Ribs Cooked With a Dry Rub Low and Slow - Incredible!

 Hello, friends.  It was a beautiful day here in mid Tennessee.  We were busy painting furniture this morning, and then I did my afternoon canvas art.  There is always that proverbial "what's for dinner" question hanging in the air.  I wanted something really good, but easy.

Do you get tired of fixing the same things over and over for dinner?  I certainly do.  While grocery shopping at Aldi yesterday, I noticed they had some really nice looking baby back ribs that were super reasonable.  They were $9.00 for a rack of ribs.  I don't ordinarily buy ribs because I think they are way too expensive for what you get.  Sometimes it seems there is more bone than meat.  Well, these looked really good, so I bought some.  It was a wise decision.

While cleaning up my paint brushes from the furniture painting session, I decided it would be ribs for dinner.  Yesterday, I cooked a bit pot of fresh green beans with new potatoes and a big pan of fried corn.  Both were fresh from the farmer's market.  Can I say Yum?  Yum!  There was also a fabulous cantaloupe in the fridge that I had sliced.  Excellent!  All I had to do was cook the ribs and reheat the vegetables.  I LOVE when that happens.

To cook the ribs, I decided I would put a dry rub on them and cook them in the oven low and slow first.  Then, we would put them on the grill for a bit, just to get them good and brown.  I made up my rub using spices that I had on hand and I had to write it down tonight so I wouldn't forget it because I will be using it again.  These ribs were so juicy, tender, and flavorful that we could not stop talking about how good they were.  Fortunately, there are some left for tomorrow.  Yay!

Here is what I used in the dry rub.

2 tsps salt
1 tsps fresh cracked black pepper
2 tsps Mexene chili powder (use your favorite, Mexene is mine)
2 tsps paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme

Mix all the dry ingredients thoroughly and rub on both sides of the rack of ribs.  (This was just enough for one rack of ribs.  Increase the amounts by doubling or tripling if you are planning to cook more than 1 rack.)  I let the ribs set out for about 30 minutes so they would come to room temperature before cooking.

Preheat your oven to 250 degrees F.  It's all about low and slow.  After the ribs have set out for about 30 minutes, place them on a baking pan with sides.  I used a sheet cake pan.  Cover the pan with aluminum foil and place the pan in the oven.  Cook the ribs for 2.5 - 3 hours on low heat.  They smelled so good while they were cooking I could hardly wait to eat them.   For the last half hour, remove the foil and let the ribs continue to cook.

When I removed the ribs from the oven, I cut the rack in half to make them easier to handle on the grill. Dan put them on the grill for about 10 minutes because I did not want them to dry out.  They were just perfect when he removed them from the grill.

Not only did they have beautiful color, they tasted amazing.  I cut the ribs apart and put them on a platter.  We were both picking at little pieces of the meat before everything else was ready.  Dan couldn't wait to dive in.  Oh my, they were so good - so tender and flavorful.

This post is mainly so I remember what I used in the rub, but I also wanted to share the recipe with  you.  This rub would be good on just about anything, but it made these ribs some of the best we have ever had.

Give it a try, I think you will certainly enjoy the end result.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

Summertime bounty makes meals so enjoyable.  Support your local farmers!  donna

Heavenly Hash Cake - AMAZING!

On July 4th weekend, we had a party for our youngest son and future daughter in love.  They were recently engaged and they were home from Denver for the weekend, so it seemed like the perfect time to celebrate with all their Nashville friends.

Cortney and Tyler asked me to make their favorite desert - Heavenly Hash cake so of course I did.  Everyone has probably had something called heavenly hash in their life, whether it is candy, ice cream, or some other kind of desert.  Heavenly hash usually involves marshmallows, but not this cake!  Instead, it uses angel food cake and unbelievable chocolate mousse.

This recipe is from one of my favorite cookbooks called St. Louis Days, St. Louis Nights.  Our oldest daughter gave it to me for mother's day while she was attending college in St. Louis.  I have had it for many years and some of my all time favorite recipes are from this book.

The good think about this cake is that you can use a ready made angel food cake from the grocery if you don't want to bake one yourself.  That eliminates a lot of steps right there.  The rest of the cake is a fabulous chocolate mousse that is made from scratch and worth any and all effort put into making it.  Here is what you need:

12 ounces semi sweet chocolate chips
4 eggs, separated
2 teaspoons sugar
2 cups whipping cream
1 cup pecans, chopped
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large angel food cake (store bought if preferred)

Melt chocolate chips over low heat; beat the egg yolks and add them to the chocolate after you temper it.  Do this by adding a little of the warm chocolate to the yolks and stirring thoroughly.  Now, add the yolks to the chocolate and mix completely.  It will be almost fudge like.  This keeps the yolks from scrambling.

In another bowl, beat the egg whites; add 2 teaspoons of sugar.  Beat until stiff peaks form.

In another bowl, beat the whipping cream and set aside.

Add the egg whites to the chocolate and egg yolk mixture.  Stir and add the chopped pecans, vanilla, and salt.  Don't be alarmed.  The egg whites dissolve into the chocolate mixture.

Fold in the whipped cream.

Cover the bottom of a large greased bowl with 1/2 of the angel food cake broken into chunks.

Cover with half of the chocolate mixture (if you can keep from eating it all).  Add the remaining cake broken into chunks.  Cover with the remaining chocolate mixture.

Refrigerate overnight.

Oh. My.  Goodness.  This is beyond good.  It is amazing.  Since I am gluten free, I cannot eat it with the cake, so I save a little of the mousse and eat it by itself.  SOOOOOOOO delicious.

This is a recipe that is fabulous to take to a pot luck dinner or for when you are having company.  It does make 12 servings, so you may not want to make it just for yourself (unless you intend to eat it all and it is that good)!

Heavenly Hash cake is so good, that I made it twice in 4 days for Tyler and Cortney to enjoy.  Yes, you want to make this one for sure - especially if you love chocolate.  Enjoy!

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

When someone asks you to make a favorite recipe for them - always oblige.  There is nothing like showing someone you love them this way.  donna

Sufferin' Succotash - Fresh and Delicious

When our youngest son was about 5 years old, I made lima beans for dinner.  He sort of came unglued and asked why we were having June bugs for dinner.  He was NOT interested in eating them for any reason.  I had to explain they were not June bugs, but lima beans and he was fine with that.  Quite relieved, actually.

We are from Indiana, and what we call June bugs are green beetle type bugs that appear in the summer.  We tied thread to them and you could fly them around for entertainment.  They were shaped like a lima bean and sort of the same color.  Hence, Tyler's consternation with what we were having for dinner.

You may or may not like lima beans.  I have always liked them.  Growing up, we ate what my mother put on the table, or we went hungry.   There were a few things I didn't like, so I didn't eat them.  After becoming an adult, I discovered that is was more the way the item was prepared than the item itself.  Squash was in that category.  My mom boiled it and it looked like scrambled eggs in the bowl.  I love it now, because I fix it a different way than my mother did.

We were at the farmer's market on Saturday, and one of the vendors had fresh lima beans - already shelled!  Yes!  I had already purchased lots of other fresh vegetables - corn, green beans, cucumbers, tomatoes - and I wanted a new and interesting way to fix the lima beans.  I found this recipe on Epicurious for succotash made in a slightly different way than what we had growing up.  Our succotash was corn and lima beans, nothing outstanding.  This recipe is REALLY good.  Here is what you need:

2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
salt
1 large garlic clove, minced
3 cups chopped fresh tomatoes (about 1 1/2 lbs)
2 1/4 cups corn kernels cut from 4-5 ears of fresh corn
2 cups fresh lima beans or 10-12 ounce box frozen lima beans
3 TBSP thinly sliced fresh basil

I added some freshly grated parmesan cheese.  YUM!

First, heat the oil in a large skilled over medium heat.  Add the chopped onion and sprinkle with salt.  Saute' until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.  Add the minced garlic, stir until fragrant - about 1 minute.  Add the tomatoes, corn, and lima beans.  *This recipe called for no liquid, but I added enough to cover the bottom of the pan about 1/2 way up the vegetables.  The other vegetables didn't produce enough liquid to cook the beans.*  Reduce the heat to medium low, cover, simmer until the lima beans are tender, about 20 minutes.  Stir occasionally.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add the sliced basil.

I added some freshly grated parmesan cheese to each serving.  This is DELICIOUS!  There are so many layers of flavor rather than just boiled corn and lima beans.  Food is so much more interesting than when we were growing up.  Gotta love it!

You might want to give this a try for different and wonderful summer fare.  I think you could add some browned sausage or ground beef and you would have a fabulous one dish meal!  We all loved this recipe.  Hope you give it a try.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

Succotash is a very southern staple, but originated with Native Americans.  Just a little FYI.  donna

Polenta Pizza Bites - Gluten Free

We have been living in a whirlwind of busy-ness these past two weeks.  Our youngest son and his fiance spent the 4th of July weekend with us here in Nashville after driving from Denver.  To celebrate their recent engagement, we had a lovely afternoon soiree shared with family and friends.  Let me say, we are SO excited to have Cortney joining our family.

I made a LOT of food and a good time was had by all.  Many of us eat gluten free by necessity and I tried to make as many things as I could that would be enjoyed by everyone.  One of my favorite recipes to make when serving hors d'oeuvres has always been these yummy pizza bites made on party rye bread.  Well, rye bread was not an option, so I had to come up with something different for the base.

I thought about polenta since it is made from corn and I did some research of possible recipes and these are what I came up with.  They are awesomely good and quite easy.  Here is what you need.

2 rolls of ready made polenta, sliced in 1/4 inch rounds
1 pound Italian sausage, casings removed
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 jar marinara sauce
grated parmesan cheese
a handful of fresh basil leaves

Remove the casings from the Italian sausage and brown in a medium sized skillet.  Add the onion, and crumble the sausage while browning using a spatula.  Add the garlic when the sausage is browned so it doesn't burn.  Add the 1/2 jar of marinara sauce.  Set aside.

Slice the polenta into 1/4 inch rounds and place on a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. I filled two baking sheets from the two rounds.   Place the polenta rounds under the broiler for 5-10 minutes, until they are lightly browned and just a bit crisp on top.  Remove from the oven.

Spoon the sausage filling over each polenta round. They hold about a tablespoon of filling.   I had just enough to cover all the slices from the two polenta packages.

Next, cover each mound of sausage filling with freshly grated parmesan cheese and return to the broiler just until the cheese melts.  Remove from the oven and put a few minced basil leaves on each round.

Serve and enjoy!

These were a super big hit and everyone loved them.  They were so good there we none left.  These are great hors d'oeuvres or could even be served as an entree with a salad for dinner.  Give them a try the next time you want something different or for those who have to eat gluten free.  Yum.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

As our daughter said during her toast for the newly engaged couple, "love is the best" and it is.    donna

Awesome Way To Slice A Watermelon!

 It is suddenly summer here in Nashville.  It was 93 degrees today and yes, it is hot.  I am not complaining.  I will take it over the cold, never ending winter we had this year any day.  Give me hot over cold any time.  But, with the hot comes different ways of preparing meals and foods to cool you down and keep you hydrated.

Recently, someone posted this way of slicing a watermelon on Facebook and I thought it was absolutely genius!  Bells rang, birds tweeted, whistles blew.  I mean, why have I never thought of this?  Just duh, is all I can say.

Our daughter had an end of year school party for her oldest son's class and she had a huge watermelon for the kids and their parents.  I told her I would like to try slicing it this way and she was all for it.  Let me tell you, it is not only genius, it is the best way to serve watermelon - like ever!!  You have these wonderful  popsicle like wedges of watermelon, easy to carry around and eat, no plate necessary, and no huge pieces of watermelon rind to get rid of.  All the pieces are nice little 1.5 squares - the perfect bite sized piece of watermelon!!!  I am talking life changing here people.  Here is what you do.

First, you need a round watermelon, not an oblong one.  Most of the seedless ones are round.  The one in the picture is small, but you can do the same with a big one - you just need a slightly different method.

First, cut the watermelon in half - not so it is oblong, but round on each end.  Does that make sense?  Then, trim it up if necessary so it will sit flat.  Sometimes the watermelon will split if it's really ripe and be uneven.  Just do a little fancy knife work to make it flat (and don't waste those lovely thin slices of watermelon - eat them!).

 Now, put it on something you can turn.  I used a cutting board.  Make sure you have a long knife and start at one end cutting in about 1.5/2 inch segments.

 Cut from one side to the other.  It should look like this.

Now, turn your cutting board so the vertical slices are horizontal.  Start at the end, and slice about 1.5/2 inch segments across like this.

You can start eating by pulling the middle piece.  When you pull it out, you have this beautiful cube of watermelon.  It is just amazing.  Perfect bite sized cubes of watermelon.  Genius I tell you.  Also, you no longer need a giant bowl to put all the slices in.  It sits right on the platter.  Ah-mazing!

Now, have someone help you transfer it to a serving platter.  I put the serving plate next to the cutting board and had Dan picked up the cutting board with the watermelon on it.  I put my hands firmly on the watermelon to hold it together, and slid it to the serving platter.  Ta dah!  Then, I put  the second half on the cutting board and sliced it so it was ready to go when this half was eaten.  If you are having a large crowd, put both halves on serving platters after you slice them this way.   Easy peasy.

For a bigger melon like we used at Holly's, I cut half way across the watermelon because my knife wasn't long enough to go all the way across.  I didn't want any cut fingers, so I cut halfway and turned the watermelon half way around and continued to cut from the original slices.  Then, I turned the watermelon 1/4 way and cut halfway across, turned it half way around and completed the slices.  Here is the bigger melon.

Dan helped me move it to the serving platter and it worked just perfectly.  The kids at the party LOVED the watermelon cut this way.  They would run by, grab and wedge and off they would go.

Not only is is super convenient for serving, it looks really pretty on the platter.  I don't know who thought this up, but thank you whoever and wherever you are.  I will be eternally grateful and will never wrestle another watermelon as long as I live.  Clean up was a breeze - no huge drippy pieces of watermelon rind to dispose of.  You can eat right down to the white or green part easily.   Then, simply toss that little green square of rind.  Awesome.

You really should try this.  You will never go back to the "way it was" - ever!  For the melon that wasn't eaten, I stored it in a zip lock back and it was delicious for several days AND it didn't take up half the refrigerator!  If we got hot outside, we could come in an grab a piece of perfectly cubed watermelon and enjoy.  Yes, try this.  It will make your summer.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

When one has tasted watermelon, he knows what the angels eat."  Mark Twain

Old Fashioned Cornbread Made Gluten Free - Delicious!

Hi everybody.  I'm back.  I have been on quite a hiatus as I completed a 100 day painting challenge and other things in life.  It went very well.  I am painting with acrylics on canvas.  I learned a LOT in the process about myself and painting techniques.  It's amazing how dedicating yourself to something for 100 days can change your life.  I will write about that in more depth later.

Today, I wanted to share this recipe I found for gluten free cornbread that is absolutely delicious and as close to what my grandma used to make as I can find.  We have several people in our family who are eating gluten free by doctor's orders, including myself.  Talk about changing lifelong habits!  Wow.  Especially when it comes to all the baking I have done most of my life.  But, life will go on.

This recipe is made with Greek yogurt which is a definite change up from the buttermilk we always used.  It also makes it just a tad healthier.  Here is what you need.

2 cups yellow cornmeal, coarsely ground if you can find it.  (make sure it's gluten free)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsps baking powder
1 egg, beaten
4 TBSP melted butter, cooled
1 1/2 cups plain Greek yogurt
4 TBSP honey

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Hopefully, you have a 10 or 12 inch cast iron skillet to bake this in, but you can use an 8x8 square pan if you don't.  Grease the pan either way.  I used spray coconut oil.

First, combine the cornmeal, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.   Thoroughly combine with a whisk.

In a separate bowl, mix the egg, cooled melted butter, yogurt and honey.  Thoroughly combine with a whisk or fork.

Create a "well" in the center of the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients into the "well."  Use a fork and just combine.  Don't over mix.  This is a very thick batter.

Pour the mixture into the prepared pan.  Bake for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown on top.  Remove the pan from the oven and let sit for a few minutes to cool down.  Slice and serve.  Slather on a big pat of fresh butter and add some honey if you like.  This is absolutely delicious and I could eat it for my meal.

This recipe was found on Gluten Free on a Shoestring!  Give it a try.  You are going to love this one!!

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

If we keep doing things in the same old way expecting different results, nothing will every change.  Try something new.  Dedicate yourself to something for 100 days and see the changes that occur in your life.  It is truly worth the dedication.  donna

Make A Custom Mug For Someone

Thought I would share another easy Valentine idea with you today.  I made this cup for my friend Linda as a Christmas gift.  She loves yellow and purple, so guess what colors I chose?  This mug caught my eye because it was yellow and cream which was perfect with purple accents.

To make these mugs, all you need is an inexpensive mug, something for a pattern - you could use a heart for Valentine's Day, a cupid, or an initial.  Anything could work.  I even made some with mustaches on them which are so cute - and a sharpie in a color of your choice.

To make the initial, I used a letter from this package I found at Big Lots .

The entire package was only a couple of dollars and I have found all kinds of uses for them.  There are different fonts in different sizes with numbers and letters.  I punched out a large "L" and taped it to the front of the mug using tiny pieces of 2 sided tape.

Using the sharpie, I simply made random dots all around the letter, then removed the letter and put it on the other side of the mug and did the same thing.

Next, the sharpie has to be heat set, so I placed it in a cold oven directly on the wire rack and set it to preheat to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.  When the buzzer went off at 450, I turned the oven off and let the mug cool in the oven.  Make sure the mug is not hot before picking removing it from the oven!

You should be able to wash the mug by hand without removing the design.  I am not sure you can guarantee it to be dishwasher safe, although our sons in love have had their mustache mugs for a couple of years and they put them in the dishwasher.  From what I have read, it sometimes depends on the glaze on the mug.

These mugs could be filled with candy, the pink popcorn I posted last night, or someone's favorite tea or coffee.  I sent Linda some boxes of tea that she could enjoy in her mug along with some coasters I made for her.  She really liked it.

Handmade gifts are always special for gift giving.  These would also be super for teacher's gifts, friends, or co workers.  Gift recipients appreciate that you took the time to make something with your own hands and that it came from your heart.

Dollar Tree, TJ Maxx, Big Lots, or Target are good places to look for inexpensive mugs.  The inexpensive mugs seem to work better because their glaze is more porous - it's not about being cheap.

Give this project a try the next time you need a gift.  You could even make sets of them for wedding or shower gifts.  The options are endless.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember

Gifts have ribbons, not strings.  Vanna Bonta