4. Add apples rings to slow cooker; pour onion mixture over apples. 

Cover and cook on LOW for 3 to 3 1/2 hours or until tender. 

5. Serve pork chops with apple mixture and some greens, squash, potatoes, veggies of your choice.

*If using fresh apples you can reduce water amount to 1/2-3/4 cup (depending on how juicy the apples are)

SWEET POTATOES

I've always been a regular white potato gal (and still am), and never got into sweet potatoes - baked they seemed dry and boiled/steamed seemed to take forever and end up not so tasty.....until I tried sweet potatoes this way. Try it - you'll love them!

I recently discovered that there is a better way to cook them in order to make them creamier and more flavorful (without any added ingredients or condiments). It’s very simple – just throw them in the crock pot!

After you rinse and scrub the outsides of them, just use a fork to poke some holes in them and put them straight into the crock pot. There’s no need to dry them – the liquid leftover on the potatoes from rinsing is all the liquid they’ll need. Then set the crock pot to low and cook for 6-7 hours (for 4 potatoes at a time). If you need your potatoes sooner, you can also throw them in the crock pot on high for about 3 hours. You should end up with perfect sweet potatoes with basically no effort required.

That's all!

Enjoy!

One small sweet potato has 262% of the daily value of vitamin A and 29% of the daily value of vitamin C. Sweet potatoes also have twice as much fiber as regular potatoes.

learned of this from www.tiphero.com

BEEF and GUINNESS STEW

INGREDIENTS:

3 TBSP cooking oil
1/4 cup Flour
2 lbs. stew meat
1 tsp. salt
5 cups chopped onion
1 TBSP tomato paste
4 cups beef stock
1 (11.2 oz) bottle of Guinness Stout, or Imperial Stout
1/2 tsp pepper
1 1/2 cups chopped carrot
1-2 Bay Leaves
Potatoes - skinned, chopped into nice bite-size pieces (3 cups, or so, as you like)
or.....
(some people add in parsnips and/or turnips - same amount 1 1/2 cups each)

DIRECTIONS:

1. HEAT 1 1/2 TBSP oil in a Dutch oven or heavy soup pot over medium-high heat. Place flour in a shallow dish. Sprinkle beef with 1/2 teaspoon salt; DREDGE beef in flour. ADD half of beef to pan; cook 5 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Remove beef from pan with a slotted spoon. Repeat procedure with remaining 1 1/2 TBSP oil and beef.

2. ADD onion to pan; cook 5 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in tomato paste; cook 1 minute, stirring frequently. Stir in broth and beer, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. 

3. Return meat to pan. STIR in remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper; add Bay leaves; bring to a boil. 

4. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally. 

5. Uncover and bring to a boil. Cook 50 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add carrot, parsnip, and turnip. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Uncover and bring to a boil; cook 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender. 

REMOVE Bay leaves

Nice and thick stew gravy goes great dipped with a hunk of French bread.

*Some prefer dredging and cooking the meat on the stovetop then adding everything to a slow-cook crockpot.

CREAMY LEMON BUTTER CHICKEN

INGREDIENTS:

6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
1 TBSP paprika
Salt and Pepper to taste
3 TBSP unsalted butter
3 cloves of garlic
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup Parmesan
1 lemon
2 cups baby spinach

DIRECTIONS:

1. Season chicken thighs with salt, pepper, and paprika.

2. Melt 2 TBSP butter in a large oven-proof skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken, skin-side down, and sear both sides until golden brown. Drain excess fat and set aside.

3. Melt 1 TBSP butter in the skillet. Add garlic, stir until fragrant, then add chicken broth, heavy cream, Parmesan, lemon juice, thyme, and stir. Bring to boil, then reduce heat to low.

4. Stir in spinach, simmer until spinach has wilted and the sauce has thickened. Return chicken to the skillet.

5. Bake at 400˚F for 25 minutes.

6. Serve immediately - great with brown rice, mahsed potatoes, or baked potato wedges