Tag: brown sugar

Slow Cooker Beef Ribs – Set It & Forget It


Slow Cooker Beef Ribs

I fully realize this is my third recipe for boneless beef ribs, but figure everyone can use another great and easy crock pot recipe, right? This literally takes about ten minutes to throw everything together prior to cooking. The sauce is just slightly different from my other recipes, but equally as delicious. You can use your favorite barbecue sauce, but I think homemade is always better. A lot of people like searing their ribs prior to cooking them (including me) as it gives a nice, caramelized crust, but it’s not a “must-do”. I’ve including the instructions on how to do that, but feel free to skip it if you desire.

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs. Chuck boneless beef short ribs
  • 1/2 cup ketchup
  • 3 oz. (half can) tomato paste
  • 6 tbsp. brown sugar
  • 1 tbsp. honey
  • 1 tbsp. molasses
  • 1/2 tsp. cayenne
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
  • 1/4 cup chopped onion (or 1 tsp. onion powder)
  • 1 tsp. Kosher salt
  • 2 tbsp. olive oil (if searing the ribs)

Directions

  1. Heat 2 tbsp. olive oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat
  2. Season ribs with salt & pepper, and sear on both sides until lightly browned.
  3. Mix all ingredients in crock pot until brown sugar & salt are dissolved.
  4. Add ribs & stir to coat. Cover and cook on low for 7 hours or high for 4.

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Boneless BBQ Short Ribs


BBQ Short Ribs

Last weekend, we celebrated my Mom’s birthday at a fabulous restaurant in El Segundo called Paul Martin’s. My Mom ordered their short ribs, and much to my good fortune, she wasn’t able to finish them, so I got to take the leftovers home. All I have to say is… WOW… incredibly delicious! I decided to pick up some short ribs and see how they’d turn out making them myself. I found a BBQ recipe by Sunny Andersen which looked great and received wonderful reviews so went with that one. As many of you know, I generally alter/modify recipes I find, but decided to follow it exactly as written, with the only exception being using regular paprika instead of Hungarian paprika and adding some chopped onions to the baking dish. Well, I’m happy to report the hype was true… this turned out scrumptious, and the barbecue sauce is over-the-top!!!!

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs. boneless beef short ribs, cut into 3-inch long pieces
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/3 cup light brown sugar (I added a little more for extra sweetness)
  • 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
  • 1/4 tsp. dried ground thyme
  • 1/2 tsp. paprika
  • 1/3 cup ketchup
  • 1/2 tbsp. white vinegar
  • 1/2 tbsp. yellow mustard
  • 1/2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 300° F.
  2. Arrange the short ribs in a medium size baking dish and season with salt and pepper.
  3. In a small bowl, combine all the remaining ingredients and stir to incorporate.
  4. Pour the sauce over ribs and toss well, coating all the pieces.
  5. Cover with aluminum foil and roast until cooked through and tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Remove the foil during the last 30 minutes of cooking to brown the top.
  6. Remove from oven and serve.

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BBQ Sauce


I came across Carla Hall’s BBQ Chicken recipe on The Chew’s website while I was searching for chicken dishes as I had some chicken thighs that needed to be made right away, put in the freezer or thrown out. The comments on the page said there were a few missing ingredients that were on the show, so I watched the video from that day, and Carla mentioned a few of them that weren’t listed. I decided to give it a try with the addition of those ingredients, in the amounts I thought suitable, and it turned out amazing! I absolutely love this sauce!

Ingredients

Jerk Chicken Rub:

  • 2 tbsp. paprika
  • 1 tbsp. cayenne pepper
  • ½ tbsp. onion powder
  • ½ tbsp. garlic powder
  • ½ tsp. dried oregano
  • ½ tsp. dried thyme
  • ½ tsp. cinnamon
  • ½ tsp. coriander
  • ½ tsp. ground cloves
  • ½ tsp. ginger
  • ½ tsp. salt

Sauce:

  • 1 cup ketchup
  • 1/4 cup white vinegar
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 2 tbsp. Worcestershire
  • 2 tbsp. lemon Juice
  • 1 tsp. Jerk Chicken Rub

Directions

  1. Mix all ingredients together for the chicken rub in a small bowl.
  2. Mix all barbecue sauce ingredients (which includes 1 teaspoon jerk chicken rub made above) in a small pot and simmer over a low heat for 15 – 20 minutes. Adjust salt, if necessary.

I cooked my three chicken thighs (seasoned with salt & pepper) in a little extra virgin olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat for about 6 minutes on each side, then transferred to a 350F oven for approximately another 10 minutes. Once cooked through, I removed from the oven & brushed the pieces with the barbecue sauce. 

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Cocktail Sauce


I recently bought some shrimp to make another batch of my (yummy) shrimp stew, and had about a dozen leftover, which immediately led to thoughts of devouring having shrimp cocktail. Then I realized, I didn’t have any cocktail sauce in the house, and figured I could just whip some up. After making this recipe, I probably won’t ever buy ready-made again! Oh, and I love that it takes about two minutes to make! Easy peasy!

Ingredients

  • 5 tbsp. Ketchup
  • 2 tbsp. chili sauce (I used Huy Fong chili garlic sauce since I had it on hand – original recipe calls for Heinz)
  • 1 1/2 tbsp. prepared horseradish (or more if you want to increase the heat)
  • 1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
  • 1/4 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tsp. brown sugar

Directions

  1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
  2. Chill in refrigerator until ready to serve.
Recipe adapted from Ina Garten-Barefoot Contessa

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Italian Barbecued Chicken (with Polenta)


In my recent polenta post, I mentioned that I came across a BBQ chicken recipe from Rachael Ray which I intended on making soon, and decided to try it out last night. I made a few modifications like I normally do, and all I can say is… WOW! The sauce is truly delectable and really makes the dish. I took some to work today, and finished every single last bite! So if you like chicken, and want a delicious new way to make it, I highly suggest you try this recipe.

Ingredients

  • 4 bone-in chicken thigh and leg or chicken breasts 
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 tsp. poultry seasoning
  • 2 tsp. grill seasoning
  • 3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
  • 4 thick cut slices pancetta or bacon, chopped (optional)
  • 1 medium sweet onion, finely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 to 2 sprigs fresh rosemary, finely chopped
  • 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar 
  • 3 tbsp. brown sugar
  • 1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce  
  • 1 cup tomato sauce 
  • 1/2 cup chicken stock
  • Torn fresh basil leaves
  • Polenta

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
  2. Season the chicken liberally with salt and pepper, poultry seasoning, and grill seasoning.
  3. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium skillet and brown the chicken a few minutes on each side to put some of its flavor and drippings into the pan, then transfer to oven and roast 10 minutes more.
  4. Meanwhile, if using pancetta or bacon, add to pan, and cook until crisp. Remove from pan, crumble and set aside.
  5. If not using the meat, put one more tablespoon olive oil into pan, and add onions, garlic and rosemary. Cook 5 minutes, then add the vinegar, sugar, Worcestershire, tomato sauce and 1/2 cup chicken stock or broth.
  6. Reduce heat to low and let sauce simmer 5 minutes more.
  7. Remove chicken from oven, place in barbecue sauce, add bacon or pancetta (if using) and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
  8. Fill shallow bowls with polenta, top with chicken, spoon extra sauce over chicken and garnish with some torn basil leaves.

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Marinated Raw Tuna


Back in June, I posted a recipe for Edamame/Wasabi puree by Tyler Florence that went along with marinated tuna, however, I didn’t try his tuna at the time. About a week ago when I was in one of my sushi-craving modes, I decided to see what all the rave reviews were about and made the tuna. WOWZA! When I tell you that it melted in my mouth, it is no exaggeration. This is truly the best marinated tuna I have EVER tasted! And I’ve tasted a lot! The awesome thing about this recipe is that it’s super easy and ready in 20 minutes. And when you pair it with the Edamame puree, the combination of flavors will tantalize your taste buds. Seriously.

Marinated tuna pictured with spicy tuna (in the middle)

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp. sake
  • 2 tbsp. light brown sugar
  • 1 tsp. red chili paste, such as Sambal
  • 1/2 pound sushi-quality tuna, such as ahi, yellowfin, maguro or bluefin, cut in 1/4-inch strips (or smaller, if you prefer)

Directions

  1. Whisk together the soy sauce, sake, brown sugar and chili paste until the sugar dissolves.
  2. Arrange the sliced tuna in a single layer in a shallow dish.
  3. Pour the marinade over the tuna, cover and refrigerate for 20 minutes. Don’t marinate the tuna any longer because it will start to “cook” and the texture will be mushy.
  4. To put together, dollop a spoonful of the edamame puree (if using) on a wonton crisp or cracker, then lay a slice of tuna on the top.

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Easy & Delicious Baked Beans


The 4th of July is quickly approaching (yay), and I am thinking of all of the wonderful traditional dishes associated with this holiday as my department at work is having a little potluck lunch to celebrate (my mouth is already salivating).  Clearly, I have long list of possibilities of what I can bring, but one of my favorite sides comes to mind… baked beans. When I went to look for my recipe on here, I was shocked to find that I did not post it previously. My bad! So… here it is!

This recipe calls for bacon, but I believe it would be just as tasty if you choose to omit it.

Ingredients

  • 8 strips of bacon, thick cut
  • 2 (28 ounce) cans of Bush’s baked beans w/bacon
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup ketchup
  • 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 small Vidalia onion, chopped
  • 1 tbsp. Dijon mustard

Directions

  1. Cook bacon in microwave, checking after each minute, so it’s still soft. Don’t let it get crisp.
  2. Cut into small, bite-size pieces, set aside.
  3. Put the remaining ingredients in a crock pot. *
  4. Add the bacon and mix.
  5. Cook on low for 4-6 hours.

* This can also be prepared in the oven at 350 for 1 hour in a 3-quart baking dish.

Serves 10

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