Crock Pot Coke Baby Back Ribs

I've been on a crock pot kick lately and I wanted to make a bunch of meat meals to freeze. I've never made ribs before and this recipe sounded pretty easy to me. I found the recipe on Pinterest and it was so easy to make. And the ribs were so tender, they were falling off the bone. The coke added a neat flavor to the ribs. I've never used a broiler before either and this recipe made it easy. I will definitely make this recipe again!

Crock Pot Coke Baby Back Ribs:

1 rack Pork Baby Back ribs
1 can Coke
Salt and pepper
1/2 bottle of BBQ sauce of your choice

Cut the ribs down if your slow cooker is smaller. Rub both sides of the ribs with salt and pepper. Place the ribs or wrap them around the outside of the slow cooker. Pour the coke over the ribs and cook 8-10 hours on low.

Place foil on a rimmed baking sheet. Carefully transfer the ribs to the prepared sheet, meaty side up. Cover the ribs with the BBQ sauce and place under the broiler until sauce starts to sizzle and caramelized, no longer than 5 minutes. Remove from oven and serve. Enjoy!




Ribs and coke added to slow cooker...






And they are done...






Before the BBQ sauce...






Enjoy!...

Muffin Omelets

I got the original idea for this recipe on Pinterest but I made these with my own desired toppings. I started working out-doing 1 hour intensive full-body workouts and I discovered I needed to eat a good meal before working out. Egg whites are better for you, which I've already been eating a lot of. These are easy to make and they are convenient, not to mention they can be put in the freezer so you can make a large batch. You can add whatever toppings you want. I wasn't too fond of the parm cheese that I added to mine so when I make these again, I may omit that. I also discovered you can add quinoa to these, which I will do in the future. Even more needed protein before a workout!

Muffin Omelets (6-9 servings):

32 oz carton egg white substitute
1/2 to 1 c broccoli florets, cut into smaller pieces
2-3 pieces ham, cubed
Cheese of your choice
Pepper and garlic powder, to taste

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray. Add your ingredients to each muffin tin, spreading evenly. Fill with egg white substitute. Top with cheese, pepper and garlic powder. Bake until eggs are set, about 30 minutes. Cool in muffin pan. Enjoy!




Fillings...





Egg whites & cheese added...






Fresh from the oven...








Enjoy!...

Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus

I had the girls over for dinner one night a couple weeks ago and my best friend Mandi made bacon wrapped asparagus. It was sooo good! And ever since that dinner, I've been craving it. I decided to use prosciutto with mine and I drizzled the finishing product with the aged balsamic vinegar that I bought in Italy. Soooo good! I only made half of the bunch of asparagus but it was a perfect serving size.

Prosciutto or bacon
Asparagus
Balsamic Vinegar, if desired

Slice off the top ends of the asparagus. Preheat oven to 350. Coat a baking dish with cooking spray. Slice the prosciutto, or bacon if using, in half. Wrap each half around a stalk of asparagus and place on the baking sheet. Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes or until the prosciutto is crisp. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar, if using. Enjoy!




Ready to be baked...






Enjoy!...

Pan-Seared Salmon with Lentil & Quinoa Salad

I'm currently eating this salad as I type out the recipe for this blog...it's soooo good! I found it in Rachel Ray's magazine. I've been trying to eat more salmon and apparently I've been eating the wrong kind of salmon in the past. I got a bag of sock-eye salmon at Costco and split the bag with my aunt. This salmon comes with the skin-on and it's pretty amazing! Not fishy at all and thick cuts of meat. I'll definitely be making more salmon dishes with this! The recipe serves four but I didn't want to use all my salmon up in one dish so I still made the four servings for the salad and only added one salmon fillet. I also added a tilapia fillet in case I didn't like the salmon. The way the fish is cooked, it comes out really buttery tasting. I added more lemon juice to my fish just because. I shredded my fish and added it to the salad, instead of putting the whole fillets on the salad. I will definitely make this again and again!!!

Pan-Seared Salmon with Lentil & Quinoa Salad (4 servings) (Rachel Ray Magazine):

3/4 c dried lentils, picked free of hard stones
3/4 c quinoa, rinsed and drained
2 small lemons, juiced (4 tbsp)
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1/4 c plus 1 tbsp EVOO
4 skin-on salmon fillets
1/2 c minced red onion
1 c chopped flat-leaf parsley
Salt and pepper to taste

In separate saucepans, cook lentils and quinoa according to pkg directions. Drain and cool. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk the lemon juice and mustard. Gradually whisk in 1/4 c EVOO; season with salt and pepper. Reserve 1/4 c of the vinaigrette.

In large skillet, heat remaining 1 tbsp EVOO and half of the reserved vinaigrette over med-high. Add the salmon, skin side down. Cover, reduce heat to med and cook until the fish flakes apart easily with a fork, about 8 minutes.

Add the quinoa, lentils, onion and 3/4 c parsley to the bowl with the vinaigrette. Toss to combine; season. Divide among plates and serve the fish on top (or shred the fish and combine into the salad). Drizzle with the remaining vinaigrette and top with the remaining parsley. Enjoy!




Lentil & Quinoa...






Fish added...Enjoy!

Cauliflower Wraps

I found this recipe on Pinterest. I've been seeing recipes like this for a while and I was always curious to make them so I decided to just do it last week and I can't believe that I waited this long! I made a cauliflower Alfredo sauce earlier in the week that didn't turn out (which is why I'm not posting it) because I didn't cook the cauliflower before like I was supposed to. I decided to actually follow the recipe this time for this and it turned out amazing! I didn't have parchment paper so I decided to use tinfoil with butter on it. Needless to say that didn't work out and the wraps stuck to the foil like glue but I was able to peel off the top layer of the wrap to try it and it was so good! I think if I used the parchment paper, like I'm going to the next time I make this, it would have been even better! The recipe says it's best if you eat them right away and not save them but it would be interesting to see if you could freeze these and eat them at a later date....may have to try that when I make them again. I've seen some recipes that call for cheese, so I added a little to mine. You can basically add whatever herbs/seasonings you want to these. Or use the wrap as a pizza crust. So many things to experiment with these! And I learned on the internet that you can freeze cauliflower rice after you cook it so I'm heading to the store soon to start freezing the "rice" for more yummy recipes! The key to these is squeezing out the excess water-I did it the way I do with frozen spinach-in between paper towels! These make 2 huge wraps so I just made one and cut in half. I will definitely be making these again and will definitely experiment with them as well!!!

Cauliflower Wraps (2 servings):

1/2 head cauliflower, cut into florets
2 eggs
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 c shredded parm (what I added to mine)

Preheat oven to 375. Line 2 baking sheets or one large baking sheet with parchment paper. In a food processor, pulse the cauliflower florets until they form a crumb-like texture. Place the crumbles and 1/4 c water in a saucepan with a lid. Cook on med-high heat for 8 minutes, until tender.

Drain the cauliflower in a fine-sieve, then transfer to a clean kitchen towel or between sheets of paper towels. Firmly squeeze any excess water from the cauliflower. In a bowl, stir together the cauliflower and remaining ingredients. Form 2 thin circles on the parchment-lined baking sheets. With a spatula or your fingers, press down the "dough" so it forms an thin layer. Keep the wraps compact-there shouldn't be any parchment showing through the mixture in any area of the wrap.

Bake about 17 minutes until dry and pliable. Gently remove to a wire rack to cool so the bottom does not become soggy. Use with light fillings or tear into pieces (which is what I had to do) and use to scoop up fillings. Enjoy!


The cauliflower after I squeezed out the excess water...






The rest of the ingredients mixed together...






Before I put it in the oven...






The stuck-on wraps lol...Enjoy!

Fish over Zucchini & Yellow Squash

This is another recipe I created. I was staying at my parents for about a week before I moved and I had some fish to use. I had one halibut fillet left and a couple salmon fillets so I made the halibut for myself and my mom had a salmon fillet. We had picked up some zucchini and yellow squash earlier from the store. I wanted to roast the squash for a side so I decided to put the fish on top of the squash. My mom sliced the squash layers for the bottom of the pan. I also used a marinade for the fish. This turned out to be a really good dish. We all love garlic, which is good because this was really garlicky! The squash turned out amazing with the garlic and ginger and the fish were really moist and full of good flavor! I'm guessing what measurements I used for this dish, since I basically just added what looked right (what I usually do when I make up my own recipes!).

Fish over Zucchini & Yellow Squash (2 servings):

1 zucchini, sliced into very thin strips
1 yellow squash, sliced into very thin strips
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
1 3-4 inch piece of ginger, minced
Olive oil, to coat
Pepper to taste
2 fish fillets of your choice
1 lemon, sliced into thin slices
Capers, to serve

*Marinade
Soy sauce
Worcestershire sauce
Chili-Garlic Sauce
Lemon Juice
Roasted garlic salt
Pepper

If you are using the same type of fish, you only need one bag for the marinade. If you are using different kinds of fish, like I did, use two different bags for the marinade. Pierce each fillet with a fork. Coat each fish evenly with pepper and the roasted garlic salt, rubbing it into the fish. Add the fish to their bags and add a little bit of each of the marinade to create a sauce. Close the bags and put in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours, turning occasionally.

Place the strips of zucchini and yellow squash in a bowl. Top with pepper, olive oil, garlic and ginger. Using your hands, mix everything together, being careful not to tear the squash. Layer the zucchini and squash in the bottom of a 13x9-inch baking dish. Remove the fish from the marinade and lay on top of the squash. Pour the marinade over each fillet. Top the fish with slices of lemon.

Bake in the oven about 20-30 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish. (The salmon was done after 20 min, the halibut took a little longer to cook.) Remove the lemon slices, top with capers and enjoy!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Dream Bars

I think Nicole or Dana posted this on their timeline on Facebook and tagged everyone else for this recipe. These bars were soooo good! Really rich and full of flavor. Nicole was babysitting her niece Ariana and I guess Ariana was being very vocal and basically being feisty. When I got there with Dana, Nicole said she was ready for something sweet! She had just gotten Ariana to sleep when we got home and of course she woke up for us :). So she got to help us make this yummy dessert. This was my last dessert I made with these ladies before I moved :( so of course I had to add the extra pictures. I'd definitely make this recipe again.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Dream Bars:

1 (16 oz) pkg peanut butter sandwich cookies, divided
4 tbsp butter, melted
4 oz cream cheese, room temp
1/2 c powdered sugar
1/3 c creamy peanut butter
1 (8 oz) container Cool Whip, divided
1 (3.9 oz) pkg instant chocolate Jello Pudding Mix
1 1/2 c milk
1/2 c milk chocolate and peanut butter chips (we used more to completely cover the bars)

Preheat oven to 350. Finely crush 24 of the cookies. In a medium bowl, mix together the melted butter and finely crushed cookies until well moistened. Press into an ungreased 8x8-inch or 13x9-inch baking dish. Bake for 10 min. Allow crust to cool before continuing.

Meanwhile, mix the pkg of pudding with the 1 1/2 c milk in a small bowl. In a separate bowl, beat the cream cheese, powdered sugar and peanut butter together. Fold in 1 c of the Cool Whip and mix until well blended.

Spread the chocolate pudding over the cooled crust. Place dollops of the cream cheese mixture over the pudding layer and with a spatula or large spoon, gently spread to completely cover. Spread the remaining Cool Whip over the cream cheese mixture. Refrigerate 2 hours. (We ignored this part of the step since we wanted to eat it right away!)

In a plastic bag, break up the 8 remaining cookies. Sprinkle the cookies and the chocolate/peanut butter chips over the top just before serving. Slice into squares and enjoy!




Ariana holding dearly to our bag of chocolate/peanut butter chips!...






Spreading the chocolate mixture on top of the crust...






Spreading the peanut butter mixture over the chocolate...






Ariana tasting the Cool Whip...






Nicole tasting the Cool Whip...






The Cool Whip layer...






The cookies and chocolate/peanut butter chips layer...






Enjoy!...