What do you do with leftover ribs? Ribs in a Blanket

Yes, I know, the thought of having leftover ribs makes me laugh, too. But I had two extra pork ribs from dinner yesterday, so I was wanting to do something different with them for dinner tonight. I call this Ribs in a Blanket.

This is simple, and not very creative, but it tastes awesome, so who cares?

First, I sliced of the ribs into thin chunks. If you can shred yours, that would be super awesome. Then add your favorite barbecue sauce and mix it all up.

Next, I took these reduced fat Pillsbury crescent rolls (the ribs are fatty enough, even after I trimmed a lot of the fat off), laid them flat and separated them, put some of the meat inside and rolled them up as best I could.

Mine didn’t all completely seal the meat in, and really, it doesn’t matter. It just makes them messier, but it’s ribs, so it’s supposed to be messy, right? The good thing about ones that completely contain the meat is that you can pick them up with your hands easier.

I put them in the oven on my Pampered Chef stoneware at 375. The roll package said cook for 11-13 minutes. They took about 17 minutes to get to the right golden brown. Your results may vary.

But you know what? They came out really really good. Fresh out of the oven, the crescent rolls melt in your mouth, and there’s an explosion of barbecue flavor from the ribs, that also melt away. So good.

It’s not fancy Gordon Ramsey food or anything, and I’m sure it wouldn’t get me on the Food Network, but I’m happy.

Ribs = happiness.

S’mores Cake

This is a recipe for a s’mores cake that I like to make for potlucks. It’s rich and decadent, so I don’t need it sitting in my house! Everyone seems to really like it!

I tend to experiment when I bake, but this is what I captured from my most successful attempt.

Take super moist yellow cake mix, follow the directions on the box, and mix in 1 well crushed graham cracker (when I say 1 – it’s the full graham cracker with the 4 quarters – maybe that should be 4 graham crackers). Pour 1/3 of the batter into a bundt pan. Then put a layer of coarsely chopped graham crackers (about 3 whole ones), a layer of chocolate chips (1 cup), a layer of mini marshmallows (2 cups), and another layer of coarsely chopped graham crackers (another 3 whole ones). Pour the rest of the batter over it.

For the decorations, we’re spreading marshmallow creme and melted dipping chocolate (which will harden) over the cake, and then topping that with pieces of chocolate, toasted mini-marshmallows, and graham cracker pieces.

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Baked Clay

This is a recipe I used as a child to make things like Christmas ornaments. We still have some of those ornaments and put them on Christmas trees now, 30+ years later. This is also called salt dough.

Baked Clay

2 c. salt
2 c. warm water
5 c. flour

Mix ingredients. Knead dough. Roll ½ inch thick. Cut with knife or cookie cutters.

Bake 300º for 1 hour. Paint and shellac.

In other news, I’m in the process of buying a house, so once I move in, I’ll better be able to demonstrate these recipes!

Apple Blueberry Pie

This is a recipe for an apple blueberry pie that my son made for a church picnic, with a little help from my mom. His pie came in first place.

Filling:
2 Brayburn apples, peeled, cored and cut into slender slices (about 3 cups)
½ cup dried blueberries
¼ brown sugar (packed)
¼ cup cinnamon sugar
2 tablespoons flour
2 teaspoons lemon juice

Sprinkle lemon juice over apples to prevent oxidation. Sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon sugar on apples. Gently stir with a wooden spoon. Put mixture in pie shell bottom. Sprinkle with blueberries. Dot with butter. Cover with lattice top.

Crust:
2 cups flour
½ teaspoon salt
2/3 cup butter
5 teaspoons ice water

Measure flour and salt, mix. Cut butter into pieces and add to flour. Use pastry cutter to push it up and down until it gets to small little pieces the size of blueberries. Sprinkle cold water over top. Stir until it forms a ball. Roll out with rolling pin into circle and put in pan. Roll into circle for top, cut into strips and make lattice. Place over filling mixture.

Bake at 350º until top crust is golden brown, about 30 – 45 minutes.

(Put aluminum foil around edges so crust edge doesn’t burn. If you brush the crust with egg wash, it will bake pretty and shiny.)

Shrimp with Rice

Shrimp with Rice
4 – 6 Servings

½ c. butter
1 lg. onion, finely chopped
1 c. sliced mushrooms
1 green pepper, finely chopped
1¼ c. raw rice
¼ tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. freshly ground pepper
1 c. dry white wine
3 c. hot chicken stock (or hot water)
2 tbsp. chopped parsely
¼ tsp. thyme
½ bay leaf
2 lbs. raw shrimp, shelled and deveined

1) In large skillet, heat the butter, add the onion, mushrooms, green pepper, ruce, nutmeg, salt and pepper, and cook, stirring, until the rice is golden brown.

2) Add the wine and simmer 5 minutes. Add the stock, parsely, thyme and bay leaf. Cover and cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3) Add the shrimp and simmer 5 – 10 minutes, depending on the size of the shrimp.

4) Remove the bay leaf and serve immediately.

Note: Mike used Minute Rice and needed to add some rice at the end

I’ve run out of recipes from the book my grandmother gave to me, so I raided my mom’s recipe stash. This is one of the last recipe’s from Dorothy Hoskins, but I’ll continue this blog with my mom’s recipes.

Chicken Enchiladas

12 flour tortillas
oil for frying tortillas to soften
6 chicken bouillon cubes
3 c. sweet cream or Mocha Mix
½ lb. Monterey Jack cheese – (grated)
1 16 oz. can tomatoes, drained and pureed
1 small bunch green onions
1 can green chiles
2 c. cooked chicken, chopped
Guacamole and sliced black olives for garnish

Mix chicken, onions, chiles, and tomato.  Fry tortillas in oil to soften. Dissolve bouillon in cream. Dip tortillas in cream mixture. Fill with chicken mixture and roll up. Place seam side down in 9x13in. baking pan. Cover with remaining cream mixture. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 375° for 20 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Top with guacamole and sliced black olives.

Mocha Mix

Note: I didn’t know what Mocha Mix was, but it is apparently a non-dairy creamer.

Confetti Logs

1½ c. flour
¾ c. confectioner’s sugar
½ c. margarine (1 stick) softened
1 tbsp. vanilla
1/8 tsp. salt
3 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
1 tsp. shortening
1 – 2¾ ounce container multicolored decors (sprinkles)

Mix flour, sugar, margarine, vanilla and salt. With hand, knead mixture together until it holds together.
Preheat oven to 325°.With hands, roll 1 tbsp. dough into 3 inch logs. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 18 – 20 minutes. Cool.

Heat chocolate and shortening until melted. Dip one end of each cookie in mixture and then in decor. Cool.

One-Dish Chicken and Stuffing Bake

4 c. stuffing mix
4 tbsp. butter
1¼ c. boiling water
4 to 6 boneless chicken breasts
Paprika to taste
1 can mushroom soup
1/3 c. milk
1 tbsp. chopped parsley

Mix stuffing, 1¼ c. boiling water and 4 tbsp butter.

Spoon stuffing across center into baking dish. Place chicken on each side of stuffing. Sprinkle paprika over chicken.

Mix soup, milk and parsley. Pour over chicken.

Bake covered at 400° for 30 minutes, or until chicken is done.

Old-Fashioned Ginger Cookies

Old-Fashioned Ginger Cookies

• 3 c. sorghum molasses
• 1 c. sugar
• 2 c. margarine, melted
• 8 to 10 c. flour
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. ginger
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1½ c. buttermilk
• 1 beaten egg (for glaze)

Heat molasses and sugar together until sugar dissolves. Add margarine and stir. Remove from stove and cool to lukewarm. Sift dry ingredients together. Add dry ingredients, alternating with buttermilk. Stir until a medium soft dough forms. Work dough with hands 5 min. Dough will be very soft. Chill several hours. Roll out on a lightly floured surface to ¼” thick. Cut into rounds the size of a big coffee cup or other shapes. Glaze with beaten egg. Place 1″ apart on a greased baking sheet. Bake at 350° for 20 min. These cookies are soft and chewy.

Juicy Meatloaf

When I think of the things my grandma would cook, it would definitely be something like this. It’s easy to prepare, but tasty. And as it baked, she’d be able to spend that time with us, talking in the kitchen, or helping grandpa with the billing for his plumbing business, or knitting/crocheting. She was efficient, and never idle.

Juicy Meatloaf

• 1½ lb. ground beef
• 1 egg
• 1 small onion
• 1½ teasp. salt
• ¼ tsp. pepper
• 1 c. oatmeal
• ¾ c. nonfat dry milk
• 1 can tomato juice or 1 can tomato sauce plus ½ can water

Mix beff, egg, onion, salt, pepper, oatmeal, milk, tomato juice thoroughly and pack into loaf pan. Bake 1 hr. at 350°. Let stand 5 min before slicing.

Note: Use(?) for meatballs.