ribs

They're what we'll be eating today.

And this is my favorite way to make them.  I can't take credit for this recipe, I'm pretty sure it was a Pampered Chef one, but they are oh so yummy.

2 slabs of pork baby back ribs

4 garlic cloves, pressed (or garlic powder)

1 1/2 tsp lemon pepper seasoning

3 cups tomato juice

Preheat oven to 400.  Cut each slab into thirds and place in 9"x13" pan.  Press garlic over meaty side of ribs.  Sprinkle with lemon pepper.  Carefully pour tomato juice around bottom of pan.  Cover with foil; bake one hour.  Carefully remove ribs and discard juice.

Sauce:

1 1/2 cups ketchup

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp. chili powder

Whisk all ingredients together.  Bring to a boil over med-high heat; reduce to low and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Reserve 3/4 cup sauce for serving with grilled ribs.  Prepare grill for cooking at medium temperature.  Place ribs, meaty side up, on lightly greased grill.  Bruh with half of remaining sauce.  Cover and grill 5 minutes.  Turn ribs, brush with remaining sauce, and continue grilling 5 minutes.  Rehead reserved sauce if necessary and serve with ribs.

Ribs can be bakes up to 2 days before being grilled.  Wrap tightly and refrigerate until grilling time.  The sauce may also me made in advance and refrigerated.

So yummy and tender!

Also on today's menu:

sweet potato fries

coleslaw

corn on the cob

baked beans

watermelon

ice cream

Mmm....can't wait. 

What's your favorite BBQ food?

as per pedaling's request

(because she loves me and doesn't want me to gain weight alone)

Turtle Cookie Bars

1 3/4 c. oats
1 3/4 c. flour
1 1/4 c. melted butter (not margarine spread)
1 1/4 c. brown sugar
2 c. (or more) semi sweet chocolate chips
1 c. chopped pecans or walnuts (opt.)
1/3 tsp. salt
2/3 tsp. baking soda
1 jar caramel ice cream topping*

Mix oats, flour, brown sugar, salt, baking soda and melted butter.
Press about half of the mixture in the bottom of a 9x13 baking pan.
Bake @ 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

Remove from oven and sprinkle with chocolate chips & nuts.
Pour caramel over top of chips (I usually do a little less than a whole bottle).
Sprinkle rest of cookie dough over top.
Bake for 15 mins.
Cool and cut into squares, or don't wait and eat them while they're all warm and gooey.

(My favorite part is just eating the dough - yummy!)

*If you want to get real fancy, you can make your caramel topping by melting 48 caramels with 7-8 Tbsp. canned evaporated milk

I would've posted a picture....if I had any left.

mmmm.....buffalo chicken dip

I was going to post this recipe before the Superbowl, but never got around to it. But I promise it will be just as good if you make it today.

Buffalo Chicken Wing Dip:

2-8 oz pkgs of cream cheese (softened)
1 cup of ranch or bleu cheese dressing
1 cup of Frank's Red Hot hot sauce
2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese (divided)
1/4 cup of chopped celery
1 can of chicken or 2 chicken breasts cooked and chopped up


Heat the Hot Sauce and celery in a pan until celery is soft.

Mix together: softened cream cheese, dressing, 1 cup of cheese, and chicken.

Add the hot sauce mixture to cream cheese mixture and mix thoroughly.

Place in a baking dish and sprinkle remaining cheese on top.

Bake at 400 degrees for approx. 30 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.

Eat with chips, celery and or carrots. Yummy!



{Thanks to my friend Tia for sharing this recipe with me}

the best ever sugar cookies...

Really they are. Unless you don't like a cookie that stays soft even from the freezer and melts in your mouth when you eat it. (And I know I've posted this before, but a friend wanted it again)

Sour Cream Sugar Cookie

3 eggs
1/2 c. shortening
1/2 c. margarine
1 c. sour cream
1 tsp. vanilla
pinch of salt
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder
1-3/4 c. granulated sugar
5 c. flour

Cream shortening, margarine and sugar. Add eggs and beat until creamy. Add salt, baking soda, baking powder and vanilla. Mix. Add flour a cup at a time, alternating with spoonfuls of sour cream. Mix thoroughly. Chill dough for 2 hours, or even overnight. Roll on floured surface and cut into desired shapes. Bake @ 375 for 6-8 minutes, depending on size of cookie. Do not let cookies get brown or they will be crunchy instead of soft (I hate that!). Cool then frost.

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup margarine or butter, softened
2 tsp. vanilla (my secret is to substitute almond extract and a little cherry extract)
3-4 c. powdered sugar, maybe more
desired food coloring & colored sugars/sprinkles

Mix. Spread thickly on cooled cookies. *Note - this is not an icing, so not the best to decorate with. It is however, the yummiest to eat.

pumpkin chocolate chip bread

Shaila shared this recipe with me last year, and it is just too good to not pass along.

1 1/3 c. vegetable oil (I use Canola)
5 eggs
1 - 16oz can pumpkin
2 c. flour
1 c. sugar
1 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. baking soda
2 small pkg instant vanilla pudding (dry)
chocolate chips

Grease 2 large or 3-4 small bread pans. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix oil, eggs and pumpkin in mixing bowl. Beat well. In separate bowl, sift together flour, sugars, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, & baking soda. Add to pumkpin mixture. Stir in pudding mix and chocolate chips. Bake for 50-60 mins. or until done. So yummy!

Pumpkin Chocolate Cheesecake

Here is my one of my favorite desserts to make this time of year. I posted last Oct, but it's so good it needs to be reposted. Don't let how long this recipe is scare you. It really isn't hard, and it's oh so yummy.


Double Chocolate Pumpkin Cheesecake


Crust:
1 1/2 cups purchased chocolate cookie crumbs
1/2 stick (4 Tbsp) butter, melted

Filling:
3 bricks (8 oz each) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese (Neufchâtel), softened
1 cup sugar
2 Tbsp cornstarch
3 large eggs
1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup (6 oz) milk-chocolate chips, melted and cooled
1 cup canned 100% pure pumpkin
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 cup (6 oz) semisweet chocolate chips, melted and cooled

Chocolate Glaze:
3 oz bittersweet baking chocolate
2 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp light corn syrup

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Coat an 8-in. springform pan with nonstick spray. Have ready a roasting pan larger than the springform pan.

2. Crust: Put crumbs in a small bowl; stir in butter until evenly moistened. Press firmly over bottom of pan. Bake 8 to 10 minutes until set. Cool on rack. Wrap outside of pan with heavy-duty foil. Reduce oven temperature to 300°F.

3. Filling: Beat cream cheese, sugar and cornstarch in a large bowl with mixer on medium speed until smooth, scraping sides of bowl several times with a rubber spatula. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, just until blended. Beat in sour cream and vanilla to combine. Divide batter evenly between 3 medium bowls. Stir melted milk chocolate into 1 bowl; pour into crust in an even layer. Whisk pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice into another bowl. Carefully spoon over chocolate layer to cover, then gently smooth into an even layer with an offset spatula (take care batters don’t run together). Stir semisweet chocolate into remaining batter. Carefully spoon over pumpkin layer; spread carefully as above.

4. Set springform pan in center of roasting pan. Place roasting pan in oven rack and add boiling water to come halfway up sides of springform pan.

5. Bake 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours until set, but center still jiggles slightly when shaken.

6. Turn off oven (leave door closed); let cake cool in oven 1 hour (if cake hasn’t pulled away from sides of pan, carefully run a thin knife around edge of pan to release cake). Remove foil. Cool cake in pan on a wire rack. Cover; refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.

7. Chocolate Glaze: Stir ingredients in a small saucepan over low heat until chocolate melts and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat; cool slightly.

8. Remove pan sides; place cake on serving plate. Spread glaze over top to edge (some may drip down side of cake). Refrigerate until glaze sets.


Serves 12
Prep - Active: 45 min/Total: 2 1/2 hr (plus 1 hr cooling in oven and at least 4 1/2 hr chilling)
Planning Tip: Cake can be completed up to 1 week ahead. Cover and refrigerate.

{asphalt pie}

Here you go:

{Yep Jen, I have made this for bunko before. I thought about bringing this to bunko at your house, but afraid it would've melted before I got there.}

1lb. bag Oreos
1/4 c. margarine, melted
1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream, softened a little (box kind is easier rather than tub)
1 jar hot fudge topping (if you can find Mrs. Richardson brand, it's the best in my opinion)
1 c. chopped peanuts
8 oz. Cool Whip

Crush Oreos (don't use mixer). Set 1 cup of crushed Oreos aside, and mix the rest with the melted margarine. Press into 9"x13" pan. Open package of ice cream and slice, placing slices on top of crust. Freeze 1 hour. Spread jar of hot fudge topping over ice cream. Sprinkle peanuts. Top with Cool Whip. Sprinkle remainder of Oreo crumbs on top. Freeze until ready to serve.

This is our favorite summertime dessert!

time for ♥ cookies

Get ready you lucky souls, for I am about to share my secret recipe for the best sugar cookies in the world. What makes them the best you ask? The secret ingredient of sour cream in the cookie dough. It keeps the cookies so soft, you can even eat one right out of the freezer. And the cream cheese frosting that you spread on thick that's flavored with a little bit of almond extract. So yummy, they melt in your mouth. And no, those in the pic aren't the way mine look. Are you kidding me? Who really is going to spend that much time decorating something that your family is going to inhale in two seconds. I have to freeze half the cookies so they're not gone in one day.

Tammy's Sour Cream Sugar Cookies

3 eggs
1/2 c. shortening
1/2 c. margarine
1 c. sour cream
1 tsp. vanilla
pinch of salt
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder
1- 3/4 c. granulated sugar
5 c. flour

Cream shortening, margarine and sugar. Add eggs and beat until creamy. Add salt, baking soda, baking powder and vanilla. Mix. Add flour a cup at a time, alternating with spoonfuls of sour cream. Mix thoroughly. Chill dough for 2 hours, or even overnight. Roll on floured surface and cut into desired shapes. Bake @ 375 for 6-8 minutes, depending on size of cookie. Do not let cookies get brown or they are overbaked and will be crunchy instead of soft (I hate that!). Cool then frost.

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cube margarine, softened
2 tsp. vanilla (I substitute almond extract with a little cherry extract)
3-4 c. powdered sugar, maybe more
desired food coloring & colored sugars/sprinkles

There you go. No need to thank me. Well, actually yes there is because you are about to become very popular.